Contractually married my ex-mate's Father

CHAPTER-1

Aria's POV:

You know that unsettling, queasy, gut-fraying feeling that churns your stomach when something horrific is about to happen?

Yes, that's exactly how I felt standing in this grand hall, hosting my engagement party.

I felt restless, my wolf too. She'd been whining in our shared mind space, mumbling words I couldn't quite decipher because of the loud crowd.

To make matters worse, my insides were gnawing, and it felt like something inside me was being torn apart. It was a painful feeling, but I ground my teeth and told myself it was just extreme wedding jitters, forcing a smile while my chest increasingly heaved with worry and pain.

However, whatever smile I could force disappeared when I noticed Rhett Blackstone, my mate and husband-to-be, was missing.

Rhett and I had come to the party together and he was standing right beside me a couple of minutes ago, but right now, there wasn't a single trace of him, not even a faint trail of his scent lingering.

Maybe he's greeting the guest or handling some of his pack matters. I said to myself, instead of making a fuss or worrying about it, but after ten minutes passed without him showing up, I couldn't help but get worried.

My father's cold eyes met mine, and he signaled me over. My heart started pounding in my ears as each step towards him felt like approaching hell.

My father, Alpha Cane Nightwind and I don't have that typical father-daughter relationship; he was just a cold, indifferent, and distant father who loved power and name.

I was born of his blood, Alpha blood and still it wasn't enough. I finished college as a first-class business major, completed my warrior training, excelled in combat and shifting, proved myself a thousand times over but it didn't matter. All because I was a woman. One that looked like her mother-the one woman my father hated so much.

It was safe to say that, he hated my mother and after her death, the hatred was transferred to me

"Yes, Alpha." He favoured Alpha more than father in public.

"Where is Rhett?"

I lowered my gaze.

"I don't know. I've not seen him around"

"How can you not know where your fiancé went on such an important day?" His voice turned stern, like he was scolding a child. In his eyes, I never do anything right. "Find him! The guests from Nightwind and your Aunt Carina are waiting to meet him."

"Yes, Alpha. I'll find him," I replied, not wanting to stay in his presence a second longer.

"And find your brother for me as well, will you?" His glare disappeared when he spoke of my younger brother, his golden son. My heart squeezed at his affection for my brother, but I just brushed it off like always, nodded, and turned my back on him to begin my search.

I walked through all the rooms where I thought Rhett could be but I couldn't find him and