Fated or Not

I stood in front of the gigantic door leading into Kael Draven's VIP sanctum. I didn't want to believe what awaited me inside.

I was shaking at the thought of it alone. I squeezed my palm and inhaled deeply before I pushed the door open.

I had hoped not to be part of the misery I'd written with my own golden ink. I was a paranormal/fantasy writer, and I knew what this meant. A female lead opening the door on her fated mate, only to be thrown into a chaos that would define her entire existence. I knew this plot too well. Or so I thought.

I was just staring at my husband-to-be, half naked, with my stepsister Vale tangled up beside him on the VIP bed. I'd written hundreds of books with this same scene—described every feeling from instant anger to rage, from icy cold to instant regret.

I was the master of my own game, but playing it felt surreal. I tried to talk and couldn't find my voice. Vale's face twitched with mockery while Kael's held nothing but indifference.

"You didn't tell me you were coming."

As if that would have changed anything. As if it would have been better if I'd been kept completely in the dark, a fool for love.

A cold smirk found my lips. Vale looked enraged.

"I'm wrapped in the arms of your fiancé, the only Alpha of our Silverpine pack, and you just smirked. Aren't you jealous?" she said, clearly frustrated.

She'd put a lot of energy into this, and I wasn't giving her the scene she wanted—the wounded female lead, causing a scene to cling to the side of a cheating scumbag.

I smiled wider.

Kael sat up, buttoning his shirt, and pushed Vale aside. He walked closer to me.

His scent caught in my throat and I fought to block it out. I'd written dozens of werewolf scents into my books, but this tainted, cheating stench had no business existing in my paranormal world—let alone on him, standing this close to me.

"It doesn't matter that you're Alpha Sila's daughter," he murmured against my ear, "and your father a forgotten old elder. You should be grateful I even let you sit beside me."

I trembled—not because he still meant something to me, but because he was every bit as disgusting as the rumors painted him.

I pulled my head away, like I always did. He knew I'd never once acknowledged him. I was only fulfilling a duty he assumed I cherished, because he was a cheating Alpha, and that's all he'd ever be to me.

"What do you expect me to do? Cry and scream like a madwoman to soothe your wounded ego, Alpha Kael?" I asked coldly.

His expression shifted. The proud look he'd worn seconds ago drained into something pale, almost ghostly. Vale strode over and wrapped her arm around him.

"Quit being jealous, Aria. You always think you're better than me. You're just a wolfless omega who has to hide behind writing pathetic books."

I laughed. She was nothing if not entertaining.

"You've got quite the talent, Vale. Why don't you join a circus? I'd pay to watch."

She was livid. Her knuckles curled into fists. Her glare could've sliced through air. I loved every second of it.

"You're just jealous of me! You can't stand that Alpha Kael chose me over you. Admit it."

She wanted so badly to be right, just once. She'd always been the bitter child, scheming since we were kids. I was used to her theatrics by now.

"Don't you know—even if you fuck him a hundred times, I'm still his mate. I was chosen. You weren't."

The jab landed. I saw it prick her, watched her fist twist into her skirt hard enough to leave a crease.

"How sure are you?" she shot back. "What makes you think you're his fated Luna?"

Kael stood in the middle of the chaos, clearly loving it—no doubt convinced he was the greatest thing alive, watching two women fight over him.

I looked at his smug stance, hands in his pockets, one corner of his mouth curled like he'd just won a seat as Lycan King.

"Are you actually choosing Vale over me, Kael?"

He coughed. "I—"

The door flew open. His assistant, Cade Stag, burst in with the urgency of something important.

"Alpha Alaric Duskmoor just entered the pack hall, sir."

Cold sweat broke across Kael's face. He looked more afraid than shocked.

"What's he doing here?"

He straightened himself, trying to look more like a man in control and less like the notorious bastard who'd just defied pack law under his own roof.

I watched his disheveled state, memorizing every pathetic flicker of his expression. It might come in handy.

"You're coming with me," he ordered.

"Me?" Vale's voice rang out, sweet and hopeful.

"No. Aria. You're coming with me."

I folded my arms in defiance. I wasn't about to be used the moment he decided I was useful again.

"And why would I? Walk into that room and expose myself to whatever danger's waiting, for a man I mean nothing to?" I said coldly.

He stared into my eyes, expecting fear. Instead he found something darker—a woman who would never bow to his reign again. He didn't like it, not one bit. He wanted his woman timid, insecure, easy to hold.

He straightened his collar.

"You're my mate, Aria. It's your duty to be there beside me."

That didn't sit well with Vale. She could feel herself becoming the only unimportant person in the room. She looked ready to spit venom.

"You were choosing Vale over me a second ago. Now you need me? Take her. I don't mind."

He started walking out like he'd already gotten the answer he wanted.

"I'm not asking, Aria. It's a command."

...........

The hallway leading to the Pack Hall was strangely quiet, unlike any other day at Draven Holdings. The usual bustle of employees had vanished as though the building itself was holding its breath. The silence was so thick I could almost hear blood rushing through our veins. Every step we took echoed against the polished marble floor, our shoes tapping in a slow, rhythmic beat that only made my racing heart louder.

"You'd better comport yourself when you're standing before Alpha Alaric Duskmoor. Do you understand me?" Kael said without sparing me a glance. His voice was steady, but I could hear the uneasiness hidden beneath it.

"You should be worrying about yourself, Alpha," I replied without hesitation. "If the stories about him are even half true, not even the Moon Goddess herself will be able to save you from the monster you're walking toward."

He stopped and turned his head slowly to look at me. His eyes darkened with a warning that sent a chill crawling down my spine. For a split second, I could almost picture him lunging at me, his fangs buried deep in my throat while I lay there begging for mercy.

His assistant noticed the dangerous silence between us and hurried to break it.

"My Lord," he said cautiously, lowering his head, "Alpha Alaric requested the treasury ledger for the previous fiscal year."

A smug smile tugged at my lips. If I wasn't mistaken, I'd spent the entire last year hearing rumors about him gallivanting around with a bitch who was keeping my Alpha too busy to remember he even had a fiancée. The whispers of him showering The One with expensive gifts had finally caught up with him.

He flinched. The sight alone made my day. I could be somewhere in an open field or tucked away in a quiet coffee shop, writing something worthwhile like The Stupid Alpha Gets What He Deserves, instead of wasting my precious time following the very man who deserved to be the villain in every story I wrote.

"Did you get the treasurer to sign the yellow file?" he asked.

"Yes, my Lord," his assistant replied.

Kael adjusted his tie one last time before giving Cade Stag a nod. Without another word, Cade stepped forward and pushed open the enormous doors leading into the Pack Hall.

I wasn't sure what I'd expected to see. Maybe an old man with too much authority and not enough hair. Maybe someone who snored through meetings while everyone pretended he was terrifying.

The moment the doors swung open, every smart remark I'd prepared died somewhere between my brain and my mouth. The hall was unnaturally quiet, the kind of silence that made you question every bad decision that had led you there. Even Kael, whose ego usually walked into a room five minutes before the rest of him, seemed to shrink. My eyes drifted toward the throne at the far end, but the figure seated there remained buried beneath the shadows, as if darkness itself had decided to become his personal bodyguard.

I had no idea who or what was sitting in those shadows... but every instinct I had screamed that my life had just taken a turn no book I'd ever written could have prepared me for.