.Chapter 2-1
Simone
The wedding dress was hideous.
Clawm
I stood there like a mannequin while three maids fussed around me, tugging at the monstrosity they’d stuffed me into. It had enough fabric to outfit a small army and more beading than a craft store explosion. Not that I’d had any say in choosing it. I hadn’t been consulted on a single wedding detail.
“Could you lift your arm a bit higher, miss?” one of the maids asked, trying to adjust the sleeves
that could double as wings.
“Stay still, please,” another one chimed in, working on the train that stretched halfway across the
room.
At least the maid I’d caught with Kellan yesterday was nowhere to be seen. Small mercies.
When they finally finished torturing me and left, it was just me, Kenzi, and Irene in the oversized bridal suite. The silence stretched between us, heavy with everything we weren’t saying. Our
thoughts were damn loud, though.
“I could kidnap you, you know?” Kenzi said suddenly, breaking the tension. “Make it look like someone else did it, so it’s not like you breached the agreement, but someone else forced you to do it. You wouldn’t get married, and the peace would stand.”
My wolf perked up in my mind, practically wagging her tail at the suggestion. Even she thought
running was the smart play.
“They’d just ask for another bride,” I said, adjusting the ridiculous veil. “A woman important to the pack leaders. Do you see London’s daughter as a willing bride to maintain peace? She just turned eighteen, and she’d burn this place to ashes the moment Kellan looks at her the wrong way.”
Irene grimaced. “Teenagers are fucking scary. Last time I was at Snake River, she snuck into a bar
to get some beers and when a drunk man tried to talk to her, she smashed a glass beer bottle on his head. London was not happy.”
“Exactly my point. Only I can do this. So I’m not going anywhere, Ken. Just…have my back, okay? We’ll investigate for a few weeks and then maybe we can carry out one of your plans. Maybe Irene’s. I can totally poison him.”
Kenzi pulled me into a bone-crushing hug, and I could feel her getting emotional. “That’s my adopted daughter. I’m proud of you, kid. You’ve grown so much…”
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Chapter 2-1
Clas
“Do not cry on my shoulder right now,” I warned. “I will totally ask Irene to record it and send it to Mom and Dad. You’ll never see the end of it and Mom will not be happy to hear you calling me your
daughter.”
“Can’t a woman be proud of her niece?” Kenzi sniffled. “You know, even if your mom and I weren’t the best of friends from the beginning, she’s the sister I never had. I remember the day you were
conceived. She’d been so cranky, so I suggested she go find Troy and…”
“Oh my god, stop!” I shrieked, at the same time, Irene said, “That was not the day. It was when-”
“Let’s stop talking about my mother’s private life and focus on this damn wedding!”
A knock at the door interrupted our very disturbing conversation. Mal appeared, looking apologetic but determined. He’d been going out of his way to make us comfortable since we’d arrived, and I’d noticed him watching Kenzi like she was some kind of goddess he wished to pray to. Too bad for him. Kenzi had been scowling at every man who so much as looked at her sideways. She’d been through some kind of brutal breakup a few months ago and wouldn’t talk
about it.
“Sorry, am I interrupting?” he asked, though his eyes immediately found Kenzi.
“You look stunning,” he said to me, but I caught him stealing another glance at my aunt.
“Thank you. Is it time already?”
“Still a few minutes to go, but I wanted to stop by and ask if you needed anything. Anything.” He paused meaningfully. “A drink, perhaps? An escape route free of guards?” He winked at me, and I had to admit the guy had balls.
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