Her punishment.

Rhys.

It was three in the morning, my wedding day to Amery Fords, and for some reason, I couldn't sleep. To distract myself, I went into my study, but even there, I couldn't get anything done.

' Are you sure about this, Rhys?' My wolf, Storm's sceptical voice drew me out of my reverie, and I nodded, determination glazing my eyes. There was no room for doubt. I was only a few hours from marrying Amery, what was there not to be sure about?

' Why must it be her? Why must it be Amery? She is not even our fated mate! Why did you choose her?' Once again, he asked, his voice coated with unveiled contempt as he spoke about Amery.

She might not have been our fated mate, but she was the woman that I chose. And most importantly? She was kind. No one was more suitable for the position of my luna than her. For some reason though, Storm never liked her, from the very beginning, and even now that I was about to marry her, in a few hours, he was still unwilling, using every trick to make me change my mind, but that wasn't going to happen.

' Amery is kind, sweet, and considerate! She is nothing like Sabrina, fake and two-faced!' I linked back, running my hands through my hair, pacing back and forth until I stood before the lone and locked cabinet in my study, and a mixture of anger and contempt surged within me as I punched in the password. And ironically, the password was Sabrina's birthday year.

' Unlike Sabrina, Amery is genuine. Her feelings are genuine. She loves me. Even now, even after Sabrina ran away, leaving everyone to worry about her, Amery still cares deeply about her. A day never passes without her talking about Sabrina, praying that she is safe!' I spat, the bitterness in my voice hard to miss.

The mere thought of Sabrina had my blood running cold. Sabrina Fords. She used to be my childhood sweetheart. The first girl that I fell in love with. I used to see a future with her, you know?

I used to think that she would make a perfect Luna. She used to be kind, gentle, and patient.

In my heart, no one was more suitable to be the mother of my pups than her.

I loved her.

I trusted her. I thought she loved me. I thought she was genuine, but I was wrong.

She was fake. A two-faced b*tch! I had only been gone for three years and she completely let go, exposing her claws, showing her true colours.

' Look at this!' I nudged my wolf, my voice breaking as I stared at the picture in my hands.

It was a picture of Amery's bruised back, several lash marks painting her skin, the reddness in the picture unnerving. What had she done to deserve such cruel treatment? And the culprit? Sabrina Fords, her stepsister.

It was ridiculous, you know? I couldn't believe that the very softspoken girl I grew up with was capable of such cruelty. But she was.

If I hadn't seen an image of her holding a lash, ruthlessly beating Amery, I wouldn't have believed it either.

' Look at the sheer viciousness. ' I spat, those words muttered softly, more to myself than to my wolf.

Even after so many years, I still got chills from looking at the pictures of Sabrina, the girl that I thought I knew, brutally torturing Amery, in different locations, settings, and using different methods.

As I flipped further through the pictures, my expression went from that of disbelief to pure disgust, especially as I stared at the image where Sabrina was passionately locked in the arms of some wolf.

They were kissing passionately, with her hands desperately locked around his neck. Looking at that disturbing image, I was repulsed to the very core.

I felt stupid, deceived. I had always thought that she was pure and decent. Afraid of tainting her, I hadn't dared to touch her. The furthest we had gone was kissing. I had wanted to wait. I had wanted to claim her on our wedding night, to make the day special and memorable for the two of us.

And yet, she had been fooling around all along. Sleeping with different men, and parading herself as innocent.

If it wasn't for Amery's kind heart, how would I have known the kind of person that Sabrina was?

She even had the guts to continue sending me letters, writing about how much she missed me, about how she couldn't wait to see me, while screwing around. How disgusting!

And when I returned to the pack and announced Amery as my girlfriend, Sabrina had the guts to act hurt, surprised, and betrayed. She even cried, desperate to milk pity from me. Luckily, I already knew the kind of person she was, all thanks to Amery, and I didn't fall for her cheap tricks.

Clearly, Sabrina was a master manipulator, toying with people's emotions as she saw fit.

' I hate her!' I shouted as I slammed the cabinet door shut, my fingers trembling from anger.

" Even in your hatred, you don't sound very convincing, you know?" Just then, another voice cut through the air, bringing my movements to a stop before I shot an accusing glare at the intruder.

" Ever heard of knock before entering?" I asked, shooting him a dirty look. It was my beta and also, my best friend, Beta Kade.

" I knocked, but you were too busy, admiring your ex to hear." He shot back, his tone casual.

" You still love her, don't you?" He asked, looking keenly into my eyes, and a frustrated sigh escaped from my lips. My beta, was referring to Sabrina.

" No. I hate her!" I spat, my tone laced with impatience. I was done talking about her.

" Well, today is your wedding day, Rhys. I just wanted to catch up with you. Also, I hope you won't regret marrying Amery. "

" As for Sabrina, I still can't believe that she did all that." With that, he patted my back before he left.

That was more like Sabrina, fooling everyone into believing that she was innocent and harmless. Even my best friend wasn't spared. He was even doubting me.

' Well, but you don't love Amery. Why are you marrying her?' Once again, my wolf's unconvinced voice rang in the back of my mind and I merely shrugged, a ruthless smile tagging at the corners of my lips.

" Sabrina hates Amery."

" I just want to torture her. "

" I want her to witness as I give the dream that should have been hers to another, " I paused, a cold glint cropping my eyes.

" And more interesting? I am marrying her enemy. "

" That's her punishment. "

" She is also in attendance, she is the maid of honour "

************

I didn't know how long I had sat there, dazed, in my study, but it must have been for hours. I was snapped out of my daze by a mindlink from Amery, frantic, having a complete meltdown, urging me to hurry over and I did exactly that.

But I wish I hadn't because just as I was about to ascend the stairs, towards her room, I was hit by the most mouthwatering scent ever. It was warm, soft and gentle, soothing to the very bones.

It was the scent of fresh jasmine.

" Mate!" My wolf parred, roaring within me, and we took the stairs downwards, two at a time, searching for the source, our mate.

And there she was, beautiful than anyone I had ever seen...

She managed to look like a fairy princess even in a black dress.

But when our gazes locked, my face changed. From surprise, a look of sheer disgust, paired with disappointment framed my features.

" Why is it you?" I snarled, my lips quivering from anger.