Chapter 03

First of all, I didn't have my wolf. I couldn't speak wolf language. So why was it coming to me like this?

And second… What the hell did it want?

Now, if I could somehow read expressions, maybe this would make sense. But I couldn't do that either. I had no idea what it was trying to tell me.

“This must be a joke.” I laughed to myself. It wasn't actually funny. It was more like everything had become so insane that laughing was the only reaction I had left.

Because seriously… How was this even happening? It appearing in my reflection… After everything? It was crazy.

Almost like it heard my thoughts, the wolf suddenly disappeared. And honestly? I wanted to laugh even harder. The madness of my life was something I couldn't even begin to understand anymore.

One day I was betrayed by my husband and best friend. The next, I was married to the most feared Alpha in the world. And now it was appearing in my mirror.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

I quickly pushed those thoughts away, undressed, and changed into something simple.

A yellow sunflower dress and a hat. It looked like I was actually on vacation. The outfit made sense because this place was tropical.

And I know what you might be thinking. You might hear that I was wearing something nice and assume Maverick took good care of me. No. Not even close.

The only things Maverick paid for were the electricity, water, and groceries. Everything else? That was my responsibility.

My clothes. My toiletries. My personal things. He always told me I needed to hustle for those myself. That was why I had a job. A shitty minimum wage job. Because I had to provide for myself.

Once I was ready, I stepped out. Amara immediately looked at me with a smile.

“You look beautiful.” Then she tilted her head. “My brother's breath would probably be taken away if he saw you like this.” She said it so casually. She was honestly so sweet. And the way she treated me… She never made me feel like I was older than her.

She didn't look at me like I was some damaged woman everyone pitied.

“Thank you,” I replied. “You look lovely too.” I felt like I had to say it. I mean, she was the Alpha King's sister. And after everything I had heard about her family, I was still scared of upsetting her.

I feared that if I offended her, Drake would punish me. Although, she was nothing like the stories I had heard. Maybe she was genuinely just kind. Or maybe love had changed her. Because before Kai, Amara had been known for being terrifying.

People said she had gotten others punished simply for looking at her the wrong way. But the girl standing in front of me? She was nothing like that. And she looked absolutely beautiful, so the compliment had truth in it.

We arrived at the mall soon after. I was the one driving. We didn't come with guards or any protection.

For one, Alpha Drake was enough security on his own. Nobody in their right mind would try anything with his family. And secondly, this was supposed to be Kai and Amara's honeymoon. She didn't want guards following her everywhere.

The moment we entered the shops, the assistants recognized her. They immediately came over, ready to help. Amara didn't even hesitate. She walked around, pointing at things she liked.

“Do you like it?” Her voice caught my attention. I realized she had noticed I had been staring at a certain dress for a while.

“It’s beautiful,” I admitted. Then I looked away. “But I could never afford it.”

I wasn't trying to be dramatic. It was simply the truth. Even if I used all my savings, I still couldn't afford that dress.

“Silly.” Amara rolled her eyes playfully. “You're a queen now. Of course you can afford it.” Before I could argue, she looked at the assistant. “Add it to the tab.”

Her tone didn't leave room for discussion. I honestly wanted to worship this girl at that moment. But she stopped me before I could even thank her properly.

“It's on my brother,” she said. “He's your husband now.”

I looked at her. “Amara, I... I'm just an exchange bride.” My voice lowered. “Your brother doesn't see me that way.”

She stared at me for a moment. Then she smiled softly. “But the world does.” She pointed toward another rack. “Now pick another dress. We have a lot of shopping to do.”

I looked where she was pointing. Two more dresses. Beautiful. Expensive. Things I had never even imagined touching.

Honestly, I was scared my fingers would somehow ruin them. Like someone would suddenly appear and tell me I had to pay because I had damaged them.

Fifteen thousand for a dress? Where would I even get that kind of money? But Amara didn't care. She forced me to try things on. And I swear… It was the best shopping experience I had ever had.

We visited more stores. Although I didn't shop nearly as much as Amara did, I still picked out a few things. And I couldn't wait to get back and try them on again.

I felt like a child excited about new clothes. But honestly? Who could blame me? I didn't grow up with much. My uncle rarely bought me anything new.

And after getting married, my salary only covered the things I actually needed. When I bought the sundress, I didn't buy toiletries for that month. So this… This was a big deal for me.

“We're getting ice cream, then we'll head back.” Amara said as we walked out of one of the stores, our hands full of shopping bags. We carried everything toward the car. I was the last one putting the bags into the trunk because Amara had stopped to answer a call.

“It's Kai.” She said it with a smile. The kind of smile people had when they were completely in love.

I closed the trunk. And for some reason… My heart suddenly started beating faster. I didn't know why. I was still facing forward when I felt someone standing behind me.

A strange feeling crawled over my body. The hairs on my back stood up. Of course, I didn't have my wolf. I couldn't smell someone's scent like other werewolves could.

But I could still smell perfume with my ordinary human-like senses. Slowly, I turned around. And there she was. Hannah. A smirk was playing on her lips.

“Tesia, you really need to use more perfume.” She placed a hand over her nose. Like I disgusted her.

Okay. A werewolf without a wolf stung. That was just how it was. It didn't matter how much perfume I used. The smell was always there.

When I was with Maverick, because he had his wolf and we were together, he masked it. It wasn't as noticeable. But after the divorce… It came back.

I heard it could disappear again after bonding with another wolf. But honestly? I needed to forget that. Because Alpha Drake would never touch me.

But Hannah… Hannah had always been kind about it. She never made me feel embarrassed. Actually, she was the person who defended me whenever someone teased me about it. So hearing those words from her… It hurt.

“What fat bitch?” She raised her eyebrows. “Surprised to see me?” Her eyes traveled from my head to my toes. The look she gave me wasn't friendly. It was judgmental.

Like I was her enemy.