Chapter 21
1320 Words
Gwen
The ball was tonight.
I stood in front of the full-length mirror, corseted into a gown that shimmered like starlight when I moved. The fabric hugged my waist before spilling into a train of silk and shadow. My hair had been pinned into a crown of curls, woven with strands of silver and sapphires, and the mask I held trembled slightly in my hand. It was delicate—feathered and laced with pearls—meant to hide the face, not the soul.
Akira was quiet.
Too quiet.
"Please," I whispered, not caring that the attendants bustled nearby, tightening ribbons, adjusting pins. "Say something. Anything."
But she didn’t answer. She was too weak. The bond between us had dulled to a whisper since Cain—since everything. All I could feel was the aching absence, the echo of a wolf who used to fill every corner of my heart. Now, it was a void. Hollow. Cold.
The door creaked open.
Justin stepped in, dressed immaculately in midnight black with silver embroidery curling up his jacket sleeves like frost. His own mask was a sharp-edged creation, elegant and angular, covering the upper half of his face. His smile didn't touch his eyes.
"You look beautiful," he said, stepping closer with predatory grace. "The entire pack will be speechless."
I forced a smile. Hollow, like the mask. "Let’s get it over with."
He offered his arm, and I placed my fingers lightly on it. His scent turned my stomach. It had always been wrong. Too sharp, too strong. But I’d been too afraid to question it before.
We descended the staircase, every eye turning toward us as we entered the grand ballroom. It was a vision from a fairy tale—gilded walls, crystal chandeliers, wolves in glittering masks and flowing gowns. A masquerade of politics and power. Laughter floated through the air, gilded and false. Music hummed beneath it all like a warning.
The orchestra shifted.
The first dance belonged to us.
Justin led me to the center of the floor, and the crowd parted around us like a sea. Hundreds of guests. Alphas from distant territories. Curious eyes watching. Judging. Whispering.
The music began, slow and sweeping.
I placed my hand in his and allowed him to pull me close. His other hand rested at the small of my back, possessive and firm. I kept my body rigid.
"Smile," he whispered through clenched teeth. "Be a good Beta."
I did.
I forced my lips to curve and let the music carry us. My mask hid my clenched jaw. My eyes scanned the crowd, desperate—for hope, for salvation, for a wolf with eyes like fire and a voice that soothed something deep inside me.
But there was no sign of him.
Not Cain. Not Achilles.
No one.
Cain
I stood in the shadows of the ballroom, masked in gold and black, my heart pounding behind ribs that felt too tight.
Derrick was nearby, watchful but quiet. Jordan moved like a phantom in the crowd, her gaze protective but hidden behind her own mask. I barely registered either of them.
Because all I saw was her.
Gwen.
The moment she stepped into the ballroom, the world stopped. My chest ached. My soul keened. She was radiant—ethereal—untouchable. She moved like moonlight, every step precise, graceful. Every curl of her hair shimmered beneath the chandeliers like fire.
And she was dancing with him.
My fists clenched at my sides. Every time his hand touched her, I wanted to tear him apart. The bond between us throbbed—faint, but still alive. I could feel her pain, her numbness, like a cry muffled beneath a thick curtain of control.
She was hurting.
And I had no right to fix it.
She searched the crowd—her chin tilted, gaze skimming faces. Looking. Hoping. I could feel it in my bones.
She was waiting for someone to stop this.
And I couldn’t.
Because I wasn’t just Cain.
I was heir to the royal line. I was a shadow in a war that hadn’t even begun.
Gwen
The final notes of the waltz floated through the air like a ghost of something beautiful and long dead.
Justin's fingers tightened slightly around mine. “You were perfect,” he murmured, his breath brushing against my cheek. “Now for the grand finale.”
I started to pull back, confusion churning in my gut. “What are you—”
And then he stepped away.
And dropped to one knee.
A collective gasp sucked the air from the room. The music stopped altogether. The sound of his knee hitting the polished marble floor echoed like a gunshot in the silence.
I stood frozen.
The lights from the chandeliers caught on his silver-threaded jacket, making him look like a prince in a fairy tale— the villain always knew how to dress the part.
He held a small velvet box in one hand, opened to reveal the glint of a diamond like cold starlight. He looked up at me with a smile so smooth, so carefully crafted, it made my skin crawl.
Justin was pleased with himself. Smug. His eyes glittered beneath the mask—not with affection, but triumph. He thought he’d won.
I couldn’t breathe.
The silence stretched on, every eye in the ballroom fixed on us. A hundred wolves. A hundred packs. Every guest from every allied territory. And at the center of it all, me.
Trapped.
I didn’t move. Couldn’t speak. My hands hung limp at my sides, fingers twitching with the urge to flee, to scream, to run straight into the forest and never look back.
This wasn’t a proposal.
This was a performance.
A calculated power play. A trap with a velvet ribbon.
And my mate—if he even existed—was still nowhere to be found.
Jordan
I knew something was wrong the moment the music stopped.
The crowd went still—eyes locked on Gwen and the wolf at her feet.
He was on one knee.
That bastard.
My heart dropped into my stomach and icy chill climbing my spine. Gwen stood frozen, her mask concealing her expression, but even without seeing her face I knew.
She doesn’t want this.
But no one was moving.
Not one of the dozens of Alphas stepped forward. Not a single guest dared challenge the display. I wanted to scream at them Don't you see this is fake? I looked across the room at Cain, unmoving like the scene before him had broken something deep inside. If he had been close I might have smacked him. Fury rose in my chest at all the weak spineless men who stood by and did nothing. And Cain was the worst of all.
I locked eyes with Terrance, his face stoic behind a plan grey mask. He was fully prepared to hand his daughter over to these monsters as if she meant nothing. I took off my mask and fixed him with a steely glare, a challenege. He looked away quickly, back to where Gwen was standing, frozen. She hadn't answered Justin yet. A few people in the crowd coughed awkwardly, waiting for her to say something. Derrick squeezeed my hand, feeling my anger through our bond. "We'll fix this, Jordan. I promise" he whispered in my ear. And I wanted to believe him but in that moment I knew he was making promises he might not be able to keep.
Gwen
The ring sparkled up at me like it belonged to someone else’s life.
I stared at it. At him. At the mask that hid his cold eyes.
Smile. Be a good Beta. His voice echoed in my head like poison.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t run. My whole body felt like glass on the edge of breaking.
And still, no one stopped it.
No one stepped forward.
I was alone.
- Writer
