Chapter 1

Lila's Pov

I had rehearsed the speech the whole day, but as the time approached, my resolve was slowly breaking.

It won't be easy having to break my heart and also keep a smile on my face like it's not affecting me.

My wolf, Luna, whimpered in my mind a few seconds later and l took a deep breath. She recognized the change in the air and his scent while l tried to calm my heartbeat.

"Lila," He said standing in front of me. He reached for my hand, his fingers intertwining with mine, sending a jolt of electricity through me, a reminder of everything I was about to lose. "Please, tell me you've changed your mind. Tell me you won't go through with it."

I looked at him. My handsome and misunderstood man. His eyes are always pure and honest but the world doesn't have a place for people like that.

My throat tightened, making it difficult to speak. "Griffin, you know I can't." I pulled my hand back and looked away.

I don't want to look at him in the eye as I destroy his world.

"We can leave, Lila. Tonight. We can disappear into the woods and never look back. We can be happy, just the two of us." He was serious, so full of hope, that it almost broke me all over again. Almost.

I clenched my jaw, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill. I had rehearsed this moment a hundred times in my head, each time praying for a different outcome. But there was no other way.

'Tell him,' Luna urged, her voice frantic. 'Tell him about Mark.'

But I couldn't. I couldn't tell him that his brother, Mark threatened me yesterday. He told me that if I didn't marry him, Griffin would suffer the consequences. Mark was ruthless, ambitious, and capable of anything. I couldn't risk Griffin's life, not even for a chance at our own happiness.

"I can't, Griffin," I repeated, my voice flat without emotions. "My duty is to my pack. As the only child, I have a responsibility to secure our future. This marriage will solidify alliances, bring prosperity…"

The words tasted like poison in my mouth. He deserved the truth, but the truth would be a death sentence.

His grip on my hand tightened. "That's bullshit, Lila, and you know it! This isn't about duty. It's about power. About your father wanting to secure his position."

"Maybe it is," I said, allowing a bit of indifference into my voice. "But either way it is something that has to be done."

I would destroy that pack and my parents inside if I could, but I'm not doing this for them because none of them deserves my loyalty.

"And what about us?" He demanded, his voice rising. "What about what we want?"

I pulled my hand away, taking a step back. "We were a mistake, Griffin. A time pass. I knew all along that this could never work. You're Mark's brother. Loyal to him, to the pack. You could never betray him like that. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself."

His face fell, and hope drained from his face, leaving behind a mask of pain.

"I can talk to him, Lila." He said, his voice barely a whisper. "I can explain everything. He loves me. He'll understand. Mark has always been reasonable."

Reasonable? Mark is a poisonous snake ready to strike. I don't know how in the world the people around here do not see that, because to them Griffin is just useless and he is more trouble than he brings, but when I look at him, I see a man who will do anything to protect his family.

"Don't, Griffin," I said even though the pain was killing me. "It's over. Let it go. You need to accept that."

He stared at me for a long moment, his eyes searching mine, trying to find the love that had once burned between us. But I kept my face blank, my heart locked away behind an impossible wall.

Finally, he nodded, a slow, defeated movement.

"Alright," he said, his voice hollow. "If that's what you truly want, but remember this, Lila. You and your parents may think that I'm unworthy of you because I'm the spare son, the one who will not amount to anything, but don't ever forget this look because this is the last time you will ever get it from me. From today on, what you will be is nothing to me than the girl who broke my heart. You will be lucky if I even give you a second look."

Griffin is not somebody that you easily talk to, and everybody around here struggles to even get through to him because he keeps to his own, but he has always been my best friend. He may be rude to everybody around the pack, but I'm the one person that he used to talk to with love.

He turned and walked away, disappearing back into the shadows, leaving me alone beneath the oak, the silence adding to the deafening roar of my heartbreak.

As soon as he was gone, I stumbled back to my room, the tears finally breaking free, streaming down my face.

I collapsed onto my bed, Luna howling in anguish, the pain of his loss a physical blow in my chest. I had saved him, but at what cost? He will never forgive me. He hates me.

I didn't want any of this. I wanted to be with him and to build a family with him, but our family decided our lives before we were even born, and Mark will decide on his life if I make a mistake.

And as I lay there, consumed by grief, a thought came into my mind. What if Mark wasn't satisfied with just winning? What if he decided that Griffin was still a threat, a loose end that needed to be tied up? I had sacrificed everything to protect him, but did l really?