MATED TO MY DEAD HUSBAND'S BROTHER

Chapter Five: The Wedding

I didn’t sleep.

Not even for a second.

I spent the entire night going through Caden’s files, and by the time dawn broke, exhaustion had burned out of my system—leaving something colder, sharper in its place.

I understood three things with absolute clarity:

One: Marcus and Rowan weren't the masterminds. They were middle management.

Two: The conspiracy went deeper than embezzlement. It was about control—of pack leadership, territory agreements, succession lines. A network that spanned multiple packs, manipulating Alpha appointments for decades.

Three: The person giving the orders wasn't Iris.

It was someone I'd never suspected.

Someone who'd been so quiet, so unassuming, that I'd barely noticed her existence. And that was exactly why she’d won.

Nora.

The quiet one.

The harmless one.

The one no one ever really looked at twice.

The elderly pack member who'd warned me at the reception. Who'd told me Kieran wasn't who I thought he was. Who'd been watching me with those calculating eyes from the very beginning.

Caden's files included communications going back years. Coded messages between Nora and contacts in other packs. Financial records showing her as the true recipient of the embezzled funds, filtered through Marcus and Rowan to hide her involvement. And most damning—a recorded phone call from two weeks before Kieran died.

Nora's voice, cold and unbothered: "The Blackwood boy is becoming a liability. Handle it before he exposes the entire network."

Marcus: "And the Alpha?"

"Caden is useful because he's predictable. He'll investigate, he'll gather evidence, he'll try to do everything by the book.

Which gives us time to clean up and disappear if necessary. Just make sure Kieran's death looks accidental. No loose ends."

I'd listened to that recording four times.

Each time hoping I’d hear something different.

Each time knowing I wouldn’t.

Then I'd opened the file labeled IRIS_CLEARANCE and found the truth about the recording someone had sent me last night.

The conversation between Kieran and Iris had happened. But it had been edited. Clipped to remove context and make it sound like Iris was threatening him.

The full recording told a different story:

Iris: "You said she would be safe. You PROMISED me she'd be safe if I went through with this."

Kieran: "She IS safe. As long as she doesn't find out what I'm really investigating. What WE'RE really doing."

Iris: "This was a mistake. We should never have agreed to help them."

Kieran: "It's too late for regrets, Iris. We made our choice. Now we play our part, or we both lose everything—including Elara."

They hadn't been conspiring.

They’d been in over their heads.

Playing a game that had already decided how it would end.

They'd been working together to expose the conspiracy.

And someone had sent me a weaponized version of that conversation to turn me against the one ally I actually had.

I closed the laptop and stared at the wall as grey morning light filtered through the window.

In six hours, I was getting married.

And nothing about it felt like a beginning.

To a man who'd been trying to destroy the same people who killed Kieran.

To a man I'd spent three days suspecting of murder.

I needed to talk to him.

But first, I needed to survive the wedding.

The dress fit perfectly.

Like it had been made for someone who didn’t know she was walking into a war.

I stood in front of the mirror while a woman whose name I couldn't remember pinned my hair and told me I looked beautiful, and I thought about the fact that somewhere on this estate, Nora was probably getting ready for the ceremony too.

Smiling. Playing the role of respected elder.

Knowing she'd ordered Kieran's death and gotten away with it.

The woman finished with my hair and left.

Iris came in immediately after, closing the door behind her.

We looked at each other.

"You went through Caden's files," she said.

"Yes."

"So you know."

"I know you and Kieran were working together. I know someone edited that recording to make you sound guilty. And I know—" I stopped. "I know I'm sorry. For doubting you."

Something in her expression softened. "You had reason to doubt me. I've been lying to you since the day Kieran died."

"Why?"

"Because he made me promise. If anything happened to him, I was supposed to protect you without telling you why. He said if you knew what he was really investigating, you'd become a target." She paused. "I've been trying to honor that.

Even when it meant you didn't trust me."

"I trust you now."

And this time, I meant it.

"Good. Because we're going to need each other for what comes next." She moved to the window and looked out at the forest clearing where the ceremony would be held. "Nora will be there. Watching. Probably wondering if you've figured it out yet."

"Does she know we have evidence?"

"I don't think so. But she's not stupid. She knows something shifted when Caden gave you those files." Iris turned back to me. "Are you ready for this?"

"The wedding or the war?"

"Both."

I looked at myself in the mirror. Cream-colored dress. Pinned hair. A bride for the second time, under circumstances that were somehow even worse than the first.

"No," I said honestly. "But I'm doing it anyway."

The ceremony was held at noon.

The forest clearing was exactly as I remembered from Kieran's funeral—ancient trees, filtered light, stone altar that looked like it had witnessed a thousand of these rituals. Rows of chairs filled with pack members I barely knew, all watching me walk down the aisle alone.

Again.

Caden stood at the altar in a dark suit, hands clasped in front of him, expression unreadable.

When I reached him, he looked at me with something I couldn't name. Not quite relief. Not quite fear. Something in between.

The officiant began speaking.

I barely heard it.

I was too aware of the audience. Of Nora, sitting in the third row with that pleasant smile on her face. Of Marcus, standing off to the side with the other council members, looking appropriately solemn. Of Owen, Caden's enforcer, positioned near the tree line with other security—eyes scanning, alert.

The vows were traditional. Simple.

I take you as my mate.

I bind my life to yours.

I pledge my loyalty to you and to this pack.

The words felt heavier this time.

Not because they meant more—

but because now I understood exactly what they could cost.

When it came time for rings, Caden took my hand.

His hands were warm. Steady. He slid the ring onto my finger with a precision that felt deliberate, like he was making a promise beyond the public one.

My turn.

My hands weren't shaking this time.

I took his hand and slid the ring on, and something passed between us. Understanding, maybe. Or the beginning of trust.

"You may seal the bond," the officiant said.

Caden leaned down.

I tilted my head up.

His hand came up to cup my face—gentle, careful—and I remembered this from the last time. The unexpected tenderness.

Then his lips touched mine and the world narrowed to just this.

The kiss was supposed to be brief.

Controlled.

Forgettable.

It wasn't.

Not even close.

It was slow and deliberate and something in my chest cracked open, letting in feelings I wasn't ready to name.

When he pulled back, his eyes were darker than they'd been a moment ago.

"Bound," the officiant declared.

Applause.

Polite. Controlled.

And somewhere in that applause, I heard it.

A sound that didn't belong.

Sharp. Violent. Wrong.

A crack.

Gunshot.

Everything happened at once.

Caden grabbed me, pulled me down behind the altar as another shot rang out.

Screaming. Pack members scattering. Owen shouting orders to security.

"Stay down," Caden said, his body covering mine.

Another shot. This one hit the altar stone, sending chips flying.

"They're in the trees," Owen yelled. "East side—"

A fourth shot.

Then silence.

Caden didn't move. Didn't let go of me. His heart was hammering against my back and his breathing was controlled in that deliberate way that meant he was forcing it to be.

"Alpha," Owen called. "Shooter's down. We got them."

Slowly, Caden pulled back.

He looked at me, hands still on my shoulders, scanning for injuries. "Are you hurt?"

"No. I'm—I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

He stood, pulling me up with him, positioning himself between me and where the shots had come from.

The clearing was chaos. People scattered, security converging on the tree line, council members shouting questions.

And then I saw her.

Nora.

Still sitting calmly in her chair, hands folded in her lap, watching the scene unfold with an expression of mild concern that didn't reach her eyes.

She met my gaze.

And smiled.

Not shocked.

Not afraid.

Like this was exactly how it was supposed to happen.

The shooter was a rogue.

At least, that's what Marcus told the assembled pack an hour later, after security had secured the area and moved everyone back to the main house.

"A lone wolf with a grudge against the Blackwood family," Marcus said, standing at the front of the main hall with his usual calm authority. "We're investigating his background now, but it appears to be an isolated incident."

I stood next to Caden and didn't believe a single word.

Neither did Caden, based on the set of his jaw.

"The ceremony was completed before the attack," Marcus continued. "Which means the bond is sealed. Elara Blackwood is officially recognized as Luna."

More applause. More controlled faces.

I looked for Nora in the crowd.

She was gone.

Caden took me to his quarters—our quarters now, I supposed—and locked the door behind us.

It was the first time I'd been in his private space. Large bedroom, sitting area, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the forest. Everything was clean, organized, impersonal except for a single framed photo on the desk.

Caden and Kieran. Years younger. Actually smiling.

"That wasn't a rogue," I said.

"No."

"That was a message."

"Yes." He moved to the window, looking out at the forest where someone had just tried to kill us—or more likely, just me.

"They know you're a threat now. The marriage made it official."

"Because as Luna, I have access to everything."

"And voting rights on council decisions." He turned back to me. "Which means you can challenge them publicly. Question their authority. Demand audits."

"So they tried to kill me before I could."

"They tried to scare you." His voice was harder now. Cold. "Killing you at the wedding would've been too obvious. But showing you they can get that close? That they can reach you even surrounded by security?" He paused. "That's a warning."

I sat down on the edge of the bed because my legs were shaking and I was tired of pretending they weren't.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

Caden looked at me for a long moment.

Then he sat down next to me—not touching, but close—and said something I didn't expect.

"We don’t just fight back."

He held my gaze, something cold and decisive settling into his expression.

"We end this."