RUBY
"She attacked me!" Seraphina sobbed, pointing a shaking finger at me. Her torn dress gaped open, revealing smooth skin beneath. "Your bride attacked me!"
The horrified gasps from the wedding guests echoed through the hall like physical blows. I stood frozen, still clutching my bouquet, as all eyes turned to me with suspicion and judgment.
"I did not touch her," I said, my voice steady despite the panic rising in my chest. "She did this to herself."
Roman pushed through the crowd, his face a thundercloud. When he saw Seraphina's state, something dark and protective flashed in his eyes.
"What happened?" he demanded, looking between us.
Before I could speak, Seraphina launched into dramatic tears. "I just wanted to wish her well," she cried. "But she went crazy! Said I was trying to ruin her day. She tore my dress and pushed me!"
"That's a lie!" I stepped forward, desperate for Roman to believe me. "Roman, she came to the bridal suite and threatened me. Then she tore her own dress with scissors."
Roman's jaw tightened as he looked at me, doubt clouding his features.
"She's lying," Seraphina whimpered, clutching her arm to her chest. "She hurt my arm too."
My heart pounded as I watched Roman's expression. This was the moment - the test of his trust in me, his bride. All he needed to do was believe me.
He didn't.
Without a word, he turned away from me and went to Seraphina, gently taking her in his arms. "Let me see," he murmured, examining her arm with tender care.
The betrayal hit me like a physical blow. My legs trembled beneath my wedding gown as I watched my fiancé comfort another woman on our wedding day.
"Roman," I called, my voice breaking. "We have guests. The ceremony—"
"The ceremony can wait," he snapped, not even looking at me. He lifted Seraphina into his arms as if she weighed nothing. "She needs to see the doctor."
I watched in disbelief as he carried her out of the hall, my heart crumbling with each step he took away from me. The pack members parted to let them through, their whispers following like poison.
"Always had a temper, that rogue girl..."
"Poor Seraphina..."
"The Alpha deserves better..."
Even Roman's mother stood silently by, her eyes cold as she watched me. Not a single person came to stand beside me.
This wasn't just humiliation. This was abandonment. This was Roman showing every member of the pack exactly where his loyalties lay - and it wasn't with me.
I should have run then. Should have ripped off that beautiful dress and fled into the forest. But something inside me hardened. I needed to know just how deep this betrayal went.
I followed them, moving silently through the corridors toward the pack doctor's office. Roman's scent guided me, mixed with the cloying sweetness of Seraphina's perfume. Outside the door, I heard voices - Marcus and Annelise had joined them.
"She never belonged here anyway," Annelise was saying. "A rogue girl as Luna? The pack deserves better."
"Roman knows that," Marcus added. "His heart has always belonged to Seraphina."
I pressed myself against the wall, my hand over my mouth to keep from making a sound. Each word was another knife in my chest.
"The doctor will be here soon," Roman's deep voice rumbled from inside. "Does it hurt badly?"
"It's better now that you're here," Seraphina purred.
I peered through the crack in the door. Roman sat beside her on the exam table, his hand covering hers. The tenderness in the gesture made me sick.
"I'm sorry about all this," he said softly. "Today of all days."
Seraphina looked up at him through her lashes. "You don't have to go through with it, you know. The wedding."
My breath caught in my throat.
"It's not that simple," Roman sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "She's my fated mate."
"And what am I?" Seraphina asked, her voice small and wounded.
Roman was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his words shattered whatever was left of my heart.
"You know what you are to me, Sera. You've always known."
"Then why marry her?" she pressed. "Why put us all through this charade?"
Roman stood and paced across the small room. "It's my responsibility. My duty as Alpha. The bond... it can't be ignored."
Duty. Responsibility. Not love. Never love.
"There are ways around it," Seraphina suggested, her voice turning sly. "Many Alphas have arrangements. She could be your Luna in name, fulfill the bond's requirements. Meanwhile, you and I..."
She didn't finish the thought, but her meaning was clear enough.
"Think about it," she continued when Roman didn't immediately respond. "I could give you children - true Silverclaw heirs. She could live nearby. Everyone gets what they need."
The silence that followed was deafening. I waited, breath suspended, for Roman to defend me. To reject this insane proposal outright.
Instead, he sighed heavily. "Let's get you taken care of first. We can talk about... options later."
Options. As if I were a problem to be solved, not a woman he was about to marry.
Something inside me broke - and then reformed, harder and colder than before. Six months I'd spent trying to fit in, to be worthy of this pack, of this man. Six months of enduring sidelong glances and whispered insults, believing that Roman's love would make it all worthwhile.
What a fool I'd been.
I straightened my spine and smoothed down the front of my wedding dress. The beautiful gown that had made me feel like a princess now felt like a costume, a cruel joke.
No more. No more hoping that Roman would choose me, defend me, love me.
I'd spent my entire life being unwanted - orphaned, abandoned, scraping by with other rogues until fate had supposedly granted me this gift of belonging. But this wasn't a gift. It was a cage gilded with false promises.
Without giving myself time to reconsider, I pushed the exam room door open.
The shock on their faces would have been satisfying if I hadn't been drowning in my own pain. Roman jumped to his feet, guilt written across his handsome features. Seraphina's surprise quickly morphed into calculation.
"Ruby—" Roman started, taking a step toward me.
I held up my hand, stopping him in his tracks. "Don't bother," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "I heard everything."
"It's not what you think," he tried, but the lie fell flat between us.
I looked at him - really looked at him - this man I'd been prepared to spend my life with. The silver streak in his dark hair caught the light. Those golden-brown eyes that had once made my heart race now made it ache.
"It's exactly what I think," I replied. "I'm your duty. Your responsibility. The unwanted mate fate saddled you with."
"Ruby, please—"
"Did you ever love me at all?" I asked, the question burning in my throat. "Or was I just an obligation from the moment you found me?"
His silence was answer enough.
I turned to Seraphina, who didn't even have the decency to look ashamed. "You can have him," I said quietly. "You deserve each other."
Then I reached up and unclasped the Luna's ceremonial necklace - the silver pendant that had made me feel like I finally belonged somewhere. I placed it on the exam table between us.
"Consider the wedding canceled," I said, meeting Roman's gaze one last time. "You're free of your duty, Alpha Vance."
Without waiting for a response, I turned and walked out the door, my head high despite the tears threatening to fall. I would not break here, not in front of them.
The weight of my decision propelled me forward with each step. Six months of dreams crumbled behind me, but ahead lay something I hadn't felt in a long time.
Freedom.