Fated to the Alpha Who Killed Me (by Sherry) novel Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The girl popped her gum. “Celeste? Nah. She swapped shifts with me.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. I slumped back against the hard plastic seat, the fight draining out of

1. me. Of course. Fate wasn’t a line you could simply redraw with a crayon. It was a chasm, and I was trying to

bridge it with toothpicks.

“Who is Celeste?” Evan frowned.

I pulled the cap lower over my eyes, laughing bitterly. “Just a ghost, Evan.”

“You said you want to talk.”

“Alright,” I said, looking up at him. “I am trying to end it. Could you help me convince him to perform the

Rejection Ceremony?”

Evan sighed, leaning back and crossing his arms. “I can’t do that.”

“Why?” I demanded. “You see how miserable we are. You see him with other women. Why force us to stay

tethered?”

“Because a marriage between the Wildfire heir and the Frost Alpha is not about happiness,” Evan stated, his voice taking on the clinical detachment of a doctor delivering a bad prognosis. “It is about territory, resources, and biology. Daemon is a rational creature, despite his vices. He will notsever a beneficial political alliance without a catalyst of immense magnitude. Unless a Fated Mate appears–which is statistically improbable after age twenty–five–he will never release you. It would be bad business.”

“I see,” I said, standing up. “Thank you for the honesty, Evan. Enjoy the burger.”

***

The following week passed in a blur of sweat and bruised knuckles.

Daemon vanished, and the manor snapped back to its default setting. His recent, suffocating presence had been a bizarre glitch in our cold routine; now, the anomaly was finally corrected. Whether he was on

business or with a mistress, he was gone. The house was mine again.

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Chapter 11

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I stopped plotting. I stopped trying to manipulate the threads of time. Instead, I focused on the one thing I

could control: myself.

Every morning at dawn, I was in the training ring. I ran until my lungs burned and my legs felt like jelly. I hit the heavy bag until my knuckles bled and calloused over. I ate lean proteins and green vegetables,

forcing my body to repair the damage of a decade of neglect.

I was building it for the war. When the rejection came, when the spiritual backlash hit me, I needed to be strong enough to stay on my feet. I would not die on my knees in the mud again.

***

“Look at you,” Sienna shouted over the thumping bass of the local wolf bar, The Iron Claw. “You actually

have color in your cheeks!”

“I’m not the only one,” I shouted back, taking a sip of sparkling water. I gestured toward Lily, who was sitting across from us, looking soft and radiant. “Lily is glowing, too.”

“True!” Sienna agreed, slinging an arm around Lily’s shoulders. “That’s what happens when you have a mate who actually worships the ground you walk on. A well–fed wolf has a shiny coat, right?”

Lily tossed her head, a playful smirk playing on her lips.

“Look, Connor made me a bento box for lunch today,” Lily said dreamily, showing us a picture of rice shaped like a rabbit. “He’s so sweet. My mom says as long as he treats me like a queen, rank doesn’t matter.”

“That’s beautiful, Lily,” I said, and I meant it. “Hold onto that.”

“I am,” Lily beamed. “We’re talking about the Mating Ceremony next spring. I just don’t know where to start

with the planning.”

A spark ignited in my brain.

In my past life, before the marriage consumed me, I had been the top student in Event Management at Lupine Sovereign University. I had organized galas, charity balls, and pack summits. I had a gift for logistics,

for turning chaos into choreography.

I set my glass down, a new clarity sharpening my vision.

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Chapter 11

Waiting to be rejected wasn’t a plan. If I was going to leave Daemon, I needed more than just a healthy body. I needed resources. I needed a reputation that didn’t depend on his name. I needed money that he

couldn’t freeze.

“I’ll plan your ceremony,” I said, leaning forward, my mind already racing with color palettes and vendor

lists.

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