Chapter Five

Kaia’s POV

“Father, how could you lie like this!” I screamed, my voice cracking.

But his words kept echoing in my head. Your grandmother is in our hands… to everyone, you’re dead.

The fight in me faltered. Grandma.

She was the only one who had ever truly cared for me. The woman who tucked me in when I was sick, who went without meals just to make sure I was fed. Who walked miles to enroll me in school even though we lived in the outskirts where no one bothered about us. She never slept until I did. My heart clenched with the memories—her laugh, her wrinkled hands, her warm eyes. If I defied him too much, her life would be the price.

Tears blurred my vision. My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the ground, clutching my father’s legs like a child begging mercy. “Father, please,” I sobbed, “don’t make me marry Alpha Caleb. My heart is with him!”

I hesitated, realizing I didn’t even know the stranger’s name. Our eyes met for a fleeting second, and something passed between us—an unspoken agreement, a shared act. “Ethan,” I whispered, loud enough for them all to hear. “Ethan is my mate. The Moon Goddess matched him to me!”

It wasn’t just acting anymore; it was survival. I had always been good at pretending—at turning pain into laughter, telling stories to make the younger wolves smile while I hid the hunger at home. I’d performed all my life. This… this was just another stage.

Father sneered and shoved me away with his boot. I stumbled, but before I could hit the ground, the stranger moved. His arm slipping around my shoulders as though he’d done it a hundred times before. His expression softened, his voice steady. He then helped me up, his hand around my waist. "Are you hurt?" He asked and I nodded negatively, then he faced father.

“Father-in-law,” he said respectfully, “forgive us. We only ran because we didn’t know how to make you understand. She’s already pregnant. We thought this was the only way.”

I blinked at him, stunned. He was still playing along. His tone was flawless, his act believable. For a moment, I almost forgot it was a lie.

Beta Alex’s expression tightened. His jaw worked as though he was grinding his teeth, his eyes darting between me, my father, and the man at my side. He looked tired—tired of this drama, tired of being caught between loyalty to his Alpha and the truth simmering in front of him. But he said nothing.

I took the chance and leaned forward, desperation sharpening my voice. “Beta Alex, please! You wouldn’t let your Alpha marry someone carrying another man’s pup, would you?”

The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. My heart thundered. He didn’t speak. He didn’t deny it either.

My father’s face darkened, fury trembling in his clenched fists. “If you want me to believe this charade,” he thundered, “then you both must get married. Immediately!”

The words struck me like lightning. My breath caught, my vision swayed.

“What?” I gasped, jerking back to look at him.

Married? Now?

I was still trying to recover from the shock of my father’s demand when his voice cut sharper, louder, striking like a whip.

“Did you see it?” he barked, eyes blazing as he turned to the crowd. “It’s all an act! If she was truly carrying his pup, wouldn’t they have agreed to marry right away? They hesitate because there’s nothing between them. They’re hiding something. He must be a wolf hunter!”

Gasps rippled through the guards. My chest tightened, cold fear crawling up my spine. A wolf hunter? My father had stooped low before, but this… this accusation could kill him.

And suddenly another thought pierced through my panic. What if the stranger is married? What if I had dragged an innocent man into my mess, ruining his home, his life? My lips parted, trembling, but the words wouldn’t come.

Before I could speak, a voice snapped across the tense night.

“Can all this drama stop already?” Beta Alex’s voice boomed, commanding enough to silence the murmurs. He stepped forward, his presence cutting through the chaos, his gaze locked on my father. “What are you trying to prove, Summer? These two have already confessed. Even the blind would believe them. The bond between them is clear enough. What I know is this—” his voice dropped, cold as steel, “I am very disappointed in you for trying to marry your daughter off to gain alliances with us.”

The warriors shifted uneasily at his words, but my father’s rage only burned hotter.

“Guards!” Alpha Summer roared. His command boomed through the air. “Grab him. Beat him until he confesses!”

“No!” The cry ripped from my throat before I could stop it, but I was drowned out by another voice, deeper, stronger.

“Stop!” Beta Alex thundered again, power rolling across the clearing like a crashing wave. The guards froze mid-step. My eyes widened, my heart stumbling. He had stopped them. Did… did he actually believe us? Or was it just mercy?

Either way, hope sparked inside me.

Before Beta Alex could say more, the stranger’s voice broke through the silence, steady and sure, with a fire that made my breath hitch.

“I’ll marry her,” he said, each word deliberate. “If that’s what it takes to make you believe us, then I’ll do it. She’s my mate. I love her.”

My head whipped toward him, my lips parting in shock. His eyes caught mine, and he gave a subtle nod, grounding me.

My heart thumped painfully against my ribs. He didn’t even know my real name, yet here he was—ready to bind himself to me. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

“Fine.” My father’s voice came low, almost smug, as though he had won. “Then the wedding will happen at the ancestral court. You will both make your vows before the Moon goddess, and only then will I believe this wasn’t an act.”

My breathing hitched, coming faster, sharper, like the walls of fate were closing in.

The ancestral court.

Marriage vows.

Tonight.

This was no longer just a lie. It was about to become a bond I could never escape.