THE STAND IN BRIDE

Kylie's POV:

"You look beautiful," my husband murmured, his voice soft and warm with admiration.

Those words weren't meant for me. They were meant for Zoe Muller.

The guests around us tried to hide their discomfort, but I felt their uneasy glances drifting toward me. Tension filled the room as I stood motionless, too stunned to look away from the scene unfolding before me.

"You don't look well, Luna Kylie," Ginger whispered as she pressed a glass of cold lemonade into my hand. "Please drink this."

How could I possibly have looked well? My heart felt as though it were splintering inside my chest. Right before my eyes, my husband and fated mate was dancing with another woman. Alpha Graham held Zoe Muller close and moved with an easy familiarity that cut me to the bone. She was his childhood sweetheart and the daughter of his father's Beta.

Seeing them together made me feel like an intruder in my own life.

Zoe let out a soft, delicate laugh. Her gaze met mine over his shoulder, and a taunting smile curved her lips. Graham drew her even closer and wrapped his arms around her waist with unmistakable possessiveness. Then he kissed her lips while whispering tender words that I couldn't hear.

That place should have been mine. That night was supposed to be ours. We were celebrating our second wedding anniversary.

But since Zoe had returned ten days earlier, I'd felt the foundation of my life slowly crumbling beneath me. She was taking up more and more space in Graham's life, and I found myself being pushed further into the background.

Zoe had been his first love. Now she'd come back.

"Thank you, Ginger," I managed to say as I gripped the glass and desperately fought back the tears that threatened to spill.

Years ago, Graham's father had pressured him to marry, and Zoe had been his obvious choice. However, she'd rejected him without a second thought, claiming she was in love with Alpha Liam of the Brownfur Pack. She'd left Graham behind to run into another Alpha's arms.

I'd just finished my studies at the time. I was a lively young woman of twenty-two when I first felt the mate bond snap into place between Graham and me. It happened during a small reception my father had arranged to celebrate my graduation.

Discovering our bond had brought Graham's father, Alpha Johan, immense joy. My own father had been just as pleased about our union.

As the heir to the Nightbloom Pack, I had married the heir to the Lunar Pack. I was Kylie Kennedy, and he was Graham Silas.

From that day on, I'd devoted myself wholeheartedly to helping his territory and businesses thrive. My degree in business management had helped me quickly identify the weaknesses in his business operations. I'd addressed them one by one, and the results had exceeded everyone's expectations.

A year after our wedding, my father had died. The Nightbloom Pack had then merged with Graham's pack, greatly increasing the Lunar Pack's power.

Two months earlier, Graham had become Alpha after his father's death. Up until then, he'd always shown me steady, sincere love.

Then Zoe had returned.

Graham had insisted on celebrating our wedding anniversary with the Alphas, Lunas, and Betas from neighboring packs. But the celebration was more than a party. It was a public statement meant to show everyone that Zoe now held an important place by his side.

Perhaps her place mattered even more than mine.

"I've missed you so much, Graham," Zoe remarked as her voice trembled and tears filled her eyes. "Now that I'm back, I can't stand the thought of being away from you for even a second."

She rested her head against his chest as he gently stroked her back. Then she looked up at me again.

"Just like you, I want to make things right between us, Zoe," he replied gravely.

My cheeks burned with humiliation.

What exactly did he want to make right?

I clenched my teeth and stood up. I couldn't allow this to go any further. I'd worked too hard to build this life, and I couldn't simply watch it fall apart before my eyes.

I forced a composed smile onto my face and walked over to them.

"Zoe, I know this won't be easy to hear, but Alpha Graham is my mate and my husband," I explained calmly. "There's no room for anyone else in our marriage. You'd be better off working through your problems with Alpha Liam."

I shifted my gaze to Graham.

"You agree with me, don't you, my love?"

I refused to let them humiliate me in front of the entire pack.

Zoe stood there without a word. Then she gave a dramatic sob and burst into tears before running from the room.

"Zoe!" Graham shouted.

My wolf Coral snarled inside my mind. "Let me kill her. Let me shift."

"Graham," I called out as I forcefully pushed Coral back. "None of this is fair to me."

He jerked his head toward me and fixed me with a murderous glare. He said nothing, but I knew something between us had broken.

Once the reception was over, he didn't come back to our bedroom as he should have.

Instead, he went straight to the guest wing where Zoe was staying.

"Graham!" I called out again as I hurried after him.

He spun around to face me and bared his fangs as a low, threatening growl rose from his chest. I stopped in my tracks and froze.

Without saying another word, he turned away and entered Zoe's room.

The night dragged on without end.

I lay awake, tossing and turning in a bed that felt far too large and painfully empty. In the darkness, the loneliness pressing against my chest became even harder to bear.

I wanted to storm into that guest room and drag Zoe out of my own house.

Then a sudden, searing pain shot through my stomach.

I doubled over as a choked cry escaped my throat. My hands clutched my abdomen as I crumpled onto the cold floor, unable to understand what was happening to me.

Somehow, I dragged myself to the bathroom just in time to throw up everything I'd eaten.

Little by little, the agonizing cramps began to ease.

I was still trembling as I struggled to stand and rinse my mouth. When I looked in the mirror, I could barely recognize the face staring back at me. Tears had left my face a mess. My eyes were red and swollen from crying. Dark trails of makeup streaked my cheeks.

Then I realized the truth, and it hurt more than I could bear.

An illness hadn't caused the pain.

Graham had slept with Zoe.

Among werewolves, if a mate who'd been marked and claimed slept with someone else, the betrayed partner suffered excruciating physical pain. The Moon Goddess had made that suffering the punishment for infidelity.

Why did the innocent partner have to suffer instead of the one who'd betrayed them?

Still, who was I to question the Moon Goddess?

I ached at the thought of Alpha Johan's death. If he'd still been alive, at least I would've had his support.

Bitterness and hurt consumed me as a dull, aching anger settled inside me. I waited until dawn for Graham to return.

He never came back.

Even so, I refused to give in and let Zoe take everything I'd worked so hard to build.

I made myself take a hot bath, then put on an aquamarine silk dress. It was Graham's favorite color. I carefully braided my long blonde hair and applied a thick coat of black mascara. My lashes were naturally long, but I wanted to bring out the vivid green of my eyes.

Zoe might have been strikingly beautiful.

But I was just as beautiful as she was.

Still, it hurt to admit that I was competing with another woman for my own husband.

The omegas barely hid their pity as they watched me enter the dining room.

I forced myself to eat a quick breakfast, then headed for the guest room with brisk, determined steps.

Two guards stood outside the door.

"I'm sorry, Luna Kylie," one of them said as he stepped in front of me when I reached for the handle. "We can't let you in. The Alpha gave us strict orders."

My voice was cold and steady when I answered, "I'm his wife and this pack's Luna. You have no right to keep me out."

He glanced uncertainly at the other guard.

"Please forgive us, Luna, but the Alpha made himself clear. He said you'd need an appointment to see him."

For a moment, I could only stare at him in disbelief.

"Are you saying... I need an appointment to see my own husband?"

Just then, Beta Asher appeared in the hallway.

"Luna Kylie," he called out hesitantly. "The Alpha's... busy at the moment. It would be better to schedule a meeting with him at lunchtime."

"Beta Asher!" I snapped as my patience finally ran out. "You have no right to keep me from seeing my husband!"

Then muffled moans reached us through the thick wooden door.

"Go faster... harder!" Zoe cried out.

Another wave of brutal pain tore through my stomach. My legs buckled beneath me.

I fell to the floor and clutched my abdomen as hot tears streamed down my cheeks.

"Luna Kylie!"

Asher hurried to my side. He scooped me into his arms and quickly carried me back to my room.

"I'll have the doctor come right away." He promised grimly before he left.

Once again, I lay alone in the enormous bed.

I felt completely and utterly broken.