Zina POV
The morning sun streamed through the windows as I sat at the edge of my bed, staring at the dress Jared had sent over for the ball. It was beautiful—an elegant gown in a deep emerald green, the color of Jared's eyes when he was amused. But no matter how stunning it was, it didn't erase the anxiety curling in my stomach.
Alpha Sebastian's ball was tonight, and I wasn't just walking into a formal event—I was walking into the heart of my past.
This pack, led by Sebastian, had been my home before everything crumbled. Before I lost everything. Before I lost him.
Xaden.
Just the thought of his name made my chest tighten. He wasn't just a memory or a ghost haunting the halls of the packhouse. He was my ex-husband, my first love, and the source of some of my deepest wounds.
I hadn't seen him since I rejected him in the hospital. Would he even look at me? Would he sneer? Ignore me? Or worse—pretend I didn't exist at all?