Chapter 2

I didn't sign it.

Instead, I walked toward the ceremony hall with the contract in my hand, my wedding dress trailing behind me like a war banner.

The hall was packed — over three hundred wolves from allied packs, nobles, elders, warriors. Crystal chandeliers cast golden light across white roses and silk ribbons.

Everything I had personally planned for eight months.

Vivienne stood at the altar in her replica dress, holding Liam's hands while the officiant read the vows. Colette sat in the front row, dabbing fake tears with a handkerchief.

No one noticed me standing at the back entrance.

The officiant said, "If anyone objects to this union, speak now or—"

"I object."

Three hundred heads turned.

I walked down the aisle slowly, each step deliberate. Gasps erupted around me. The guests recognized the dress — they recognized ME.

"Margot?" Liam's face went pale. "What are you doing? I told you to sit down—"

"You told me a lot of things." I held up the rejection contract. "You told me you loved me. You told me Vivienne was like a sister to you. You told me my infertility didn't matter."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Vivienne grabbed Liam's arm. "Margot, please, don't do this. Think of the baby—"

"I am thinking of the baby." I turned to the crowd. "Three months ago, I was diagnosed with a low fertility rate — not infertility. Low. As in, difficult but not impossible. Liam took that private medical information and used it as grounds to replace me."

Liam's jaw tightened. "Margot, enough."

"He conspired with my stepmother to swap me for Vivienne at my own wedding. A wedding I planned. Funded with my own savings. For a pack I nearly died protecting."

The elder in the front row stood. "Alpha Liam, is this true?"

Liam hesitated for one second too long.

That was all the confirmation the crowd needed.

Chaos erupted — shouting, accusations, elders demanding explanations.

In the middle of it all, Vivienne burst into tears and collapsed dramatically against Liam. "The stress! The baby! Liam, make her stop!"

Liam wrapped his arms around Vivienne and glared at me. "Are you happy now? You've humiliated the entire pack!"

"No," I said, my voice steady despite the earthquake inside my chest. "You humiliated me. I'm just letting everyone see it."

I tore the rejection contract in half and dropped the pieces at his feet.

"I reject YOUR rejection. If you want me gone, do it through the Elder Council. In public. With evidence."

I turned to leave, my head held high even as my hands trembled behind my back.

But before I reached the exit, a deep voice cut through the noise.

"I'll take her."

The entire hall fell silent.

I turned around.

A man I'd never seen before stood in the VIP balcony — tall, devastatingly handsome, with eyes so dark they looked like the night sky. He wore a black suit that probably cost more than Liam's entire pack treasury.

Two massive wolves flanked him like living shadows.

Liam's face went white. "Alpha…Kael?"

The man — Kael — looked down at me with an expression I couldn't read.

"The woman you just discarded," he said calmly. "I want her."