Chapter 2

VIOLET

••• A DAY EARLIER •••

"I'm not going to marry Alpha Ansel." I gulped nervously as I watched my father's hand hang in the air. The glass slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. The shattering sound made my heart thump hard against my chest.

"Repeat what you just said!" my father barked at me. He hastily stood up from the couch, his towering height making him seem even more intimidating.

I flinched back in fear. I had always been afraid of my father ever since the incident with my mother. I couldn't stand before him without fearing that he might hurt me.

"I..." I took a step backward, leaving as much distance between us as possible. "I think we should return the wedding dress to the Alpha. I'm going to reject him as my mate. I don't want to be bonded to him."

My back stiffened as I raised my gaze to look at my father. I winced and hastily lowered my eyes to the floor. The look in his eyes wasn't friendly. The rage in them could burn me to death if I looked at him for another second.

"Why are you doing this, Violet?" my father barked.

The venom in his tone made me hold my breath, silently wishing for a painless death.

But wait, had my father just said Violet?

Violet? My father had called me by my name for the first time in six years. I should have been happy that he had called me by my name, if not for how disgusting it sounded coming from his mouth.

"The Alpha doesn't regard me as his mate. He doesn't care about this marriage. He only wants to marry me because we're mates. He doesn't love me. No, he detests me." I blinked back my tears. My fingers curled into tight fists as I kept my head bowed.

"Listen, girl." My father closed the distance between us. He slid his index finger under my jaw, trapping my chin between his index finger and thumb before forcing my head up and making me look straight into his cold eyes.

"I didn't marry your mother because I liked her. I married her because, unfortunately, she was my mate, and I knew I would benefit a lot from her family if I married her. Marriage isn't about love or whatever your little head tells you. Marriage is about what you stand to gain from it." He spat the words out, then forcefully let go of my chin. I staggered backward, stunned by his cold, heartless words.

"You..."

"I always do what will benefit me. And marrying the Alpha will bring a lot of benefits to this household. The Alpha is a bastard who lets his dick control his head. Fine. That's your problem to deal with, not mine." My father took a deep breath and turned his back on me, walking back toward the couch.

"You can't fuck this up for me, Violet Hemsworth. Never!" he added before sinking back into his seat.

I held back my tears as I rushed out of the living room. I didn't look back as I ran out of the house, paying no attention to the maids as they asked where I was rushing off to.

I had only one place and one person in mind: Kira, my best friend. If there was anyone who knew how to take my mind off my messed-up life, it was her.

I knew my father didn't care about me that much, but I couldn't believe he would choose what benefited him over me, his only child.

Alpha Ansel was a certified manwhore. I had foolishly thought he would change his ways when he found me, his mate, but that never happened. Despite announcing our wedding, he continued seeing other women.

Kira was the only one who understood my intense dislike for the manwhore Alpha, who had turned out to be my mate, and she shared my disdain. She loathed him as much as I did, and I thanked the Goddess for giving me a friend whose feelings aligned so closely with mine.

I panted heavily as I arrived at Kira's place. My head was a jumbled mess, and I couldn't imagine what I would do without her in my life. She was the only one who truly cared about me, the only one who understood me.

I entered the password to the lock and stepped into her apartment. That alone showed the depth of our love and trust. She knew the password to my heart, and I knew everything about her. We shared a bond deeper than words.

I was about to step into the foyer when I heard soft moans coming from inside. A groan escaped my lips, and I sighed sadly. I had thought I would find her alone so she could take my mind off the hurtful words my father had said to me, but it seemed that wouldn't be possible now. She was with her lover.

"I'll just come back," I grumbled and turned to leave, but when I heard Kira's voice coming from her room, I immediately stopped dead in my tracks.

"Even as I ride you like this, Alpha, would you still marry that bitch?!" she panted.

My brows furrowed as I turned back to stare at her room.

"Yes. Don't you want me to? She's my mate."

The colour drained from my face as I heard a voice I couldn't mistake for anyone else's.

Alpha Ansel, my mate, was in a room with my best friend?

I wanted to march into her room and yell at them both, but I stood rooted to the floor. My shoulders heaved, and my heart hammered in my chest.

"I don't care if she's your mate. You should reject her. She doesn't deserve you. You deserve better."

"Ki–Kira?" I whispered, tears streaming down my cheeks as I clutched my chest in shock at what I had just heard from the person I called my best friend.

••• PRESENT •••

"This is my gift to you. If you don't want me to get mad at you, always have this on you," Kira whispered into my ear as she fastened the necklace around my neck.

Bile rose in the back of my throat as I stared at her face in the mirror. How could she pretend to like me to my face while saying horrible things about me behind my back?

How could she pretend to like me when she had been in bed with my mate the previous night?

"I'm your only friend, okay? Don't ever forget that." She hugged me from behind, her forehead pressing against the back of my head.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, doing everything I could to control my breathing and rein in my anger. I couldn't afford to do anything that would fuck things up for my father.

I slowly opened my eyes, only to see Kira staring at my neck with her eyes widened in shock. I didn't understand what she had seen that had shocked her so much, but the moment it dawned on me, I hastily pushed her away and stood up from the chair, pulling my wedding dress up to cover my neck.

"Where did you get that... mark? Who marked you?" she demanded, terror clearly written across her face.

I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth and nibbled on it.

How could I forget what I had done the previous night?