Boyd stands next to my father, his broad shoulders and confident stance a stark contrast to how I feel. My father clears his throat, breaking the tense silence. "We have agreed on the betrothal of my daughter and Boyd."


    "Oh, this is wonderful news," Linda and Boyd''s mother exim. What?! I am about to stand up and refuse when my father leans down, his hand mping on my shoulder. I turn my face to look at him. "You promised," I whisper


    "I''m keeping it, but y along; we can push the wedding back until we know if Zayn 1s your mate,” he whispers, "I am biding your time; only Zayn can stop this wedding. It''s out of my hands." I swallow thickly. "Agree for now; I


    need time to work something else out if he isn''t your mate." I bite my tongue


    The words hang heavy in the air, suffocating me. Betrothal? I can''t even imagine a life with Boyd, let alone being tied to him forever. But my duty to my pack and my family prevents me from protesting. As the only daughter of the alpha, it is my responsibility to secure alliances and ensure the survival of our pack. Marrying Boyd is the only way to do that. I just need to pray my fatheres up with another way out of this marriage


    "L want answers. Why is this out of your hands?" I hiss under my breath; if I am ying along, I want to know why


    "Once home, now go stand with your fiancé." Boydes over, and I stare at his outstretched hand with disgust. My heart sinks as I take his


    hand and nod, the weight of my decision settling heavily on my shoulders. This is the path I must take for the sake of my pack. The rest-I''ll have to figure outter


    "I''m d you made the right choice," Boyd says


    I want to rip my hand from his and punch his smug face, but I refrain


    "Indeed," I murmur, my voice barely above a whisper, my mind racing with thoughts of escape, of Zayn, and the life that could have been. But those dreams are slipping through my fingers, reced by a reality I never chose


    Boyd leans in, whispering promises of a bright future together, but his words feel hollow. Boyd leads me to a table filled with our families, where we are met with cheers and congrattions. I force a smile, trying to ignore the ufortable weight of Boyd''s arm draped


    over my shoulders


    "Congrattions, my dear," Boyd''s mother gushes fakely as she pulls me into a hug. "I can''t


    wait for us to officially be family."


    My stomach turns at her words, but I ster on another fake smile and nod in agreement


    "Let''s toast to new beginnings," Alpha Dane announces, raising his ss. The sound of crystal clinking echoes around us, a chorus of assent to a union I have not consented to. The rest of the evening is spent 1n a blur of food, drinks, and well- wishes from pack members


    Boyd never leaves my side, his possessive grip on me only getting tighter as the night goes on


    His touch is possessive, not tender; his gaze calcting, not warm. I can sense his desire to im me, to mark me as his own before


    everyone, but I shrink from him, unwilling to y the part of the doting fiancée when he keeps ring at the mark on my neck left by Zayn


    Finally, the festivitiese to an end. Boyd asks to drive me home, and I stare at my father pleadingly, who 1s quickly distracted by Alpha Dane. "It''s fine, I can get a lift home with Dad and Linda." I tell him


    "Nonsense, I will drop you home," Boyd says,


    steering me out of the restaurant, and he leads me back to his car. As soon as the door closes


    behind us, he lunges forward, pressing his lips against mine without warning


    My body stiffens in shock before I push him away forcefully. "What do you think you''re doing?" I snap


    Boyd just smirks at me. "Rx, sweetheart. We''re going to be married soon; there''s no need for this prudish behavior."


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    I scoff at his words and shift away from him towards the window. "There''s nothing prudish about not wanting to kiss someone who has shown nothing but disrespect towards me and my wishes. You know I don''t want to marry you!"


    His smirk turns into a scowl as he grips my chin painfully with his fingers. "What you want doesn''t matter. Our fathers have a deal. You will learn your ce once we''re married," he growls before shoving me away from him and starting up the


    car


    Ignoring his threat, I focus on the passing scenery outside until we finally arrive at my pack''s territory. As soon as we step out of the


    car, Boyd pulls me close to him again, showing off our ''happy couple'' act for anyone who might see us


    I feel sick to my stomach, but keep up appearances for my father''s sake. After all, he is trying to find a way out of this. He pulls up seconds after us, and relief floods meContent provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    My father looks at me, his smile tight but approving. "You''re doing the right thing," he says, helping a drunk Linda out of the car


    I don''t respond, just turn to gaze away, my vision blurring when Boyd speaks. "Oh, you were quicker than I thought; I figured you and Dad would have gone over formalities," Boyd states, clearly not happy that my father rushed home


    "Linda wasn''t feeling well," Dad says, and


    Linda gives him a look, but I see my father''s grip on her arm tighten


    "I''ve had a few too many drinks," she quickly states. Boyd nods and turns to me, and smiles, leaning in like he may try to kiss me