Chapter 2

Rebecca's POV

I don't remember how I got to our bedroom, my vision blurred with unshed tears and hot rage pounding through my veins. But suddenly I was there, tearing through William's things with a primal fury I'd never experienced before—almost animal in its intensity.

My hands trembled as they discovered a hidden compartment in his nightstand, revealing intimate photos of him and Olivia. Their bodies entangled in ways he'd never been with me, along with a platinum bracelet engraved with their initials wrapped in a symbol I recognized from werewolf mating rituals.

My fingers found something else—a small velvet box. When I opened it, a diamond engagement ring sparkled back at me, far more extravagant than the one currently on my finger. Attached was a handwritten card that made my stomach twist into knots: [To my true love. Always yours, W.]

I sank onto the edge of the bed, the ring pinched between my trembling fingers, staring at it in disbelief. Even amidst the devastation, a tiny, foolish part of me wondered if there was some explanation, some misunderstanding that could salvage the five years we'd spent together. Each photo, each love note burned into my retinas, acid tears finally spilling over my cheeks.

That's when my human ears caught it—the distinctive sound of a key in the front door lock.

My entire body froze, heart hammering so loudly I was certain even a human could hear it, let alone a werewolf with enhanced senses. Voices drifted in from the entryway. William's deep timbre, the voice that had whispered promises of forever, was accompanied by a feminine laugh I instantly recognized. Olivia. They were here. Together.

"...we could have just gone straight to my place," Olivia was saying, her voice playful and intimate in a way I'd never heard when she spoke to me—the tone of a woman confident in her position.

"I want to shower first. I smell like the gym, and you know how sensitive your werewolf nose is," William replied.

The floor seemed to tilt beneath me as they rounded the corner into the bedroom and stopped dead in their tracks. William's face drained of all color, and Olivia's perfectly manicured hand, which had been possessively resting on his waist, dropped away in shock.

"Rebecca?" William's voice cracked, the confident future Delta of the Silver Moon Pack suddenly sounding like a caught schoolboy. "Aren't you supposed to be at Sofia's?"

I couldn't speak. My vocal cords seemed paralyzed as I sat there, photos and letters clutched in my lap, his family ring on my finger.

Olivia recovered first, a slow, smug smile spreading across her perfectly made-up face, her eyes briefly flashing a predatory gold at the corners. "Well, well. I guess the cat's out of the bag—or should I say the wolf?" She let out a cruel laugh. "Honestly, I've been tired of hiding for years. Though I didn't expect the big reveal to happen the night before the wedding. Poor little human."

"Five years," I finally managed, my voice barely above a whisper, each word scraping my throat like broken glass. "We've been together for five years... and you and my bridesmaid..."

William stepped forward, his eyes darting to the evidence scattered across our bed. The amber of his irises began to bleed gold around the edges—the first sign of his wolf surfacing. "Rebecca, you shouldn't be going through my private things. That's an invasion of privacy."

I backed away instinctively, my human survival instincts screaming danger even as the hurt in my chest transformed into something hotter, sharper—rage that burned away my tears. "The boy... James. He's your son? How long has this been going on?"

Olivia flipped her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder, adjusting her designer handbag with an arrogant flick of her wrist. "He's six. William and I were together long before you came along, darling. Why do you think he never spends the full moon with you?"

The blood drained from my face, leaving me light-headed. Full moons were sacred to werewolves—a time when pack bonds were strongest, when the wolf was closest to the surface. William had always told me he needed to be with the Pack on those nights for important rituals that humans couldn't attend, that his position as future Delta demanded it. But he'd been with her. With their son. Creating the family bonds I thought we would build together.

"So these five years have all been lies?" My voice grew stronger, vibrating with the fury building inside me. "You were planning to marry me, complete your werewolf marking ceremony, and then just continue cheating with her? Use me to secure your precious Delta position?"

William approached me, his movements fluid. His voice took on the reasonable, patronizing tone he used when explaining things he thought were beyond my human understanding. "Rebecca, you need to understand that this is common in werewolf society, especially for those of us rising in rank. You're my destined mate, and that bond is sacred to the Pack, but that doesn't exclude other... needs. Once I become Delta—"

Olivia laughed, her eyes now fully golden, revealing her werewolf nature. "He might need you as his mate to elevate his status with the Alpha and the elders, but he loves me. Our son is his pride and joy—his true heir. You're just his ticket to becoming a Delta, his political mate. Every powerful wolf needs one."

The fire in my chest roared to life, consuming every tender feeling I'd ever had for William. "What am I to you? Some fool you can use whenever it's convenient? A pawn in your werewolf political games? A human trophy to parade before the Alpha?"

William grabbed my wrist, his grip painfully tight with inhuman strength. I watched in horror as his nails thickened and elongated slightly—not a full shift, but enough to remind me of what he truly was. "Listen, the wedding is tomorrow. You cannot refuse the mate bond—it's crucial for my position as Delta. You know how important my father's relationship with the Alpha is... This marriage will secure generations of status for my bloodline."

I struggled to pull away, but his werewolf strength held me in place. His claws pricked my skin, drawing tiny beads of blood. "You're hurting me!" I gasped, the physical pain nothing compared to the agony of betrayal tearing through my heart.

I'd been manipulated, lied to, and now they were discussing me as if I were nothing more than a temporary inconvenience, a stepping stone on William's path to power.

"You two deserve each other!" With a sudden burst of strength born from pure rage, I wrenched my arm free from William's grasp, the scratch of his claws leaving thin red lines on my skin.

I yanked the diamond engagement ring from my finger and hurled it straight at William's face, striking him just below his eye. He flinched, more from surprise than pain, his hand flying up to touch the small red mark forming on his cheek.

"Take it!" I shouted, my voice breaking with emotion. "I refuse to be your mate! I refuse to participate in your marking ceremony!"

William's face contorted with anger and disbelief as he stooped to retrieve the ring from where it had fallen. "You don't understand what you're doing," he growled, the wolf in his voice becoming more pronounced. "This isn't just about us—it's about Pack hierarchy and tradition!"

Olivia stepped between us. She placed a possessive hand on William's arm, her perfectly manicured nails digging into his sleeve.

"Don't be so ungrateful, Rebecca," she said, her voice dripping with condescension. "Most human women would kill to be in your position. Do you know how many benefits come with being mated to a Delta? The protection, the status, the wealth?"

Something snapped inside me. Before I could think, my hand flew through the air and connected with Olivia's perfectly made-up face in a resounding slap. The sound cracked through the room like a gunshot.

"I am not your stepping stone!" I shouted as Olivia staggered backward, her hand flying to her reddening cheek.

For one terrible moment, the room went completely silent. Then Olivia straightened, and what I saw made my blood run cold. Her beautiful face was transforming—her jaw elongating, her teeth sharpening into fangs that no human mouth could contain. Her golden eyes narrowed to predatory slits, and a low, inhuman growl rumbled from her throat.

"You stupid, pathetic human," she snarled, her voice distorted by her partially shifted form. "No one strikes a werewolf and lives to tell about it."