Sold for 30 Days. Now Two Brothers Will Burn the World for Her Novel – Chapter 1: The Funeral ~ Celeste ~ The scent of fresh earth and grief hangs heavy in the air as they lower Alpha John into the ground. I should be mourning. We all should be. But all I can think about is the woman standing across from me, her eyes boring into mine with barely concealed triumph. Delilah. John’s widow. Tom’s fated mate. And the reason my entire world is about to crumble. My hands tremble as I clutch Tom’s arm, feeling the tension radiating through his body. He won’t look at me. He hasn’t looked at me properly since his brother died three days ago. Because he’s too busy looking at her. Even now, as we stand at his brother’s graveside, his eyes keep drifting toward the widow dressed in black. The widow who should be crying but instead stands there with her head held high. “Tom,” I whisper, but he doesn’t respond.
His arm feels stiff under my touch, like he can barely tolerate my presence. Like I’m an obligation he’s forced to endure rather than the woman he chose. Except he didn’t choose me, did he? He settled. He settled because John got to Delilah first, and I was the consolation prize. The plus-size omega with the freakish gift. Zoe, my wolf, whimpers in the back of my mind. She feels it too — the shift in the air, the danger creeping closer. Not just from Delilah’s predatory stare, but from something worse. I can hear the whispers. The pack members murmuring behind cupped hands, thinking I can’t hear them. But that’s the thing about my gift — I hear everything. “Poor Celeste. Tom’s going to reject her now, isn’t he?” “He never wanted her. Everyone knows that.” “She’s not fit to be Luna. Look at her. How can someone like that lead us?” Each word is a blade, cutting deeper and deeper. I know what everyone’s thinking. What they’ve always thought. Why did Tom choose the plus-size omega when he could have had Delilah? The answer is simple: he didn’t choose me. John did — by claiming Delilah first.
Tom settled for the omega with the supernatural hearing ability that makes me useful to the pack. Not loved. Useful. And God, I’ve been so useful, haven’t I? Warning the pack of approaching enemies, hearing threats from miles away, keeping everyone safe while they looked down on me for not being beautiful like Delilah, not slim like Delilah, not perfect like Delilah. “It’s my fault,” I breathe, guilt crushing my chest like a boulder. “John died because of me.” Because Tom was jealous. Tom made me stay behind instead of accompanying John to The Phoenix application meeting. He couldn’t stand that his brother — who already had Delilah — also got to have me by his side for protection during the dangerous journey. I wasn’t there to hear the enemy pack approaching, I failed the one duty that makes me valuable. Tom’s jaw clenches, a muscle ticking beneath his skin. “Don’t.” But it is my fault. If I had been there, I would have heard them coming. I would have warned John. He’d still be alive, and Tom wouldn’t be looking at his widow like she’s water in the desert.
And now John is dead, and Tom is Alpha, and Delilah is free. The perfect storm of my worst nightmare. My breathing quickens as panic claws at my throat. Tom is going to reject me. I can feel it coming like a shift in the wind. He’s going to cast me aside and finally claim his fated mate, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. ‘Breathe, Celeste,’ Zoe murmurs. ‘We’re stronger than this.’ But are we? Are we really? The priest’s voice drones on, saying beautiful things about John — about his leadership, his strength, his vision for the pack. All the things Tom now has to live up to as the new Alpha. All the reasons he needs a better Luna than me. My thoughts shatter as a sound pierces through the funeral silence. A sound no one else can hear. Cars. Two of them. Still miles away but approaching fast. The engine rumble is distinct. Expensive. Powerful. Not a pack I recognize. And then I hear it… crying. Someone’s crying, begging… “Please, I didn’t mean to! Please spare me! I’ll do anything!” My blood runs cold.
I know that voice. I’d know it anywhere. ‘Fanny,’ Zoe growls in my mind, bristling with anger and fear. No. No, no, no. What has my sister done now? Fanny has always been trouble. Ever since we were kids, she’s been getting into situations that put everyone at risk. Dating rogues, sneaking out of pack territory, ignoring every rule and boundary because she thinks she’s invincible. And I’ve always been the one cleaning up her messes. But this… this sounds bad. Really bad. “Tom!” I grip his arm harder, panic flooding my veins. “Cars approaching. Two of them. They have Fanny.” Tom’s entire body goes rigid. Whatever haze Delilah had him under shatters instantly. His alpha instincts kick in, sharp and immediate. “How far?” he demands, his voice dropping into that command tone that makes every wolf in the vicinity stand at attention. “Five miles. Maybe less. Moving fast.” “Keith!” Tom barks. “We have incoming. Two vehicles. Unknown pack. Prepare for potential hostility.” Within seconds, the funeral transforms into a battlefield. Keith, our Gamma, begins organizing the pack members. They spread out, forming a protective circle around the gravesite. The women and children move to the center.
The warriors shift to the perimeter, their bodies tense and ready. My heart hammers against my ribs as I strain my hearing, trying to gather more information. Multiple heartbeats. At least fifteen, maybe twenty. All strong. All trained fighters. And Fanny, still crying, still begging. “What did you do?” I whisper to the wind, knowing she can’t hear me. “What the hell did you do, Fanny?” The rumble of engines grows louder. Loud enough for everyone to hear now. The pack members shift nervously, casting anxious glances at Tom. He stands tall, projecting confidence, but I can hear his heart racing. He’s scared. We all are. “Nevermore Pack,” Keith announces suddenly, his voice tight with dread. “I can see their insignia.” The words send a ripple of fear through everyone present. Nevermore. The most powerful pack in the region. Possibly the country. They have resources we can’t even dream of. Military training. Mafia connections. Influence that reaches into every corner of the werewolf world. What are they doing here? What could Fanny have possibly done to bring Nevermore to our doorstep? The sleek black cars screech to a halt — disrespectfully close to John’s open grave, dirt spraying across the mourners. It’s a calculated insult, and everyone knows it. My heart hammers as doors open and men in black suits pour out like shadows. They move with military precision, forming a wall of muscle and menace.
These aren’t just pack warriors. These are soldiers. And then he emerges. Dressed in an impeccable white suit, tall, broad-shouldered. Moving with the kind of predatory grace that speaks of absolute power and zero tolerance for disrespect. The moment my eyes land on him, Zoe goes absolutely feral. “MATE!” she howls, throwing herself against the walls of my mind. “MATE! MATE! MATE!” I stumble backward, shock stealing my breath. No. That’s impossible. I’m already mated to Tom. I already have his mark on my neck — his claim, his scent, his bond. You can’t have two mates. That’s not how it works. But Zoe doesn’t care about logic or rules or the mark scarred into my skin. She’s pushing forward, desperate, yearning, trying to force a shift so she can run to him. “Calm down,” I hiss internally. “Stop it!” “He’s OURS!” she snarls back. “Our TRUE mate! I can feel it!” My whole body trembles as I fight for control. This can’t be happening. Not when my entire life is already falling apart. “That’s Stefan Casteel,” Keith mutters to Tom, his voice barely above a whisper. “Alpha of Nevermore Pack.
Don of the Hamish Mafia Family.” Tom’s heart rate spikes so violently I can hear it like drums in my ears. His fear is palpable, rolling off him in waves. We all are terrified. Stefan Casteel. Even I’ve heard the stories. The ruthless Alpha who has politicians in his pocket and enemies in early graves. The man currently staring directly at me. Stefan’s dark eyes scan the crowd with predatory precision, passing over Tom, over Keith, over Delilah… And stopping on me. Everything stops. My heart. My breath. Time itself. Those eyes… dark as midnight, pin me in place. I feel naked under that gaze, like he can see through every defense, every wall, straight into my soul. Why is he looking at me? Heat crawls up my neck, and I hate myself for it. I should be terrified. I am terrified. But there’s something else too, something that makes my skin tingle and Zoe purr with satisfaction. One of his men drags someone forward, and my sister crashes to the ground in a heap of blood and tears. “Help me, Celeste!” Fanny sobs, her face swollen and bruised. “Please! Tell them I didn’t mean it!” I close my eyes, anger and despair warring inside me. This is what Fanny does. Gets into trouble. Makes terrible decisions. Drags everyone down with her. And I always, always, have to save her. “I apologize for interrupting your funeral,” Stefan says, his voice smooth and cold as ice. Rich and cultured. The kind of voice that’s used to being obeyed without question. “But this member of your pack…” he gestures dismissively at Fanny, “…has waged war against mine by killing one of my wolves.” Tom steps forward, trying to project authority even though I can hear how badly he’s shaking. “There’s no proof…” Stefan snaps his fingers. A dead wolf is brought forward on a stretcher.
Even from here, I can smell death and blood. The pack gasps collectively. “I-I didn’t mean to!” Fanny wails, scrambling forward on her knees. “It was an accident! I swear!” “It was no accident.” Stefan’s smile is razor-sharp, dangerous. “She was paid by a rogue to assassinate him. A calculated attack on my pack.” Another signal. Another bound man dragged forward, tape over his mouth, terror in his eyes. I recognize him instantly. The rogue Fanny’s been sleeping with for the past two months. I warned her. I warned her about rogues. Told her they were dangerous, unpredictable, that they’d only bring trouble. But Fanny never listens. Tom swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Our pack has nothing to do with this. Let the culprit face the consequences of her actions.” The words hit me like a physical blow. He’s abandoning her. Abandoning my sister to save the pack. “What?” I whisper, whipping toward him. “He’ll kill her!” Tom’s eyes are hard when they finally meet mine. “What can I do, Celeste?” he hisses back. “We’re not strong enough to fight Nevermore. We’ll all die. The entire pack. Is that what you want?” “She’s my sister…” “And they’re my pack,” he cuts me off. “I have to think about everyone, not just your family.” The dismissal in his voice makes me flinch. “There is,” Stefan interrupts, his eyes still fixed on me, “one way to put this behind us.” My stomach drops. Something about his tone tells me I’m not going to like what comes next.