Elara POV
The Black Wolf palace loomed before me like a mountain of carved stone and sharp edges. Everything here was built to intimidate. To conquer. Even the flowers in the courtyard grew in perfect, militant rows.
I pressed my palms against the carriage window, watching servants scurry across the grounds. My white dress felt like a shroud. Beautiful, expensive, and suffocating.
"Remember why you're here," I whispered to myself. My people needed peace. The war had bled us dry for twenty years. If marrying King Cassian would stop the killing, then I would do it.
Even if it felt like walking to my own funeral.
The carriage stopped with a jolt. Through the window, I saw him waiting on the palace steps. King Cassian Vale stood tall and broad, his black hair catching the afternoon sun. Handsome, in the way predators were handsome. All sharp lines and controlled power.
My wolf stirred uneasily in my chest.
"Princess Elara." A guard opened my door and offered his hand. "His Majesty awaits."
I stepped out, my legs shaking slightly. The journey had been long, but that wasn't why I trembled. This was it. The moment I stopped being Elara Vesper, White Wolf princess, and became someone else entirely.
Cassian's wife. His queen. His peace prize.
"Welcome to your new home." Cassian's voice was deep, smooth as honey over steel. He took my hand and kissed it formally. His lips were warm, but I felt nothing. No spark. No pull.
My wolf whimpered softly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." I curtsied, keeping my eyes downcast. "I'm honored to be here."
"Just Cassian, now. We're to be married within the hour." His fingers tightened on mine. "Are you ready?"
No. "Yes."
He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Good. The priests are waiting in the Great Hall. Your people have traveled far to witness this union."
I nodded, letting him guide me up the steps. The palace was even more overwhelming inside. Tapestries showing Black Wolf victories covered the walls. Trophies from conquered enemies lined the hallways. This was a warrior's home. A killer's palace.
And soon, it would be mine.
The Great Hall's doors opened with a groan that echoed through my bones. Hundreds of faces turned toward us. Black Wolves filled the left side, their dark eyes watching me with suspicion. White Wolves sat on the right, their faces tight with worry.
I was the bridge between them. The sacrifice that would bind peace.
The priests stood at the far end, ancient and robed in silver. Between us lay a path of white rose petals—beautiful, but each step felt like walking through snow toward a frozen lake.
"Breathe," Cassian murmured beside me. "You look like you're about to faint."
"I'm fine." The lie came easily.
We walked together, his hand firm on my elbow. The crowd watched in silence. I could feel their judgment, their hope, their fear. Everything rested on this moment. On me.
Halfway down the aisle, something made me look up.
A man stood in the shadows along the wall. Tall, with the same dark hair as Cassian, but younger. Broader shoulders. Eyes like storm clouds instead of midnight. When our gazes met, the world tilted sideways.
My wolf went completely still.
Then she began to howl.
Not out loud—the sound stayed trapped in my chest, wild and desperate and shocked. But I felt her rising, pressing against my ribs, trying to claw her way toward this stranger who watched me with such intensity I forgot how to breathe.
Heat flooded my body. My skin tingled. Every nerve ending came alive at once.
I stumbled slightly, and Cassian's grip tightened. "Steady."
I forced myself to look away from the stranger, but I could still feel his eyes on me. Burning through my dress, my skin, straight to my soul.
"Who is that?" I whispered without thinking.
Cassian followed my gaze, and his jaw went rigid. "My brother. Prince Darius."
Brother. Oh gods. This was Cassian's brother, and my wolf was singing for him like he was the moon itself.
"Ignore him," Cassian said, his voice sharp. "He has a habit of… unsettling women."
I nodded quickly, but I couldn't stop myself from glancing back. Darius hadn't moved. He stood perfectly still, watching me walk toward his brother with an expression that made my stomach flutter and drop.
The priests began speaking in the old language. Words about binding and blood and eternal vows. I should have been listening, but all I could think about was the way Darius looked at me. Like he was seeing something that belonged to him.
"Princess Elara," the head priest called. "Do you come to this union willingly, for the good of both packs?"
"I do." The words felt like stones in my mouth.
"And you, King Cassian. Do you accept this woman as your mate and queen?"
"I do." Cassian's voice rang clear and strong.
The priest lifted a silver blade. "Join hands for the blood binding."
Cassian took my right hand in both of his. His skin was warm, calloused from sword work. A good hand. A strong hand. I should have felt something. Anything.
Instead, my wolf whimpered like she was dying.
The priest cut a thin line across my palm, then Cassian's. Our blood welled up, bright red against pale skin. When he pressed our palms together, I waited for the sacred bond to form. The connection that would make us one.
Nothing happened.
My blood touched his, and I felt... empty. Cold. Like mixing water with water.
"By blood and moon," the priest intoned, "you are bound."
But we weren't. I knew what a true bond felt like—my parents had shown me when I was young. This was just blood and promises and lies.
Cassian must have felt it too, because his grip on my hand tightened painfully. His dark eyes searched mine, looking for something that wasn't there.
"You may kiss your bride," the priest announced.
Cassian leaned down, his lips finding mine. The kiss was firm, claiming, meant to seal our union in front of witnesses. I closed my eyes and tried to feel something. Tried to make this work.
But as Cassian's mouth moved against mine, my wolf whispered one word that shattered everything:
*Mate.*
My eyes flew open. Over Cassian's shoulder, I saw Darius step forward from the shadows. His hands were clenched at his sides, his jaw tight with tension. Our eyes locked, and I felt the world catch fire.
The mate bond hit me like lightning. Like coming home and being struck by thunder at the same time. Every cell in my body recognized him, reached for him, screamed his name.
Cassian pulled back from our kiss, his eyes narrowing as he followed my gaze.
"I now present King Cassian and Queen Elara Vale," the priest called out.
The crowd erupted in cheers, but I couldn't hear them over the roaring in my ears. Darius stared at me across the hall, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His eyes were wild, desperate, furious.
He felt it too.
As Cassian raised our joined hands to the crowd, I realized what I had done. I had just married the wrong brother.
And from the look in Darius's eyes, he knew it too.