Chapter 5

• I woke groggy and disoriented, a bitter taste in my mouth and a ringing in my ears. My face throbbed. I blinked through the blur until the cold stone around me came into focus. I was in the dungeon, locked inside a silver-barred cell.
• Ryker sat just outside, speaking softly, though at first I could not make out his words.
• “What happened?” I rasped.
• “Dad injected you with wolfsbane,” he said, his voice tight with anger.
• The sickness hit immediately, twisting my stomach until I had to lie back down. My vision sharpened just enough to notice warriors lining the wall. Guards to keep me trapped, and to keep Ryker from helping me.
• “How do you feel?” he asked.
• “Everything hurts,” I whispered.
• “The wolfsbane slows your healing. Once it fades, you will recover.”
• But the ache ran deeper. I glanced down and froze. Blood stained my shorts. My chest tightened and breath caught.
• “Ryker.” Panic laced my voice.
• He sat hunched forward, head bowed, arms on his knees. Slowly he lifted his gaze, and I saw the tears. He did not need to say it. The truth was written in his shame.
• “I am sorry, Summer. I tried to stop them. Dad let James in here after you were locked up. He gave him as much time as he wanted.” His voice cracked. “I tried, but I could not stop them.”
• I sank back onto the cot, staring at the ceiling. Not because I blamed Ryker, but because shame and fury burned through me. I should have known they were capable of this.
• “It is not your fault. You have always protected me,” I said quietly.
• But the word us slipped from my lips, and with it came the memory of our mother’s last moments. Her body broken on the living room floor.
• “He killed her,” I choked out. “He killed Mom.”
• Ryker pressed as close to the bars as he could, his own tears falling. “I wish I could hold you right now, baby sister. I really do.”
• I slid off the cot and sat beside him, the bars between us. My sobs shook me, but Ryker fought to keep strong. That was always his way.
• “How long have I been here? Did James leave?” I asked.
• “Only a few hours. The wedding is still going ahead.”
• “What else could that monster do to me?” I whispered.
• Ryker leaned closer, keeping his voice low so the guards could not hear. “Ethan has been trying to call all day. I answered and told him everything. The fight. Mom. The wedding. All of it.”
• “His pack is too far. He will never make it. And after what James did, he will not want me.”
• Ryker’s eyes hardened. “You are his Luna. He will not let this happen. Believe in him, Summer.”
• I wanted to, but bitterness filled me. “The only person I have ever been able to count on is you. I just need to rest. What punishment did Dad give you for fighting him?”
• Ryker shook his head. “It is done. Do not worry about it.”
• Before I could push further, two women arrived with a white gown. The guards opened the cell and they stepped inside.
• “You will wear this veil. James says it will hide your face. There will be no kiss at the end of the ceremony,” one of them said curtly.
• I scoffed. “He is as shallow as Dad.”
• They forced me to undress, but Ryker turned his back and ordered the guards to do the same. The women slipped the gown over me, its mermaid tail brushing the floor, diamanté details glittering at the neckline. They lifted the hem to keep it from dragging as they led me upstairs.
• Hair and makeup artists waited, though the thick veil would hide it all. Dad insisted anyway.
• When the music began, he took my arm and walked me to the doors. Beyond them, thousands of people waited, both from our pack and James’.
• “Where is she?” I asked.
• “Who?” Dad muttered.
• “Mom. What did you do with her?”
• “That is none of your concern.”
• The doors opened and he led me down the aisle. My steps wavered in high heels, my body aching with every movement. James waited at the altar, his hand cold against mine, his arm gripping my waist. His touch made my skin crawl.
• The ceremony blurred past until the officiant spoke the final words.
• “Do you, Alpha James, take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?”
• “Yes,” James said with a smile.
• The officiant turned to me. “Do you, Summer Everstone, take Alpha James to be your lawful wedded husband?”
• I heard it then, faint in the woods beyond. Something no one else noticed. I lifted my head, staring into the trees.
• “No.” My voice rang out clear and strong.
• Gasps and whispers rippled through the crowd. My father stormed to my side, his hand clamping onto my arm, his teeth bared inches from my face.
• “What do you think you are doing?” he growled.
• I smiled at him.
• “Waiting for my mate.”
• Fury twisted his features. He raised his hand to strike when the ground began to tremble. Wine rippled in glasses, tables rattled, chairs shook.
• Wolves rose to their feet in alarm.
• From the forest came a wall of bodies, snarling and relentless.
• At their head strode Ethan, eyes locked on me.
• He came!