The Alpha’s Trial Bride

He Looked at Me Like I Was Filth Part 2

The world stopped.

Actually stopped.

I swear even the candles stopped flickering.

Kael didn’t move.

Neither did I.

For one impossible, horrifying, breathtaking second, I thought maybe I’d misunderstood.

Maybe there was another Kael.

Maybe the Moon Goddess had made a mistake.

Maybe I had finally gone insane.

Then Kael’s silver eyes lifted.

And locked onto mine.

The bond hit me like a knife straight through the ribs.

A violent, burning pull ripped through my chest so hard I nearly stumbled. Heat spread under my skin, fast and brutal, curling around my lungs, my throat, my heart.

Mate.

Oh God.

Oh God.

He was my mate.

The most powerful male in the territory.

The most unreachable man in the pack.

The one male who had never once looked at me without disgust.

He was mine.

And for one ruined, stupid heartbeat—

I was happy.

Actually happy.

My entire body shook with it.

Not because I thought he would love me.

Not because I thought life would suddenly become a fairy tale.

But because for the first time in my life, the Moon Goddess had chosen me.

Chosen me.

Not the prettier girls.

Not the daughters of Betas and elites.

Not the perfect, delicate she-wolves with tiny waists and glossy hair and soft little smiles.

Me.

I looked at him with what must have been naked disbelief.

Hope.

Stupid, ugly hope.

And Kael looked back at me like he had just been sentenced to execution.

The first whisper came from the left side of the hall.

Then another.

Then another.

And suddenly the room erupted.

“No way.”

“That can’t be right.”

“The Alpha’s mate is her?”

“The fat omega?”

“She’s joking, right?”

“This is disgusting.”

Laughter exploded across the chamber.

Not hidden this time.

Not whispered.

Open.

Cruel.

Merciless.

My face burned so hot I thought my skin would split.

Still, I kept staring at him.

Please.

Please don’t do this.

Please don’t look at me like that.

Kael finally moved.

He stepped into the circle with the kind of lethal grace that made the room fall silent again. Every footstep sounded like a countdown to my destruction.

When he stopped in front of me, the mate bond inside me trembled.

He was so close.

So close I could smell cedar, smoke, and winter on his skin.

So close I could feel the heat radiating off his body.

So close I could see exactly how much he hated this.

His eyes dragged over me slowly.

My face.

My body.

My dress.

The pause at my waist lasted half a second too long.

Disgust flashed across his expression before he even tried to hide it.

It cut deeper than any blade.

The Moon Priestess smiled faintly, unaware—or uncaring—about the storm brewing in the room.

“The bond has been recognized,” she said softly. “By moon law, the Alpha may now—”

“No.”

The word cracked through the hall like thunder.

I flinched.

So did everyone else.

The Priestess blinked. “Alpha Kael—”

“I said no.”

His voice was low. Cold. Deadly.

He didn’t take his eyes off me.

And somehow, that made it worse.

Like I was the thing offending him simply by existing.

My mouth went dry.

My heartbeat was so loud I could barely hear the gasps around us.

The Priestess straightened. “This is your fated mate.”

Kael’s jaw tightened.

“Then the Moon Goddess has made a mistake.”

A sharp sound escaped my throat before I could stop it.

Not quite a sob.

Not quite a breath.

Just pain.

Raw and humiliating and very, very public.

The Priestess looked horrified. “You cannot deny the sacred bond.”

Kael gave a humorless laugh.

“Watch me.”

A murmur rippled through the room.

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t think.

All I could do was stare at him, my body frozen in place while something inside me cracked open and bled.

He leaned down slightly, just enough so only I could hear him.

And what he whispered ruined me.

“You really thought I’d accept this?”

I stopped breathing.

Every sound in the room vanished.

My ears rang.

My vision blurred.

No.

No, no, no—

His gaze dipped over my body again, merciless and slow.

Then he said, quietly enough for only me but cruel enough to echo forever:

“You should’ve hidden before tonight.”

Something inside me shattered so completely I felt it.

Physically felt it.

Like glass in my chest.

My lips parted, but no words came out.

I wanted to disappear.

I wanted the ground to split open and drag me under.

I wanted to wake up and find out this was some sick fever dream.

But the pack was still there.

Still watching.

Still waiting.

And Kael was still looking at me like I was the worst thing that had ever happened to him.

Then he stepped back and raised his voice for the entire hall to hear.

“I refuse to claim Nerissa Hale as my Luna.”