Chapter 2

Talia's POV

The morning passed in a blur.

I was sent to the kitchen before sunrise, scrubbing pots while the pack prepared for the Alpha's arrival. The sun rose, the hours crawled, and I stayed invisible, just like always.

But few minutes to an hour after the ceremony began, I noticed something was wrong.

Because servants whispered in corners, guards exchanged looks, and the air felt heavy, like the moment before a storm.

Then the whispers reached me.

"The bonding stone did not react to Celeste."

"She is not his mate."

"The Alpha is furious, and he demanded to see every woman in the household."

I kept scrubbing, because it was not my concern, and none of this was my problem.

I thought about the last time I had been this afraid. It was two years ago, the night Celeste locked me in the root cellar with the rats. I had screamed for hours, but no one came. That was when I stopped screaming, and that was when I learned that crying never helped. So I scrubbed harder.

The pots were endless today due to bulk dishes that had been prepared for the ceremony. I scrubbed until my hands were raw and my arms ached. The water in the basin turned gray from the grime, and I dumped it out and filled it again. But honestly, this was the same cycle every day, and the same cycle every year.

I thought about Piper's warning. “Vivienne is planning something.” But what? And why did it involve me? I was nobody, I was invisible, and I had nothing anyone would want.

Unless they wanted to hurt me, which was always a possibility. But really, Vivienne had been hurting me for fifteen years. Why would today be any different?

A younger servant named Mira brushed past me, with her eyes wide. “They say the Alpha threw a chair,” she whispered. “Through a wall, Talia. Through a wall.” Then she was gone before I could ask more.

I held my breath as the world tilted. I knew nothing would ever be the same after this moment. I could feel it in my bones.

I scrubbed harder because thinking about it would not change anything, and surviving was the only thing that mattered.

Then suddenly, Marta grabbed my arm.

"You," she said. "Come with me."

She dragged me out of the kitchen, through a hallway I had never seen.

The walls were lined with portraits of wolves I did not recognize. Probably dead Alphas, and dead Lunas. Their painted eyes followed me as Marta pulled me along, and I felt like a prisoner being led to her execution.

My heart pounded, my palms were sweaty, and I did not know what was waiting for me in the main hall, nor did i know why the Alpha wanted to see every woman in the household. But I knew one thing. Whatever was happening, I was not prepared for it.

Marta pulled me into a small room with a rack of dresses, and she shoved a plain gray dress into my hands.

"Change now. Hurry. The Alpha wants to see you." She said in a rush.

I did not argue even though I had questions running through my head. Because arguing only made it worse.

I changed as fast as I could. The dress was too big, just like all my dresses, but it was cleaner than what I had been wearing. Marta grabbed my arm again and pulled me toward the main hall.

"The ceremony was interrupted," she muttered. "Celeste is not his mate. Now he wants to see everyone. I mean EVERY SINGLE WOMAN IN THIS PACK."

I did not ask questions. I just followed.

The main hall was packed with wolves.

The ceiling soared high above, lost in shadows. Chandeliers of crystal hung from the rafters, catching the light and throwing rainbows across the walls. I had never been in this room before, because servants were not allowed here. Only the family, and the important wolves.

But today, I was here, and every wolf in the room was staring at me.

The heat of their bodies pressed against me from every direction. Perfume and fear-sweat mixed into a smell that made my stomach turn. Someone coughed directly into my ear, and another wolf laughed with a sharp, mean sound.

I felt their eyes on my skin, on my ugly face, and on my too-big dress. I heard their whispers. "Who is she?" "Look at her." "She does not belong here."

They were right. I really did not belong here, but here I was.

I had never seen so many Wolves in one place. They filled every corner, with their bodies pressed together, and their voices buzzing like flies. Some looked afraid, others looked curious, and some looked like they wanted to run.

Marta pushed me through the crowd, and Wolves stared at me as I passed. But I kept my head down and my shoulders hunched.

Then I looked up, and I saw him.