Anastasia:

Skybound

The massive throne room stretched ahead, its twin golden doors yawning open as I headed inside.

Riley's voice echoed softly behind me, “They are already inside. Be calm and take things easy.”

I sighed and whispered back. “But I can still tell Father that I have found my mate?” I asked her, my eyes averting in her direction, and she sighed.

“You have found your mate, my princess. But do you know where he stays? Do you know who he is? To him, it can be a fling.”

The thought of what Riley said sank hard into my soul—the thought that it might be true that he didn't care and could even call it a fling.

I nodded once and stepped forward. Every inch of my gown felt heavier. It was an expectation. It was a sacrifice.

The betrothal announcement.

He told me I’d be marrying someone from the Dragon Rider Pack. Someone chosen. Someone I didn’t know. There had been no name. No face. Just a deadline and silence.

But I’d heard whispers.

Rumors of twin heirs. One called Enzo… the Ice Prince. Known for being stoic, composed, and emotionless. And the other… Ezekiel… the cursed fire. Reckless, unpredictable, and wild as a rogue moon.

No one had seen them in Skybound. Not until today.

And I had no idea which one was mine.

The doors shut behind me with a sound that made my bones vibrate.

Gasps fluttered as I entered.

They were already at the dais.

Two men.

I stopped breathing.

Identical.

Tall. Powerfully built. Dark hair, sharp jawlines, and piercing green eyes. But that was where the similarity ended.

One stood with cold distance in his eyes, posture straight as a sword, emotion locked behind ice. He looked at me… No, through me, like I was an obligation. If that's what I saw, it has.

The other …gods.

He leaned lazily against a pillar, lips curved in a smirk I knew too well. Eyes that danced in green and gold. That voice, that grin, that scentless allure … he was the stranger from the balcony. The one who called me Sii. Who kissed me like he was born for it. Who made my wolf stir to life and scream, ‘Mate’?

My heart stuttered.

It was him.

My mate.

He was one of them.

He was one of the twins.

That meant he had to be the one I was promised to.

Didn’t it?

My whole mind sprawled, and I started to rummage a lot of things in my head.

My feet moved forward of their own accord, heart pounding like thunder, hope finding its way open in my chest. His eyes never left me, and I felt the heat again.

He smiled, and I knew.

It had to be him.

It was him.

My mate.

My breath trembled as my father stood. “Today, we honor the union between the Skybound Pack and the Dragon Rider Pack, forged not only through alliance but through blood.”

I braced myself. My lips parted, ready to meet the moment as I prayed to the moon goddess.

Perhaps she finally heard my plea.

“Anastasia,” my father declared, voice echoing, “you are to be wed to Enzo Marcelo, the firstborn son of Alpha Ronan.”

The air left my lungs, and my eyes widened.

Enzo?

Not Ezekiel.

The cold one. The unreadable one.

The one who hadn’t looked at me like I was his universe unraveling.

I turned sharply.

Ezekiel’s smile was still there, but it had now faltered a little bit. He didn't look surprised; in fact, it looked like he was already ready for it.

No no no no no. This couldn’t be right.

The wrong twin and the wrong mate.

My wolf whimpered inside me.

“I…” I tried to speak. “There must be a mistake….”

“Anastasia,” my mother whispered sharply behind me, her voice like ice slicing flesh. “Smile.”

I looked to my father. To the audience. To the nobles watching. Dozens of packs.

Enzo stepped forward. Offered his hand.

And said nothing. Not even a bit of warmth or comfort. I was in between, and my heart was racing.

What the heck was going on here? I… I didn't feel like myself again.

“I need space. I need to breathe.” I muttered underneath my breath as I rolled my hand free and turned, storming out of the hall, ignoring my father's call and my mother's hissed instructions.

I needed air. I needed time and space to take in all of this happening.

It was supposed to be him.

Him.

I knew it the moment our eyes locked on that balcony. The way he looked at me, like I was starlight wrapped in skin. The way his lips knew where to touch, the way his words felt like destiny.

I should have known it was too good to last.

I reached the outer balcony behind the throne room. My hands stamping on the cold stone railing. I wanted to scream, to rip the silk gown from my body and burn the crown before they could crown me.

“Princess, running from your own fairytale?”

The voice made every nerve in my body light up. Slow, dark, and familiar.

I turned.

Ezekiel.

He leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed, smiling dangerously. His jacket had been discarded, sleeves rolled up to his forearms. There was a scar just above his collarbone …. I remembered tracing it with my mouth.

“You’re not even hiding,” I whispered.

“No need,” he said, stepping closer. “You know who I am now.”

“I thought you were just a mere person with no...”

“I’m not.”

“I thought…..” My voice cracked. “Y…you could have told me something last night…you could have said you were from the Marcelo. You knew all of these. You knew before….” I didn't know what to say. Words were caught in my mouth. The fact still remains. He did this to me on purpose, but even…. He was still my mate. He was my mate.

“You can't blame me. We were both under the influence of alcohol, and you also wanted this.”

“But you are my mate.” I blurted out, and for a minute, his smiling face changed darkly, like I had said something out of proportion.

“No.” He declined coldly. “I don't have a mate. I'm Ezekiel. The cursed one. The disgrace. The one your parents would never willingly hand you over to. You can't be my mate.”

His voice. I could feel the pain behind those cold words. He was cursed and couldn't smell his mate. He is the cursed one.

My lips parted, tears gathering in my eyes. “Y…you didn't feel the bond last night?”

He gave me a confused look and sighed. “What bond are you talking about?

about?”

I swallowed lumps in my throat and said nothing as he came close to me, lifting a hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

“You’re mine.”