Sera signed the contract at dawn, her signature looking small and uncertain next to Kael's bold scrawl. By noon, the entire pack knew. By evening, preparations for a wedding were underway at a speed that left her head spinning.
"Three days," Kael had informed her curtly when she'd delivered the signed document to his study. "Pack tradition requires at least that much. My mother is handling the arrangements. You just need to show up and play your part."
And that was it. No discussion of feelings or expectations beyond what was written in the contract. No acknowledgment that they were about to legally bind themselves together. He'd simply dismissed her and returned to his Alpha duties, leaving Sera to process the fact that in seventy-two hours, she'd be someone's wife.
Someone who couldn't stand to look at her.
The news spread through Silvercrest like wildfire, and reactions varied dramatically depending on where you stood in the hierarchy. Higher-ranking wolves whispered behind their hands, clearly confused about why their new Alpha would mate with the pack's most notorious failure. Lower-ranking wolves seemed almost hopeful, as if Sera's elevation meant their own positions might improve.
Her family's reaction was the most complicated.
Marcus Winters showed up at her servant's quarters the evening the announcement went out, his face a complicated mixture of triumph and disdain. Sera had been folding the few clothes she owned when he barged in without knocking.
"So you actually did it," he said, looking around her cramped room with obvious disgust. "I'd almost given up on you being useful for anything."
"Hello, Father." The word tasted wrong in her mouth. He hadn't been a father to her in six years.
"Don't screw this up." He moved closer, and Sera instinctively stepped back. "For once in your miserable existence, you're actually valuable to this family. Winter's name is about to be tied to the Alpha himself. Do you understand what that means?"
"That I'm a bargaining chip?" The words came out before she could stop them.
Marcus's hand shot out, gripping her chin hard enough to bruise. "You're an investment that's finally paying dividends. Keep him happy. Give him pups. Don't embarrass us more than you already have just by existing. Can you manage that?"
Sera jerked away from his grip. "The contract is already signed. There's nothing you can do to stop it now."
"Stop it?" He laughed, harsh and cold. "Girl, I'm here to make sure you don't ruin it. You may be wolfless and useless, but you're still a Winters. That name means something, even if you don't. Keep Alpha Thornwood satisfied, produce an heir quickly, and maybe this family can finally move past the humiliation of having you as a daughter."
He left without another word, leaving Sera standing in the middle of her room with her chin throbbing and her heart hollow. Six years of being treated like dirt, and the first time her father showed any interest was when she became useful to his ambitions.
Her mother's visit the next day was worse precisely because it was gentler.
Helena Winters arrived with two other pack females, all carrying garment bags and boxes. They swept into Sera's quarters like a perfumed storm, immediately critiquing everything from her hair to her posture.
"We have so much work to do," Helena sighed, looking at Sera the way someone might assess a house that needed renovation. "I don't know what Kael sees in you, but we need to make you presentable for the wedding at least."
"He doesn't see anything in me, Mother. This is a contract arrangement."
Helena's expression flickered, something almost like pity crossing her features before being replaced by cool pragmatism. "All the more reason to make the best of it. Come here. Let's see what we can salvage."
The next hours were a blur of being poked, prodded, measured, and criticized. They scrubbed her skin until it was raw, conditioned her hair, filed her broken nails, and debated dress designs while largely ignoring any input Sera tried to offer.
"The ceremony will be in the main hall," Helena explained while someone else painted Sera's nails. "Small by necessity since this is happening so fast. Only about a hundred pack members. Kael's mother specifically requested you wear white."
"White?" Sera couldn't keep the bitterness from her voice. "Isn't that for love matches?"
"It's for first weddings," her mother corrected sharply. "And appearances matter. The pack needs to believe this is a real mating, not just... whatever it actually is. So you'll smile, you'll look happy, and you'll play the role of a grateful bride. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Helena studied her daughter's face, and for just a moment, something sad moved behind her eyes. "I know you think I'm cruel. That we all are. But this is the best outcome you could have hoped for, Sera. You're wolfless. No pack wants that. Most Alphas would have rejected you immediately. Kael is giving you status, protection, and a chance at children. Many she-wolves would kill for that opportunity."
"Even without love?"
"Love?" Helena laughed, the sound lacking any real humor. "Child, most matings in our world aren't about love. They're about strengthening bloodlines, forming alliances, and producing strong heirs. If affection develops along the way, wonderful. If not, you do your duty anyway. That's what it means to be packed."
She leaned closer, her voice dropping. "Keep him happy. I don't care what you have to do. Whatever he wants, you give it to him. Your only job now is to be the perfect wife, produce a healthy pup, and not cause problems. Can you do that?"
Sera met her mother's eyes and saw nothing there but cold calculation. No maternal concern. No worries for her daughter's happiness. Just the same assessment Marcus had made: Sera was finally useful, and they needed her to stay that way.
"I'll do my best," she said quietly.
"See that you do."
The wedding day arrived with overcast skies that threatened rain but never delivered. Sera stood in a small dressing room off the main hall, staring at her reflection in a full-length mirror and barely recognizing the woman looking back.
They'd transformed her. The dress was simple but elegant, white silk that hugged her frame before flowing to the floor. Her hair had been swept up in an intricate style that must have taken hours. Makeup covered the dark circles under her eyes and added color to her perpetually pale cheeks. She looked... pretty. Maybe even beautiful, in a fragile sort of way.
She looked nothing like herself.
"It's time," Helena announced, appearing in the doorway. She wore a dress of deep burgundy, her own hair perfectly styled, playing the role of proud mother flawlessly. "Remember what I told you. Smile. I look happy. Play your part."
The walk to the main hall felt like walking to an execution. Pack members lined the corridors, watching her pass with expressions ranging from curiosity to pity to barely concealed disdain. She could hear their whispers even if she couldn't make out specific words.
The hall itself had been decorated beautifully. White flowers everywhere, candles flickering despite the afternoon hour, pack members filling the rows of seats in their formal best. At the far end, in front of the Alpha platform, stood Kael.
He looked devastating in a black suit, his dark hair perfectly styled, every inch the powerful Alpha. And he was staring straight ahead, his expression completely blank, not even glancing toward her as she began the long walk down the aisle.
Sera's heart sank further with each step. This was really happening. She was about to marry a man who wouldn't even look at her on their wedding day.
Her father walked her down the aisle, his grip on her arm painful but his face radiating false pride for their audience. When they reached the front, he handed her off to Kael with a meaningful look that said: Don't mess this up.
Kael took her hand because tradition demanded it, but his touch was cold and perfunctory. He still wasn't looking at her. His gaze remained fixed somewhere over her shoulder, at the back wall, anywhere but at his bride.
The ceremony was performed by Elder Morris, one of the pack's oldest members. His words about eternal bonds and fated mates felt like mockery given the actual nature of this marriage, but Sera kept her expression neutral. Played her part, just like she'd been told.
"Do you, Kael Thornwood, take this woman as your mate and wife, to honor and protect for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do." His voice was steady, emotionless. A business transaction being confirmed.
"And do you, Sera Winters, take this man as your mate and husband, to honor and support for as long as you both shall live?"
Sera's throat was so tight she could barely force the words out. "I do."
"Then by the power vested in me by this pack and the Moon Goddess herself, I declare you mated and wed. You may seal your bond."
This was the moment. The kiss that would seal their marriage before the pack. Kael finally, finally looked at her, and the coldness in his eyes made her want to shrink away. But they had an audience. Appearances to maintain.
He leaned down, his hand coming up to cup her face in what probably looked tender from the audience's perspective. But his grip was firm, controlling, and the kiss he pressed to her lips was brief and utterly devoid of warmth. It was over in seconds, nothing more than a formal seal on their contract.
The pack erupted in applause and howls of approval, completely unaware of the emptiness of what they'd just witnessed.
The reception that followed was torture. Sera sat at the head table next to Kael, smiling until her face hurt while pack members congratulated them. Kael played his role perfectly, his hand occasionally resting on her shoulder or back for the crowd's benefit, but the touches felt like ice. The moment people looked away, his hands disappeared.
They danced for exactly one song, the traditional first dance, and it was the longest three minutes of Sera's life. Kael held her at the maximum acceptable distance, his body rigid, his expression carved from stone. They moved mechanically through the steps while pack members watched and sighed at what they thought was romance.
"Smile," Kael murmured as he spun her. "You look like you're at a funeral."
"Maybe I am," she whispered back.
His jaw tightened, but he said nothing else. When the song ended, he released her immediately and spent the rest of the reception networking with other Alphas and high-ranking wolves, leaving Sera to sit alone at the head table like a forgotten decoration.
Finally, mercifully, the reception ended. Tradition dictated that the newly mated pair would retire to the Alpha's residence, presumably to consummate their bond. Sera's stomach churned at the thought as Kael led her through the corridors to his quarters.
The Alpha's residence was in the main pack house's east wing, a series of rooms that were larger and more luxurious than anywhere Sera had ever lived. Kael opened the door and gestured inside without ceremony.
"This is your room," he said, pointing to a door on the left. "Mine is there." He indicated another door on the opposite side of the living area. "Bathroom connects both rooms. Stay out of my space unless I specifically request your presence."
Sera stared at him. "We're not... tonight, you're not..."
"Consummate the marriage?" He looked at her with something that might have been exhaustion. "No. Not tonight. I've fulfilled my public duty. The private aspects of this contract can wait until I've had time to process the fact that I just married someone I barely know and don't want."
The brutal honesty shouldn't have hurt anymore. She knew what this was. But somehow, hearing it spelled out on what should have been their wedding night felt like a new level of cruelty.
"Fine," she managed. "Is there anything else you need from me tonight?"
"Just stay out of sight. I need to think, and I can't do that with you here reminding me of what I've done."
He disappeared into his room without another word, the door closing with a finality that echoed through the empty space.
Sera stood alone in her wedding dress, in rooms that were supposed to be her new home, and finally let herself cry. Silent tears streamed down her face as she carefully removed the dress, the jewelry, the makeup that had transformed her into someone worth looking at for a few hours.
Underneath it all, she was still just Sera. Wolfless. Unwanted. And now legally bound to a man who found her very existence offensive.
She climbed into the large bed in her new room, pulled the covers over her head, and tried not to think about how her wedding night was being spent alone, separated from her husband by walls and contempt.
This was her life now. This was what she'd signed up for.
Three years suddenly felt like an eternity.