Chapter 3

I walk out into the yard. The moon is high but the light feels cold.

"Briar."

Kellan comes after me. He still carries Meadow's scent on his skin — soft, sweet, clinging.

"You barely ate. Are you mad?"

"Yes."

He lets out a short laugh.

"Don't be like that. The Goddess pairs it — nobody could've predicted what happened."

"I told you — nothing changes between us. You're still—"

"Kellan." I cut him off.

He stops.

I look him in the eyes.

"I told you from the start. I didn't want to join the Mating Ceremony."

It's ancient. Sacred. The Goddess reveals your true mate through scent. For thousands of years, the pack has honored this. I respect it.

But I didn't want to join — I already had a mate.

Apparently I was the only one who thought that mattered.

He stiffens. "It already happened. What's the point of bringing this up now?"

"Exactly. Nothing I say matters. Because you never listen."

That look — the one I've seen for eight years — slides across his face. Annoyed, but holding it in.

He knows he's in the wrong. He just doesn't think being wrong means he has to bend.

"Briar, what's the point of dragging this out? It was the Goddess's will, not mine. If you're really that upset, I'll talk to Meadow. We'll smooth things over—"

"Smooth things over?" I stare at him. "You heard my dad at dinner. Meadow can't reject the bond. You want to put an Omega and her mother through that kind of pain? How are you going to smooth that over?"

He pinches his temple. "Briar, be reasonable—"

"Reasonable?" A laugh scrapes out of me.

"I try to reason with my dad — he says I'm talking back. I try with my mom — she tells me not to make a fuss. I try with my brothers — they calls me petty. I thought it'd be different with you, Kellan. But you're telling me to be reasonable too?"

His mouth opens.

"I'm not—"

"You're not listening. You just assume I'll give in. Every time."

The way Dad assumes I'll shut up.

The way Mom assumes I'll swallow it.

The way Ronan assumes I'll let it go.

"Briar…"

His voice goes soft. He reaches for me.

I step back. Turn into the dark.

His footsteps follow — two steps, then stop.

Someone calls his name. Meadow's voice, probably. Soft and worried. Or someone inside, wanting to talk about the ceremony.

He doesn't come after me.

Three years ago, when he asked me to be his chosen mate, his eyes were full of light. Warm and sure and mine.

I can't even tell where that light went now.

When I circle back to the yard, they're gathered around the bonfire.

Meadow pokes at the flames with a long stick, her face lit by the glow.

"Kellan, do you think Briar minds us being out here…?"

Ronan waves it off. "Forget about her. The more you tiptoe, the worse it gets. Just ignore her."

Flynn grins. "Kellan's wolf answered your scent. If that's not the Goddess's will, what is?"

Meadow's cheeks burn. "Don't say that — she'll hear…"

Kellan smiles but doesn't correct a word.

"I'm going to make sure it's done right. You deserve that."

A Moon Blessing. A feast. A pack howl. Everything a she-wolf dreams of.

Everything that was supposed to be mine.

Meadow ducks her head. "But my mating cloak… there's no time to have one made."

Ronan laughs.

"Kellan already handled it. Briar's cloak has been resized to fit you."

Meadow looks up. "Really? But what about Briar?"

"She won't need it." Kellan's voice is easy. He tucks a strand of hair behind Meadow's ear.

Firelight spills across his shoulders.

I go still behind the old oak.

That cloak. I had it commissioned from the old she-wolf who crafts the finest pelts. Kellan offered to take my measurements himself.

It came back a little too tight. I thought it was an honest mistake.

Now I know whose body he was measuring for.

Meadow's voice drops. "But nobody in this pack has been rejected by the Goddess in thirty years. She must be hurting so much…"

Kellan looks at her — soft and sure, like she's already his.

"She worries about everyone when she almost got claimed by a stranger." He tucks the hair tighter behind her ear.

"Briar does what her family tells her. She's got no Moon-given mate now, nowhere else to go. She'll stay."

"Did she fight me earlier? She didn't. She's more scared of losing me than anything."

Meadow mumbles. "I just feel bad for her…"

"Don't." He watches the fire. "She's only giving up a title. She'll still be by my side. That's more than most Omegas get."

The night wind carries his voice and his laughter to where I stand.

A chill crawls down my spine. Slow. One vertebra at a time.

I shut everything down.

And I walk straight in.