I couldn’t move.

I stood frozen outside the doorway, staring numbly at the thin strip of golden light spilling through the crack between the doors.

Every heartbeat felt wrong.

Painfully wrong.

As if my chest no longer knew how to function after what I had just heard.

If I had possessed even a shred of sense, I would have run.

I would have fled the castle.

The pack.

The entire damned territory.

But I couldn’t.

Because some pathetic part of me still refused to believe Enzo meant those words.

“I’d pay good money to watch that bitch die slowly,” Dante laughed cruelly inside the room.

Then Enzo spoke.

Cold.

Calm.

Deadly.

“If it’s Gianna, I want something more memorable.” A soft chuckle followed. “I’ll reject her publicly. Right there in the ballroom.”

Something inside me shattered completely.

Not heartbreak.

Not sadness.

Rage.

Pure, blistering rage.

My hands curled into fists so tightly my nails bit into my palms as heat suddenly rushed through my body.

No.

Not heat.

The bond.

Panic struck instantly.

I turned and ran down the corridor.

The massive windows beside me revealed the Blood Moon hanging high above the castle now, glowing deep crimson against the night sky.

The ceremony had begun.

A violent tremor ripped through my body.

Then I smelled it.

Sandalwood.

The scent hit me so hard my knees nearly buckled.

Enzo.

My mate.

My stomach twisted violently as warmth spread low through my body, curling between my thighs in cruel waves. My pulse became erratic. Every nerve beneath my skin felt suddenly alive.

“No…” I gasped.

The mate bond was awakening.

Not now.

Please, Goddess, not now.

I forced myself forward, but my body betrayed me with every step. The pull toward him was unbearable. Magnetic. Ancient.

The bond wanted me to go to him.

To submit.

To belong.

A broken sound escaped my throat as I collapsed onto my knees against the marble floor.

“Damn this bond,” I whispered shakily.

The scent of sandalwood wrapped tighter around me until I could barely breathe through it. Every instinct screamed for me to turn around and run into Enzo’s arms.

Even after everything.

Even after hearing him plan my destruction.

I clawed weakly at the floor, trying to drag myself away.

Then his voice echoed through the corridor.

“Mate.”

My body froze instantly.

Slow footsteps approached behind me.

“You can’t outrun destiny, Gianna.”

Hatred surged through me as he crouched beside me.

Strong hands gently lifted me to my feet.

The tenderness almost made me sick.

Enzo brushed his fingers across my cheek, gray eyes studying me with cruel amusement.

“Why are you running from your mate?” he asked softly.

I glared at him through burning tears.

“You want me dead.”

A dark chuckle left him.

“I don’t want you dead.” He pressed me against the wall, caging me in with his body. “Mates can’t kill each other. The Fates made sure of that.”

His lips brushed close to my ear.

“But I do need to get rid of you.”

Ice flooded my veins.

I shoved at his chest, but he barely moved.

“How can you say that?” My voice cracked. “I trusted you. I loved you—”

“It’s unfortunate,” he interrupted smoothly, his gaze drifting slowly over my body. “Especially when you look this good tonight.”

Disgust churned violently in my stomach.

His eyes lingered on my chest before darkening.

“That dress makes me want to bend you over right here.”

I wanted to slap him.

Instead, heat betrayed me beneath my skin because of the cursed bond connecting us.

“You disgust me,” I spat.

His grin widened.

“Oh, I absolutely would’ve fucked you tonight,” he murmured against my ear, sliding one hand slowly along my waist before cupping my breast through the thin fabric.

Rage exploded inside me.

“Take your hands off me!”

“Make me.”

He knew I couldn’t.

The bond weakened me around him. Twisted my instincts against me.

After a long moment, he sighed dramatically and stepped back.

“But unfortunately,” he mused, “if I mark you, everything becomes complicated.”

“For the love of Selenea,” Dante groaned as he entered the corridor. “How long are you planning to play with her?”

My entire body tensed at the sight of him.

Then my eyes landed on the small vial in his hand.

Fear hit instantly.

“What is that?” I whispered.

Enzo’s expression remained calm.

“Insurance.”

Dante smirked.

“It’ll weaken you enough for Guido to declare you unfit.”

Terror clawed up my throat.

“No.”

I tried backing away, but Enzo caught me easily, pinning my arms behind my back.

Panic exploded inside me.

“Stop struggling,” he growled into my ear.

Dante grabbed my jaw viciously and forced the vial against my lips.

The liquid burned instantly.

I choked violently, trying to spit it out, but Dante clamped his hand over my mouth while Enzo held me still.

Hot tears blurred my vision.

They were doing this together.

The man I loved was helping poison me.

“Swallow,” Enzo ordered coldly.

Something inside me broke completely.

Defeated, trembling, I swallowed.

The moment they released me, agony erupted through my body.

Fire tore through my veins.

A scream ripped from my throat as I collapsed onto the marble floor.

“What did you do to me?” I cried.

“Wolfsbane,” Enzo answered emotionlessly.

Pain twisted through my stomach so violently I thought I might die right there.

“Healer Guido needs to see weakness,” Enzo continued casually. “I can’t risk him saying otherwise.”

Even through the unbearable pain, fury burned stronger.

“You bastard,” I hissed.

Enzo only laughed.

Dante crouched beside me, fake sympathy filling his expression.

“The burning fades eventually,” he said softly.

His smile widened.

“The rejection pain won’t.”

---

Twenty minutes later, I stood inside the ballroom barely conscious.

The wolfsbane had weakened me so badly I couldn’t even stand properly without Dante holding me upright from behind.

Music still played softly through the massive hall.

People laughed.

Drank.

Smiled.

As though my life wasn’t about to end before their eyes.

At least the poison had dulled one thing.

The mate bond.

The desperate pull toward Enzo had weakened, replaced instead by something darker.

Hatred.

Pure hatred.

My vision blurred again.

And suddenly, against my will, another face surfaced in my mind.

Dark hair.

Crimson eyes.

The terrifying Alpha from the lake.

Power rolled off him like darkness itself.

Would a monster like that treat his mate this way?

The thought startled me.

Why was I even thinking about him right now?

I forced myself back to reality.

Enzo stood proudly near the center podium, speaking before the gathered crowd like the perfect future Alpha.

Liar.

Manipulator.

Coward.

He spoke about sacrifice.

About duty.

About protecting the strength of the pack.

Then he spoke about me.

Claiming our bond would weaken him.

Claiming rejecting me was necessary.

Every word made the crowd nod in agreement.

No one cared about the truth.

Weak wolves didn’t deserve justice here.

I searched desperately for Livia among the faces surrounding the ballroom.

Nothing.

She wasn’t there.

And suddenly I felt completely alone.

“Guido,” Alpha Fabio commanded from his throne.

The healer stepped forward reluctantly.

Dante shoved me onto the platform beside Enzo so roughly my knees nearly gave out.

Alpha Fabio barely looked at me.

“Tell us if this girl is too weak to stand beside my son.”

Guido frowned immediately as he approached me.

“Why is she pale?” he asked slowly.

Enzo answered smoothly before I could try speaking.

“I gave her alcohol earlier. Apparently shrouded wolves can’t handle it.”

Laughter erupted through the ballroom.

Humiliation burned hotter than the poison.

Guido touched my forehead gently, concern flashing across his features.

“There’s something wrong with her,” he muttered.

Alpha Fabio slammed a hand against his throne impatiently.

“Answer the question.”

Guido hesitated.

“She’s weak right now, but”

“You heard him,” Enzo interrupted sharply. “She’ll weaken me.”

The crowd immediately erupted.

“Reject her!”

“She can’t be Luna!”

“She’s too weak!”

Tears blurred my vision as Dante released me completely.

I collapsed at Enzo’s feet.

And there it was.

The golden bond between us.

Faint.

Fragile.

Beautiful.

I watched it shimmer between our souls one final time.

Then Enzo looked down at me coldly.

“Gianna Greco,” he announced loudly enough for the entire ballroom to hear, “I, Enzo Caruso…”

My heart stopped beating.

“…reject you as my mate.”

The golden thread snapped.

And agony consumed me.