Chapter 3

The wedding hall fell completely silent when Sarah stepped up to the altar alone, dressed in a simple green cocktail dress with minimal makeup.

Whispers and murmurs spread throughout the hall, while the pack elders exchanged confused looks. Sarah could even spot Nate’s Beta and best friend, Peter, looking guilty.

Perhaps Nate had already told him what had happened.

Not that Sarah cared anymore.

“Thank you all for coming today,” she began, drawing everyone’s attention. “But unfortunately, this ceremony is canceled.”

Shocked gasps echoed throughout the hall at her unexpected announcement. One of the pack elders looked as though he might have a stroke.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering why, especially since this is supposed to be an important ceremony for the entire pack.” A slow smile curved Sarah’s lips when she noticed the sudden panic on Peter’s face. He clearly realized what she was about to do. “I don’t mind telling you the truth.”

Intrigue flashed across the expressions of the female pack members.

Good. She caught the attention of the gossipmongers.

Peter, on the other hand, seemed to be speaking urgently with several nearby warriors.

‘If he’s trying to get them to stop me in any way, I’ll have to act faster than he can,’ Sarah thought.

Without further ado, she reached into her pocket, pulled out a remote control, and pressed a button.

The projection screen behind her immediately lit up, flashing a provocative image that sent the entire hall into a stunned silence, followed by several shocked gasps.

It was the photo that she had taken of Nate and Brittany when they’d been blissfully asleep in bed earlier. She had especially made sure to pick a picture that would unmistakably show their nakedness.

‘It’s a great angle, if I do say so myself,’ Sarah thought wryly.

“I’m sure the photograph already speaks for itself, but for the sake of clarity, yes, Alpha Nate cheated on me last night,” Sarah said, her voice loud enough to be heard over the whispers and murmurs. “He went to his ex-girlfriend Brittany’s home and betrayed me despite our wedding ceremony being today.”

She paused for a moment to let the words sink in.

“He claimed that she’s his true mate and that he wants to call off this wedding. So, since he’s our Alpha, I’ll gladly give him what he wants,” she continued on. “But I don’t want all this food and all these decorations to go to waste. So please, feel free to treat this as a celebration of freedom. Because at least now, I’m free from marrying a cheater.”

One of the pack elders shot up from his seat, his face red from anger and mortification. “Sarah Birkin! Stop this right now!”

“I’m only telling the truth as it is, Elder Sangrove,” Sarah said calmly without even missing a beat. “Besides, even if I take the photograph down now, everyone here has already seen it.”

Elder Sangrove sputtered in disbelief. Peter looked like he was already regretting all of his life decisions.

And then, at that moment, a familiar voice boomed throughout the entire hall.

“Sarah Birkin! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

It was Nate’s voice.

Sarah watched without emotion as Nate stormed into the hall, with Brittany following closely behind him. Every member of the pack turned towards them, whispers spreading throughout the crowd.

“Good to see that you’re both at least fully dressed now,” Sarah said dryly.

Nate’s face was red with anger. Brittany, looking equally furious and mortified, opened her mouth as if to shout expletives at her, but no sound came out. She was successfully rendered speechless.

“And I thought Brittany was extremely sick and practically on her deathbed?” Sarah continued, ignoring Nate’s obvious fury. “She certainly didn’t seem that frail when you two were probably having multiple rounds in bed—”

“Sarah Birkin! That’s more than enough from you!” Nate snatched the remote from her hand and switched off the projector, causing the provocative photograph to disappear from the screen. “We need to talk. Right now.”

***

They were now in the private chamber reserved for meetings with the pack elders.

Sarah stood with her arms crossed, watching impatiently as Nate paced back and forth while the elders argued among themselves over the disaster that had just unfolded.

“Am I free to leave now?” Sarah asked. “I still need to change out of this dress.”

One of the elders blew up at her. “Sarah, what the hell was with that stunt you pulled earlier?! You went too far!”

“You turned our Alpha into a laughingstock!” another elder added angrily.

“You ruined what should have been a sacred ceremony for the entire pack!”

“What in the name of the Moon Goddess possessed you?!”

Sarah let all the complaints and scolding go through one ear and out the other. “I didn’t tell a single lie, did I? Besides, Alpha Nate was already planning to call off the wedding. This was going to happen sooner or later. I hardly think I’m the one to blame.”

Nate abruptly stopped pacing and turned toward her, his eyes blazing with fury. “Sarah, why are you acting like this? Are you really that angry because I told you Brittany is my true mate? You didn’t have to resort to something so petty and childish!”

Sarah stared at him.

Looking at him like this now, it was difficult to believe she had once loved this man. It was as though she were finally seeing the person he had been hiding all along.

“I simply exposed the truth for everyone to see,” she said calmly. “The pack spent weeks preparing this ceremony. It would be a shame to let all that effort go to waste over a wedding that was never going to happen. I simply thought that everyone deserves transparency.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sarah!” one of the elders snapped. “You knew exactly what would happen if you exposed this kind of... affair to the entire pack! You deliberately humiliated our Alpha and damaged his reputation!”

“If he’s a good enough Alpha, the pack will still accept him and easily sweep this incident under the rug,” Sarah shot back. “But I don’t want to be here to see what happens to him from this point forward.”

The fury in Nate’s eyes faded slightly, replaced by confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Sarah met his gaze without hesitation.

“I’ve decided to leave the pack,” she declared.

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