SNOW
My teary eyes stayed glued to the flames that danced in mockery of me, around the sacred circle. It's long shadows falling across all the gathered pack members.
My heart pounded hard beneath Aria's wedding dress as I stood before Jasper, with his golden eyes, magnificent in his ceremonial furs, his face soft as he looked at who he thought was Aria.
My sister. Never me.
The Elder raised her old, twisted hands. "By moonlight and bloodright, we join these wolves as one."
My fingers trembled as Jasper took them. His touch sent lightning through my body, my wolf whimpering with longing inside me. This stolen moment, my one taste of what could never truly be mine.
"Your vows," the Elder said.
Jasper's voice rang clear across the gathering. "I pledge my soul, my strength, my territory. Where you walk, I follow. What you need, I provide. When you call, I answer. Until death claims me, I am yours alone."
The ritual words I had whispered to myself in darkness for years, pretending they were meant for me.
"Your response," the Elder urged.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry with fear. "I pledge my heart, my loyalty, my womb. Where you lead, I follow. What you build, I protect. When you howl, I echo. Until death claims me, I am yours alone."
"The marking," announced the Elder.
Wolves howled in approval. This was the moment Jasper would bite my neck, binding us forever through pack magic.
But first...
"Unveil your bride, Alpha," instructed the Elder.
Time stopped. My pulse roared in my ears like rushing water.
Jasper's fingers grabbed my veil, his smile bright with love meant for another. He lifted the blood-red fabric.
His smile died.
Shock. Confusion. Recognition.
Then rage burning, terrible rage that turned his golden eyes to liquid fire.
"What is this!" he roared, his voice changing with his wolf.
Gasps spread through the crowd. Elders whispered. Warriors stood ready.
"Jasper," I whispered, reaching for him.
He pulled back like I was poison. "Where is she? Where is Aria?"
"Alpha—" the Elder began.
"Silence!" Jasper's wolf rippled under his skin, claws growing long. He grabbed my throat, lifting me until my toes barely touched the ground. "What have you done with her?!"
"She's safe," I choked out, tears running down my face. "Please—"
His grip got tighter. Black spots danced in front of my eyes. My wolf cowered inside me, heartbroken, terrified.
"I should kill you where you stand," he growled, his face inches from mine. "Finishing what you started ten years ago? Was once not enough for you?"
Old Alpha Magnus stepped forward. "Son! Control yourself!"
Jasper's claws pricked my skin, drawing tiny drops of blood. "You made a mockery of sacred rites. You've turned this pack ceremony into a lie."
"The union is sealed by words already spoken," the Elder announced, her voice almost shaking. "She is your Luna now."
"She is nothing to me!" Jasper threw me to the ground so hard I tasted blood. "This marriage is a sham. I will not mark her."
Without the marking bite, we would be married in name only—joined by law but not by soul.
He turned to the gathered wolves. "The celebration is over. Return to your dens."
Stunned silence followed, then awkward movement as the pack left, throwing pitying and disgusted looks at me.
Jasper's voice dropped to a deadly whisper as he stood over my crumpled body. "Guards, take her to the dungeon. I don't want to look at her lying face."
"Jasper, please," I sobbed as rough hands pulled me up. "Let me explain—"
He turned his back. "There are no explanations I wish to hear from a sister-killer and deceiver."
---
Four days. Four days in darkness.
I curled up on the damp straw of the dungeon cell, my once-white wedding dress now gray with dirt. They fed me scraps once a day, spoke not a word, and ignored my begging.
My wolf had gone quiet, hurt beyond howling.
When the cell door finally creaked open, I blinked against the torch's blinding light. A huge shadow filled the doorway.
"Get up." Jasper said, his voice cold as winter.
With my legs which were weak from being locked up, I stumbled to my feet.
"Your father has explained everything," he said, not looking at my eyes. "Follow me."
Hope fluttered in my chest like a wounded bird as I followed him through torch-lit halls, past eyes that wouldn't meet mine. He led me to his room. The Alpha suite I should have shared with him as Luna.
The door closed behind us with a final sound.
"Jasper," I whispered, my voice rough from days of crying. "I—"
"Save your breath," he snapped, keeping far from me as if I carried sickness. "Your father told me about Aria's threats. About everything that happened."
Relief washed over me. "Then you understand why—"
"I understand nothing except that my mate is gone and I am chained to you instead." He paced like a caged animal. "Your father claims Aria was unstable, that she needed time away. That this... this awful mistake was to save her life."
"It's true," I pleaded. "She threatened to hurt herself if forced to mate with you."
Pain flashed across his perfect face. "And you expect me to believe that? The same sister who 'accidentally' fell into the river?"
His words struck like a physical blow. It clearly sounded more like an accusation than a statement.. "That was an accident! I never meant—"
"It doesn't matter what you meant!" he roared, slamming his fist into the wall. "What matters is that Aria is gone, and I'm left with you."
My knees weakened. "Then what happens now?"
"Now?" Jasper laughed bitterly. "Now I divorce you at the first chance and find my true mate."
The words stabbed my heart. "But the ceremony—"
"Was meaningless without marking." He turned away. "We'll end this fake marriage as soon as possible."
A knock interrupted us. Old Alpha Magnus entered without waiting, his weathered face serious.
"Son, a word." His eyes flickered to me. "Privately."
"Whatever you have to say can be said in front of my so-called Luna," Jasper spat. "This lie won't last long anyway."
Magnus's face hardened. "The neighboring packs sent messengers. They know something went wrong with the ceremony. Rumors are spreading about pack weakness."
"Let them go ahead and say whatever they wish to. I won't live this lie."
"We face troubles from the Northern Rogues, fights with Silver Claw Pack, and now this." Magnus's voice dropped dangerously. "If you end this marriage right away, it shows weakness. Division."
Jasper's jaw tightened. "What are you suggesting?"
"One year," Magnus declared. "Keep this union for one year. Pretend to be happy. Secure our friends. Then divorce quietly if you must."
"A year!" Jasper shouted. "With her?!"
I flinched, each word a knife in my heart. The most painful part of everything was the fact that he stared at me as though I was infected with a very terrible disease.
"For the pack," Magnus insisted. "Unless your feelings matter more than your duty as Alpha?"
Silence stretched longer than it should, making everything worse.
Finally, Jasper turned to me, eyes filled with cold hate. "One year. Not a day more. You will be Luna in name only. You will sleep elsewhere. You will not touch me. You will not speak to me unless needed."
My heart broke into a thousand pieces, but I lifted my chin. "As you wish, Alpha."
"Remember this, Snow," he whispered, leaning close, his scent surrounding me in what should have been closeness but felt like a threat. "I will never forgive you for taking her place. I will never want you. And when this year ends, I will throw you from this pack myself."
He walked out of the room, slamming the door so hard the walls shook.
I fell to the floor, my wolf howling in pain. One year trapped in a marriage with the man I loved who would never, ever love me back.