Anastasia:

Skybound Pack

Two weeks.

Fourteen days of silence. Of numbness. Of pretending not to feel the ache in my chest. Soren had come into the palace to cause a rift.

Shouting and screaming even after he cheated on me. The guts and the nerves.

To even think I stoop so low to someone like him is very disgusting.

Every morning began the same. Riley would wake me. The maids would pull at my hair, paint my face, and lace my body into silks that felt more like shackles than clothes. I was trained and perfected. Taught to bow lower, smile softer, and speak only when spoken to.

I was being carved into a Luna I no longer believed in.

Leigh returned three days before the wedding. She came running, face pale with disbelief, throwing her arms around me as if she could glue me back together, cursing Soren for being a bastard.

Typically Leigh.

"I'll talk to them," she had said. "We’ll find another way."

Now, standing in front of the ceremonial mirror, I hardly recognized the girl staring back.

The dress was flawless. Ivory silk, embroidered with sky-hued silver to represent my pack. It clung to my body like a second skin, every line perfect, every detail screaming power and grace. A Luna’s gown, not a bride’s. I looked ethereal. Regal.

But inside… I was already buried.

Riley adjusted my veil one last time. Her hands trembled slightly.

"You are the moonlight itself today," she whispered.

I didn’t respond; I didn't have the strength.

Because even though today was supposed to be the most important day of my life, all I could think about was one pair of burning green eyes and the rough voice that claimed me as his:

"You’re mine."

But he wasn’t here.

Enzo was.

Cold. Unreadable. My betrothed by arrangement. My mate, in no way.

I took a breath as the doors opened.

The aisle stretched before me.

And I walked.

Step by step, head high, heart sinking.

Gasps echoed softly. Nobles lined up and looked straight in my direction; Alpha families gathered to witness the most strategic alliance of the decade. My father watched me with pride; my mother did the same. Something that they always wanted.

“Clean up the Omega scent, Stacy.” She had said to me in warning.

But when I reached the end of the aisle, my stomach twisted.

The altar… was empty.

Enzo wasn’t there, and people began to murmur.

Surely, he wanted to disgrace me today.

The priest shifted uncomfortably. Leigh, standing to my left as maid of honor, moved closer to me and whispered, "What the hell is going on? That cold bastard will have me contend with today."

“May the moon goddess delay him and end this.” I whispered back with a beautiful smile as the time went on.

Five minutes.

Ten.

I could hear the questions begin to rise around the room.

"Did he leave her at the altar?"

"Is the Dragon Rider Pack insulting Skybound?"

"Where is the groom?"

My heart pounded.

Was this it? Was this the moon goddess saving me? Was Ezekiel coming to stop it?

But then, the side door creaked open.

Enzo entered.

Tall. Immaculate. Cold as ever.

He wore his ceremonial black and crimson coat with perfect posture, his family crest gleaming at his chest. His expression?

Blank.

Not regretful. Not apologetic. Not even remorseful.

Just late.

He strode to the altar like he owned the earth beneath it and stood beside me without so much as a nod. The priest, clearly rattled, began his blessings.

I tried to look straight into his eyes, but I couldn't, and he also didn't.

My hands were shaking.

"Do you, Princess Anastasia of Skybound Pack, take Alpha Enzo….."

I don’t want this. But what other choice do I have? My silence would humiliate the entire pack. My defiance would destroy Riley. My refusal… could start a war.

My voice sounded distant when I answered. "I do." Without waiting for the priest to complete his statement.

It was like a learned thing. I had learned what to say and what not to say.

The hall made loud noises like it wasn't just some politics disguised as blessings. I barely registered the words. I looked at Enzo, who recited his lines with perfection; not a blink of emotion showed behind his storm-grey eyes, and that was the first time I heard his calm yet sharp voice.

And then he lifted my veil. I felt nothing—no warmth, no spark, no butterflies or excitement. He was just there with no fake emotions. Just the truth shining in my face that it was a transactional marriage and I had no absolute say in this.

My eyes had searched for Ezekiel, but he wasn't even here. Arrogant to even show up at the political moment.

Then came the ceremonial cloth … a sacred piece of clothes, threaded with both our pack’s symbols, meant to be wrapped around our joined hands to seal the Luna bond.

Enzo reached out without hesitation, his hand cool and dry. I placed mine over his, and the priest began binding the cloth.

And that’s when it hit me.

Pain.

It started with a sharp stab behind my eyes, and subconsciously my fingers twitched in Enzo's grasp like he was my armor. I blinked, the room blurring at every side I looked at. The altar lights turned too bright, and the roses suddenly smelled bad.

Then a sharp stab behind my eyes.

I couldn’t breathe.

Leigh’s voice reached me from somewhere far off. “Sia?”

The cloth binding our hands fell loose as I pulled away.

The priest gasped.

And then the world rolled.

I stumbled backward, the hem of my gown catching under my heel. The room turned upside down, then sideways. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, too loud and too fast, and the last thing I saw before darkness swallowed me was Enzo’s face.

It was blank, cold, and unbothered.

Just like always.