Twisted Betrayal

Camille’s POV

My knuckles resembled a white washed tomb, stark and lifeless.I thought I had died from shock, but the rapid rhythm of my heart pounding against my ribs hammered home the reality that I was still very much alive

“M A R R I A G E ?” The word was threatening to choke the life out of me.

This was one thing I had never anticipated. I had made it abundantly clear, even to the men in the pack, that I wasn’t ready to let any supposed ship sail.

The word echoed through my mind, causing a tempest of chaos that caused my insides to churn. I craved to scream, to lash out, to grab hold of something—anything—yet my feet felt cemented to the floor. My body was unwilling, refused to respond; I couldn’t even feel it anymore.

The marriage between my mother and father had been the clear warning I desperately needed to avoid relationships. It was a toxic disaster—unhealthy—for me.

I wasn’t a sucker for love, but damn, I could recognize its presence when I saw it, and what my parents had was clearly not love. It wasn’t hate, either; it was a twisted entangled mess that suffocated the air around it and now, father wanted me to end up in the same loveless triangle!

Father, was a typical Alpha dictator, who barked orders like a tyrant, while Mother remained the loyal subject, dutifully following her master's commands.

On the other hand, this wasn't me.

While some members of the pack regarded their marriage as a wedlock forged by Akhtar, the goddess of love, I could see the truth hiding in plain sight. I witnessed it in the frigid stares his eyes directed at her, cold and unfeeling, and in the way her entire body trembled beneath his touch.

Love goddess my foot! If she couldn't even make a formidable pair out of my parents, what could she form out of my loveless life?

It was clear. I could see the foolishness in trusting something I couldn’t see. The love goddess, moon goddess, and the lot of em' didn’t deserve my faith; they couldn’t be relied upon, either.

Had mother ever dreamed of being anything else? Had she ever wished to be somewhere else, living her life differently—purposefully? I wondered, as an overwhelming sense of grief crash over me for my mother, for a life not lived.

I opened my mouth to voice a protest, but snapped it shut again when no words came out. Why did my tongue always betray me at the most critical moments?

Father was still droning on, but my mind was floating away,

Kpsk...I jolted back to reality when I felt gentle tremors coursing through my fingers, like electricity surging through a wire.

“What…?” The word exploded from my lips,

With a quick turn of my head, a derisive snicker escaped my lips. “This is some kind of joke, right, Father?” I declared, seething with mounting frustration.

Was this Father's twisted form of punishment for my being wolfless? Then why had it taken him this long to drop this bombshell?

Two months before the academy resumed in the fall, and this is what I get? Marriage? Rage pulsed within me, hot and furious.

“I apologize for my daughter's unrestrained behavior. She isn’t always this poorly behaved,” Father said, directing his gaze toward Alpha Sigewuf.

He completely ignored me, just as everyone else in the family did, dismissing my very existence like I was nothing more than a ghost. He passed on his piece, expecting me to choke it down, following suit like a lamb heading toward her own slaughter.

His labored breathing radiated tension, thickening the air around us. While I knew he was desperately trying to rein in his fury in front of Alpha Sigewuf, my own anger was unnerving.

“There are consequences if the contract is broken. It was explicitly stated in the final part of the agreement,” the stranger hissed hoarsely, his voice dripping with menace.

“I am well aware of that,” Father replied, his face an impenetrable mask of control.

“I’ll be in the grand hall while you handle this,” the stranger said, rising to his feet. Suddenly, the chasm between us felt agonizingly small.

His presence was suffocating, an oppressive weight bearing down on me, yet I remained rooted to the spot. As our eyes locked, I felt that familiar rush from earlier, but this time I held his gaze, matching his intensity with unwavering resolve.

If he thought he could impose himself on me, he had another thing coming.

A slow, predatory smile unfurled at the corner of his lips as he turned and stalked toward the door, slamming it shut behind him with a resounding thud.

Father’s expression was brewing chaos —intense, dark, and furious. I had successfully dented his ego in front of his guest.

From the look on my father’s face, I knew it would be in my best interest to kneel, to plead for my life, to offer an apology, to promise the goddess that I would never defy his orders again.

But rebellion simmered in my veins. I wore the title of black sheep of the family proudly—a rebel. I needed to embody that spirit, especially now, marriage wasn't in my favour.

I squared my shoulders, held my gaze firm, and braced myself for the worst.

His grip on my neck tightened abruptly, lifting me off my feet as if I were lighter than air, pressing me hard against the wall.

Talk about Alpha strength—my world spun.

“How dare you?” he growled, sending me crashing against the opposite side of the study, the impact rattling my bones.

“Father, you made your decisions wothout thinking about how I'd feel,” I spat through gritted teeth, forcing my body to resist the urge to recoil from his attack.

The next jab sent a shockwave of pain coursing through my spine. He advanced toward me, towering like a hawk poised to strike. His dark eyes transformed into a piercing blue; his wolf was taking command.

“Your life, your existence. Everything starts and ends with my decision” he scowled down at me, placing his foot over my head, a dominance that made my heart race with fear but I didn't show it.

Blood trickled down my cheek, warm and thick, while the area around my forehead felt splintered, as if my very sanity was fracturing.

I remained silent, my defiance wrapped around me like an armor.I would never beg for his mercy.

His nostrils flared, and he unleashed a growl that reverberated through the room. “You will do as commanded!” he scowled, his Alpha tone thunderous. He drew an unyielding line between the one who issued orders and the one who obeyed.

“What about the academy?” I stammered, my voice cracking beneath his weight, feeling as fragile as glass teetering on the edge of a precipice.

“I will inform the council that you’re no longer interested in the admission,” Father shot back, disdain dripping from his words as he finally moved his foot off my head.

My brow rose in disbelief. “Father…!” I protested, my heart shattering into countless pieces. This was nothing short of betrayal.

What did they say about betrayal? It always came from the people you loved the most.

I quickly wiped away a tear that threatened to spill over the edge of my composure. There was no use crying; Father didn’t deserve my tears. But the hurt I felt was an unbearable weight, numbing me from within. It was suffocating me slowly.

“You’ve always wanted to do something great for the pack, right?” he grinned slyly, his expression a concoction of cruelty and mockery.

He was wielding my own words against me like a weapon. If cruelty were a person, it would take the form of my father.

That night had been a pivotal moment—the first time my father laid a hand on me. Not that I had ever yearned for relationships, but Father made it painfully clear that night: people could turn against you in the blink of an eye.

Love ALWAYS had a cost.

You either had to be something or give something. There was no such thing as unconditional love.

My family couldn't even extend their affection to me for being deviant.

“Stay as quiet as possible when you get there. Alpha Sigewuf does not need to know you're deviant,” he commanded, his eyes blazing with a menacing intensity.

He had no idea I was deviant, and yet he allowed this stranger to sign a marriage contract?

I had to restrain myself from rolling my eyes at his absurdity. “What if he finds out?” I questioned, my voice laced with defiance.

“He wouldn't find out. At least, not until after the wedding,” he responded dismissively, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

“You’ve shown him how feisty and rebellious you are,” he chuckled humorlessly, as if my spirit amused him.

“That will suffice until after the wedding. Now, get ready and pack your things. You leave tonight, for slantville” he ordered, his voice brooking no argument.

“Don’t forget to cover that cut with something girly. You wouldn’t want anyone thinking poorly of our pack now, would you, darling?”

Again, I remained silent. My emotions roiled beneath the surface, ready to erupt at any moment.

He walked past me and exited the study. For the second time, I felt that striking emptiness, and this time it hurt immeasurably more.

Hot tears streamed down my cheeks, defying my attempts to hold them back. I wanted to stop, but I couldn’t. My heart felt seared, and whatever trust I had left had just shattered into oblivion.

I shut my eyes tightly and allowed the pain to seep into my core. I sobbed quietly while the events replayed in my mind like an unyielding loop.

Tonight, it was painfully clear. I WAS ALONE but something else was awakening within me—something that had always lain dormant but was now surging to life. I had no idea what that something was, but it was alive, pulsating with a fervor that demanded time to reveal its true self.