~Hazel's POV~
I didn't ask for this. Not any of it.
Not the fate that chained me to wolves. Not the marks that branded me like a possession. And certainly not a wedding that felt more like a punishment than a promise.
I never wanted to belong to a world where my value was discussed across council tables, where elders debated my worth like I was a commodity. A pawn on their board. Disposable. Replaceable.
What happened yesterday... shouldn't have happened.
I had gone to Cayden with one purpose—to reject him. To sever that bond before it rooted too deeply. Before it swallowed me whole. But things didn't go as planned. The room had felt too small, his presence too consuming, and the fire that passed between us—whether it was fate or foolishness—ended up sealing us instead of freeing me.
I could hate myself for it, but what use was hate now?
The deed was done.
And now... we move forward.
