CHAPTER 05

Layla’s POV

By the time I reached home, my head was pounding, my feet hurt, and the memory of those icy blue eyes refused to leave my mind. Even Adrian never looked at me that way.

I shook my head and sneaked in through the back doors.

The first thing I noticed before heading up the stairs was the collection of beautifully wrapped boxes arranged across the sitting room.

My stomach twisted. Was he really that shameless?

I climbed the stairs and locked myself in the bathroom. I needed ten minutes, just ten, to be a person again.

The water was scalding, but I didn't care. I leaned my forehead against the tiles and closed my eyes, and that was a mistake. Fragments of the night came rushing back.

His hand sliding slowly up my thigh. His breath against my neck. His low, rough voice saying you smell really good while my body arched towards him like it had been waiting for him all along.

Heat pooled low in my stomach and my knees nearly buckled. "Stop it," I whispered to myself, snapping the water to cold.

When I wiped the fogged mirror, I froze. Just below my ear, where the stranger's mouth had lingered, was a faint, silvery mark. It wasn't a bruise or a love bite. It looked almost like a crescent, and it tingled when I touched it.

I stared at it for a long moment, then pulled my hair over my shoulder and dressed quickly.

Whatever it was, no one could see it.

The sitting room was packed. My father sat in his usual chair like a king receiving tribute. Martha, my stepmother, perched beside him in a cream dress, glowing. My stepsister, Selene, lounged on the sofa, filing her nails with a smirk and my stepbrother, Caleb, leaned against the far wall with his arms folded, looking bored.

And in the center of the room, kneeling beside an open chest of jewels, was Adrian.

"Layla." His expression softened as he approached me. "Thank the goddess."

Every head turned as I stopped at the foot of the stairs.

“Layla!” Martha stood up excitedly. “There you are. Why didn’t you come down sooner? Your fiancé has been waiting for you.”

"I have no fiancé," I said casually, not batting an eyelid.

My father's glare cut across the room. "Sit down.”

"I'd rather stand."

"I said sit. Don’t start with your attitude." His voice dropped, and that was always worse than shouting. My legs quickly obeyed before my pride could stop them. I really disliked the man.

I was walking towards the opposite three seater chair when Adrian stepped closer, his hands held out like I was a frightened animal. I stepped away when he reached for my hand.

His smile faltered. “Layla?”

“What the hell do you think you are doing?”

He glanced at the gifts behind him. “Isn’t it obvious? I came to discuss our wedding with your father and deliver the betrothal gifts. We have only days left, sweetheart. We still have so much to prepare.”

Sweetheart? That word nearly made me puke. Was he kidding me right now? Only yesterday, he had been calling another woman by a much more intimate name.

“Those gifts are for me?” I asked.

“Of course.” He picked up a small velvet box from the table and opened it. Inside lay a beautiful diamond necklace. “I saw this and thought of you. I wanted to give you something special before our wedding.”

I stared at the necklace. I remembered the last gift he had given me. A silver bracelet on our fourth anniversary, accompanied by a promise that he swore almost with his life that he would always be with me. But it turns out now that apparently, promises meant nothing to Adrian Vale.

“It’s beautiful,” Selene said, appearing beside my stepmother. My stepsister wore a fitted cream dress and enough jewelry to make sure everyone noticed her before they noticed anyone else.

She smiled at Adrian. “You have such wonderful taste. Layla is lucky to have a man who spends so much on her.”

Her gaze shifted to me. “Not every woman gets a fiancé like that.”

There was something sharp beneath her sweetness. Selene had never liked me. She considered my existence an insult to her mother’s position and believed I had no right to anything our father possessed.

I had learned long ago not to expect kindness from her.

Adrian ignored her. He lifted the lid of the nearest chest. An emerald necklace lay inside on a bed of black velvet. "This belonged to my grandmother. It has never been worn by anyone but a Luna of Vega. I want you to have it. All of it."

The jewels glittered. The room went quiet, and I knew what everyone expected. A girl like me, defective and unwanted, would drop to her knees with gratitude.

Adrian then moved closer, lowering his voice as if we were alone. “Listen, I know you were upset last night but we can talk about everything privately, all right? You don’t have to make a scene.”

I looked directly into his eyes. “Privately? Did you think about that when you were clearly on top of another woman?”

The room fell silent. Martha’s hand flew to her chest. Selene’s lips parted, and my father slowly lowered the glass in his hand.

Adrian went pale. “Layla, please.”

“Please what?” My voice shook, but I forced myself to continue. “Please pretend I didn’t see you with her? or please smile like nothing ever happened and then walk down the aisle as if you haven’t made a complete fool of me?”

He glanced at my father. “Alpha Richard, I can explain—”

“I didn’t ask you to explain to him.” I stepped between them. “You owe me an explanation.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. “It was a mistake. I wasn’t thinking clearly. It meant nothing.”

I could still replay the scene over again in my mind. His hands on her waist. Her fingers brushing his face. The way he had kissed her without a trace of hesitation.

I couldn’t even understand how I had spent five years believing I was enough for him.

“Layla,” Adrian said, reaching for me again. “We have a bond. We chose each other. You can’t throw away five years because of one stupid night.”

I looked at his hand until he withdrew it. “I’m calling off the wedding. I returned your ring already so you can just keep it.”

My father shot to his feet immediately. “You will do no such thing! Alpha Adrian has been generous enough to forgive your temper so you will accept his apology and the wedding will go on as planned."

Forgive my temper? Something inside me went very still. "Father, I caught him in bed with another woman."

"Men have lapses," Martha said smoothly. "A wise woman overlooks them."

"A wise woman doesn't have much choice," Selene added sweetly. "Not when she has nothing else to offer."

I looked at all of them, stunned by their words. Of course, my humiliation was a threat to my Father’s reputation and Adrian’s betrayal was something I was expected to swallow because the wedding would benefit our packs.

Adrian stepped forward. “Layla, don’t do this. We can fix it.”

“There’s nothing left to fix. I am done, Adrian.”

Selene gave a small, disbelieving laugh. “Honestly, Layla, you’re being dramatic. Do you have any idea how many women would be happy to be in your position as Adrian’s Luna?”

I turned to her. “Then you should try taking my spot cause it is officially open.”

Her face hardened. “You ungrateful—”

“Enough!” my father roared as he pointed towards me. "Do you know what you are? Nothing. You are a wolfless disgrace and this man is the only one who would ever take you!"

The words hit like they always did. But for the first time, they didn't break me. "Then I'd rather be a disgrace alone," I said.

He raised his hand in anger to hit me but the slap never landed. Caleb had crossed the room faster than I could blink and caught my father's wrist mid-swing. "That's enough, Father.”

Everyone stared. Caleb never defended anyone. In all the years, he had mostly ignored me, or tossed me a cutting remark whenever he was bored.

"Stay out of this," my father snarled.

"Then don't hit her in front of a guest," Caleb said coolly, releasing his arm. "It's bad for business."

It was such a cold, careless excuse that I almost believed it. But when his eyes flicked to me, something sharp and fierce lingered there and it was gone before I could name it.

Adrian moved in front of me, his voice low. "You're making a mistake. Everyone in this room knows what you are without me. No Alpha will ever want a wolfless Luna, Layla."

"Then you shouldn't mind letting me go."

His jaw twitched. He reached for my wrist, and the instant his fingers closed around it, the mark on my neck burned.

I gasped and yanked free. Adrian froze, staring at my skin, and for one terrifying second I thought he'd seen it. But he only looked confused, like he had touched something hot.

"What was that?" he muttered.

"A warning," I said, and walked out.

I made it as far as the garden before my legs gave out. I sank onto the stone bench by the roses, shaking.

"Layla!"

Aria came hurrying down the path, breathless, her hair slightly messy. "What’s going on? Is it true? You really called it off?"

"Yeah I did and I think I should start seeking shelter somewhere in the neighboring packs before my Father has my head on a platter."

Aria chuckled slightly. "I strongly doubt it will come to that, Layla." She sat beside me and wrapped me in her arms. "I'm so proud of you."

I let myself lean into her for a few seconds, then she laughed softly and squeezed my hand. "What really happened to you at the hotel yesterday?”

"Right, that!" I said, slowly dragging the words. "A story for another day. I don’t want to overthink it just yet. I’m having the worst day ever."

Aria heaved a deep sigh. “At least, it can’t get worse than it is already.”

I really hoped that was the case. I took a deep breath and rested my head on her shoulder. My eyes suddenly drifted past the garden entrance , and my heart skipped.

A black car with tinted windows was parked across the street and through the open window, I caught the outline of a man watching the house.

And when our eyes met, he lifted a phone to his ear.