Chapter 3

I stared at those words until my vision blurred.

No one had protected me in three years. Not really. And now the most dangerous man in the country was offering it to a stranger.

Before I could reply, an unknown number called. I knew who it was before I answered.

"You think one message means the King wants you?" Ryder laughed, low and ugly. "He was being polite, Ava. Royalty does that. You really think a Lycan King would look twice at a wolfless cow?"

"You made a new number just to call me names?" I slid into the back seat of the car. "That's a lot of effort for someone who doesn't care."

"I'm doing you a favor. Stay home. Save yourself."

Memories flashed behind my eyes like an old film.

Ryder driving four hours after a border patrol so we could watch the sunrise because I said I'd never seen one over the ocean. Ryder burning his hands learning to make my mother's chocolate recipe. Ryder holding me through the anniversary of my father's death.

My father gave me everything except a warning. He never taught me what a predator looks like when it's smiling.

So I let Ryder replace my father's loyal wolves with his own. I called it love.

A year ago, the day I left for Europe, Brielle found that old photo on Ryder's phone. Nora heard the whole thing. Brielle laughed and said, "Didn't know you had a thing for whales, Ryder."

He went pale. He deleted it. I thought he was angry for me.

He was ashamed of me.

The calls got shorter after that. The texts got colder. And tonight, he finally threw me off the cliff.

"Are you finished?" I asked.

"Too honest for you?" he sneered. "Fine. Here's honest. I only touched you because you came with your father's seal. Every time you kissed me, I wanted to throw up."

There it was. The real Ryder Hale.

Something inside my chest went very quiet. Every tear I'd saved for him froze solid.

"Since you hate me so much," I said, leaning back into the leather, "I hope you're still smiling tomorrow night."

"Oh, I will be. Brielle will be on my arm all night. And Ava?" His voice dropped to something cruel. "Everyone thinks we were fated mates. So tomorrow, at the Gathering, I'm going to formally reject you. Out loud. In front of everyone. You know what rejection does to a wolf. It'll drop you to the floor screaming. And a wolfless girl? It might just break you for good."

He hung up laughing.

My fingers curled around the phone.

The rejection agony. Every wolf feared it. The torn bond. The pain that brought grown Alphas to their knees. Ryder had always told me we were mates. That I just couldn't feel it because I had no wolf.

Except I did have a wolf now.

Eight months ago, on a frozen night in the Scottish Highlands, she had finally woken up. Silver as the moon. Strong enough to scare my instructors. And the very first thing she ever said to me was:

He was never ours.

I opened the King's private message and typed.

[Thank you, Your Majesty. I'll be there at midnight.]

His answer came instantly.

[Kaelen Draven: Then I'll be waiting at the door.]

I locked my screen and looked out at the city lights.

Ryder wanted to reject me in front of the whole Gathering?

Good.

Because tomorrow night, he was going to find out exactly what he had been bonded to all along.

Absolutely nothing.