Katrina had taken an acting class in school, just for the fun of it. She hadn’t thought she’d learned much at the time, but now she used every trick she could remember to keep the fury off her face. Thank goodness she’d had a little time to mentally prepare herself, or she couldn’t have managed to fake it so well.

Two hours earlier, Katrina had been putting the finishing touches on her makeup in the bridal tent when boisterous voices outside announced the groom’s arrival. Kat had glanced at her best friend and matron of honor, Tilly, in the mirror and they grinned at each other.

“You wanna?” Tilly had asked, reading Kat’s mind.

“Do we dare? I’m supposed to be resting.”

“You can rest when you’re dead,” Tilly had said with a snort. “Unless you don’t want to see what your future husband looks like. If it were me, I’d be dying of curiosity.”

Of course, the point was moot since Tilly had married a man she’d known and loved for years. But Kat had wanted to to get a glimpse of the man — not that it really mattered, since the whole marriage was a sham anyway. Still…

The women had quickly undressed and shifted into bear form, hoping they’d draw less attention than if Kat snuck out in her ridiculously ornate wedding dress. Tilly had used a claw to slice a slit in the back of the tent, then they’d crept out as quietly as possible. They’d been sneaking out for runs in the woods since they were cubs, so this little unauthorized excursion had seemed to Kat like the perfect way to spend her last moments of freedom.

Peeking around the corner of her tent, Kat had spotted a tall, dark-haired man speaking with the shaman. His back had been to her, but the garland of flowers hanging around his neck showed he was the groom. A thrill of excitement had rushed through Kat as she willed the son of Tier Fairchild to turn around, though she reminded herself it didn’t matter. This would be a marriage in name only, no matter how good he looked from behind.

When he’d turned to speak with her father, Kat’s heart had nearly stopped. With a grunt, she’d turned and scurried back through the slit in the tent, leaving a mystified Tilly to follow.

“What’s wrong?” Tilly had asked when they’d both shifted back to their womanly forms. “He’s totally hot! You lucked out…didn’t you?”

Katrina had dressed as she told Tilly every sordid detail of her brief affair with Alex, including the fact she’d never known his last name. By the end, Tilly had been so angry, Kat had worried she might pop her cork…or her baby.

“What a fucktard!” Tilly had ranted, almost making Kat giggle.

“I know! Just thinking about it pisses me off all over again. The thought of marrying that jackass… I’m telling you Tilly, I’m this close to bolting.”

“You should!”

Tilly’s baby had chosen that moment to kick…hard. “Oof! Oh, you’ve got to feel this.”

Tilly had grabbed Kat’s hand and placed it on her swollen belly. The life inside Kat’s best friend had wiggled around, filling Kat with a joy she’d never known. She couldn’t wait to meet the precious little munchkin…

As she’d gazed at the softly undulating baby bump, a shroud of ice wrapped around her heart until tears sprang to her eyes. If she left, she’d never meet her own godchild. Infinitely worse than that, what kind of future would the cub have? One filled with war and hatred and death.

Kat had locked on to Tilly’s rapturous gaze, desperation choking the air from her lungs. In that moment, as Tilly’s smile had faltered, Kat chose life over death, peace over war, love over hate. She would marry that day, for the sake of her friend, her godchild and her people. Her misery was nothing compared to their lives.

At least she wouldn’t have to be miserable alone. She had every intention of sharing that gift with Alex too.

Now he stood in front of her, grinning like a moron. He looked as if he actually thought this was a happy occasion. Moron.

Instead of kicking him, as every fiber of her being was crying out for her to do, she plastered the biggest imitation of a smile she could muster on her face and said her vows, like a good girl. But when Alex looked into her eyes as he slipped the ring on her finger, Kat couldn’t resist letting her fangs grow to sharp points.

The man had perfected his poker face, she had to give that to him, but she caught the slight widening of his eyes. He’d seen her fangs, and hopefully the threat in her gaze. Look at me the wrong way and suffer the consequences, that look said. This marriage is a sham, and don’t forget it.

Through it all, she smiled. Even after the ceremony ended, and the crowd surged around them, shaking their hands and congratulating them, she smiled. When Alex dipped his head to speak to her, she smiled — then latched onto her father’s arm and allowed him to escort her to the next clearing for the feast. As she was about to take her seat, she smiled.

Then a big, warm hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her away. Only then did she let the smile drop. She had no interest in following Alex wherever he was taking her, but everyone was watching. She had to at least pretend to like her new husband.

Gak! The word nearly turned her stomach inside out.

Neither spoke until they reached the river bank, where the rushing water would keep them from being overheard. Hopefully.

“Kat, this is crazy, isn’t it?” he said in an excited rush, hope flaring in his eyes. “I swear, I’ve been dreading this day my whole life, but when I saw it was you… Honestly, I’ve never been happier.”

Kat stared up at him, stunned. Exactly how did he expect her to react to that statement? Moron.

“I know I was awful the other day, but—“

“Awful?” she scoffed. “You weren’t awful, Alex. You did me a favor. If we’d never met and you hadn’t treated me the way you did, I might have spent my entire life under the illusion I married a great guy.”

He blinked as she spit the words at him. She hoped they stung.

“No, probably not my entire life,” she continued, twisting the knife. “You wouldn’t have been able to keep your true nature hidden that long. At least you saved me from a few days of not knowing any better and the utter humiliation that would have surely followed. Thanks!”

She smiled brightly, hating the way her voice had cracked, hating the tears that fought to fall, hating him.

“Kat, please. It seemed like the only way. I had no idea you were so…innocent. I thought if I was a jerk, it would be easier for you to…you know…get over me.”

Kat balked. “Get over you! Exactly how awesome do you think you are?”

“No, I—”

“Besides, it wasn’t just that you were a jerk, Alex. You cheated on me!”

Alex gaped at her, genuinely confused. “Cheated...?”

“You were engaged, dumbass! You even told me so. And yet you had sex with some random woman anyway, a week before your wedding!”

“B-but it was you,” he blabbered, caught in his own web of deceit. “Technically—”

Kat shoved the flat of her hand in his face. “Don’t even.”

Alex stared at her for a long moment, before finally coming up with his next argument. “Well, you cheated on me too. You didn’t know I was your fiancé.”

“I didn’t know I had a fiancé!” she hissed.

“What?!” Alex looked honestly shocked.

Katrina huffed, glaring at the river as if this whole mess were its fault. “I found out two whole days ago. My parents never told me. They say they didn’t want me growing up with this burden hanging over my head, but I think they really just didn’t want to give me time to figure out a way to refuse.”

“Oh God,” he breathed, looking dumbfounded.

The fire that had been burning inside her for hours flickered out. This had been the most emotionally exhausting week of her life. All she really wanted to do was crawl into a cozy cave and sleep for weeks…maybe months. She even briefly fantasized about waking up to find this had all been a bad dream.

“It certainly explains a lot,” she said with a sigh. “They never let me date, not that anyone ever asked. All the men in my clan were too terrified of my father to even look at me sideways. All these years, I thought it was me. I thought I was somehow undesirable. But it really was just that everyone knew this incredibly important thing about me, while I wandered around totally clueless.”

“I’m so sorry,” Alex whispered as he unexpectedly pulled Kat into his arms. She didn’t have the strength to resist. “I swear to you, I will never keep anything from you again. There will be no secrets in our marriage.”

For a moment, Katrina allowed herself to melt into the comfort of his embrace. But his scent, as much as it enticed and excited her, also reminded her of their night of passion — and its aftermath. The fire burst back to life.

“Let’s get this straight,” she said, jerking herself free and glaring up at him. “What we have is not a marriage. It’s a farce. A symbol, so the members of our clans can have better lives. But make no mistake, Alex Fairchild, we are not truly mated. We never will be. I don’t respect you, I don’t like you, and I will never love you.”

“How can you say that after our night together? You know as well as I do, it was special.”

“How can I not say it? Our night together showed me exactly what kind of man you are.”

Alex reached for her, but she shrank away. The thought of him touching her repulsed her. He was a cheat and a liar, despite what looked like genuine pain in his eyes.

Kat had never felt more alone in her life. She actually felt trapped. Trapped and…hunted. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and her bear instincts kicked in. She sniffed the air as she looked around them. That sensation of being watched tickled her senses again, but none of the wedding guests were looking their way. No, it had to simply be the result of marrying someone she couldn’t trust. She’d probably never feel safe again.

“They’re waiting for us,” she said flatly. “We’d better get back before we have a pack of starving bears on our hands.”

“Kat…” Alex pleaded, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“We have to convince them we’re happy, that the clans have been united.” She put her fake smile back on and turned toward the feast. “I’m not going through this for nothing.”