Chapter 2

Irene 

The wedding be damned. I don’t give two hoots about the pact anymore. I’m not going to marry a cheat, a liar, and a man who hates me with every essence of his being.

Maybe my Pack members were right in the end that I don’t deserve Dylan. Maybe I’m also making a bad decision by running away, but what I’m certain of is…I’d rather be anywhere than share the same space with my scumbag fiancé. 

My chest heaved up as I drew in a long inhale, looking around my house that now has every portrait of me and Dylan shattered on the floor. I didn’t pack much. I don’t know when or if I’m ever going to return to this place. But my blood boiled. It felt like I was being prickled by a million needles. 

I grew up here…there are so many memories of Dylan and me here. All of which I believed to be genuine. I wonder how many times he and Paris must have laughed, mocked me, fucked each other.

My teeth clenched so hard that they could crack under the slightest increase in pressure. I didn’t even realize that my knuckles had turned white from gripping my luggage handle. Or that the area on the floor was already wet with my tears. 

I wiped my eyes clean, only to be soaked again. The longer I stay here, the higher the chances of Dylan meeting me. And that’s the last thing I want. 

I can’t have anyone know that I’m leaving the Pack. Well, except one person—Alpha Kingston. He at least deserves to know I’m leaving after all the kindness and love he’s given me. But I can’t meet him; he’ll stop me from leaving. Try and convince me to stay. To give his son a second chance. 

I have no more love to give to Dylan. So I wiped my eyes clean again, went to the drawer in my room where a signed copy of the pact was. I picked up the pen beside it and sat on my bed. Minutes passed, and my pen still hadn’t moved. 

If I write the reason I’m leaving, Dylan will just blatantly deny it. After all, I have no proof. So I decided to keep my message short. 

No explanations. No reasons. Only my intention. 

‘Dear Alpha,’ I wrote, ‘I quit!’ 

And with that, I dropped my paper and pen on the bed before wheeling my luggage out of my house and into my small car trunk.

It took a while for my key to find the keyhole because of my trembling hand. Eventually, I did and drove out of the Pack. Thankfully, the guards guarding our Pack gates couldn’t be bothered about where I was driving off to. I also shut everyone out from reaching me through the mindlink. 

Once I reached the nearest bus station, I parked my car and took the bus going to another town. Mostly because I couldn’t trust myself not to break down from despair and get in a car crash. Also, I don’t want Dylan or anyone else from the Pack to find me. 

I checked into a hotel once I arrived in the new town. The first thing I did was block every single Pack member’s number on my phone. But just for safe measures, I put my phone on DND because I know that the morning about to dawn in my Pack is going to be chaotic. 

I couldn’t sleep all through the night until the morning dawned. And just like Anna promised, the private jet came for me. Throughout my flight, the only sound I got attuned to was the erratic beat of my heart. 

I kept wondering…what’s currently happening in Silver Thorn Pack? Is Dylan desperately looking for me? Is everyone worried? Well, not like they care. Most of them would probably see my disappearance as good riddance. Still, a part of me was curious. I wanted to unblock Dylan and see what kind of text or voicemail he would drop. If he would apologize or something. But I remembered those venomous words that barged out of his mouth last night, and I shut off that thought.

Landing in New York was a different feeling entirely. My fears were no longer about Dylan and the wedding—It was meeting the CEO of the famous Sterling and Co. Interiors. 

Anna had checked me into a luxurious hotel, and the room was bigger than the entirety of my house combined. I know she did all this to make me comfortable, but it was making my blood pressure peak at new heights. 

I’m meeting one of the biggest CEO’s in the country. I have to be perfect in every way. But how do I even make a good impression when my fiancée thinks I’m ugly and pathetic? I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve stared at my petite reflection in the mirror, questioning everything. From my dress, my freckles, my curly red hair. No matter how pretty I looked, I somehow convinced myself that I was tacky. 

Eventually, I settled for a black suit with a white inner shirt, and I packed my hair into a ponytail. I’m not perfect, but I’m good enough, right? 

Unfortunately, that notion didn’t take long to get wiped the moment Anna arrived in my room. She was curvy, with hazel eyes filled with sunshine, black hair styled beautifully in a wavy fashion, and a corporate dress to kill. And the cherry on top? She was nice. Extremely. With the way she hugged me, one would think we were long-lost friends.

“You’re a werewolf!” She had said the instant we met. 

“And you are too,” I replied, astonished to the core. It’s not surprising, but it's rare to meet a werewolf in a human city. We had quickly bonded over being werewolves. All we talked about was the beauties of our Packs and my love for interior designing. I also got to know that Mr. Sterling is a werewolf, son to the Alpha King.

I used to know someone who came from that Pack. Theodore, he was my greatest enemy while I was in Silverwood Academy. One time, he and Dylan fought, nearly killing each other. Theodore got expelled from the academy after the fight. To this day, I don’t know what caused their fight.

My thoughts soon tousled as we arrived at the majestic skyscraper, flaunting its might like the proper mountain it was. If I hadn’t been so nervous, perhaps I would have appreciated its beauty more. 

By the time Anna escorted me to the CEO’s door, I was already a fidgeting mess.

“Relax, okay? He doesn’t bite.” Anna gave me the sweetest smile. “Just breathe in…” she gestured, and I obeyed. 

“Breathe out.” She breathed with me slowly. Whatever magic she pulled off with her charm, it certainly worked. I was as light as a feather. 

“Are you ready?”

“Yes!” I grinned before she helped open the door.

I hadn’t walked in yet, and I saw his back facing me. He was standing in front of his floor-to-ceiling window that blessed his ridiculously large office with the refreshing view of the city. 

His shoulders were broad, sexily broad! And that’s saying a lot considering how broad Dylan’s shoulders are. His black hair was neat and gelled, complementing his perfectly tailored white shirt and black trousers. His frame could easily cast a shadow over me.

I couldn’t stop myself from fixating on his forearms, thick and rich with pulsing veins. But that wasn’t the most interesting thing about him…it was his scent. Cedarwood—not only did it swallow me, but I recognized it. 

It’s so unique that even if I lose my memory, I can’t ever forget the face. 

It can’t be him. No…it just can’t!

“Theodore,” Anna chirped as she walked past me on her shiny heels. The way she called his name and smiled at him, it was obvious they had more than a work relationship. “Miss Irene is here.” 

My world slowed, and my jaw fell to the ground as he turned to face us. Cold gray eyes manufactured from the pit of hell and a chiseled face that would easily swoon any lady’s heart. A face that shouldn’t belong to a devil like him. 

I must have committed a heinous crime in my past life, because tell me why my greatest enemy in Silverwood Academy is the CEO?