Chapter 2

I said nothing.

Kyle's tone sharpened on the other end of the line. "Serene? What's wrong? Are you upset? Just tell me where you are. I'll come right now!"

He still read me like a book. As an Alpha, he could read my emotions without trying, and he always knew exactly how to make me feel safe.

"I'm home. I don't really feel like going to the park today," I said.

There was a beat of silence before his voice dropped to a gentle murmur. "Okay. I'm coming home."

Kyle didn't ask why I'd blown him off.

I knew he didn't let it slide out of love. It was because the one he truly loved had already agreed to be his mate. I was just a prop, something arranged to please his darling.

When Kyle walked in, I had just stepped out of the shower. The moment I saw Vivian behind him, I had to hold back a scream.

"Kyle, why did you bring her here?" I asked.

He just couldn't wait to drag Vivian here and shove her in my face.

Kyle gently took my hand. "Serene, I know there's been some misunderstanding between you and Vivian. She heard you were back and insisted on coming to apologize."

I shot him a look. I was sick of him making excuses for her.

Vivian's eyes burned with jealousy as she watched Kyle touch me. Still, she stepped forward with a mask of false remorse.

"Serene, I think it's time you let go of those silly little pranks I played before. We should move on. I'm apologizing, so can you forgive me?"

My voice shook as I met Kyle's eyes. "So you think I should forgive her?"

Vivian and her mother almost killed my wolf when they jabbed me with those silver-laced needles back when I was just a pup.

They even laughed as they tossed the last thing I had from Mom—a photo album—into the fire and watched it burn to ash.

I never asked why he always treated Vivian like she mattered more, as that would've only made me look even weaker.

Kyle's expression darkened instantly. He fixed his gaze on me, disappointment and accusation simmering in his eyes.

"Vivian already told me everything, Serene. Yeah, she owned up to pulling some pranks when you were pups, but did you really have to go that far to get back at her?"

I just stood there, stunned. When I didn't respond, he took it as confirmation of Vivian's story.

"Vivian was in tears telling me you attacked her with silver powder. Serene, did you seriously try to ruin her over some old grudge you should've buried years ago?"

"When did I ever attack her with silver powder?" I blurted, utterly baffled.

Kyle shook his head in disappointment. "She didn't even hold it against you after you did something that vicious. She actually tried to understand you and came to apologize first. But you?

"You just wouldn't let it go and clung to those petty little grudges from the past. Serene, how can you be so small-minded?"

To him, the abuse that almost destroyed me was just petty nonsense, while a blatant lie that was fabricated out of thin air became irrefutable proof of my cruelty.

I held onto my last shred of dignity, refusing to forgive Vivian. And for that, he cast me as the villain.

He'd been the one to carry me from that suffocating, pitch-black basement all those years ago. He'd taken me to the healer himself.

He knew better than anyone how deep their torment had scarred me, and now he was eating up every lie Vivian fed him, acting like I'd made it all up.

Kyle reached for my hand, trying to force one of those hollow, peace-making handshakes. I slapped it away, barely holding back the snarl rising in my throat.

"Kyle, who the hell are you to ask me to forgive her?" I snapped.

They abused me behind Dad's back, fed him lies until he believed I was a monster, and turned him against me. In the end, they couldn't even bother to show up at his funeral.

And now Vivian was pulling the same shit on the person I loved most. From the looks of it, she was about to get away with it again.

Kyle looked down at his hand, already flushing where I'd smacked it. For the first time, he didn't bother hiding his disdain.

"Serene, I'm only doing this for your own good. You're all alone now, with no family to back you up. Vivian is your only sister.

"Why cling to the past and torture yourself? We've got to move forward, don't we?"

His words sounded sincere, but impatience simmered beneath his calm facade.

The very gentleness he'd once used to comfort me now twisted into a blade, driving straight into me. My heart splintered, the pain unbearable.

Fake tears streamed down Vivian's cheeks, her eyes blazing with familiar triumph and defiance.

"I don't expect your forgiveness, Serene. But I'll keep atoning until my sincerity finally heals the wounds I've caused," she said pitifully.