Chapter 3

Vincent – POV

The call ended with a dull sound.

I lowered the phone slowly and placed it on the desk like it weighed more than it should. The office felt too quiet after that. It was too still, the kind of silence that lets thoughts grow loud.

I leaned forward and planted both hands on the table.

A mate and an heir, the final shift of power. That was what they wanted.

The board members didn’t bother hiding it anymore. They spoke calmly, like this was a business transaction, like choosing a mate was the same as signing a contract or acquiring a company.

“Without a mate,” one of them had said, “your position as Alpha will never be complete.”

They didn’t need to remind me what the ritual meant, I knew it better than any of them. An Alpha without a mate was unfinished, unstable and a risk.

My jaw tightened.

My father had already chosen one for me long before he died. A political match and a perfect Luna on paper, having strong bloodline, loyal family and no complications.

No emotions.

I exhaled slowly through my nose, that was the problem. My mind betrayed me before I could stop it.

Lily.

Her face appeared clear as day standing in this very office earlier. Her hands shook and her chin lifted even when fear sat in her eyes.

She had come back on her own just to confront me.

That shouldn’t have mattered, It should have meant nothing yet it did.

I straightened slightly, my fingers digging into the wood.

She had stood in front of me and demanded an apology.

No one did that, No one ever had and it surprised me it was coming from her.

I should have felt anger and should have shut her down completely instead… I had felt something else, admiration.

I clenched my jaw harder.

She had always been quiet when she first entered my life. Fragile in a way that drew attention without trying. She moved through the house like she didn’t want to be seen, like she was afraid of taking up space and I noticed.

I noticed more than I ever allowed myself to admit.

I had told myself it was nothing, that she was young and she was family. That I was in control, but control was a lie I had been telling myself for years.

The truth was simpler and uglier. She had always been mine, not because she belonged to me but because my wolf had marked her in his mind long before my reason stepped in.

I had fought it, buried it under work, power, discipline. I convinced myself it would fade with time but It didn’t, instead It grew.

When she stood in front of me earlier, angry and shaking, something inside me shifted. The fragile girl was gone and in her place stood a woman who dared to challenge me and that made the hunger for her worse.

I dragged a hand down my face, I had crossed a line and I knew that.

I told myself I had reasons, the pressure, the board, the ritual and the arranged mate my father forced on me.

I told myself I had to act before I lost control completely but none of that erased the look in her eyes when I dismissed her. That look followed me now.

“You were a mistake.”

The words echoed in my head like a crack of thunder as my chest tightened.

I hadn’t meant them the way they came out, I had meant to push her away. To regain distance and to protect the position I had spent my life building.

Instead, I had wounded her and still… She came back.

I straightened and stared at the empty space across the desk where she had stood.

She had threatened me, anyone else would have been destroyed for that but her voice had not been loud. It had been steady, hurt and determined and that kind of courage was rare and dangerous and was the qualities I would love in a Luna.

I closed my eyes briefly. The board wanted a mate and the pack wanted an heir.

My father’s shadow still loomed over every choice I made but my wolf wanted her and that was the truth I had avoided for too long.

She was no longer the girl who tiptoed through hallways, Lily was a woman now, stronger than she believed and braver than she knew.

And I was obsessed, not just with claiming her but with breaking that fire and owning it at the same time.

The thought disturbed me.

“Good.” I whispered, It should.

I pushed myself upright and walked toward the window, staring out at the grounds below. The pack moved freely, unaware of the storm building at their Alpha’s core.

I couldn’t take her openly, not yet, the relationship was forbidden and there were too many eyes, too many rules and too much politics but I also could not let her slip away.

Not now, not when my power depended on choosing a mate and not when my wolf had already decided.

I would need patience and control. A way to bind her to me without drawing attention, without giving the board reason to interfere and without making her run.

My reflection stared back at me in the glass, cold but behind it, something darker stirred.

She had come back to confront me on her own, soon enough, I would make her come back again.

Lily’s Pov

I sat by the window in my room, my knees pulled to my chest, watching the sun slowly sink behind the tall trees that surrounded the Looke mansion. The sky was orange and red, beautiful in a way that hurt.

I didn’t feel beautiful, not after everything,I felt small, powerless and I hated that most of all.

When I first came to this mansion years ago, I had been nothing but a quiet girl with a small suitcase and too many thoughts in my head. I remembered that first day clearly, I had stood at the bottom of the staircase, clutching my bag, afraid to breathe too loudly.

That was when I saw Vincent for the first time.

He had been standing near the railing, tall and broad, dressed in black. He looked nothing like the boys my age instead he looked like a man carved from stone in a way that made him attractive to everyone including me.

My heart had skipped that day, I had felt it then, even though I was too young to understand what it meant. I told myself it was nothing, that it was just admiration and curiosity and I had believed he didn’t see me, that I was invisible to him but now I knew that was a lie.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

“All these years,” I whispered. “And you were watching me.”

Not in a way that made me feel safe and definitely not in a way that made me feel chosen but like something owned.

I didn’t know about the pressure on him and I didn’t know about rituals or boards or arranged mates. All I knew was what his actions had shown me and they told a cruel story.

I pressed my palm to my stomach without thinking, then frowned. I had been feeling strange all day, tired, nauseous and my emotions felt heavier than usual.

It was probably stress, I told myself.

The next morning, the mansion felt different.

There was movement everywhere, staff walked quickly through the halls as voices echoed. Flowers were brought in and the air felt tight, like something important was about to happen.

I stepped out of my room and stopped a maid passing by.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

She smiled politely. “Didn’t you hear? The Alpha’s mate is arriving today.”

My heart dropped.

“Mate?” I repeated.

“Yes,” she said excitedly. “Chosen by his father years ago. She’s finally coming to stay.”

I nodded slowly, even though my chest felt like it was caving in.

“Oh,” I said. “I see.”

I didn’t see, not really.

I walked away before she could say more, my steps unsteady.

So this was it, this was why he had looked so calm and so untouchable. This was why my pain meant nothing.

He already had someone and that thought hurt more than I wanted to admit.

By midday, the front doors opened wide.

I stood at the top of the stairs, watching from a distance as she walked in.

She was beautiful, tall, confident, the very opposite of me. She was dressed in white and gold, her posture was perfect, her smile practiced. She looked like she belonged here.

Vincent stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting for her.

He looked… different and polite.

“Welcome,” he said, his voice smooth. “You had a good journey?”

“Yes,” she replied warmly. “It’s good to finally be here, Vincent.”

She reached out, and he took her hand.

Something inside me cracked and immediately I turned away before they could see me.

That night, I couldn’t eat.

The smell of food made my stomach twist and I barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him standing beside her.

It wasn’t jealousy that hurt the most, It was the feeling that I had never mattered at all.

Two days passed, then three. Vincent didn’t come near me.

On the fourth morning, I woke up feeling worse than before. My head spun when I stood and I barely made it to the bathroom before I was sick.

I knelt on the floor, shaking.

“This isn’t normal,” I whispered.

Later that day, my hands trembled as I stared at the small test in front of me. I told myself not to fear but my heart pounded anyway.

When the result appeared, my breath left my body.

Positive.

“No,” I whispered. “No… this can’t be happening.”

I sank onto the edge of the bed, staring at it like it might disappear if I looked long enough.

I was pregnant, my chest tightened painfully.

A child.

His child.

Tears filled my eyes, but they didn’t fall.

“What am I supposed to do now?” I whispered.

That evening, I ran into Vincent’s arranged mate in the hallway. She smiled at me kindly.

“You must be Lily,” she said. “Vincent mentioned you.”

My heart skipped.

“He did?” I asked quietly.

“Yes,” she said. “He said you’re family.”

“Family.” I nodded. “Yes. I am.”

She tilted her head, studying me. “You look unwell, are you alright?”

I forced a small smile. “I will be.”

She nodded, then walked away.

I stood there long after she was gone, one hand resting on my stomach.

I was confused and didn’t know what to do or who to tell. I got rejected and thrown out by Vincent twice now.

I wasn’t willing to give him the satisfaction of rejecting me again and I didn’t know if that terrified me more than it hurt.