Chapter Three

“Mom,” I whispered when she moved closer, pretending to fix the lace at my neckline. “You and I both know you don’t love the Alpha of SilverFang Pack. Whatever you claim to have for him is fake. You’re just after his money and you know it.”

Her fingers twitched by her side, nails digging into her palms as she tried to restrain herself. I knew I’d hit the nerve I was aiming for. She wanted to slap me, I could see it in her eyes but she didn’t dare, not here, not with all the eyes on us. So instead, she gVe out a smile tight enough to crack glass.

“We’ll discuss this later, in private,” she said through clenched teeth, just as footsteps approached behind us.

“Darling!” a deep voice called out.

We both turned to see Alpha Darius of SilverFang Pack. Tall, broad-shouldered and confident. Every step he took radiated authority. And just like that, my mother transformed again, soft smile, gentle tone, pretending to be the perfect loving mate.

“This must be Amelia,” he said, his gaze landing on me with polite curiosity.

“Yes, darling,” my mother replied, looping her arm through his. “She had a few things to handle this morning, which caused the delay. But she’s such a sweet, lovely girl. You’ll adore her once you get to know her.”

I almost choked at her words. Sweet? Lovely? If only he knew how fast she’d bite the moment his back was turned.

Alpha Darius chuckled. “My son, Zane, did too. He returned from abroad last night for this ceremony, but guess who still isn’t here?” he said, his voice light, as though trying to make her feel better about my tardiness.

She laughed awkwardly, tightening her grip on his arm, while giving me a sharp look that screamed behave.

“Oh, look who’s here!” Alpha Darius exclaimed suddenly, turning toward the entrance.

I followed his gaze lazily, barely interested. My only thought was to find a quiet corner to disappear to before this whole spectacle began. I turned, already preparing to walk away.

But then his next words froze me in place.

“Meet my son, Amelia. Amelia, this is Zane, your new stepbrother.”

My mother’s hand shot out, grabbing my arm and dragging me back around to face them. I turned and my heart stopped.

The world seemed to blur for a second.

Standing before me, with a faint bruise still visible on his jaw and the same piercing eyes I remembered from last night, was him.

My savior.

The man who had saved me from Maddox.

The man I’d kissed before everything went black.

“You?” we both shouted at the same time, disbelief dripping from our voices.

Alpha Darius blinked between us. “You two know each other?”

“Heck no!” I blurted before Zane could open his mouth. There was no way, absolutely no way I’d let that truth slip out. My mother could never find out I’d gone to a club last night, much less that I’d almost been assaulted.

“We do not know each other,” I repeated firmly, forcing my voice steady.

Zane scoffed, his lips curling into that arrogant, infuriating smirk that told me he was going to be trouble. “Swear, Dad,” he said lazily, crossing his arms. “There’s no way I’d know a girl like this.”

I glared at him, heat rising to my cheeks, not from embarrassment but from anger.

He was really going to act like that? After what happened last night?

Oh, this was going to be hell.

Zane's POV

“Calm down, Zane, it’s only a mating ceremony,” my best friend kept telling me as he drove toward my father’s pack for the ceremony.

“Man, that woman is a gold digger! Have you seen the list of men she went out with after her previous mate died? I bet she’s overjoyed now that she finally landed one to mate with and my father of all people?” I snapped, my rage didn’t calm like he kept promising it would.

“I know, Zane. But your father wants her. You’ve been on and on about this for months and still he went ahead with his decision. There’s nothing you can do. They’re already mates and you’ll have to accept her as your stepmother.”

“Shut your mouth and drive!” I barked.

“I heard she has a daughter too. And you won’t just be getting a new stepmother but a—”

“Shut up, Kade!” I cut him off again, and this time he actually went quiet.

I only asked him to drive me, I didn’t ask for commentary. Now he was spilling things I didn’t want to hear. It was already unbearable that I’d be getting a stepmother I didn’t want, a gold digger, no less and now a step-sister too? What else was my father planning to do to me? What else would he throw at me after making me return to the pack to become the alpha heir?

“How about that lady from last night?” Kade asked after a long silence, pulling me from the dark spiral of my thoughts.

“What lady?”

He laughed and mocked me, making a retching motion as he reminded me of how the woman I’d helped last night had vomited all over me.

“Don’t remind me, man. That shirt was my favourite. Do you know how much I paid for it and she had to ruin it?” I snapped, obviously agitated.

“You were the one who went to help,” he taunted.

“I went to help because she needed it. I didn’t go thinking she’d throw up on me and ruin my prized shirt,” I defended, though he wouldn’t let it drop.

When I ran out of patience and knew he wouldn’t stop, I let silence swallow me. I stayed quiet the rest of the ride to the pack I had avoided returning to since last night. A new stepmother. A new stepsister. I flinched at the thought. No one could ever replace my mother. As for her daughter, I promised myself then and there I would make her life at SilverFang Pack a living hell.