Elena.

"Dom, this is insane." Marcus Chen, Dominic's Beta and best friend since Alpha training yelled back at him in disagreement, "It's your third anniversary. Elena's probably at home waiting for you with dinner and I’m sure she is putting on something sexy tonight to celebrate you both anniversary.”

Three years. One thousand and ninety-five days of marriage to Alpha Dominic Ashford, and I'm standing outside a private lounge at the Crimson Hotel in New York, listening to my husband explain to his Beta why he refuses to complete our mating bond.

I'd taken a red-eye flight as a surprise. Six hours from Seattle to New York because my husband's "business trip" would keep him away for our anniversary again for the third year in a row.

The silver wrap dress I'm wearing was supposed to remind him of our mating ceremony. The champagne in my hands, Dom Pérignon, his favorite was supposed to make him smile.

Instead, I'm standing in a hotel hallway, eavesdropping on my own marriage.

"You think I don't know what day it is?" Dominic's response made it a bit difficult for me to breathe,"You think I want to keep doing this to her?"

My fingers tighten around the champagne bottle's neck.

"Then stop," Marcus says out of frustration. "Elena's perfect for you. She's beautiful, she's from a good pack, she's an Omega who actually has a spine. Your parents love her. The pack loves her. What more do you want?"

"I want her to believe me."

"Believe what?"

"That I've never touched Vivian. That I never will. That even though I…" Dominic's voice drops so low I have to strain to hear. "Even though I've wanted her since before Sebastian claimed her, I've never acted on it. Not once."

The champagne bottle almost slips from my hands.

Vivian.

Vivian Ashford, Beta female.

My sister-in-law. My husband's older brother's mate.

"Jesus Christ, Dom." Marcus sounds tired. "You can't keep doing this. You can't stay in love with your brother's mate while married to someone else."

"I'm not staying in love with her. I'm proving my loyalty by staying away. That's why I can't complete the bond with Elena. If I mark her Vivian will sense it through the pack bonds. She'll know I've given up on... on what we could have been."

My wolf whimpered a sound of pain inside me as I heard the rubbish that just came out of his mouth.

"And Elena?" Marcus asks. "What about her wolf? Three years without a complete bond, that's torture for an Omega, Dominic."

"She understands and she is patient so why are you bothered?"

"Does she know why you're being patient?"

"No. And she can't ever know. Elena and her brother stopped speaking after our mating ceremony. Damien doesn't know about the... arrangement. As long as it stays that way, everything will be fine."

Arrangement?

That's what our marriage is to him.

An arrangement.

I think back to our mating ceremony three years ago. The Ashford pack estate is decorated in silver and white. Dominic in his Alpha formal wear, looking like every Omega's dream mate. The way he'd placed his mark on my shoulder, the ceremonial bite that announced our union to the pack.

But not the true mark. Not the one that would complete our bond and tie our souls together.

I'd thought he was being respectful. Giving me time to adjust to being Luna of the Ashford pack.

The truth is so much worse.

He was saving himself for her.

I turn away from the door, my heels silent on the plush carpet. The champagne bottle goes into a trash bin near the elevator. I can't stand to hold it anymore.

My phone buzzes as I'm walking through the lobby.

Dominic: Where are you? Marcus said he saw you on a flight tracker app.

My fingers hover over the keyboard. I could tell him the truth, I could march back upstairs and confront him.

But what would that accomplish?

I type back: False alarm on the tracker. I'm home in Seattle. Safe and sound.

Another buzz: I miss you.

Does he think I’m a fool?

I block his location access and catch a cab to JFK.

I'm curled up in first class, shaking despite the blanket the flight attendant brought me. My wolf is retreating deep inside, wounded and confused.

By the time I land in Seattle, my temperature is 103.

I didn’t bother to call anyone. Not the pack doctor, not my assistant at the clinic, certainly not Dominic.

I drive myself to the penthouse, the only property I own that's solely in my name, bought with my inheritance before the marriage and lock myself inside.

For three days, I burned.

My wolf howls inside my mind, calling for a mate who will never answer.

On the third day, the fever breaks.

I woke up to fifty-seven missed calls and a text from Luna Catherine Ashford, Dominic's mother.

Sebastian is dead. Helicopter accident in Alaska. The funeral is Tuesday. We need you at the estate.

I stare at the message for a long time.