Chapter One: The Bite Of Betrayal

Jessie's POV 

I felt a sharp ache like a sword piercing through my soul, slowly but deeply, my heart burned like it had been placed on a heated coal, and my wolf howled in pain. But this pain felt familiar. "Derek is mating with another, again," I muttered, my wolf letting out a painful groan.

 I had forgiven Derek the first time I caught him cheating on me on our wedding night." Forgive me, I was drunk," he said, and I forgave him. "We just got married, it was a mistake, and I know he wouldn't try it again," I had said to myself.

 The pain grew intense as though my intestines were being ripped out of my belly; his scent began to come stronger, but mixed with another's. "He must be close by". 

Suddenly, the door flung open, and what I saw shattered me. Derek was shirtless, his lips pressing multiple times without a stop on Gaty's lips, my best friend, like he wanted to devour her. Her hand had already slipped into his trousers, caressing him with a slow, deliberate touch that drew a ragged breath from his lips. He lifted her effortlessly, pulling her tighter against him, their bodies pressed so close it felt impossible to breathe. His mouth traced a trail of heat along her neck before settling into a playful, lingering bite that sent shivers racing through her skin. She gasped softly, her voice trembling between a moan and a whisper, and the sound alone nearly undid him.

His left hand closed over her breast, fingers teasing, circling, squeezing until her back arched helplessly into him. The other hand slid beneath her gown, moving with urgency yet savoring the discovery of every curve, every secret fold of warmth. The air between them crackled, every heartbeat echoing like a drum.

I was furious, truly I was, but fury melted into something darker, heavier. Beneath the anger, a desire I could no longer contain coiled through me, sharp, raw, and undeniable. It was madness, but a madness I craved. I, too, longed to be touched, to feel that same burning intensity on my own skin. My lips parted before I realized, and I whispered his name, ‘Derek,’ not because I was hurting, but because I ached deeply and desperately to be touched.

I searched for words, but there were none. The universe went blank, my body felt numb, and I forgot the pain I had been feeling all along. "Ga-ty," I mumbled.

 Not minding my presence, they brushed me aside as they made their way to the bedside. It felt like a dream, a nightmare, no, something worse than that. Slipping his finger to her cheek, Derek seductively pushed Gaty to the bed. His hand caressed her body like his wolf's life depended on it to survive, while she let out a sweet moan. The last time Derek had touched me like this was the night before our wedding, but after that, Derek always had his way with me, however and whenever he wanted, without showing any atom of concern over my feelings, and the times I went to consummate with him, he was always not in the mood. 

I watched as uncontrollable tears ran down my cheeks. A man I had called my mate, and the only best friend I have had since childhood.

"Shall we not address her?" Gaty growled seductively into Derek's ears. "As you wish, my love," both chuckled. 

“Gaty" I called with a broken voice, hoping someone would pinch me back to reality. "Tell me this isn't you," I mumbled as I held her with my trembling hands, my teary eyes searching through her eyes for an answer I hoped would help relieve how I felt.

Her eyes showed a pang of guilt, but it was gone within seconds. "You have always had it all, but Derek has always been mine, right before you met him. I am just reclaiming him," Gaty snarled.

“Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were friends, best of friends.”

“Best friends, well, I never thought of that. I knew I had to be close to get everything I had wanted from you. Me being attacked? Lol, no, that was just a plan with Derek to lure you out on your birthday for you to be taken hostage because I knew your big stupid heart wouldn't allow you to see me get hurt. Oohhh, and your mum? You always felt like you were the only one with a loving mom in the universe, so we had to add wolfsbane to her drink, enough to unalive her” she said, letting out a big laugh as a wicked tear escaped from her eyes.

“My mom took you in and always cared for you like her own child, h…o ... .w cou..ld you? I stammered.

“How stupid of her, I never said I needed her motherly love. It was just a way of you rubbing it in my face that I have no mother, so I had to make sure that you also lost yours, so you know how it feels, little pup,” she said as she rubbed her hand on Derek's chest.

"Jessie, you have always been a big, big fool for believing I genuinely loved you . I made my move towards you so I could inherit your father's pack". Derek chipped in as his lips parted, giving out a disgusting sigh. After the death of my father, I inherited the most wealthy pack in the Eastern region from my father, who was also the strongest Alpha in the East and had given it over to Derek. 

"My pack needed your wealth, so I tried making you fall for me, but as you didn't at first, I had to stage a believable attack to kidnap you and make a deal with your desperate father, who would sacrifice anything to protect his family, to marry you if I saved you." 

“And yes, because of the trust he had for me, his dear pup's husband, I lured him out into the woods where there was enough mountain ash, and I watched him from afar as he burned to death. I can still hear his screams. Oh it wasn't easy but I had to because that was the fastest way for you to inherit his pack and wealth and hand them over to me,” he said as he sat on the cushion, with his legs crossed.

"My baby, my pup"? I whimpered with a faint voice as I held my tummy

"I don't care what happens to the baby; I am expecting another with the love of my life, Gaty." Gaty rubbed her tummy and gave a devilish smile.

Suddenly, I started feeling a burning rage inside. I quickly pulled Gaty by the hair, and she let out a painful growl. "You wench"! Derek howled angrily as he forcefully pushed me.

My body floated in the air, and immediately I felt a sharp pain in my head. I had landed on the tiles with my head, my body soaked in the pool of my own blood, hearing my heartbeat fade, my whole life flashed before me within a twinkle of an eye, “I can't end up like this,” I breathed out the words as tears rolled down my cheeks. My husband and my best friend had become my nemesis. 

I didn’t know how they dragged me out of the building, but when my eyes fluttered open, I was lying helplessly in the graveyard. The night air was cold against my skin, and the stench of freshly dug earth filled my nostrils. Derek’s voice pierced through the darkness, awakening me from the edge of unconsciousness. '‘I’m done digging her grave, help me grab her by the legs,’' he said, his tone cold and unfeeling, as he dropped what looked like a shovel onto the ground.

My vision blurred, but I forced my eyes to stay open. Above me, the tall trees stood like mourners, their branches swaying as though whispering secrets to the wind. My body was weak, trembling from the loss of blood, but my ears caught every sound, the crunch of boots on dead leaves, the shifting of the soil, the cruel laughter that echoed faintly between Derek and Gaty.

I tried to move, but my limbs felt like stone. A wave of helplessness washed over me, and for a fleeting second, I wondered if death would be kinder than the pain of betrayal. Then, as their shadows loomed over me, anger stirred within. The fire of my wolf flickered, faint but stubborn, reminding me that I was not yet gone. 

As they came closer to me, I grabbed Derek on his leg. “Please, save my baby,” I pleaded as I lifted my head to look him in the face. 

“She isn't dead,” Gaty said as they both gave themselves a shocking stare. Gaty gave him a go-ahead nod. They lifted my body off the ground and immediately threw me inside the shallow grave Derek had dug.

 “I will hunt you down, even if it means burning down hell,” I said with my teeth clenched as the sand covered my face and I let out my last breath.

Darkness swallowed me, and for a moment, silence was all I knew. Yet, even as my last breath slipped away, the fire of my wolf did not die. It burned within the ashes of my soul, whispering promises of vengeance. They thought they had buried me, but they had only awakened something greater. My tears dried into resolve, my pain into power.

If there is life beyond death, I will rise. Not for love, not for trust, but for the child within me and for every scar they carved into my heart. And when I return, Derek and Gaty will learn that even in death, a betrayed wolf never forgets.