Chapter 2

By the time I reached the private bridal suite reserved for the newly mated Alpha and Luna, it was already getting late. The pack had set the suite aside so Alex and I could come back here after the ceremony. None of that was happening tonight, because I was finally done.

I stared at the full-length mirror. My raven-dark hair was combed neatly and flowed in waves. A silver pin was fixed in the side of my hair, the pin Alex had given me the night he claimed the Alpha seat. He had smiled while helping me pin it. 'You look beautiful as always, Aria. You know I will always be here for you.'

Yeah, right. He certainly was there for our mating ceremony. Goddess, I was such a fool, hopefully waiting for him.

I looked at the Luna dress that Alex had ordered months ago. He had given clear instructions on how he wanted it made, and the seamstress had followed through. The dress was heavy with embroidered pack sigils and the jewelry that was meant to mark me as his. I stood there and began taking them off, one by one.

I started with the earrings, then the necklace that had sat cold against my throat all evening. The dress zipper stuck halfway down my back. For a second I almost laughed. Even the fabric wanted to make me wait.

I stepped out of it, folded the dress carefully, and placed it in the box I'd prepared weeks earlier along with every piece of jewelry he'd ever put on me. The note inside was short and already written:

Dear Alex. The mating ceremony is already off. Take these back. I'm done waiting for you.

My wolf purred within me. She was satisfied with the way I was handling things. I had always been weak, but my wolf was the opposite. She had always known that we deserved better.

That was the truth. Alex had hurt me more times than not by not following through, and I was so tired of always being the understanding one. For once, I wanted to be understood.

I changed into a black sweater and plain trousers, wiped the lipstick from my mouth, and walked out carrying the box. The ninety-ninth formal invitation proof, the one that was supposed to introduce me as his Luna to the full clan, stayed in my hand until I reached the car.

It was past one in the morning when I walked back into my studio. The lights by the entrance were still on. My entire team was inside. Sometimes they spent the night in the studio even though I warned them to go home.

Kane, my creative director, looked up the second I came through the door. His eyes welled. "Aria."

I inhaled once, then looked at him. Kane had always been there for me, supporting me. When he heard about my mating ceremony, he had been so excited that he helped me with the invitations and every single detail. Now that I was standing up for myself, I could feel the sympathy in his eyes.

"It's alright," I said gently but firmly. "There is no time to cry over anything. We have to get work done." I had always considered separating my work from my personal life, and today wasn't going to be any different.

"Alright." Kane wiped his eyes before putting on a straight face.

I swapped my heels for flats and switched on the conference-room projector.

I plugged in my laptop. "First we need to deactivate every joint account under my name and Alex's. Every sample photo, every piece of copy, every creative asset comes down and gets backed up. Grant Pack loses access tonight. Second, send a formal notice to every guest who showed up for the introduction banquet. The only stated reason is that the Alpha failed to appear. All compensation falls on him."

Kane was listening attentively, even writing down the necessary notes.

"Third, I want the proposal for the overseas couture project on my desk by nine tomorrow morning. Their wedding division, their formal wear division, every template and vendor list we ever shared is locked. They don't get another line of our work." I started looking around the studio. I wouldn't let Alex get away with this. I wanted my property back.

Kane's voice was rough. "You're really doing it."

"I already did it." I replied, my voice blank of any emotion. I was done being the pushover. Every damn time, I was always the understanding 'girlfriend' even when he would postpone our mating ceremony and blame it on work, and I would smile and say, 'Alright, babe. Anything for you.'

I was done being that woman. She died the moment he didn't show up for the banquet.

Joshua arrived twenty minutes later with two coffees and a folder thick enough to bruise. Joshua was my lawyer. He handled my finances and every lawsuit, though our relationship was strictly platonic and professional. He was also Alpha of one of the stronger packs in New York.

He didn't ask if I had changed my mind. He set the folder in front of me and said, "The damages list is ugly but defensible. The property claim is the stronger weapon. Your father's Alpha power and the holdings that transferred to Alex when he took the pack seat can be challenged. If we push the inheritance challenge now, while the public failure is still fresh, we can force the return of what's yours."

Damn it. I bit my lips. If Alex thought there was a way out of this, then he was certainly wrong. I was going to take back what belonged to me, with Joshua's help.

I took the folder on the table and started flipping through them. I would be honest, it certainly didn't look good.

"I never knew it would all come down to this." I let my voice be vulnerable in front of him. He looked me over with his dark green eyes. He had always been quiet, never quite guessing what he was thinking. It's hard to believe that I am one of his clients. Joshua is the Alpha of one of the rising packs in New York, yet by day he works as a lawyer who's very efficient at his job.

"We can still fight all of this," Joshua replied firmly. In all the years we had been working together, I had never once seen him show an ounce of weakness. It must be the Alpha genes. "You have to be strong at a time like this." He placed a hand on my shoulder, and I felt my wolf react. She was sensitive to touch, so it surprised me when she purred within me.

"Thank you," I said, my tone clipped.

Joshua chose a seat at the far end corner of the room and watched as I filed the documents. I started cancelling all the invitation emails, writing an apology letter to every Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Luna who had travelled all the way from their packs just to attend a banquet that didn't even hold.

It pissed me off to think that Alex would do such a thing. He knew how much all of this meant to me and he went ahead and squandered it all. We were no more together. My wolf had already rejected him. But there was a silent ache that settled in the pit of my stomach.

When the last confirmation email landed, I closed the laptop. I took a sip of the coffee that Joshua had brought earlier and exhaled loudly. I looked over to my side and Joshua was already asleep.

Countless times I had fallen asleep in the studio. It wasn't a big deal, so I intended to sleep here for the night. I stood up from the chair and pulled out a blanket before walking over to him.

Joshua was sleeping peacefully, strands of dark hair falling over his face. He was a very good lawyer who was excellent at his job, and from what I read in the tabloids, he was also a very good Alpha who led with his whole strength.

I placed the blanket over him and sighed. "Thank you for all that you're doing for me." I whispered silently. He was sound asleep, so the chances of him hearing were very slim, but I just wanted to voice it all out. He stirred softly in his sleep and I smiled a little.

I headed back to my chair and stared at all the emails I had sent out. It dawned on me that I had gambled my whole life to Alex. I had spent every day trying to please him while reducing myself. I wasn't going to let that happen anymore. I wouldn't beg for his attention or his time anymore.