Chapter 2

Ava gathered up the skirt and hurried after me, her white veil brushing the hem of Ethan’s suit jacket.

At her throat, the moonstone necklace flashed a strange blue in the sun—the accessory I’d designed to match my wedding ring, a piece that had taken me three months.

“Ms. Lena,” she sobbed, purposely showing the IV catheter on her hand with a smear of blood beneath it, “a fated mate’s scent and company can ease chemo pain. I desperately need Alpha Ethan… I’m begging you…”

A cloying violet note mingled with the smell of blood. Beneath it, I caught a smell of obsidian—Blackhawk Pack’s scent-mark.

A warning pricked through me: does Ava have ties to the Blackhawk?

I was born with a keener sense of smell than most—Mother called it the Moon Goddess’s gift.

I looked at Alpha Ethan. His pupils flared—an involuntary reaction when an Alpha was attracted by his fated mate.

He stepped in front of Ava, shielding her—a protective gesture that cut like a joke.

“Lena, stop being willful. I know this is hard to accept. Ava has only one month left. After that month, I’ll give you the grandest wedding…” Ethan tried to explain, a thin thread of panic in his voice.

In the three years I stood beside him, he had never once given me that kind of protective stance.

The steel I’d built over days in the hospital began to crack, but my wolf, Payne, howled in my head to hold the line.

“Mr. Ethan,” I cut him off, pulling the photocopied design sheets from my purse and tapping the paper with a crisp click.

“The waist uses a memory-alloy spring—automatically adjusts to the wearer’s shape. Though Miss Ava’s frame is so slight she probably won’t need it.”

I paused, letting my gaze rest on the diamond coronet atop Ava’s head. “Those are real diamonds. For a chemo patient, my advice was taking it off—there’s radiation risk, after all. For Miss Ava’s safety, you should be careful.”

I handed Ethan the design sheets. “According to the contract, the design fee includes a triple rush charge. Please settle the full amount this week. And a friendly reminder: late payment accrues interest.”

The wedding dress store was my father’s business. If the owner of that wedding gown wasn’t me, then we’d do this at market price.

Ava leaned to Ethan suddenly. “Alpha Ethan, was Ms. Lena upset?”

A single perfect tear slid down at just the right moment. “It’s all my fault. I knew she designed this gown for herself…”

I couldn’t stand that cloying voice once more.

As I turned away, paper tore—Ethan ripped the design sheets in half. “Go home and reflect. I spelled it out for you.” His voice had an edge like a knife.

I laughed, cold. “We’re finished.”

I strode for the door—toward the hospital.