"The Hunger family will be here in two hours," my mother says, her voice sharp and unwavering. Her eyes pin me in place, as if daring me to object.
"You should go get ready."
She sets her fork down with deliberate precision and gestures toward the door.
I nod, swallowing my disappointment along with the last taste of breakfast I won't be allowed to finish. Protesting would only make things worse. So I rise from my chair and do exactly as she commands.
Lady Whisten is already waiting in my room when I arrive, her hands folded neatly in front of her. The dress hangs in my closet like a silent sentence already passed.
I draw in a deep breath and force a smile.
"You're agitated," she says gently as she begins brushing my hair.
"Very," I admit.
How could I not be? Today would change my life forever, and I had no idea how to prepare myself for that kind of fate.
But my mother's voice echoes in my mind, as it always does. *Sometimes, you have to do hard things for the good of the family.*
Marrying an Alpha from one of the wealthiest families in the country would restore our name polish away the scandal, mend the cracks in our reputation.
So here I was.
"I'll make sure you're one of the prettiest girls in the room," Lady Whisten promises.
I manage a real smile this time. "You always do. You have golden hands."
She hums approvingly. "Your mother chose high heels, but I replaced them with shorter ones. The dress is long enough—she won't notice."
"Thank you."
Sometimes it felt like Lady Whisten knew me better than my own mother. Or at least cared enough to notice what made me uncomfortable.
My mother cared only for status, wealth, and reputation. When our family name was dragged through scandal, she suffered the most ..or so she claimed. She did everything she could to fix it. Even marrying a man twenty years her senior for his fortune and fame.
It hadn't helped.
Now it was my turn to be offered up.
An hour later, I barely recognize the girl staring back at me from the mirror. She looks polished, poised… untouchable. Like someone else entirely.
My mother enters the room and freezes. She presses a hand to her chest, breath catching.
"Wow," she whispers. "Kale will fall in love the moment he sees you."
"M-Mom… are you sure?" I turn slightly, studying the way the dress hugs me perfectly.
But would this new life fit me as well?
"Of course I'm sure. He's rich, well-known, a gentleman—and an Alpha. After this marriage, no one will remember your father's mistakes."
"I don't even know him."
"So?" She wrinkles her nose. "You'll learn."
I murmur something under my breath, already knowing it doesn't matter. She always gets the last word.
Whether I liked it or not, I would marry Kale Hunger. His family was too powerful to refuse.
The guards open the doors.
He enters.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Confident. His dark hair falls softly against his forehead, and when his eyes find mine, something brightens within them. He smiles—shy, yet certain—and walks straight toward me.
My heart stumbles.
Emotion floods my chest before I can brace myself. He takes my hand, spins me once, then pulls me closer as if we have done this a thousand times before.
"I can feel it," he murmurs near my ear, his breath sending shivers down my spine.
"You're my mate."
His eyes shine with awe and joy. No one has ever looked at me like that.
I smile back, swept into the moment—until instinct makes me glance down at my bracelet.
It doesn't glow.
Across the room, my mother notices too. Her brow furrows.
If he were truly my mate… wouldn't I feel it too?
The bond is there—strong, undeniable—but not complete. Not enough to ground me, not enough to anchor my soul.
"I knew it the moment I saw your photographs," he says, voice thick with emotion. "It's always been you."
His pupils are fully dilated, his wolf unmistakably present.
"I'm glad," I whisper, because I don't know what else to say.
As we walk toward the dining room, my eyes keep drifting back to the bracelet. I had imagined this moment differently—fire in my veins, my wolf howling in recognition.
He is handsome. Powerful. An Alpha.
And yet… my wolf is silent.
The butterflies, the soul-deep certainty—they never come.
Neither my wolf nor the bracelet recognizes him as mine.
*Am I meant to spend my life with someone who isn't truly my mate?*
The waiter serves lunch. Kale—Michael—places his hand over mine.
"I'm very lucky," he says softly. "You're beautiful."
Heat rushes to my face. I cover my mouth instinctively, and he laughs gently, pulling my hand away.
"You don't like compliments?"
"I'm… not used to them."
"I'll change that," he says, smiling warmly.
Then he looks at me with absolute confidence.
"So," he asks, voice light with certainty,
"Do you feel the same way about me?"
Every gaze in the room turns to me.
My heart pounds. My instincts scream.
And I realize, with sudden clarity, that I don't have the answer they're waiting for.
*Is he truly my mate?*