Chapter four

ALLISON:

I jerked my eyes open, taking heavy breaths in and out like I was in a suffocating environment. Once I managed to keep my heart at a steady pace, I tilted my head sideways to understand where the hell I was, only to see Sandra right next to me,

"Sister," she called, her fingers on my shoulder, holding me firmly,

"Are you okay, Allison? Did you have a bad dream?"

I didn't respond, still trying as hard as possible to understand how I was here, why I was here, and how I got here. Almost immediately, I noticed the heavy gown on my body and realized I was in a wedding dress.

"Where the hell am I?"

Sandra scoffed when she heard me, "You silly girl, you're in a limo, heading to your wedding venue. Is this how excited you are about getting married that you even forgot what day it is today? You wanted to take a little nap before we got to the venue." Sandra said,

I still didn't understand. How the hell was I here? Was this some sort of place where the dead go after death, because I was certain I had died, and the pretentious face sitting right here made that happen.

"I'm so happy for you sister, you're finally getting married to the man of your dreams, Liam. I can't wait to see you two grow old together." She uttered and I cocked my head towards her. Seeing the smile spread across her lips, I clutched my fingers tightly.

If this was really real, then I was back to the day I was supposed to get married to Liam, back to the day which apparently is supposed to be the best day of my life.

"Aren't you even a lot excited? I know Liam is, and I know he loves you so much, sis. I heard he even prepared a surprise gift for you after the wedding." Sandra's voice cut through my chain of thought, and in response, I faked a smile,

"Bitch. I'm not going to let you use me a second time. Let's see how you'd like a taste of your own medicine in the process." I muttered silently to myself,

I forced a smile and responded, "I guess I am, let's see how it goes, sister."

Resting my head back on the headrest and shutting my eyes, I could feel rage burning deep inside of me, but I had to hold it back because this wasn't the right time to act. About an hour later, the car came to a halt, and I was helped out of it by Sandra. It disgusted me even more how genuine the smile attached to her face was, how sweet I had believed it to be,

My parents were waiting outside for me, and when I got closer to them, I saw a wide smile on my mother's face, and my goodness, I would have been fooled by it if I didn't know her better now.

I smiled back at them, and gently placed my hand on my father's palm,

"Let's go." He said, and I nodded my head, following him inside the hall.

As soon as I spotted Liam standing close to the altar, rage burned even fiercely inside of me, but I managed to pull myself together and smiled back at him when I saw him smile first,

“Do you, Allison Scott, take Liam Knight to be your husband and Alpha, in front of everyone seated here. To respect and love him till death do you part." I heard the elder say as I stood right beside Liam, but I didn't respond, Instead, I kept staring at Liam, thinking about the past and just how much I wanted to break him,

“Allison?”

Then I fluttered my lashes, snapping out of my trance and back to reality. Liam had a smile on his face, and surprisingly I could see through that fake smile now, unlike in the past when I believed those eyes were filled with love for me and his smile was a genuine one. I saw through his disgusting pretense and it hurts so much more than I can imagine

I remembered on this wonderful day, I made a prayer to the moon goddess that I wanted to give Liam a child, one that he would love for the rest of his life, that would make him happy, one that would make us complete as a family and I would shower all my love

“Allison, everyone's waiting,” Liam whispered to me, the smile still plastered so brightly that I felt my stomach churn in irritation, enough to make me throw up but I held back whatever was threatening to push out from my throat with a smile,

I stayed silent for another minute, thinking so hard on how to orchestrate my plan, how to pay them all back for everything they made me go through. My parents, Liam, and most especially, Sandra. I would never let her go scot free after killing me.

I intended to use this new life to correct the mistake I made, to become the rebellious daughter no one expected me to become– what I should have done a long time ago

I would not let them break me anymore, I would not let them use me anymore, torment me, treat me like a slave, and hide everything about my real family from me anymore. Not again. Never again.

I tilted my head towards the crowd to see my parents sitting in the front seat, and on the right-hand side, Liam's family was also seated, his mother, the Alpha king, and his big brother, Alpha Lucas.

Immediately, my gaze met with that of Lucas, and I felt my heart thump so loudly, so hard that it felt like I would lose my breath. I swallowed saliva down my throat and took a deep breath.

Only when I felt Liam's touch on my wrist did I snap out of my trance and force my gaze away from Alpha Lucas. As I stared at Liam one more time, an idea suddenly hit me. If I wanted to destroy them all, then I had to be in a higher position, and what better position could be higher than becoming the next Luna? Besides, I could kill two birds by snatching the man my sister was obsessed with, just like she had done to me.

“What's wrong, Ally?” Liam asked me, and I silently let a scoff out. I had always loved that sweet name he called me, but right now, I hated the sound of it so much,

“This is a big mistake.” I finally broke my silence and stepped away from Liam,

“I don't want to marry you, Liam,” I said again, louder than the first time,

I watched his eyes widen as he stared at me, the expression on his face mixed with shock and confusion at the same time,

“What's going on?” He uttered, walking closer to me but I walked backward again,

“I found my real mate, Liam, and it isn't you.”

Everyone seated gasped so loudly, and again, I tilted my head to Alpha Lucas, who was staring back at me with arched brows, also waiting for an explanation. Surprisingly, the look on his face was very calm unlike anyone else and then I recalled what Liam had said before I walked into the operating room,

*He always wants you to be safe, Allison.*

Why would Lucas always want me safe? There had to be a reason behind it, and I wanted to know.

Then I raised my index finger and pointed it at Lucas,

“Because he is my real mate.”

I watched him widen his eyes just as the voice of everyone became louder, but then he didn't bulge from where he was seated.

“What the hell are you talking about, Ally?” Liam asked me, but I ignored him,

“You have got to be kidding us. Didn't you recognize Liam as your mate a few weeks ago? What the hell are you trying to do, sister?” This time around, Sandra uttered, and I cock my head back at her with a small smirk. Oh, how much I loved the look on her face, but this was just the beginning of the pains I had in store for her.

Sandra had always been in love with Lucas for as long as I could remember. In fact, I knew the first day she had written a letter confessing her feelings for him, but she was rejected. That was about five years ago. She was obsessed with him and still was.

Liam grabbed my wrist before I could respond to her,

“This is a lie, right? What the hell is wrong with you Allison? Did you hit your head on a hard surface before coming here? What are you trying to do? Embarrass me?” His voice was cold, but it wasn't enough to make me scared or flinch. In fact, I was done being scared of anything or anybody.

Usually, I was always worried whenever Liam was angry in the past, hating myself for making him pissed and thinking of possible ways to make it up to him no matter what, but not anymore.

I tried to break free from his grip, but his fingers tightened around my wrist even more, and I winced in pain,

“Let go, you're hurting me, Liam.” I cried out, knowing I was causing a big mess, especially in front of the Alpha king, but instead, his grip only tightened more on my wrist,

“Let's talk outside, right now. My parents already think we're both insane.” He muttered to me, and began to drag me while I tried my best to fight back,

Just when I finally gave up and decided to follow him, Lucas raced towards us and grabbed my wrist as well, pulling me towards his body. My face lunged for his chest, and I inhaled the mixture of his sweet cocoa and vanilla scent that was enough to drive me crazy. I finally raised my head to look at him, but the Alpha king's voice immediately boomed through the crowd,

“That's enough, all of you.”