Chapter 2

I turned around and saw Kael and Sable staring at me, both their faces drained of color.

I smiled faintly. "Okay."

Kael grabbed my wrist and dragged me inside the house.

"Are you that desperate to be mated, Aria? Will you really accept just anyone as your mate?"

For a moment, he looked furious. Then he reined himself in.

"Aria, sweetheart, I got carried away. I'm sorry. We didn't get to complete the Rite today. I know I let you down. Another day?"

Before I could answer, he went straight to the refrigerator and pulled out the cake he'd ordered.

"Even though we didn't complete the ceremony, I didn't forget what today means. It's our third anniversary."

He set the cake on the counter and gave me a tentative smile.

"Mango and chocolate filling. Your favorite. I even asked the baker to make it special."

The frosting had been iced into a calendar, today's date circled in bright red.

Kael watched my face soften and let his shoulders drop. He took my hand, and together we lit the little candle.

The calendar burned away, revealing the image beneath it.

Two people nestled close together, with an AI-generated baby's face between them.

My fragile smile froze.

"Is this what you got me for our third anniversary?"

Sable's smiling face stared back at me from the cake, her expression almost mocking me outright.

Heat rushed to my cheeks.

Kael stared at the image, stunned. Then he fumbled for his phone, scrolling frantically through his messages.

"Sable must have changed the picture."

He looked at me, panic creeping into his voice. "I'm sorry, Aria. I'll order another cake. I'll have them fix it right away."

Before he could send the message, someone began pounding on the front door hard enough to shake the frame.

"Kael! Get out here!"

His fingers stopped moving. He deleted the unsent message without thinking, and opened the door.

"What are you doing here?"

Sable stood on the porch, reeking of alcohol, her eyes swollen and red.

The moment she stumbled forward, Kael instinctively reached out to steady her.

"Careful. I told you not to drink. Why won't you listen to me?"

"I don't need you telling me what to do!"

She shoved his hand away, staggered past him, and stopped in front of me.

"Aria, you really are something, aren't you? Stealing Kael from me was bad enough. Now you've even managed to get me rejected!"

Kael's expression darkened. "You've been drinking yourself sick over another man?"

Tears welled in the corners of Sable's eyes.

The moment they looked at each other, the invisible wall went up again.

This was my home. Kael was supposed to be my mate—yet whenever Sable was around, I was the outsider.

I clenched my hands until my nails bit into my palms.

Sable staggered toward the bedroom doorway, where the red ceremonial ribbons my mother had hung were still tied in place. She seized one and began ripping it down.

"Stop!"

I lunged forward, but the ribbon tore before I could reach her.

My nails broke the skin of my palm, and blood welled between my fingers.

Those ribbons had been put up by my mother herself, back when her illness had already left her too weak to stand.

She'd smiled through her tears as she tied each one.

"My girl is finally going to have her mating ceremony. Every red ribbon I hang means another year of happiness for you."

Kael had been deeply moved that day. He'd pulled me into his arms and held me as if he could protect me from anything the world might throw at us.

"Aria, we'll stay together for the rest of our lives. I'll make sure we're happy for every single one of them."

Now he rubbed his forehead and caught my arm before I could reach Sable.

"Let her get it out of her system. There's a custom in her family's pack. They believe tearing down ceremonial ribbons clears the way for a true mate."

My voice broke. "My mother tied those ribbons."

Kael's grip loosened for a heartbeat.

It wasn't enough.

Sable ripped down one red ribbon after another, bunching them up and dropping them to the floor. She stepped on the bright scraps as though they were nothing but rubbish.

A warm hand covered my eyes.

The words that followed were colder than the night air outside.

"Aria, they're already torn. Let's just say the blessing has passed on to us."

Tears slipped down my face and soaked into Kael's palm.

"Kael, who gave you the right to decide that I should just let it go?"

My voice shook, but I forced the words out.

"That was the last thing my mother left me. I hate you."

I couldn't understand it.

When my mother had finished hanging those ribbons, Kael had held me close and promised me a lifetime together. He'd looked as if the thought of losing me was unbearable.

Now he was the one pushing me toward the door.

"Aria, you're being too sensitive. I'm afraid she'll lose control again, and I don't want you caught in the middle."

He opened the door and guided me outside.

"Wait here for a little while, okay? Don't overthink this."

The cold wind swept over me as I stood on the porch.

From inside came the crash of something breaking, followed by Sable's furious voice.

"Kael, are you going to defend her again? Are you going to make me pay for what I've done?"

"You're the reason I ended up like this!" she shouted. "If our pup had survived, I would never have forgiven you. I hate you!"

There was a long silence.

Then Kael spoke, his voice low and painfully familiar.

"Then hate me, Sable. Keep hating me if that's all you have left."

Another pause.

"We can't go back to what we were. But at least we still have this. Maybe we'll spend the rest of our lives tangled up in this hatred."

The voices inside grew quieter.

Soon, the only sounds reaching me were their unsteady breathing and the faint rustle of clothing.

I slowly sank onto the porch steps.

My hands trembled as I opened my phone and typed out a message to the contact I'd just added.

Then I pressed Send.

By the time the front door opened again, I felt as if every drop of warmth had drained from my body.

Kael emerged with Sable wrapped tightly in his suit jacket, one arm supporting her as he led her outside.

He looked at me with an apologetic expression, as though I were the one who needed comforting.

"Wait at home for me, sweetheart. Be good."

He brushed a hand over my shoulder.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm only worried about her getting home safely."

I didn't answer. My gaze had fallen to the keychain dangling from his fingers.

A tiny beaded groom in a black suit swung from the ring.

I'd made the matching keychains for us myself, spending hours threading each little bead into place.

We'd once joked that we'd carry them until the day we finally completed our Bonding Rite.

Now mine was nowhere to be seen. His had been tossed in the trash. He'd told me he had no use for it.

There had never been a place for me in the future he'd imagined.

After the two of them left, I went back inside.

The house was a wreck. Our framed photographs lay shattered across the floor, and the wedding portraits we'd had taken in anticipation of our ceremony had been ripped apart.

I stood among the broken glass for a long time before gathering the few things I could still bear to keep.

Then I opened the conversation with the contact I'd just added.

[Do you have a place ready for us to live?]

His reply came almost instantly: [Three houses. Pick whichever one you want.]

[Come get me now. We'll complete the Bonding Rite tomorrow.]