Chapter 1: To Hell

Skylar's POV

"Without your wolf, you're nothing but a liability to this pack. I can't crown you as my heir."

Dad's words from earlier echoed in my head as I ran down the path that led to my boyfriend, Jace's house.

Today was supposed to be the best day of my life. My eighteenth birthday, the one I'd fantasised about for so many years.

I had imagined wearing the pure gold alpha crown, earning the respect and admiration of all the pack members.

Wishful fucking thinking!

The public humiliation at the party still stung like a fresh wound.

Dad had stood there, right in front of the entire pack and announced he'd be crowning my stepbrothers as his heirs instead of me.

Myron and Ross— those crown-snatchers haven't even been to Moonfall in five years. Yet Dad was choosing them over me.

Ten years. Ten freaking years.

That was how long I'd spent training to be the perfect alpha heir.

While other girls were sneaking off to make out in the woods or obsessing over the latest fashion trends, I was up at dawn, sweating through combat training.

Hell! I'd even maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA for years.

My throat tightened as I let myself into Jace's apartment. The living room was silent, a sign that his parents weren't home.

Perfect!

I needed him tonight.

I was tired of being the good girl who had her whole existence wrapped around her father's orders.

I wanted to feel different tonight— give Jace my V-card and feel all the pleasure that I'd been missing out on.

To hell with dad and his principles!

"Ooouuuh"

A loud moan jolted me out of my train of thought. And it came from Jace's room upstairs.

Wait, was he watching p**n?

"Yes, Jace. Yes! Yes! Fuck Me!" The moans morphed into screams.

No! I shook my head frantically. No! This couldn't be happening. Please, let it be p**n.

But the sound only got louder, accompanied by the loud sounds of flesh slapping hard against flesh.

My legs felt like a log of wood as I doubled up the stairs, towards Jace's room. With trembling hands, I pushed open the door.

And my heart shattered silently.

Jace had a redhead bent over his vanity, his hands gripping her hips while she had her head thrown back in pleasure, moaning like she was auditioning for a bad porno.

My knees nearly buckled and I had to grip the door for support.

That long wavy hair. I could recognise it even in a sea of redheads. It was my best friend, Glenda

How could this be possible?

She was supposed to be out of the pack. At least that was the excuse she gave for not attending my birthday.

And Jace too. He was supposed to be "too weak to come to the party."

So, what the hell was this?

A pained breath left my lungs as I watched the two people I trusted the most shamelessly betray me in the most painful way possible.

The intimacy at which they were going at it already showed clearly that it wasn't their first time.

Just why?

Why would they do this to me?

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I crossed the room.

Glenda saw me first, and her face drained of colour instantly as she jolted apart from Jace.

"Sky!"

Jace jerked around, his face pale with shock. Then, he just shrugged.

Like, he fucking shrugged like everything was normal. "What are you doing here?" He asked casually.

My brain couldn't process it.

How could he have the audacity to ask me what I was doing here?

I wanted to scream. I wanted to howl even. But my throat felt too tight, too dry to even produce any sounds.

But when Glenda began to approach me with an apologetic expression, my throat cleared up.

"Don't!" I bellowed. "Don't come near me. Stay right where you are."

She froze in her tracks.

Good!

I didn't want her near me. I didn't want to smell my boyfriend's scent all over her. Hell! I didn't even want to look at her.

"How could you?" The words broke out of my throat.

"I trusted you as my best friend, Glenda! How could you sleep with my boy—?"

"Oh, please, Sky." She cut me off, irritation crossing her features. "Spare me your pathetic drama!"

She walked back to the bed and sat down.

"I slept with your boyfriend? Jace is my mate, girl. Mine! I only let you have him just to boost your confidence since no guy in their right mind would want to be with a wolfless runt like you!"

"Besides if you weren't the alpha's daughter, Jace would never have dated you and I would never have befriended you either. Now that you've lost the crown, you're useless to us!"

Her words hit me like a slap and I winced hard. I didn't want to believe what she just said.

All the days she had given me words of reassurance and had pushed me to train harder were a lie?

All the days Jace held me close, whispering how much he loved me and how he wanted to spend forever with me— was it all a charade?

I didn't want to believe it, but the expression on both their faces told me it was true.

My throat ached. Tears burned my eyes but I willed myself not to cry.

They didn't deserve to get the satisfaction of breaking me. They didn't deserve my tears.

I opened my mouth to cuss them out but Jace beat me to it.

"But, Sky, we can still settle things amicably like rational adults." He said. "It's not a big deal and it doesn't have to end badly."

Disgust bittered my guts and I literally wrinkled my nose. How could he lack the decency to feel remorseful?

Amicably? Rational? Fuck him!

I raised my hand and brought it crashing hard against his face. The sound cut across the room and he staggered from the impact.

His face paled with shock as he grabbed his cheeks.

"I'm done with you!" I gritted out. "Both of you can go to hell!"

I stormed out of the room, running out of his house like I was being chased. My tears fell now, hot and blinding my vision.

But I didn't stop running.

My legs ached badly, my eyes were swollen but I still didn't stop, until I reached the Silver Sky bar.

It was a VIP bar reserved only for top Alphas visiting the pack. So, I knew it would be empty.

I had never taken alcohol in my life because Dad was against it but now, I really didn't care.

Maybe if I got drunk enough, I'd forget today ever happened.

"Bar-room Three"— I had secretly heard Dad talking about how the room contained the strongest drinks.

I traced the room and pushed the door open.

But everything changed the moment I stepped in.

A guy was standing there in all his naked glory, his thick-muscled chest glistening with sweat as he fisted his sleek veiny cock and stroked it hard and fast.