Chapter 2

KEIRA'S POV

THE repercussions of the shattered bond visited me on the second day after.

Fever was its mode, chasing my body to burn while I was drenched in sweat.

I lay in my bed, weak cause of the poisoned blood from the severed mate bond.

It was hard to breathe or move because every muscle in my body ached badly.

I dreamt of my father in the haze of pain, of him handling me over to Cordelia.

He had died because Cordelia had squeezed his hand and vowed with a sweet smile.

"Of course. She will want for nothing."

But it was all lies.

I later learnt everything that came out of her mouth needed to be fact checked.

After my father's death, both Cordelia and Vivienne saw me as an outsider.

I was a strange girl who had dropped from nowhere.

I had invaded their perfect life.

But I didn't think they hated me enough for this.

Never imagined it in my wildest dreams.

The betrayal was heavier on my chest than the fever which had been swallowing my whole body for days.

And it grew worse when both of them returned from Dominic's home on the fourth day with Vivienne humming her favourite tune.

The act betrayed how happy she was as they made their way up the stairs, walking past my bedroom door to her room.

Vivienne's voice wafted into my bedroom.

"Did you see her face?"

She must have been talking to Cordelia whose footsteps were behind.

The sound of a suitcase being opened reached me.

"Her face when she walked in on us was just satisfying in an odd way. I thought she might actually faint at that moment."

I heard Cordelia laugh.

"She should have fainted, and maybe never have woken up. She never deserved him."

My chest grew tight.

I heard the sound of the wardrobe and the drawers in her room opening and closing as both of them moved around.

It seemed like she was packing her clothes for me.

Maybe going to stay at Dominic's.

Dirty slut.

Both her and my ex mate.

"That girl is too weak for a wolf. I am so glad Dominic finally saw your worth."

"She barely even fought for their so-called mate bond," Vivienne started.

Her mother hissed.

"She just gave up and severed it herself. What kind of mate does that?"

"A foolish one," Cordelia chipped in.

Both of them burst into laughter.

They began to chatter as they went down the stairs, the suitcase being dragged across the floor behind each of them.

Soon I heard the entrance door shut.

I pressed my face into my feather pillow and swallowed the scream in my throat.

They thought I was weak.

I would show them.

But it wasn't until my fever broke on the seventh day that I could sit up.

My entire body was still shaking in my recovery but I was functioning.

I prepared and went to the market to buy foodstuffs to make myself a meal.

Eyes were pinned on me as I made my way through the semi crowded market place.

I wondered why exactly they were all just looking at me with a certain expression.

Fragments of their conversation reached me as I headed for the vegetable stall.

"The Alpha's son and her own sister."

My heart constricted in my chest.

The news had spread?

"Fated mates do not just break. Something must have been wrong with her."

"Look at her. She looks like an unkept weasel who got lost. Who would want her?"

"Poor Dominic. Imagine being stuck with a weak mate and a defective bond."

Shame caused my face to flush.

I was entirely sure that Cordelia had spread this rumour to the entire pack.

Now they blamed me.

The entire pack must think that I had failed as a mate because I was not totally good enough to keep Dominic.

But the shame burning through me was just another face of the pain in me.

And I was sure that pain could transform into something deadly if I tried.

I hurried back home with shaky legs after my shameful time in the market.

The mirror in my room started back at me as my pale face greeted me.

Days of crying with the fever had earned me hideous panda eyes and cracked lips.

I had gone out like this and given those people new fodder for gossip.

But underneath all of that weakness, I felt something new—determination.

Dominic wanted to humiliate me? Fine. I would return the favor tenfold.

I would show them my worth.

The mandatory pack gathering fell on the tenth day and Cordelia called and insisted I attended despite all of my protests.

"You can not keep hiding in your room forever," she had said. "Everyone will think that you are rather ashamed."

Truth was, I wasn't ashamed anymore.

But I was sure she was doing this so I could see Dominic show off my step sister.

"I am not the one who should be ashamed ma," I started. "I didn't fuck my sister's mate on their one year anniversary."

The remark was snide but I heard her begin to giggle softly, the sound annoying me.

"That is not what the pack thinks dear."

I was well aware.

That was why I had decided to show up at the event.

I arrived at the entrance looking desirable in a flattering dress that accentuated every delicious curve in my body.

I had chosen a dress carefully because tonight was not about hiding.

Tonight was about being seen.

The crowd parted as I entered with their small talks coming to a halt.

Their eyes followed me.

But I kept my head high and moved through the room like I owned it.

Vivienne was instantly at my side, wearing a crimson gown with a low neck line.

About half of her tiny breasts were sitting outside of the dress neckline, anything to seduce Dominic of course.

"I see you are still planning to find a mate before the next full moon?"

She leaned close.

"Good luck. Dominic made sure everyone knows you are damaged goods."

Her words should have stung.

Instead, they crystallized my resolve.

I would find a mate.

And not just any mate.

I would get myself a mate that Dominic would never be able to challenge.

And who better fit the description than the one wolf in this entire territory who held absolute power?

Dominic's father.

Alpha Matthias Crane.

The moment Vivienne left, my eyes scanned the room looking for him.

They found Matthias standing at the center, surrounded by senior pack members.

The man was tall with long silver hair that had swept back into a sexy dutt.

He had a face that could definitely make any lady cum, and a body that younger men would have sold their souls for.

This was a wolf who had ruled the Pacific Northwest for close to three decades.

He was a wolf who answered to no one.

Everyone answered to him.

My legs started towards him before my brain would deter me from it.

His head turned towards me and our eyes finally met across the crowded room.

I did not look away.

His gaze never left me as I approached him slowly in that dress made to kill.

But before I could reach him, his title on the tip of my lips, someone else did.

I came to a halt as his beta began to converse with him about something.

A server passed by me with a full tray of champagne glasses.

I took one, muttering my thanks.

I could feel Alpha Matthias' gaze on me.

He never stopped watching me.

I smiled to myself.

This game had begun and I fully intended to win.