Chapter 2
NORA
Our eyes locked. Kyle let out a heavy sigh.
"I thought I didn't care. But then the wedding planning started." His smile was tight, pained. "You were too good at it. Haggling with the photographer, obsessing over ring settings, dress shopping—you knew the whole routine by heart."
His expression darkened. "Every detail screamed that the woman I'm marrying is just Ethan's leftovers. I couldn't stomach it, Nora."
Tears pricked my eyes.
"But I love you," his voice cut through the ringing in my ears. "You had a husband before me, so I get a fling before the wedding. Now the score is settled."
He reached out, his thumb brushing my cheek. A tear spilled over his skin, and he yanked his hand back as if burned.
"It's not fair!" I yelled, the words tearing at my raw throat. "You didn't have to save me, if you were just going to destroy me yourself!"
I retreated toward the stairs. "The wedding is off."
He didn’t chase me. He waited until I reached the top step before his fingers clamped shut around my wrist.
"Off?" he sneered softly. "Invitations went out to twelve allied packs. The Elders already approved the date. You really think you can humiliate the Thorne Pack like this?"
He leaned in, his voice dropping to a low menace. "Or did you forget your place? Five years ago, when Ethan severed your bond, the Reed Pack tossed you out. I took you in. Without me, you're a lone wolf. Walk off Thorne lands, and the rogues will rip you apart in minutes. Take your pick."
I thrashed against his iron grip. A vicious light flickered in his eyes, and he abruptly let go.
"Suck it up, Nora."
My heel slipped. The heavy bridal skirt tangled around my ankles.
I tumbled down the steep marble staircase, gravity dragging me over every hard edge until my head slammed into the bottom floor. Blinding pain exploded behind my eyes, followed swiftly by the hot rush of blood blurring my vision.
I lay crumpled on the tile, breathless and shattered.
At the top of the stairs, Kyle casually adjusted his cuffs. "Stop being dramatic. I barely touched you. I know your wolf is dormant and you're weaker than an Omega, but collapsing like that is just pathetic."
He turned and walked away.
Blood pooled warm and bright on the stark white tile. I pressed a trembling hand to my forehead and looked at the sales staff standing in the periphery.
"Please... call an ambulance..."
No one moved. This was Kyle’s family boutique. No one dared help a woman about to be exiled. They just averted their eyes.
The chill sank bone-deep. Gritting my teeth, I dragged myself upright. Barefoot, I limped out of the shop, trailing a line of blood and ruined white silk.
I walked blindly through the freezing rain until I stumbled into an ER. When the doctor readied a needle of local anesthetic for my stitches, I shook my head. The needle pulling through my skin was nothing compared to the gaping wound in my chest.
I returned to the pack house that evening—a bedraggled ghost in a rain-soaked dress with heavy gauze taped to her skull.
The moment I pushed the door open, an overwhelming stench hit me.
Heels and dress shoes littered the foyer. A lace bra lay tangled with a suit jacket. By the floor-to-ceiling window, Kyle had Ivy pinned against the glass, kissing her hungrily. She was wearing my favorite silk robe.
The heavy, indisputable musk of sex flooded my senses. The scene mirrored my betrayal five years ago so perfectly it made my stomach pitch.
The door clicked. Kyle pulled back, glancing at my bandaged head with blatant annoyance. "It's not like you haven't caught an Alpha cheating before. Do you have to look like death warmed over?"
Ivy peeked around his shoulder, giggling. "Look who's home. The blushing bride."
Her gaze dropped to my clenched fist. Trembling, I uncurled my fingers to reveal the moonstone earring I'd found outside the fitting room earlier.
Ivy’s smile only widened. "Oh, you found it. By the way, Kyle is way better in bed than Ethan ever was. He really, really likes me."
Kyle chuckled, stroking her waist, his ego clearly fed. He turned and strolled toward me.
As he approached, the suffocating scent of Ivy clung to him. Just as he reached out, nausea clawed its way up my throat. I doubled over and dry-heaved.
Kyle’s hand froze mid-air. Slowly, it curled into a tight fist. "Nora. You think I'm dirty?"
I couldn't even lift my head. I was too utterly exhausted.
My reaction fractured his fragile pride. He yanked me up by the collar, a furious, ugly laugh escaping him. "You did this. I was going to call it even today. But now? I'm going to make you taste every ounce of humiliation I've ever felt."
He shoved me back and drew Ivy into his arms. "The full moon is in eighteen days. You'll be my bride."
Ivy hooked her arms around his neck, smirking at me. "Then I want Nora as my bridesmaid. When she married Ethan, I held her bouquet. Now she can hold our rings. That’s only fair."
"Sure." Kyle stared unblinking at me. "She can hold the rings."
His words were designed to gut me, but my throat was too raw to argue. I could only shake my head.
Kyle smiled—a savage, satisfied expression. "Does it hurt? Good. That's exactly how I felt the day you picked Ethan."
Looking at his twisted face, the truth finally set in. He didn't want fairness. He just wanted to stand above me and watch me bleed.
Touching the gauze on my head, I forced a stiff, hollow smile. "No, Kyle. It doesn't hurt. You just make me sick."
Something in him snapped.
Pushing Ivy aside, he grabbed my arm and dragged me up the stairs. We blew past the master bedroom to the door right next to it, and he brutally kicked it open.
It was the glass-domed observatory. Years ago, when my insomnia was at its worst, he used to hold me in here under the moon, swearing to protect me forever.
Now, he threw me inside like garbage.
The door slammed. The deadbolt clicked.
I surged forward, pounding the wood with both fists. "Let me out!"
His voice drifted through the barrier, dripping with malice. "I make you sick? Tonight's going to be a lot worse. Sit there and listen."
A terrifying pause.
"Ivy. Come here."
