After He Dumped Me, I’m His Fated Mate

Chapter 2

The alliance ceremony was scheduled for sunset the following day, when the moon rose.

Ashfall had spared no effort.

Torches lined the ceremonial square in twin rows, casting the ground in gold and crimson light.

The warriors stood at attention in carefully pressed formal uniforms, though the fabric had long since faded from wear.

I could smell their anxiety.

For Ashfall, tonight meant survival.

If Nightriver accepted the alliance, the pack might still have a future.

If not, they wouldn't survive the winter.

Dominic stood at the center of the platform.

Dressed in dark formalwear, every strand of hair perfectly in place, his jaw was set tight.

He looked like a man who had wagered everything on this night.

I remained hidden among the healers, standing quietly in an unremarkable corner.

A thin layer of ointment made from Cleansing Fern covered my skin, suppressing my true scent.

For an entire year, it had allowed me to pass as an ordinary healer.

The ceremonial horn sounded.

At the far end of the square, a convoy of black vehicles rolled in.

The lead car stopped.

The door opened.

And my brother stepped out.

Alpha King Caspian Wilder.

The most powerful werewolf in the North.

The ruler of Nightriver Pack.

Dressed in black, he towered over every Alpha present.

The moment he stepped from the vehicle, wolves throughout the square instinctively lowered their heads.

It was the unavoidable submission of wolf instinct before overwhelming strength.

Even Dominic's shoulders stiffened.

Caspian ascended the platform, his gaze sweeping calmly across the crowd.

Dominic stepped forward and bowed.

"Alpha King," he said steadily, though tension lay beneath every word. "Ashfall Pack welcomes you."

"And eagerly awaits... the arrival of your sister."

Caspian regarded him without expression.

"My sister," he said leisurely, "has already arrived."

Dominic froze.

Instinctively, he glanced toward the convoy, expecting some noble young woman to emerge.

No one did.

Then Caspian turned.

His eyes crossed the entire square and landed directly on me.

"Sera."

He spoke my name.

Not loudly.

Yet the entire square fell silent.

I stepped out from the healer ranks.

One step at a time.

Walking toward the platform.

As I walked, I lifted a hand and wiped away the thin layer of ointment covering my face.

The moment it disappeared, the scent I'd concealed for a year flooded the air.

Silver moonlight.

Cedarwood.

And the unmistakable spiritual essence unique to a Silver Wolf.

Every wolf froze.

Several Alphas in the front row visibly stiffened.

They recognized that scent.

The scent of an extraordinarily rare bloodline.

And Dominic—

Dominic looked as though he'd been nailed to the spot.

His gray eyes widened slowly.

The color drained from his face.

"Sera...?" he rasped.

I reached Caspian's side and stopped.

"Alpha Dominic," Caspian said calmly, his voice carrying the chill of winter. "Allow me to make a formal introduction."

"My sister."

"Seraphina Wilder."

"Nightriver's only Silver Wolf."

"And the woman you petitioned to form a mate bond with."

"The King's sister."

The square fell into a deathly silence.

I watched Dominic's face turn paler by the second.

Then something even worse happened.

The moment the ointment vanished, my true scent struck him fully for the first time.

I saw his entire body jolt.

His throat bobbed.

His breathing shattered.

Every trace of Varg's violent reaction was written across his face.

The wolf soul's unmistakable cry upon recognizing its fated mate.

"MATE."

His wolf must have been screaming that word inside his head.

For an entire year, he'd mistaken that pull for mere attraction and forced it down.

Dominic stumbled back half a step.

He stared at me as though seeing me for the first time.

The woman he'd handed a recommendation letter to last night.

The woman he'd told to leave and never come back.

Was the King's sister.

Was the alliance partner who could save his entire pack.

And was the mate fate had chosen for him—

the mate he had personally pushed away.

All three truths exploded in his mind at once.

His mouth opened.

No words came out.

Caspian turned toward him and spoke with almost gentle curiosity.

"Alpha Dominic."

"Before we discuss any alliance..."

"I'm curious."

"How exactly have you treated my sister over the past year?"