Chapter 4

JACKLA

My heart dropped. Willow’s eyes met mine, weak, scared, but still alive. If I didn’t shoot, Morano would know I wasn’t my sister. If I did, I’d be killing the only friend I had left in this world.

My fingers tightened around the gun he handed me. “Do it,” he said softly. I swallowed hard, thinking fast. Then I spoke, keeping my voice steady even though my heart was pounding. 

“We shouldn’t kill her,” I said. His brows lifted. 

“Because she’s useful,” I said quickly. “Well, they’re werewolf hunters, and that means she knows how they find them, how they kill them. If there are more hunters out there, she can help us stop them.”

“She can tell us how they track and attack. We can use her to protect ourselves.” Morano stared at me for a long time, his eyes searching mine. The silence stretched until I thought he’d see right through me. 

Then, slowly, a small smile touched his lips. “I guess I have a smart-ass wife,” he said with a short laugh. “Fine. Keep her alive.”

He turned and walked out, and I followed, the sound of Willow’s shaky breathing haunting me with every step.

-

This was my second time walking down the aisle and sadly not to the man I love. The doors opened before I realised it, and I froze until my stepfather nudged me forward.

“Smile,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “Don’t raise suspicion.” 

I tried. But my face felt numb, foreign. Music swelled, guests rose, and all I saw was him.

Alpha Morano.

He didn’t smile. His lips curved faintly, amused, but his jade-green eyes were sharp and cold, like a predator’s. Everything about him was striking, but not the kind of beauty that calms—it was the kind that burns.

When I reached him, he stepped forward, took my hand, and brushed his lips against my fingers. The priestess began to speak, her voice distant, like it travelled through water. 

I tried to focus, but my palms were slick, my knees unsteady. When it was time for the vows, his stare didn’t soften. Each word I spoke felt heavy, final.

“You may now kiss the bride.”

Morano lifted my veil slowly, almost reverently. His fingers traced my cheek—gentle, but cold. My breath hitched as he leaned in. I braced for the kiss that never came. Instead, his lips brushed my ear.

“Guess who’s my new breeder.”

The word froze in my chest. Breeder?

He pulled back with a perfect smile as the priestess declared us husband and wife. There was applause. Laughter. The clinking of glasses.

It all blurred — like I was watching someone else’s life.

In the car afterward, silence pressed between us like a wall. “Where are we going?” I asked finally. He didn’t answer. He just looked out the window like I’m nothing. 

I stared at my reflection in the glass, the veil gone but the fear still there. Was this how it felt to lose yourself completely — dressed like a bride but hollow inside?

The car came to a halt in front of a mansion after two agonising hours. “We’ll be here for a while for our honeymoon, like they call it.” When we entered the house, I was in awe. It was extremely beautiful. 

I could feel his eyes burning into my back. I didn’t turn to look at him, not until I felt his presence behind me, too close. “Get a shower, wifey,” he murmured, his voice low and rough, his lips grazing my ear. 

“We have business to handle, and it's been the only thing on my mind all day.” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and my whole body shivered before I could stop it. He noticed, of course. That smirk tugged at his mouth…the kind that fed on fear.

But I didn’t look away. I couldn’t.

If I was going to survive this, I couldn’t be the girl they threw away and dragged back just to use. That girl was gone. Now I was his wife, his supposed equal, and I would make that count.

I stepped into the room prepared for me, and the moment the door closed, my legs gave out. I sank onto the bed, burying my face in the pillows. All I wanted was to sleep, to vanish for a few hours. But I couldn’t.

I was his wife now. His chosen mate.

Tonight, he was going to mark me.

The thought made my chest tighten. I was still a virgin, untouched by the one man I actually wanted, Ryan. I pushed the thought away and forced myself up. 

The bathroom’s steam wrapped around me as I stepped under the shower. When I finally stepped out, my skin glowed, and my damp hair curled softly at the ends. 

I reached for the red sheer robe hanging by the wardrobe and slid it over my body, the silk clinging to my skin. I had just tied the robe when the door creaked open. 

Morano stood there, tall and still, his eyes locking on me like I was something forbidden. His chest rose slowly as his jade-green gaze travelled down my body. He stepped in and closed the door behind him with a quiet click. 

He dragged a hand through his hair like he was trying to steady himself, but his lips curved slightly, betraying the hunger in his eyes. I already knew what this night meant. 

But I wasn’t going to wait for him to tell me what to do.

Tonight, I will take control.

I walked toward him slowly, one foot in front of the other, never breaking eye contact. His brows lifted slightly, like he wasn’t expecting this. His guard was up, but not against me. He wanted to see what I would do.

I stopped just in front of him and reached for the buttons on his shirt. I undid each one, sliding the shirt down his arms. Then I gently pushed him, and he sat down at the edge of the bed, his legs spread, his hands resting on his thighs.

Still watching me.

I let the robe fall from my shoulders. It slid down slowly, revealing my full breasts, and then I stepped out of it and stood in front of him completely naked, letting the light dance across my skin.

His eyes darkened. He drew in a sharp breath. Still, he didn’t touch me. So I moved between his legs, climbed into his lap, and straddled him. His hands hovered for a moment, then settled on my hips.

I could feel him beneath me, hard, strong, and restrained. I looked into his eyes, then leaned in and brushed my lips across his. It was soft. 

My fingers trailed up to the back of his neck, my lips parting slightly as I kissed him again, deeper this time. He groaned low in his throat and finally responded. His hands slid down to my thighs, gripping them as his lips found my jaw, then the hollow of my throat. 

He kissed his way down slowly, biting gently and sucking at the spot just above my collarbone. I moaned as my back arched slightly against him… Then the door burst open for the second time now. 

Morano’s arms tensed around me as he turned toward the door, but it was too late. Three masked men stood there, guns raised. “Get down!” Morano roared, but the shot rang out before he could move. The impact sent him flying back.

I screamed.

Blood spread across his body as he collapsed to the floor, his eyes wide in shock, his body refusing to shift or heal. My breath hitched as the truth hit me.

Why was the past repeating itself?

First Ryan, and now… Morano.

And that was when I saw it, glinting at the base of his wound.

A silver bullet.

I turned slowly to face the men. “Move, young lady! We didn’t come for you!” But I didn’t move. I just picked up my robe and put it on. “You didn’t have to do that,” I said, my voice calm but strange, like it wasn’t mine. 

I took a slow step forward, my hands behind me, the way a teacher might scold a child. “You just ruined my night. Why?” Something dark curled inside me as I spoke, something that didn’t feel human.

The men hesitated. Then one of them stepped forward, their leader, by the look of him. “Get that bitch to shut up. Or better still,” he smirked, “since she wants to fuck tonight so bad… teach her a lesson.”

Laughter filled the room.

But before he could reach me, a flash ripped through the air — lightning, wild and white, exploding from my body. The force knocked them backwards.

My vision burnt electric blue as the storm inside me came alive. I turned to Morano, my voice dark and steady. “I hope you enjoy the show.”

And then the lights went out.