Chapter Four

Aegis's P.O.V

Tears build in my eyes, and I take a shaky breath. This can’t be true. It can’t. They’re just friends. Sure, Sheila has a crush on him, but he doesn’t return her feelings. He can’t.

He’s my mate.

He’s mine, and I’m his.

Why would they go through with this, knowing they haven’t met their true mates yet? Why would Elias agree to this?

I lift my gaze from the box to Sheila’s expectant smile. My eyes trail from her face to Elias’s. He refuses to look at me. His jaw clenches so tightly he could crack his teeth as he stares off to the side.

Why?

He can’t really be going through with this. He can’t be doing this to me.

My wolf howls painfully within me, thrashing in my chest in rage and heartache as everything crumbles around us.

My parents, oblivious to the silent storm in the room, get up from their seats to see what my sister has gifted me. Once they read the words inscribed on the envelope, their faces light up. They smile at each other, joyfully hugging Sheila.

They bombard her with words I can’t register over the sound of my breaking heart. But fragments slip through—“Congratulations on being the next Luna”… “We’re so proud to have a daughter who’ll merge our name into the Alpha bloodline.”

I don’t even care for the position. The Luna title never once crossed my mind.

I just want him.

I just want my mate.

I can only focus on the one person in the room whose opinion matters.

I wish I could say he looks remorseful. I wish, for the sake of my pride, I could say he looks torn.

But I can’t.

And he doesn’t.

There’s no hint of regret or sorrow on his handsome face. He looks completely calm and content—as if he isn’t tearing me apart from the inside out.

He just… doesn’t care.

“I wanted to ask you face-to-face.” Sheila’s voice trembles with excitement as she fiddles nervously with her pink-manicured nails. “Will you be my maid of honor?”

The glow on her face makes my stomach churn. I’m going to throw up.

I try so hard to hold back the tears, but they finally break through. A wretched sob escapes my lips.

“I-I…” I stammer, unable to form words.

I have no idea what I’m going to say.

How do I tell her that the man she’s about to marry was in my room last night?

How do I tell her she’s planning to marry my mate?

An immediate frown darkens Sheila’s face at what she thinks is hesitation. Disappointment and confusion cloud her features. She probably expected me to leap at the news, showering her with hugs, kisses, and words of affection—the same way our parents are doing right now.

My wolf growls at the sight.

“Sheila, darling? Can you and your mother please get your sister some water? It seems the excitement and shock of the wedding stunned her.”

Sheila and my mother promptly shoot out of their seats and head for the kitchen.

I’m left staring at Elias and my father, who now wears a look of confusion tinged with suspicion.

“Elias, you can’t—” I begin, my voice cracking.

“Beta David, please come with me. I need to talk to you,” Elias interrupts smoothly.

Father looks between us, his brows furrowed. He nods solemnly and purses his lips, clearly confused but unwilling to ask questions. With a curt dip of his head, he turns to me one last time before following Elias.

On their way out, they meet Sheila and my mother returning from the kitchen. Elias gestures for them to follow. My father shoots me a sharp glare.

“What did you do, Aegis?”

His voice echoes in my head through the mind link.

I don’t answer. He thinks I’ve done something terrible to make Elias upset with me, but I can’t bring myself to look at him right now.

As if sensing my gaze, Elias glances in my direction and locks eyes with me. His hard, steely stare gives nothing away.

As his mate, I should feel his emotions the way he feels mine.

But he’s blocked me out.

He can feel me.

I can’t feel him.

Sheila tries to talk to him—probably asking what’s wrong. She follows his gaze back to me, her eyes narrowing. Not being able to stand how perfect they look together, I turn away and fix my eyes on the floor.

“We apologize for her in advance, Alpha,” my father says.

Alpha?

Why is Father calling him Alpha when Elias hasn’t yet been officially appointed?

His birthright hasn’t been passed down. There hasn’t even been an Alpha ceremony. Landon can’t take over the Alpha position without his Luna being marked, mated, and sworn into oath. It’s the condition set by the first Alpha of the pack.

The only reason my father would call him Alpha is if his wolf no longer recognizes Elias’s father as the current Alpha.

But Elias hasn’t found his mate—or at least not as far as my father knows.

There have been whispers in the pack about Elias’s missing mate, and whether the reason he hasn’t found her is because she’s human. His parents have worried too. His father—a hardened traditionalist—would never accept Elias as his successor without his true mate.

Seeing as Elias isn’t planning to accept me—his true mate—as his Luna, his father would never allow him to take over.

Unless…

If Elias claims Sheila as his mate, he can never be Alpha.

There’s only one way left.

To challenge his father for the position.

Alpha challenges are fights to the death.

The survivor claims the head of their opponent.

If my father calls him Alpha…

It can only mean one thing.

Elias is planning to kill his father for the position.