Chapter 2

"Or else what?" I tilted my head, genuinely amused. Not a trace of fear in my voice.

Briar let out a sharp, exaggerated scoff, as if she'd just heard the joke of the century.

"Or else I'll snap my fingers and make lowborn trash like you vanish without a trace!"

I let out a dry laugh. "What exactly are you? A useless trophy who begs for scraps. You talk a big game, but do you even have the strength to touch a single hair on my head yourself?"

Briar’s arrogant smirk vanished.

She clearly didn’t expect someone wearing cheap, unbranded clothes to stand up to her on her own turf. The stares of the onlookers pierced her ego. Her face flushed from pale to blotchy red. Humiliation instantly morphed into blind rage.

"You—!"

She snatched a glass of water from the display counter and hurled the liquid straight at my face.

I sidestepped, moving faster than she could blink. In one fluid motion, I snatched the glass from her grip and splashed the icy water right back into her face.

Water dripped from her pristine blonde hair, completely ruining her flawless makeup. She stood frozen, mouth agape, looking exactly like a drowned rat.

The crowd let out a collective gasp before erupting into frantic whispers.

"Oh my god! How could she do that to Miss Grey?!"

"Alpha Kane is going to tear her to shreds!"

"She’s a dead woman walking. You don't mess with Kane's precious Omega in the Bloodmoon territory. No one can save her now."

I listened to their terrified mutters, my inner calm utterly undisturbed. Fear? I didn't know the meaning of the word. My father, Marcus Nightshade, was the Lycan Supreme, ruler of all packs in North America. There wasn't a single wolf on this continent that could make me cower.

Briar violently wiped the water from her face and let out a hysterical scream. "You bitch! You're dead! Kane is going to make you wish you were never born!"

Ignoring her tantrum, I slipped the silver moonstone ring onto my finger, grabbed the empty velvet box from the counter, and turned to leave.

"Stop her!"

Briar stumbled forward, trying to block my path. But the second her eyes met mine, she froze in her tracks. A high-ranking Alpha's bloodline suppression wasn't something a pampered Omega like her could fight off.

At that exact moment, a towering shadow darkened the doorway.

The oxygen seemed to vanish from the room. The crowd parted like the Red Sea, scrambling out of the way in sheer panic to leave a wide open path.

"Kane!"

Briar’s demeanor shifted in a heartbeat. Tears welled up in her eyes as she threw herself into his broad chest, her voice trembling with perfect victimhood. "This woman tried to steal my ring and threw water at me! You have to do something!"

Kane wrapped a protective arm around Briar, but his icy gaze locked onto my face. His voice sent a low, oppressive rumble through the air. "Did you bully Briar?"

Kane Bloodmoon. Alpha of the Bloodmoon Pack. His eyes swept over the room like unyielding steel before pinning me down.

I took him in—easily six-foot-three, broad shoulders, striking jawline, radiating the ruthless authority of a born leader. Purely on aesthetics, the man was exactly my type.

If he hadn't opened his mouth to ask such an astoundingly stupid question, I might have actually looked forward to this arranged marriage.

I didn't flinch. Holding his stare, I answered evenly, "I didn't steal a thing. I custom-ordered this ring months ago. She was the one trying to snatch it from my hand."

I paused, letting the silence string out before dropping the real bomb.

"I am Selena Nightshade. And per your mother’s dying wish, I am your arranged mate. This ring was designed by my mother for our mating ceremony."

The jewelry store erupted.

"What? She’s Alpha Kane’s arranged mate?!"

"No way. Briar is supposed to be Alpha Kane's future Luna..."

"Oh, this is going to be good. The arranged fiancée versus the childhood sweetheart."

"Do you think the Alpha will honor some dusty old pact, or rip her throat out for Briar?"

"Duh. Look at what she's wearing. Like a total peasant! There's no way the Alpha would choose her over someone as gorgeous as Briar!"

Whispers buzzed through the shop like angry hornets.

Kane’s expression didn't even twitch. He let out a dark, mocking scoff.

"And? That so-called pact was a casual promise my mother made when she was alive. She’s been dead for years. Do you honestly think a dead woman's words can bind me?"

Emboldened by his rejection, Briar peeked out from his chest, her tone dripping with venom. "Exactly! Who do you think you are? You think you can just claim Kane with a few wild words?"

She looked me up and down, a cruel smirk twisting her lips. "Look at you. You dress like a beggar. You don't have an ounce of femininity. The woman beside Kane should be a high-class, elegant Omega like me, not some cheap, vulgar stray!"

The crowd was quick to chime in.

"Yeah, trying to climb the social ladder with a fake promise?"

"Half the women in the pack want to be Alpha Kane's mate. Who knows if she's just a con artist?"

"Just look at her. Briar is the only one fit to be Kane's Luna!"

I listened to their ignorant sneers, a wave of profound irony washing over me.

They didn't know the truth. They didn't know that Kane's mother had begged my father on her deathbed for this arrangement to secure her son's safety. My father only agreed to repay a life debt.

If Kane was going to treat my family's grace like garbage, then fine. I, Selena Nightshade, had never been the type to beg for a man's attention anyway.

I shook my head, a genuinely relieved smile touching the corners of my mouth.

I met Kane's cold glare with absolute indifference. My voice was calm, yet it sliced through the room like a blade.

"Since you're so reluctant, do me a favor. Go to my father and tell him to cancel the mating ceremony."

I delivered my parting shot, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"But make no mistake—it's not you rejecting me. It's you, not being worthy of me."