Rowan's POV
The flower crown slipped from my fingers and shattered on the floor.
I stared at the broken pieces white petals scattered like snow across the wooden boards. My hands were shaking. Why were my hands shaking?
"Rowan?" My best friend Kira appeared in the doorway. "Are you okay? The ceremony starts in an hour."
"I'm fine." I forced a smile and bent to pick up the flowers. "Just nervous."
"Of course you're nervous. You're about to bind yourself to Alpha Marcus for life." Kira knelt beside me, helping gather the petals. "That's huge. That's forever."
Forever. The word should have made me happy. Instead, something cold twisted in my stomach.
I pushed the feeling away. This was just wedding jitters. Normal. Everyone got nervous before their Binding Ritual.
"He loves me," I said out loud. Like saying it would make the cold feeling go away. "Marcus loves me. He chose me out of everyone in the pack."
"I know." Kira's voice was gentle. "I just... are you sure about this? Really sure? Because once the ritual is complete"
"I'm sure." I stood up, holding what was left of the flower crown. "Marcus is perfect. He's strong, he's the Alpha, and he wants me. Me, Kira. The girl who has nothing special about her."
"You have plenty special"
"I'm nobody." The words came out sharper than I meant. "My parents died when I was young. I don't have a powerful bloodline. I'm not even that strong of a wolf. But Marcus chose me anyway. That means something."
Kira looked like she wanted to argue. But she just hugged me instead.
"If you're happy, I'm happy," she said. "Just... promise me you'll be careful."
"Careful of what?"
She pulled back, her eyes serious. "Marcus is powerful, Rowan. Really powerful. And sometimes powerful wolves... they expect things. Control things. If he ever hurts you"
"He won't." I laughed, but it sounded fake even to me. "Kira, he's been nothing but perfect for six months. He brings me gifts. He calls me beautiful. He says I'm his destiny."
"Okay." Kira didn't look convinced. "Okay. I'm sorry. I'm just being overprotective."
"You're being a good friend." I squeezed her hand. "But I promise, everything's fine. Tonight's going to be perfect. The Festival of the Sun, our Binding Ritual, the whole pack celebrating with us. It's everything I ever dreamed of."
Outside my window, I could hear the festival beginning. Music played. People laughed. Children ran past, chasing each other with sparklers that left trails of golden light.
The Festival of the Sun. The pack's biggest celebration of the year. And Marcus had chosen tonight for our Binding Ritual. In front of everyone. Making our love public and official.
It was romantic. It was perfect.
So why did my hands keep shaking?
"Come on." Kira grabbed my arm. "Let's finish getting you ready. And then let's go make you a married wolf."
We fixed the flower crown white blossoms that symbolized new beginnings. I looked at myself in the mirror. Auburn hair falling in waves. Green eyes bright with nervous excitement. A white dress that Kira had helped me make.
I looked like a bride. Like someone about to start their happily ever after.
"You're beautiful," Kira whispered. "Marcus is lucky to have you."
"I'm lucky to have him," I corrected.
We walked outside together. The festival was in full swing now. Huge bonfires blazed in the town square. Pack members danced and ate and celebrated under strings of golden lights.
And in the center of it all, standing on the ceremonial platform, was Marcus.
My breath caught. He was so handsome. Tall and broad-shouldered with golden hair that caught the firelight. His eyes found mine across the crowd and he smiled.
That smile. The one that made me feel like I was the only person in the world.
"There she is." His voice carried over the music. "My beautiful mate."
The crowd parted for me. Everyone was staring. Smiling. Excited to witness the Binding Ritual.
I walked toward Marcus, my heart pounding. This was it. This was really happening.
He took my hand when I reached the platform. His grip was strong. Maybe too strong. But that was just because he was excited, right?
"You look perfect," he whispered in my ear. Then louder, to the crowd: "Let's begin!"
The pack erupted in cheers.
Elder Sage stepped forward the oldest member of our pack, the one who performed all the important rituals. She raised her hands and the crowd fell silent.
"We gather on this sacred night," Elder Sage began, "to witness the Binding of Alpha Marcus and Rowan Ashwood. The Binding Ritual creates an unbreakable soul bond between mates. Once complete, they will share strength, share life, share everything until death."
Until death. Forever. No going back.
The cold feeling in my stomach grew stronger.
"Marcus, Alpha of the Sun-Stone Pack." Elder Sage turned to him. "Do you take this woman as your bonded mate? To love, protect, and cherish for all your days?"
"I do." Marcus's voice was confident. Sure.
"Rowan Ashwood." Elder Sage turned to me. "Do you take this man as your bonded mate? To love, honor, and obey for all your days?"
Obey. That word wasn't supposed to be in the traditional ceremony. Was it?
I looked at Marcus. He was still smiling. But there was something in his eyes now. Something I hadn't noticed before. Something that looked almost like... hunger.
"I" I started.
"She does!" Marcus answered for me. His grip on my hand tightened. Painful now. "Let's finish this."
"Wait" Elder Sage frowned. "The bride must answer herself."
"I said we're finishing this." Marcus's voice changed. Dropped lower. Darker. "Now."
He raised his other hand and strange symbols began glowing on his palm. Not the warm gold of pack magic. Something else. Something cold and silver and wrong.
"Marcus?" My voice shook. "What are you doing?"
"Completing our bond." He smiled, but it wasn't the sweet smile anymore. This one was cruel. Victorious. "The way it should have been done from the start."
The silver symbols shot from his palm and wrapped around my wrists like chains. Actual chains made of magic.
I tried to pull away but couldn't move. Couldn't shift. Couldn't do anything.
"What" I gasped. "What is this?"
"The Silver Chains of the Mind." Marcus's voice was casual. Like this was normal. "Forbidden dark magic, technically. But necessary for what comes next."
The crowd was murmuring now. Confused. Scared. Some people tried to step forward but Marcus's guards blocked them.
"Marcus, stop this!" Elder Sage commanded. "This isn't a proper Binding Ritual"
"I don't want a proper ritual." Marcus turned to face the crowd, still holding my chained wrists. "I want her power. You see, our dear sweet Rowan isn't as ordinary as she thinks. Her bloodline carries something ancient. Something that's been sleeping for a thousand years."
"I don't I don't understand" Tears streamed down my face.
"You don't need to understand." He pulled me closer. "You just need to give me what's mine. Your wolf spirit. Your ancestral energy. Everything that makes you special."
"No!" I tried to fight. Tried to shift. But the chains held me frozen.
"Yes." His hand pressed against my chest. Right over my heart. "I've been planning this for months. Courting you. Making you trust me. Making you love me. All so you'd walk willingly into this ceremony. All so I could drain you in front of everyone and show them my new power."
The silver magic burned through me. I felt it pulling at something deep inside. My wolf. My spirit. My very soul.
"Stop!" Kira screamed from the crowd. "Someone stop him!"
But no one moved. Marcus's guards stood ready. And Marcus himself was too powerful. No one could challenge an Alpha.
No one could save me.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" Marcus's voice was almost gentle. Mocking. "Don't worry. It'll be over soon. You'll die quickly. Probably. And I'll become a god."
My vision went dark at the edges. I could feel my wolf being ripped away. Feel my life draining out.
"Please," I whispered. "Marcus, please don't do this."
"Too late for begging, love." He smiled one more time. "You should have been more careful who you trusted."
The last of my energy left me. My legs gave out. I collapsed to the ground.
"Throw her body in the Black Ice River," Marcus ordered his guards. "Let the freezing water finish what I started."
Strong hands grabbed me. Dragged me away from the festival lights. Away from the warmth and music and celebration.
Everyone just watched. Too scared to help. Too shocked to move.
Kira was crying. Elder Sage looked horrified. But neither could save me.
No one could.
The guards carried me through the dark forest toward the river. I could hear it ahead—rushing water, chunks of ice crashing against rocks.
They threw me in.
The cold hit like a thousand knives. Water filled my lungs. Darkness surrounded me.
I was dying. Really dying.
Marcus had used me. Betrayed me. Stolen my wolf and thrown me away like garbage.
And I'd let him. Because I'd trusted him. Because I'd believed in love.
Stupid. So stupid.
I sank deeper into the black water. The festival lights disappeared above me. The world went silent except for the rushing of the current.
This was it. This was how Rowan Ashwood died. Betrayed by her mate. Murdered during what should have been her wedding.
But then something changed.
Deep in the freezing water, where everything should have been death and darkness, I felt something wake up.
Not my wolf. That was gone. Stolen.
Something else. Something older.
Something that had been sleeping in my blood for a thousand years.
And it was very, very angry.
The water around me began to freeze. Not because of the cold. Because of me.
Ice spread from my skin in crystalline patterns. The rushing current slowed. Then stopped. Frozen solid.
And I opened my eyes.
They glowed blue. Ice blue. Winter blue.
The Frostborn had awakened.
And Marcus had just made the worst mistake of his life.