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.