CHAPTER 1

LILA'S POV

I'm going to kill him.

No, scratch that. I'm going to let my wolf kill him, which is infinitely worse because she's been fantasizing about tearing his throat out for the past three months.

I'm standing in the doorway of our bedroom, watching Connor's bare ass as he thrusts into some blonde girl I vaguely recognize from high school. 

Amber? Ashley? Does it even matter at this point?

"Oh fuck, Connor, yes!" she moans, and I feel my eyes water.

My hands are shaking so badly I almost drop my keys. 

I should say something. Do something. But my feet are glued to the floor while my brain tries to process what I'm seeing.

Connor finally notices me. For a second, I think maybe he'll look guilty. Maybe he'll scramble to explain.

Instead, he smirks. 

He actually fucking smirks as he pulls his cock out of Blondie and reaches for his boxers like this is just another Tuesday.

"Lila," he says, casual as anything. "You're home early."

I have to swallow twice before I can speak. "What… what are you doing?”

The blonde, I'm pretty sure it's Amber now, at least has the decency to look uncomfortable as she grabs her clothes.

Connor just shrugs.

"What does it look like?" He pulls on his jeans with zero urgency. "Come on, Lila. This shouldn't be a surprise."

"Shouldn't be a…" My voice cracks. "You're cheating on me. In our bed."

"Cheating is a strong word." He laughs, and my chest twists painfully. "Look, you were never going to be more than a girlfriend. You're an omega."

There it is. The word that's followed me my entire life.

Omegas are rare in our pack, but that doesn't make us special. 

We're seen as weak. Lesser. Good for breeding and not much else, at least according to people like Connor.

"You told me it didn't matter,"

"And you believed that?" He buttons his jeans, his expression almost pitying. "You're sweet, Lila. But I need someone on my level. A beta at minimum. Someone strong. Not an omega who cries during scary movies and can barely keep up during pack runs."

Each word lands like a punch to my face, my heart cracking into a million pieces.

Amber's already dressed, sneaking past me with a mumbled "sorry," and somehow that makes this worse.

"Get your stuff and get out," Connor says, pulling on a shirt. "I want you gone by morning."

"What?! This is my apartment too…"

"My name's on the lease. My pack status got us this place." He snorts coldly. "You're just the omega I was dating. And now I'm done. So leave."

My wolf is screaming at me to fight back, to show him we're not weak. 

But my throat tightens and my lips tremble, and all I can think is that maybe he’s right, maybe I really am just a weak omega who isn’t good enough.

Just then, I turn and run out before he can see me cry.

~~~

The cab ride to my brother's house is a blur of tears and humiliation. 

The driver keeps glancing at me in the rearview mirror like he's afraid I'm going to have a breakdown in his backseat.

I already am.

My brother Liam is away on pack business, won't be back until tomorrow, but I have a spare key. 

I just need somewhere safe to cry where Connor can't see me fall apart.

I pay the driver with shaking hands and practically fall out of the cab. 

Liam's house is dark, which makes sense since he's not home, but it's exactly what I need right now. Darkness. Solitude. Maybe a gallon of ice cream if he has any.

I unlock the door and step inside, and I'm immediately hit with a scent that makes my wolf perk up.

An Alpha scent.

But not just any Alpha. This scent is rich and dark, like pine and smoke and something wild that makes my stomach flip and my knees weak.

This isn't Liam's scent. Someone else is here.

Before I can look around, a voice rumbles from the darkness of the living room.

"About time you got here."

I freeze. I don't recognize the voice, but it does something to me, it makes my skin prickle with awareness and my wolf push forward eagerly.

A light clicks on, and my breath catches.

There's a man sitting on the couch and Goddess… he's gorgeous. Dangerously gorgeous. The kind of gorgeous that makes you forget your own name. 

He has black hair that's slightly untamed, piercing blue eyes that seem to see right through me, a jawline that could cut glass, and muscles that strain against his black t-shirt.

He's an Alpha. I can feel it in every cell of my body, in the way my wolf is screaming at me to submit, to get closer, to…

What the hell is wrong with me?

"I… I'm sorry," I stammer, trying to get my brain to work. "I didn't know anyone was here. I'll just…"

"Stop." He commands, and my feet obey before my brain can catch up. "Come here."

I shouldn't. Every rational part of my brain is screaming at me to leave, but there's this pull. This unexplainable, overwhelming pull toward him that I can't fight.

My feet carry me forward, and I don't even understand why I'm obeying. 

I don't know this man. But my body? My body can't resist him.

"You're late," he says, standing up. He has to be at least six-foot-three and I have to angle my head back to meet his eyes. "I don't like waiting."

"I don't... I don't understand…"

"Clothes off." 

The command is so blunt and direct that I actually gasp. But my hands are already moving to the hem of my shirt before I can think about it. 

What the hell is happening to me?

"Wait, I don't even know…"

"I didn't ask you to speak." His blue eyes lock onto mine, turning predatory. "I told you to strip. Now."

My wolf whines in submission, pushing me to yield, and my hands tremble as I pull my shirt over my head. 

This is insane. I should leave. I should run.

But I can't.

I unbutton my denim jeans and shove it down my hips, kicking it aside until I'm standing in just my bra and panties, and my skin's prickling under his intense stare.

"Good girl," he murmurs, the praise igniting a rush of heat straight to my core. "Now, on your knees.”

My legs buckle before I can protest, dropping me to the floor in front of him. 

He's already unbuckling his belt, the metallic clink echoing in the charged silence of the room. 

My heart pounds as he frees his thick cock, hard and throbbing, veins pulsing along its length. It's massive, intimidating, and my mouth waters despite the whirlwind in my mind.

"Open your mouth," he orders, his hand fisting in my hair, guiding my face closer. 

I part my lips, and he doesn't hesitate in thrusting forward to slide his cock past my teeth, filling my mouth with his salty heat.

I gag at first, the girth stretching my jaw wide, but he holds me steady, his grip unyielding. 

"Suck it," he growls roughly. "Show me how much you want to please your Alpha."