LIANNA'S POV
Afterwards, I tearfully went back to my room to pack some clothes before Ethan sent me out with only the clothes on my back. As I shoved clothes into a duffel bag I came across a photograph taken of us at our mating ceremony. I picked it up and stared at it, I looked so happy with Ethan standing by my side not knowing what I was getting into. When I looked at Ethan's face it confirmed what I had always suspected, he never loved me at all, he was just pretending. While I was smiling at my new husband he was smiling at someone else, the waitress who appeared in the background of the picture. Tears began to gather in my eyes, even on our wedding day he would rather look at someone else and pretend I didn't exist. I put the picture aside and finished packing, I grabbed the duffel bag and went down the stairs where Ethan and his mistress were waiting for me. I kept my head down and tried to walk out the door but Ethan stopped me. "Come back here you cunt." I stilled in my movement and turned to him. "What do you want?" I asked with a shaky voice and he threw something at me, I flinched and moved back, this wouldn't be the first time he threw something at me. I looked down and saw that it was a bundle of money. It looked like it was up to a hundred thousand. "Everyone knows what you wanted from the start," Freya said, caressing Ethan as she sat on his lap and I felt a sharp pain in my chest. "You're lucky he is so generous. Go ahead and thank him." She sneered. "I don't want it." I would never stoop so low to accept money from them after the humiliation I went through. Even though I had very little money and didn't know where to go I walked out of the house leaving the money on the floor. Since I didn't have any other option, I decided to go to Annalise's place hoping she would help me. When the bus I took dropped me in front of her house, I went to the door and knocked but no one answered. So I waited since I had no choice. It was eight PM now according to my wristwatch and it was getting dark. But Ethan didn't let me own a phone so I had no choice but to sit on the floor outside the house and wait in the cold. An hour and a half passed before Annalise came back. She was in wolf form but I could tell she was surprised to see me. She ducked behind a bush, shifted back to human and put on clothes she had tied around her paw. "Lianna?" She called out my name in surprise. "Hi, Anna." I stood up and smiled weakly. "What are you doing here?" "My husband kicked me out, please I need a place to stay." "What? The Alpha? What did you do?" Tears threatened to spill as I remembered how badly I tried to save the marriage. "I didn't do anything, please help me." "I'm sorry, Lianna. You have to find someone else's." "Please Annalise, you're the only friend I have." "I'm not your friend, I was just being nice to you because I pitted you."She started to sound angry. "Leave before I call the howlers." The howlers were the human equivalent of police for us since the humans had their areas and we had ours.
I got up sobbing and left, so no one cared about me, I was just a burden to everybody. I had to get a job quickly to be able to pay for a night at a hotel and even though I studied business administration my certificate was still at Ethan's house and I couldn't go back there. I took off my clothes and shifted to my wolf form. I ran to a nearby bar holding my clothes between my jaws hoping to get a job as a bartender. When I got to the bar, I started to look for the manager but I was interrupted. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the slut herself." Two blonde girls stopped in front of me. "Makes sense that she'll be here looking for a man to whore herself too." The other one said. "Who are you?" I was confused. Why would they be saying such things to a stranger? "Miley and Riley. We're friends of Freya." Miley smirked."What do you want from me?"
"You thought you got away with stealing Freya's man, you bitch?" Riley spat at me. What were they talking about, Freya was the one who stole my husband. "Please just let me go." I pleaded as I tried to go away and they pulled me back. "Hey everyone!" Riley called the attention of everyone in the bar. "We want to introduce you to a man-stealing whore tonight." She announced loudly and everybody turned their attention to us. I tried to get away again but they shoved me roughly to the floor. "Come on Riley, you can't blame her," Miley pouted. "After all she's just following in her mother's footsteps." As everyone laughed my blood turned ice cold and embarrassment washed over me. My mother was an omega from a neighboring pack and she mated with the beta of the pack then. Everyone had regarded her as a golddigger who seized an opportunity even though my father loved her. "And of course, the Alpha has rejected her. Who wouldn't after finding out what a gold-digging bitch she was that tried to force herself on our Alpha."I wasn't sure which one of them said it as I knelt on the floor, tears dripping from my eyes even as I tried to stop them. I wondered how they knew that. Was it so obvious?
I moved back quickly as a man came close to me and tried to touch my breasts. "Why are you pretending? I know you like it." He sneered. I couldn't take it anymore. I got up and ran out of the bar still crying as the words replayed in my head. I kept running till my legs got tired and I fell in the middle of an empty road. I was barely conscious when I heard a voice.I opened my eyes and saw the man from the bar. I swallowed painfully, had he followed me here?
“Well if it isn’t the pack’s slut.” I wobbled onto my feet and started backing away from him. “Stay away from me.” “Why should I do that? I’m getting a piece of you tonight one way or the other. Maybe when I’m done fucking your pussy I’ll find out if you have a virgin asshole.” “I am your Luna. You will not touch your queen.” I mustered with all the courage left in me. And when he replied. “ I’ve always wanted to fuck a royal pussy. And it’s a good thing the Alpha sent me.” Hearing that Ethan did this to me, something inside me died. He grabbed me and started to tear off my clothes while I screamed and struggled till my throat was raw. And then suddenly he was gone. Everything stopped. As I scrambled to cover up my body I saw my would-be rapist on the floor getting his face smashed in by a muscular man with blond hair. My saviour. “Stop! You’ll kill him.” I started to yell as I saw that the perpetrator was no longer moving. “If he dies I’ll yank him back from the claws of the devil and kill him again for touching you.”I knew that voice as well as I knew the back of my hand.
“Sebastian please stop.”He froze midway but didn’t move away from the man as though he was trying hard to restrain himself. I tried to stand and I was stopped by a sharp pain in my abdomen. I gasped.
Sebastian left the motionless body on the ground and came to me. “ Are you okay?” He asked. “Is it you?” I looked up wondering if I had passed out or was hallucinating. It was my husband's elder brother and the former successor to the pack throne.LIANNA’S POV "Lianna?" He was surprised to see me as well. We had been best friends since school even though he was several classes my senior and that was only because I had been doubly promoted several times. But we drifted apart when Ethan and I started dating. And then he just left with no goodbyes or explanations. "Oh my God." I smiled. "You look great." He had always been handsome but the past year had been good for him. His features were now more defined. His brown eyes looked almost dark now and his pink lips were fuller. His killer jaw was covered with a light stubble. His smile faded as he gave me a quick inspection with his eyes. Even before the man attacked me I already looked horrible. Dirty and tired and my eyes were likely swollen since I spent most of the day in tears now my clothes were in shambles and I had bruises all over my body "Let me take you home." He started toward his car parked on the other side of the road. "No no, you didn't have to, I'm sure you
LIANNA'S POV He started to pull away but I held him, I needed him right now. And I was scared of what he would do in his current state. Because at that moment, he looked like he was ready to kill Ethan for me. "No just stay with me. Stay and be my friend" And I felt him nod against my forehead. The next thing I remember I was waking up in the morning. I got up to pee and brush my teeth and when I checked the time it was 10:15 am. The feeling of sleeping in was a bit strange since Ethan always made me wake up at dawn to do house chores and cook and if there was nothing to do he would create things to do. As I turned on the tap, everything that happened yesterday came back rushing into my head and I had to press my fingers against my eyelids to stop myself from crying. I didn't want to give Sebastian any more reason to worry. Oh my God, how was I going to face him after yesterday? What would have happened if he hadn’t come along and saved me? I didn't want him to treat me
LIANNA'S POV "What?" Did I hear him correctly? "Marry me." He repeated smiling. "Fuck you." I spat at him and started to walk away. "Lianna wait." He said urgently. "I tell you what I've been through and you think it's cool to make a cruel joke like this." "No, it's not that. I would never do that." "Then what the fuck do you mean by that." "I mean it, Lianna. Mate with me." I stared at him blankly. "I mean it. Think about the advantages." "Advantages? What advantages? Do you want to solve my marriage problems with another one? Am I supposed to use one brother to cancel out the other? I'm already being called a gold-digging whore and now you want me to marry the elder brother of my ex-husband who happens to be the rich former Alpha. They would bury me alive." "Only if you let them. Ethan mistreated you, I would never do that I would show them just how valuable and important you are. And even if they still didn't like you no one would dare say a negative word to you, not eve
Lianna: I had said those words without thinking and now, I wasn't so sure if that's what I wanted. I didn't know how exactly to feel. I glanced at him as he swerved out of the Palace, his jaw clenched and his fingers tightly wrapped around the steering wheel. While I wanted to reach out to him and run my fingers through his hair, I knew it was an absolutely bad idea that wouldn't age well. And I didn't want anything like that. So I remained glued to my seat, replaying memories from minutes ago over and over again. I felt humiliated. Today's encounter was the final straw that broke the horse's back. Seeing Ethan look at me with so much disdain broke my heart further. He didn't even try to come to my rescue when Freya tossed that note for me to read out loud. I had thought he wanted me to stop reading it because he felt guilty for the position I had been in, but it turned out he was probably irritated by my voice and how pathetic I looked. Where did it all go wrong?
Lianna: I finally slept off. My eyes were really tired and droopy by then. I woke up later at night, breathing heavily as I clutched my chest. I had woken up from a nightmare and of course, Ethan was the one in my dreams, reminding me that I was worthless no matter how much I tried to find my worth. Leaning against the bed, I stared out of the window, into the dark night. The fear was crippling. So crippling I could barely breathe. I fought against the thoughts that dominated my mind but it was damn near impossible to get rid of them. I wished there was a way for me to actually just...be. Just fucking be. But I knew I had to sit in this feeling for as long as I could so every day I woke up, it would be less painful than the last. My stomach rumbled and I knew I was hungry. Climbing out of the bed, I padded my feet across the room and made my way out of the room. Not only was I hungry, I was thirsty. Eating a few snacks wasn't going to hurt. The whole suit was dark, s
Edward: As soon as I woke up the next morning, I headed straight for the Palace. My Beta, Harvey, had called the council elders together as there was an important meeting to be held. Lianna was still fast asleep and didn't even move an inch as I walked around that morning. It made me wonder how much she must have given up sleep to cater to my brother. I slowly started to loathe him. Lianna was the gentlest soul I ever knew. She was always smiling t everyone and trying to make everyone feel better. So why the fuck did he do all that to her? And they were mates? It was beyond me how he could do such to her. Fucking beyond me how the little brother I had thought to respect people turned into a monster. Fuck him. I climbed into my car and zoomed off towards the Palace. I arrived in less than ten minutes and handed my keys to one of the guards hanging around. "The elders are waiting," Harvey said as soon as I got to the entrance of the Palace. He fell into step w
Edward: "Brother!" Ethan called after me, the sound of his boots thudding against the grounds. "Wait and listen to me for crying out loud!" "Take care of things," I said to Harvey. "Make sure no one gets hurt." He nodded and stepped out of the Palace. Slowing down, I turned to Ethan who had just stopped running and was breathing heavily. I was almost disgusted at the sight of him. He had grown plump over the years which was a rare occurrence for our kind, as we had an amazing metabolism that made it hard for us to store excess fat. For him to have gotten this big, that meant he was probably engaging in awful and disgusting acts of gluttony. "What is it?" I asked, folding one arm over the other. "Why did you just walk in here to disrupt everything?!" He cried. "Things have been going really well, only for you to come here and poison the mind of my elders!" "Poison the mind of 'your' elders?" I burst into laughter. "Oh, c'mon. Don't even say that. I saw the way you
Ethan: I paced from one end of the room to the other. I was fucking angry. Fucking livid! Just when I thought things were going right, my brother had to return. Fuck him. Fuck him for ruining things for me. I grabbed the decanter of alcohol I had been drinking and crashed it into the wall. Its content spilled to the ground and I leaned back, breathing heavily. "Fuck!" I screamed. "Fuck this!" The door was pushed open and a maid timidly walked in. I immediately glared at her. "What the fuck are you doing here?" "Alpha Ethan, your Luna requests your presence." At this time? What the fuck was wrong with Freya? Did she not realise what was going on or did she just have a fucking time blindness? Fuck her! "Get the hell out of my sight. Right now!" I growled. She nodded immediately and slipped out of the room. As soon as the door clicked shut, I began destroying everything in the room. I pushed the desk and turned it over, scattered all the files around and pushed the
Edward: I didn’t think I had ever had a good time like that in my entire goddamn life. Seated on my ridiculous golden throne, which, by the way, I had told them was unnecessary but they had insisted like it was some sacred tradition, I watched the sea of smiling faces parading before me. Everyone looked genuinely happy to see me, like they were actually proud, and for the life of me, I couldn’t even pretend to be my usual sarcastic self. The grin splitting my face was impossible to contain. It felt ridiculous, too wide, too bright, but hell if I cared. My chest was warm, my fingers were drumming lightly against the armrest in time to the soft thrum of music weaving through the air. The scent of fresh flowers... roses, gardenias, something Lianna had picked, I was sure drifted through the hall, blending with the mouth-watering smell of pastries and meat pies and the sharp tang of aged wine. A few of the Alpha Kings I was c
Edward: “How the hell is she able to be this bubbly after she almost died yesterday?” Harvey muttered, leaning forward against the iron railing of the gallery. I stood beside him, arms loosely folded, my gaze drawn down to where Lianna moved like a wildfire in silk. She was everywhere at once, barking out orders to the kitchen staff, laughing too loudly at something one of the guards said, twirling away from an apprentice who nearly dropped a tray of wine glasses at her feet. Her hair whipped behind her like a banner, her cheeks flushed with life. She looked damn good doing it too. She looked alive, radiant, and unstoppable. And that made me damn rock hard. I felt my mouth curl into a slow, uncontrollable smile. “She’s Lianna,” I said simply, voice low, almost reverent. “Death’s scared of her, not the other way around.” Harvey shook his head with a chuckle, but his eyes stayed trained on her too, like he couldn’t help himself. Ingrid’s heels clicked ag
Edward: The podium felt colder than it should have. Maybe it was just me. Hell, maybe it was the goddamn nerves humming under my skin, crackling through my bloodstream like I’d swallowed a live wire. I adjusted the heavy folds of my coat, brushing the fabric smooth with my palms. The leather was stiff under my fingertips, polished to perfection, but it didn’t ease the tension straining my spine. Harvey was a silent shadow at my back, his presence a steady weight between my shoulder blades. Good. I needed that anchor right now. The crowd before me shifted, a sea of bodies cloaked in muted colors and apprehensive whispers. I stepped forward, feeling the wood of the podium creak beneath my boots, and cleared my throat, the sound slicing through the low murmur of voices. "Good morning," I began. It was the kind of voice that made people lean in even if they didn’t trust a damn word coming out of your mouth. "I want to start by apologizing for dragging you all out here toda
Lianna: I adjusted Edward’s collar, tugging it with the kind of care a surgeon might use when slicing open a patient. His hands hovered awkwardly at his sides, and he stared at me like I’d just announced I was going to crown myself Empress of the Seven Kingdoms. "You know," he muttered, a lopsided smirk tugging at his mouth, "you’re acting like this is some royal wedding, not just a boring speech in the town square." I laughed under my breath, smoothing down the front of his jacket with a few sharp swipes. The fabric was rich under my palms. It was soft, expensive, and a little smug, just like him. "Oh, it is a royal wedding, Eddie," I said sweetly. "Between you, destiny, and whatever chaos we manage to unleash today." He rolled his eyes so hard I thought they might actually fall out of his head. "Should’ve known you were secretly trying to become an influencer," he grumbled. "Just this once," I quipped, giving the lapels one final, overly dramatic flourish. "I
Freya: I was deep in the middle of a very satisfying drea. It was a dream about me on a deserted island, no nagging voices, no endless plans for world domination, when the knocking started. It was persistent enough to rattle the door on its hinges. I groaned into my pillow, dragging the blanket over my head like that flimsy piece of fabric would somehow drown out the inevitable reality waiting for me on the other side. No such luck. The knocking only grew louder, like a war drum signaling my doom. "Gods," I hissed under my breath, pushing myself upright. My muscles protested. I rubbed at my eyes, feeling the crust of exhaustion scraping against my lashes. Another knock. This time, it shook the whole damn doorframe. "I'm coming!" I snapped, stumbling toward the door, the wooden floor cold against my bare feet. I yanked it open with a sharp tug, blinking against the blinding hallway light, and there she was. My mother. Standing in a fury, arms crossed so tightly
Lianna: The solar was soaked in gold. Thick streams of morning sunlight pouring through the wide windows, catching on the dust motes that floated lazily in the warm air. I curled further into the deep cushions of the settee, absently twirling the stem of my empty goblet between my fingers, feeling the slight slickness of glass warmed by my palm. Edward sat across from me, long legs sprawled out, shirt sleeves rolled up in that reckless way that always made my blood simmer. The door creaked open and one of the maids stepped in, the rustle of her skirts brushing against the polished floors. She bowed slightly. "My Lord, My Lady. The announcement has been made. About the address at the market square." I straightened, lips curving into a slow, knowing smile. "Did they make it obvious that I wouldn’t be there?" "Yes, my Lady," she nodded briskly. "It was made clear you are away visiting family." "Perfect," I m
Lianna: The morning sun spilled into the room entirely too bright for someone who’d just woken up. But I didn’t mind. I felt good. Better than I had in days. My limbs didn’t feel like they were filled with cement, my head wasn’t throbbing, and I wasn’t sweating through every damn sheet like I was trapped in a sauna sent from hell. No, this morning… I felt like myself again. Whole. Dangerous. Alive. I swung my legs off the bed, the marble floor biting cold against my bare feet. The silk robe I grabbed clung to my damp skin as I shrugged into it, its texture like water slipping between my fingers. The air smelled of fresh linen and pinewood, soft and crisp, and when I tied the robe around my waist, something fluttered in my chest. Excitement. Finally. I could train again. I didn’t get far before a voice groaned behind me. “Lianna… what the hell are you doing?” I turned, caught mid-step, with my hair messy, one knee bent, and my hand halfway to the doorknob. E
Lianna: I stirred to the sound of rustling fabric and the gentle weight of a hand on mine. My eyelids blinked open slowly. The low amber glow of the bedside lamp bathed the room in warm shadows. He was sitting right beside me, elbow propped on the bed, fingers trailing across my knuckles with an almost reverent tenderness. The second our eyes met, the tension on his face cracked and melted into a soft smile. "You're awake," he whispered, voice hoarse and threaded with relief. Then he leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead, one hand sliding up to cradle my cheek. "How do you feel, my warrior queen?" I let out a soft groan, stretching slowly as though my bones had been carved from old stone. “Like someone beat me with a broomstick, then threw me into a pit full of sorrow and set it on fire. But thank you for asking.” He chuckled, eyes scanning my face. “Your colour’s back. You had me panicking. You actu
Lianna: I’d fought wars with blood in my teeth and lightning in my palms. I had come out bruised, singed, but never like this. Never this empty. It was like something had drained the marrow from my bones, like my soul had been sifted through a sieve and discarded for sport. I wasn’t just tired, I was hollowed out. My eyelids felt like lead but lifted slowly at the sound of faint incantations. It was low and rhythmic, the syllables curling into my ears like smoke. My vision blurred, then sharpened around the figure of a woman draped in charcoal grey, her fingers twinkling with tiny, glowing sigils. I blinked once, twice. Ah. The Pack Witch. Relief loosened something in my chest, but I didn’t let it show. I hated looking fragile, even though I currently felt like someone had taken a hammer to every joint in my body. “Still alive, I see,” I murmured, my voice raspy and dry like parchment left in the sun. “Congratulations. You all didn’t kill me with your fretting.”