Chapter one

Ivy’s POV

I woke up in a room I didn't recognize, tangled in the arms of a strange man. My head was pounding with a heavy, rhythmic ache, but the memories of last night came flooding back anyway.

The blissful sensations I felt the previous night were too good. I had nearly gone out of my mind with pleasure. I felt my lower body twitch as I remembered the feeling of the thick length of this man thrusting eagerly into my tight, moist entrance. I groaned and covered my face in embarrassment.

Then it hit me…the main reason I had gone to a hotel bar to drink by myself so late last night was because the man I loved had proposed to my stepsister in front of everyone.

I turned my head to the right, watching the handsome stranger sleeping peacefully beside me. This was crazy. I couldn't believe I had been so careless. I had ended up in bed with a man I didn't even know…and an Alpha, no less.

‘I need to get out of here before he wakes up,’ I thought.

I got out of bed quietly, put my clothes on, and snuck out of the room. I kept my head down as I walked out of the Grand Hotel, called a taxi, and headed home.

Inside the cab, I closed my eyes and tried to calm my racing heart. If my father ever finds out about this, I am in big trouble. I prayed that no one would find out. I was already in enough trouble for running away from my sister’s eighteenth birthday party.

Twelve Years Ago

I always tried to be invisible in our pack. I grew up hearing stories about my late mother. People said she was special, but everyone was disappointed when I was born without a wolf.

When I was little, I used to sneak out of our gated estate to play with the kids in the village. That was how I met Eric. At first, I didn't tell him I was the Alpha's daughter. But as we got older, I trusted him with my secret.

Eric promised to stay by my side. He wanted to become the Head Guard of our pack, and I did everything I could to help him. I even snuck his name onto the official list of candidates. I was ready to do anything for him. Eric promised that one day he would marry me and take me away from my family.

But after he got the job as Head Guard, he changed. He stopped paying attention to me and always made excuses. I didn’t want to be needy, so I never complained.

Tears ran down my face as I looked out the taxi window, the painful memory of last night burning behind my eyes. I had waited for years for him to claim me as his mate so I could finally be free from my family. I had stood by his side, swallowed every piece of cold neglect, holding onto the belief that his promise was real.

Instead, he destroyed me.

Last night, at my sister Elena’s eighteenth birthday party, the grand ballroom was filled with music, laughter, and the dazzling elite of the pack. I had been standing near the back, feeling like an outsider as usual, but watching Eric from afar with a quiet, silly hope in my heart.

Suddenly, the music quieted down, and Eric stepped into the center of the room. My chest had tightened with a sudden, breathless hope. He looked so handsome, so commanding. When he tapped his glass, calling for everyone's attention, my pulse began to race. Is this it? I had foolishly thought, my hands trembling against my dress. Is he finally going to claim me?

I took a small step forward, a soft smile rising to my lips, ready to walk toward him. But Eric didn't even look in my direction.

Instead, he turned to Elena.

My breath caught in my throat as he took her hand, pulling her into the spotlight. Time seemed to freeze, my stomach dropping into a bottomless pit as Eric dropped down onto one knee right in front of her.

The air rushed out of my lungs, leaving me suffocating. No. No, this is a mistake, my mind screamed, but my throat was completely paralyzed.

I watched in horror as Eric pulled out a velvet box, opened it to reveal a shining diamond ring, and looked up at Elena with the exact warmth and devotion he used to look at me.

"Elena, you are the light of my life," Eric’s voice echoed through the silent ballroom, clear and confident. "Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

A loud gasp rippled through the room, followed immediately by Elena’s shrill, delighted squeal as she threw her arms around his neck. "Yes! A thousand times yes!"

The entire room erupted into wild cheers and applause.

I was frozen in shock and felt like I was trapped in a bad dream. My heart didn't just break…it shattered into a million pieces. Then came the eyes.

As the couple embraced, people began to turn toward me. The cheers faded into uncomfortable hushes around where I stood. Whispers broke out like wildfire. I saw the mocking sneers on the faces of the high-ranking wolves, heard the cruel giggles and felt the heavy, suffocating weight of everyone's pity piercing through me.

Look at her, they were saying without speaking. The wolfless runt actually thought he belonged to her.

I looked around searching desperately for my father in the crowd. Surely he would put a stop to this scandal. Everyone in the pack knew Eric and I were together…my father knew. But as I caught my father's gaze, he just stood beside my stepmother, clapping approvingly, his face completely indifferent to my pain. He said nothing.

The humiliation was a physical agony, crushing my lungs until I couldn't breathe. The laughter, the pitying stares, and the sight of the man I loved slipping a ring onto my stepsister’s finger burned into my soul. I couldn't take the embarrassment, so I turned and fled into the night.

The taxi stopped outside my family's estate, snapping me out of the nightmare. I paid the driver and got out. As I passed the gate, I greeted the two guards, but they just stared at me weirdly and said nothing.

When I opened the front door, I ran straight into the last two people I wanted to see: Elena and Eric.

"Well, look who finally decided to come home," Elena sneered.

I ignored her and started walking toward the stairs. But Elena rushed over and blocked my path. Her eyes widened in surprise and shock.

"Who did you sleep with? You smell like an Alpha and sex!" she shouted.

Eric stepped up behind her and grabbed the back of my neck.

"Who was it?" he demanded.

"None of your business!" I yelled, pushing his hand away. The movement made me lose my balance, and I fell to the floor.

Elena laughed, pulling Eric close and kissing him on the lips. "Don't bother with her, babe. She's just a desperate runt who thought following you around would make you love her."

Their laughter hurt so much.

"Dad is furious with you for running off last night," Elena added with a smirk. "Just wait until I tell him what you were really doing."

I didn't answer. I got up, ran upstairs to my room, and locked the door. I took off my clothes and jumped in the shower to wash the stranger's scent off my skin, knowing Elena was already calling my father.

After drying off, I put on a plain T-shirt and sweatpants, sitting on my bed in silence. Five minutes later, I heard a loud bang downstairs and my father's angry voice shouting.

"Where is she?! Where is that ungrateful girl?!"

I sat on my bed, shaking in fear.

"Open this door right now!" my father roared from the hallway.

I was too scared to move.