CHAPTER THREE
Her mother's smile faltered. "Of course. Vivienne is here."
Vivienne felt every eye turn toward her at once. Maddox reached for her hand, but she pulled
away before he touched her.
Grayson moved toward her slowly, each step quiet but weighted. He stopped only a few feet
away. He was taller up close, his presence sharper, colder, dangerous in a way that made her
ribs tighten.
Vivienne lifted her chin out of instinct, though she couldn't steady her breath. She felt small
under his gaze but also strangely seen.
He studied her face. Her posture. The tremor in her hands. Then his voice, low and deep, broke
the silence.
"You are Vivienne Cross."
It wasn't a question.
Vivienne nodded, barely.
Grayson's eyes narrowed with something she couldn't read. Recognition. Approval. Claim.
Behind him, one warrior stepped forward, scanning the exits. The other positioned himself
beside Vivienne, as if she already belonged to them.
Tessa pushed through the crowd suddenly, her smile bright and artificial. "Alpha Holt," she
breathed. "I'm Tessa. I was hoping "
Grayson didn't look at her. "You were not requested."
Tessa froze, her jaw stiffening.
Vivienne felt the shift in the room. The energy sharpened. Guests whispered again, but no one
dared speak above a breath.
Grayson's attention returned to Vivienne.
"Your parents made an agreement," he said. "You come with me."
Vivienne's pulse hammered. "I didn't agree to anything."
"You don't need to."
Her breath caught. "Why me?"
His eyes held hers, steady and unreadable.
"Because you were promised," he said softly. "And because I accept only what is mine."
Vivienne stepped back on instinct.
Grayson didn't reach for her. But the warrior beside her did firm, controlled guiding her closer to
the Alpha with a grip that offered no argument.
Maddox lunged forward. "Let her go!"
Grayson finally acknowledged him. A slow turn of his head. A calm stare. A quiet threat lingering
at the edges of his voice.
"One more step," Grayson said, "and I teach you why you should fear wolves."
No one moved.
Not Maddox.
Not Tessa.
Not even Vivienne.
And the last thing she saw before her world shifted was the faint, unmistakable glow rising in
Grayson Holt's eyes.
Hope on Unsteady Ground
Vivienne stood at the edge of the celebration, her fingers tightening around the stem of her
glass as she tried to breathe past the weight growing in her chest. Every corner of the room felt
too bright, too loud, too sharp. She kept telling herself Maddox loved her, whispering the
promises he'd made into the back of her mind like a shield. He said he wanted a future with her.
He said she was the only one who understood him. He said she made him feel human.
So why did she feel like she was drowning?
Tessa's laughter drifted across the room, light and practiced. It was the kind of laugh that turned
heads, drawn from a throat used to attention. The sound alone rattled Vivienne's nerves. Her
stepsister glowed tonight hair swept into a stylish twist, emerald dress hugging every curve, her
smile carved with something almost predatory.
Vivienne tried to ignore her. She tried to look anywhere else at the golden chandeliers, the
polished marble floors, the guests draped in expensive fabrics and painted confidence. But
everywhere she looked, she found her parents' eyes cutting toward her, sharp, assessing,
calculating.
She felt catalogued. Measured. Weighed.
Vivienne forced herself to take in a slow breath. Maddox had promised her this was their night.
He told her they'd take the next step soon, that he wanted to build something real. She held on
to that his warmth, his whispered words, the memory of his hand brushing her cheek when no
one was watching.
She clung to it because everything around her felt wrong.
Her mother stood a few steps away, her gaze flicking between Vivienne and the entrance as if
waiting for something. Her father whispered to a business associate, but his tone carried
impatience, as though the evening were already behind schedule.
Tessa caught Vivienne staring and flashed her a smile that didn't reach her eyes. It was smug
quietly triumphant. As if she already knew the shape of the night, and Vivienne did not.
Vivienne turned away before her stomach twisted further. She tried to focus on the music
swelling through the room, on the familiar faces milling around in curated politeness. But her
thoughts spiraled, slippery and fast: maybe Maddox had grown distant because he was hiding
the proposal plans. Maybe Tessa was acting strangely because she knew the surprise. Maybe
her parents were simply nervous about hosting so many important guests.
Maybe everything was fine.
A hand brushed her elbow. She jumped.
"Relax," one of her cousins teased gently as he passed. "You look like you're waiting for the
world to end."
Vivienne forced a laugh. It sounded thin, but it was the best she could manage.
If only he knew how close his words felt to the truth.
A sudden clang of glass against silver cut through the chatter. Maddox Lane stood near the
center of the room, tapping his champagne flute with the back of a spoon. The sound echoed
beautifully, drawing every head toward him.
Vivienne's heart leapt before she could stop it.
Maddox looked devastating tonight tall, broad-shouldered, his dark hair swept back with casual
elegance, his suit tailored perfectly across his athletic frame. His eyes, deep and familiar,
scanned the crowd with a calm she had always loved. He looked like someone who belonged in
every room he walked into. Someone people naturally admired.
Someone she thought would choose her.
The murmurs died. The music softened. People shifted to face him fully.
Vivienne felt her pulse climb into her throat.
He was going to do it.
He was finally going to do it.
This was the moment she had imagined for years the moment she thought would become the
first page of the life they'd build together.
She caught his eye for half a second.
He looked away.
Vivienne's stomach dipped, but she forced herself to stay still. Maddox always grew shy in
crowds. Maybe he needed courage. Maybe the weight of so many eyes made him nervous.
Then Tessa stepped forward.
Her movements were deliberate, smooth, calculated. She crossed the space between them as if
drawn by an invisible thread. Guests whispered as she reached Maddox's side, her smile bright
and knowing. She placed a hand on his arm and leaned in slightly, positioning herself for the
spotlight.
Vivienne blinked, confusion slicing through her breath.
Why is she next to him?
Why is she smiling like that?
Why is he letting her?
The room buzzed with expectation, but it wasn't directed at Vivienne anymore. It shifted toward
Tessa toward the shimmering emerald dress, the hair perfectly pinned, the radiance that looked
suspiciously like victory.
Vivienne's hands trembled. She pressed them against her skirt to hide it.
Maddox cleared his throat. "Thank you all for joining us tonight."
Us.
Vivienne's breath hitched as Tessa leaned closer, their shoulders nearly touching.
A soft ripple of whispers spread like wildfire.
People noticed.
Everyone noticed.
Vivienne felt rooted to the spot, as if her body no longer belonged to her.
She watched Maddox's fingers flex around the glass. He looked calm too calm. Detached. His
eyes no longer wandered to her. They stayed forward, steady, certain.
Vivienne's hope faltered, like a candle fighting a gust of wind.
Maddox set his glass down. The soft click of crystal against marble sounded like the closing of a
door.
He reached into his pocket.
Vivienne's breath caught hard, a tight and painful knot beneath her ribs. But something cold
threaded through her excitement a feeling she didn't want to name yet. A feeling that whispered,
Look closely.
Tessa turned toward Maddox fully, her face glowing with anticipation.
No.
No, this wasn't right.
He would never
Maddox lowered himself onto one knee.
Vivienne didn't hear the first gasp. She only saw Tessa's hand fly to her mouth, saw the guests
lean forward, saw her mother stiffen with something that looked too much like satisfaction.
Vivienne's vision blurred around the edges.
He was kneeling.
But not to her.
"Tessa," Maddox said, his voice steady, reverent, deliberate. "You are the woman I want beside
me."