My Convicted Wife is My Mate (Bella and Kane) novel Chapter 4

chapter 4
BELLA’S POV

I felt cold the next morning. I didn’t know where the chill came from since the sun was already peeking out.

I woke up early. The tightness in my chest reminded me what day it was. My mating ceremony.

Not the ceremony I once dreamed of. Not the union of love and loyalty under the blessing of the Moon Goddess. No, this was a farce. It was an exchange, a punishment, a way to silence me.

Still, I refused to look broken.

I washed myself quickly in the bathroom. I scrubbed away the remnants of prison and pain. My fingers trembled as I reached for the small box of cheap hair dye I had managed to buy. I hated my silver hair so I always dyed it blonde.

I leaned into the cracked mirror, carefully brushing the blonde dye through my strands. My hair had grown dull these past years. It became lifeless like the woman I had almost become. But I wouldn’t allow them to see me that way.

As the dye settled, I tied together a small bouquet of wildflowers I had picked the evening before. They were fragile. Some petals were already curling, yet I arranged them carefully then wrapped their stems with twine.

This was all I could afford. But even so, they were mine.

When I looked into the mirror again, I took a deep breath. My reflection startled me. Despite everything, despite the scars in my heart, I looked… beautiful.

My hair sparkled golden under the weak light, though if one looked close enough, you could still see the hints of silver. It was as if my true self couldn’t be buried.

Even in such terrible circumstances, I wanted to show I hadn’t been defeated. Despite everything, I was still stunningly beautiful,

“I may be broken,” I whispered to my reflection, “but I will not let them see me shattered.”

The ceremony was pitiful.

The mating ceremony was extremely modest. It was a humiliating opposite of what Damien had done for Kathy yesterday. Even the decorations he had in the house was a thousand times better than this, and that was just for a proposal.

The hall was empty. The walls were stripped of flowers, banners, or light. It showed how little my union meant to the pack. The sacred silk ribbon, which in tradition should have glowed with the Moon Goddess’s blessing as a bond was forged….now, it was nothing more than a plain white strip. It was dull across the altar like it didn’t matter.

The werewolf elder presiding over the rite came in late. His robe was wrinkled. His breath was sour with alcohol.

Only a handful of low-ranking wolves had gathered. They whispered about me, mocking the wolf-less girl being bound to a disgraced rogue.

In our culture, ceremonies were more than tradition. They were the heartbeat of the pack, the Goddess’s witness. To strip it of beauty and respect was not only shameful, it was a message: that I was not worthy of honor.

I stood alone near the front with my bouquet clutched to my chest, forcing my chin high. Inside, my heart ached. So this is what I’ve been reduced to.

The sound of heels against the floor drew every head toward the entrance.

Kathy came in dressed like a queen. Of course, she was. She wore a red fitted dress. She had jewelry at her throat that caught the light. She came in on Damien's arm. They made a striking pair, and she knew it,.

Damien's eyes found me immediately.

I felt it before I saw it - the shift in his attention, the way it landed and then stayed. He was staring at me with an expression I had not seen on his face in three years.

He crossed the room toward me.

"Bella," Damien said. His voice was low. He looked at me the way he used to look at me, and I hated that I recognized it. "You look-"

"Don't," I said.

"Listen to me. This stray - whatever this is, it won't last. You know that." He stepped slightly closer, lowering his voice further. "After today, when it falls apart , come to me. I'll take care of you. You can be- I will take care of you”

I looked at him for a long moment, at the face I had once thought I would spend my life beside, at the mouth that had stayed silent at the most important moment it had ever been asked to speak.

"You want me to be your mistress," I said flatly.

"I want you taken care of."

"No," I said. "You want me available and below you, where you can feel good about yourself for keeping me. I spent three years in prison for your family's silence, Damien. I lost my wolf, my son, my license, and three years of my life. And you're standing in front of me at my mating ceremony offering to keep me." I shook my head. "I would rather fail completely on my own than succeed on your terms. We are done”

He said nothing. Kathy appeared at his side.

"Still turning heads even at your own mating ceremony," she said sweetly. Her eyes were hard. "Some habits don't change, I suppose. Seducing men who don't belong to you."

The crowd chuckled.

I met her eyes calmly. “At least I didn’t steal someone else’s mate,” I replied softly, but everyone heard me.

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