Layla’s POV

"Unless Ethan's dick is as good as the Alpha King's, I don't think any of this is worth it!" Amy shouted through my earpiece.

"Amy!" I almost dropped the candle in my hand. I was decorating the room for my proposal. I planned to ask my boyfriend to marry me tonight.

Tonight was my last chance. After tonight, I would become prey to every werewolf. Pack law was clear. An exiled female wolf had four years to bond with a male wolf. If she failed, every wolf would have the right to hunt her.

Ethan told me this morning he would come over later.

Before he arrived, I wanted to turn this room into a romantic place for our proposal. I wanted more than just his mark tonight.

Amy had never liked Ethan. I thought she just didn't know him well enough. Tonight, Ethan and I would officially become mates. Then Amy would finally see she had been wrong about him.

And of course, I wouldn't talk about another man's dick while I was setting up my proposal.

"I don't care about King Damian's dick!" I quickly cut her off. My cheeks burned, even though she couldn't see me. "Not one bit!"

"Of course," Amy said slowly. "You don't care at all."

“I mean it. Half the unmated she-wolves on this continent drool over him. He’s probably used to women falling at his feet.” I adjusted two misaligned candles. “A man with that much power is bound to be an arrogant chauvinist.”

King Damian ruled all wolf and Lycan territories across North America. His face flooded news reports, official proclamations, and an absurd number of magazine covers. Powerful, cold, unfairly handsome.

Exactly the kind of man I went out of my way to avoid.

“Ethan is nothing like him,” I added. “Ethan is gentle and thoughtful. He respects women.”

“Right.” I could practically picture Amy rolling her eyes. “Of course he respects women.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you’re hopelessly gone for him.”

“I’m not hopeless. I’m just in love.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

I ignored her eye roll and stepped back to examine the room. Dozens of candles formed a glowing heart around the bed, red rose petals blanketed the white sheets, and a bottle of champagne with two flutes waited on the nightstand.

The silver ring box in my pocket suddenly weighed a ton.

“What if he doesn’t like this?” I asked. “Did I lay down too many petals?”

“You’re about to propose to your fated mate in a candlelit bedroom wearing a wedding dress. Trust me, rose petals are the least dramatic part of this night.”

“I haven’t put the dress on yet.”

“Oh, thank goodness. That makes everything totally reasonable then.”

“Amy.”

“Alright, alright.” Her teasing softened. “It’s gorgeous, baby. If Ethan turns you down, he’s an idiot.”

My heart hammered hard against my ribs.

“He won’t.”

“He better not! If he dares reject you, I swear I’ll get Father to hunt him down like a criminal, rip his heart out, and feed it to the pack hounds.”

“Your dad is an elder on the pack council, Amy. He can’t murder someone just because he turned down his best friend.”

“He can arrest Ethan first. Then we can make the murder look official.”

A laugh burst out before I could hold it back.

“You’re insane.”

“And you love me for it. Go put on that dress and claim your man.”

“I will.”

I ended the call and quickly slipped into the wedding gown, staring at the candlelit room.

Amy’s threats were ridiculous. Nothing short of the universe exploding would make Ethan betray me.

Ethan was my fated mate.

He had recognized me as his mate at the pack border four years ago. He’d moved me straight into an apartment under his name and arranged for my grandmother to stay in a care facility.

Our bond had hardened like a city wall over those four years. When he needed a kidney after his injury, I’d given him mine without hesitation. I showed up for work the very next day with no rest. We needed money, and I had to push harder to repay him.

He studied for the Royal Warrior trials, and I was paying Grandma’s care fees along with his training and Alpha management courses. He’d promised that once he passed and became an Alpha candidate, we’d marry.

I had never dared to dream too far ahead these past years. My days revolved around paying bills, holding onto my job, and surviving until the day Ethan marked me.

But now I finally dare to imagine our future.

Maybe I could work fewer hours, sleep in sometimes, and stop panicking about being late while sick with fever. Once Ethan became an alpha, I could bring Grandma home to a bright, spacious apartment, so she would no longer live alone in the care home.

And tonight, all of it would stop being a fantasy the second Ethan sank his mark into me.

A violent pounding shook the whole apartment.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I jumped, nearly kicking over a candle.

I glanced at the clock at once. Ethan was not due off work for another half hour.

Maybe he’d come home early.

Nerves melted into excitement. I checked my hair on my phone camera, wiped my sweaty palms on the skirt, and hurried for the door.

I pulled it open with a smile.

A strange man in apartment management uniform stood outside. A folder tucked under his arm, his face hard as stone.

“Layla Reed?”

My smile faded. “That’s me.”

“I’m the building manager.” He handed me a document. “You need to vacate this apartment tonight.”

I stared at the paper. “What? Why? I paid the rent three days ago.”

“The lease is registered under Ethan Cole’s name. He notified us he is engaged and no longer requires the unit. You no longer hold the right to stay here.”

My fingers tightened around the sheet.

“Engaged?”

The word barely scraped out of my throat.

“You must have the wrong Ethan.”

“I don’t. Ella, the alpha’s daughter, posted the engagement announcement on Instagram. The ceremony is tonight at Silverblade Manor.”

Ella.

The daughter of the Silverblade Pack Alpha, and King Damian’s niece.

She had everything I did not: pure powerful blood, a respected family, and a place in the pack no one could take away.

“That’s impossible,” I forced a shaky laugh. “Ethan is my mate. He wouldn’t get engaged to someone else without telling me.”

I tried to shut the door, but the man blocked it with his hand. A wolfish glint flickered in his eyes.

“You have five minutes to gather your things.”

My heart slammed wildly against my chest. I stumbled backward.

There had to be another explanation. Maybe the alpha forced Ethan into a political union. Maybe this was some undercover mission.

He would never let me become prey for other wolves.

I ripped open the closet and stuffed everything I owned into the beat-up suitcase I’d brought with me four years ago. I didn’t even change out of the gown before I hailed a taxi.

Twenty minutes later, I arrived at Silverblade Manor in a secondhand wedding dress, dragging a suitcase with one broken wheel.

The manor gates stood wide open. White flowers lined the drive, and high-ranking wolves from every territory across the continent gathered on the grounds.

Then I saw Ethan.

He wore a crisp white suit, his blond hair neatly styled. Ella stood beside him in a pale pink gown, one hand resting on his arm.

He looked at her the exact same way he used to look at me.

Pain drilled into my ribs. The muscles around my surgical scar seized, and I nearly doubled over.

A piece of my body still lived inside that bastard.

Rage burned through my chest and raced up my spine. I grabbed a champagne flute from a passing server’s tray and marched straight toward them.

Ethan spotted me, and his smile vanished instantly.

“Layla?”

I threw the full glass of champagne straight into his face.

Ella shrieked, and every conversation in the room cut dead.

“Fuck!” Ethan swiped at his eyes. “Are you insane?”

I let go of the glass. It crashed between us and shattered.

“What is this?”

His gaze swept over my wedding dress, no flicker of guilt on his face.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m getting engaged.”

“You promised you’d mark me tonight.”

“Things changed.” He straightened his suit jacket, his tone cold as if discussing a stranger. “You’re only an omega. Bonding with Ella will make me an alpha. You can’t be selfish and ruin my future.”

Worse.

I’d given him a kidney so he could live.

“Every paycheck I earned went to your warrior training and your alpha management classes.” My chest heaved. “I wouldn’t even splurge on a Netflix subscription! And I gave you a kidney!”

“There you go again.” Ethan frowned in irritation. “Training, classes, the kidney. That’s all you ever harp on to pressure me.”

The words hit harder than a fist.

“Yes, because we were supposed to talk about our future in a rose-covered bedroom!”

“Oh my god, you actually did that stupid thing.” He wrinkled his nose, eyeing my dress with disgust. “Thank god I told the manager to end the lease early.”

“You know what evicting me means, don’t you?” My voice trembled. “I’ll die if I don’t get a mark before midnight.”

“Please, don’t be so dramatic,” Ella cut in, slipping her arm through Ethan’s. “We can find some stray wolf for you. You only need a mark, after all. Does it matter who gives it?”

I ignored her and kept my eyes locked on Ethan.

This still felt like a nightmare. Any second I would wake up and find him waiting for me in that rose-strewn bedroom.

“What were those four years to you?”

“You were useful.” Ethan blinked, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “I wouldn’t have kept you around if you weren’t. You earned money, cooked, jumped whenever I called, like a servant. All I had to do was give you a little attention and you’d be so grateful you’d practically tear your heart out for me.”

A few quiet snickers rippled through the crowd.

Ethan watched my ashen face and smiled wider.

“Look at you now. Finally get it? It’s satisfying.”

Ella let out a shrill laugh, her gaze dragging from my gown to my broken suitcase.

“A packless omega in a cheap wedding dress. Did you honestly think you were good enough for a future alpha?”

My eyes stung. I stared hard at them, refusing to let tears fall.

“Finished?”

Ethan stepped closer and lowered his voice.

“Not yet. King Damian is at this banquet tonight. If you want your grandma safe and your head still attached to your neck, you’ll paste on a perfect smile and wish Ella and me happiness.”

He demonstrated right then, pulling his lips into a fake, flawless grin.

Something inside me shattered completely.

I struck him hard across the face.

His head snapped sideways. The sharp crack echoed across the manor, and silence crashed over the crowd.

Several guests clapped hands over their mouths in shock, and others lifted their phones, aiming at Ethan’s bright red cheek.

“Congratulations,” I said. “A fly finally found its pile of shit. The whole universe should celebrate you two.”

Ella gaped, speechless; Ethan glared at me, the muscles in his face twitching with rage.

I gave them a sweet smile, then shoved my palms against the towering engagement cake beside them.

“No!” Ella screamed.

It was already too late.

The cake tower crashed down. Cream and white frosting poured over them in a sticky flood.

Ethan’s carefully styled hair flattened under the mess, a strawberry slid down his flushed cheek and caught on his collar; Ella’s scream died mid-shout, thick cream gluing her false lashes shut and turning her pink gown into a sticky disaster.

The banquet hall fell silent for a heartbeat, then someone choked on a laugh.

Suppressed chuckles broke out all around. Guests turned away pretending to cough, others filmed frantically on their phones, and a server bowed his head, unable to hold back his upward-curving mouth.

“Enjoy your dessert, you bastards!”

Ethan wiped cream from his eyes and lunged for me, furious.

“Layla!”

I lifted my dress skirt and bolted through the crowd. I ran out of the banquet hall, down the manor steps, and sprinted straight for the gates before he could grab me.

Cold air burned my lungs once I stepped outside. My knees shook, and the scar tissue pulled tight with every step.

My phone rang.

Amy.

I answered.

“How did it go?” she asked excitedly. “Did you finally get to see Ethan’s dick tonight?”

I let out a bitter laugh.

“I saw it. Shiny and bright. Looks like he’s trading it for an alpha title.”

Silence stretched across the line.

Then Amy exploded.

“That bastard!”

Amy drew a sharp breath. “Layla, listen to me. You need a contract.”

“With who?”

“The Continental Alliance Banquet is happening tonight. Alphas, heirs, and royal wolves from all seven territories are in the city right now.”

“I’m wearing a cheap wedding dress and dragging a broken suitcase.”

“Perfect. Saves time.”

“Amy.”

“You don’t need another love story. You need a wolf powerful enough to sign that contract before midnight.”

I glanced back toward Silverblade Manor.

“Who would dare go up against Ella’s family?”

Amy paused.

“Someone ranked higher than them.”

I gripped the phone more tightly.

“King Damian?”