4: Day One

I survived the first day. Fifty-nine days more to go.

I woke up extremely early and took a quick shower. Since Jacob hadn’t stayed in the room all day, I hurried, not wanting him to walk in on me.

Once I finished dressing, I stepped out of the room. I had no idea where Alpha Jacob was, and honestly, I didn’t care to find out. As I walked down the stairs, I spotted a maid and approached her.

"Can you please tell me where the training center is?" I asked.

"Behind the backyard garden," She replied.

"Thanks," I said, starting to walk away, but she called after me, "Alpha Jacob isn’t there."

Her words only made me feel better. I didn’t respond, heading straight for the training center.

I had no interest in training or even being there—I was only going because I knew Noah would be. It was his usual morning routine.

Last night, I couldn’t sleep properly. I kept thinking about Noah. Every time I started to drift off, I saw his face—how he had proposed to me, and then how he had lost hope in us. How betrayed he looked when he saw me with Alpha Jacob.

I almost hated myself for making him feel that way. Noah had been nothing but loyal and kind to me. It hurt so much to know that I had put him in a position like this.

When I walked into the training center, I saw Noah working out with another pack member. It was just the two of them, which was a relief as I didn’t want anyone paying attention to me.

When Noah’s eyes met mine, I waved, but he looked away almost immediately.

I sighed. I expected it. I had really hurt him.

I stepped closer, and the other pack member noticed me. He froze, clearly surprised, especially when I approached Noah.

"Can we talk?" I asked quietly.

Noah glanced at me briefly, then turned away. "I don’t think we should." He started to walk off, but I followed.

"Please, it won’t take a minute," I said, trying not to sound desperate. I didn’t mind looking desperate in front of Noah, but not in front of the other pack members. The last thing I wanted was for him to tell Jacob anything.

Still, Noah didn’t budge, though I could tell he wanted to talk.

"Noah, come on, please. Everyone is watching, Noah. Please," I begged.

He sighed, his shoulders tense. He looked at the other pack member, then back at me. "Fine. I’ll meet you at the back in five minutes."

"Thanks," I nodded and walked away. Even when he was mad at me, I knew he’d talk to me. He never says no, even when it’s hard.

A few minutes later, Noah walked up to me. "What is it?" His tone was cold, distant.

I opened my mouth to speak but at that moment, I lost all words. I didn’t even know how to explain things without revealing too much. I took a deep breath before I could finally speak.

"I’m sorry," I started.

"It’s okay," He said sternly, turning away. But I quickly grabbed his arm.

"I’m not done talking," I said.

"Okay. Talk," He replied, his gaze locking onto mine, waiting. But I couldn’t. I didn’t know what to say or how to say it. There was too much and so much I couldn’t tell him.

When he noticed my hesitation, he spoke, softer this time. "You don’t have to do this, Osline. I get it. He’s richer than me, more powerful than me. It’s fine. Just… don’t make it harder for me than it already is."

My heart ached. "No, that’s not it."

"Then what is it?" His voice trembled with hurt. "Because right now, I don’t even understand. First, you tell me you’ll reject him, and suddenly I’m supposed to accept you as his Luna?"

"I couldn’t reject him," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"I know…" He nodded, eyes starting to well up, though he held back the tears desperately. "I can see you can’t reject him."

"But I wanted to Noah," I admitted, my voice breaking. "I really wanted to, but…" my words broke.

I couldn’t tell Noah the truth—not only because Jacob would hurt my dad, but because Noah would try to fight him, and there was no way he could win.

A heavy sigh escaped me. "I’m so sorry."

He looked at me in silence for a moment, i could tell he was thinking, maybe trying to figure out why I did what I did.

Finally, he spoke "I waited for you for so long. I stood there at the lake house, waiting. Wanting to propose again, to make it right this time, but you didn’t come."

His words broke my heart.

He stepped closer. "They all told me you wouldn’t come, Osline, but I disagreed. I thought I knew you. I thought you loved me and that you’d come back, like you said you would. Like we agreed you would."

"I’m sorry," I whispered. That was all I could manage.

"Don’t tell me you’re sorry," He said, voice tight with frustration. "Because now it’s all ruined. I have a job I can’t leave until my contract is over, and the worst part is I have to see you with another man every single day. You have no idea how much that hurts Osline."

Noah had every right to be angry with me. I deserved it. I wished I could tell him why I had to do this, why I had to be with Alpha Jacob.

When he noticed I wasn’t going to say anything, he started to turn away. I quickly grabbed his hand. "Noah, please."

He gently pulled his hand free and began walking, then paused and turned back to me. "I have no idea why you did this or even if you still love me but all I can say is be careful with him. He’s not the nice guy you think he is. He’s a monster and yes… the rumors are true."

His words hit me harder than I expected. I believed him. After all, this was Jacob we were talking about. Cruel, rude, mean, yes. But a monster? Could he really be a monster?

Just as I opened my mouth to reply, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Before I could turn, I caught the change in Noah’s face. His expression tightened, his eyes wide with fear, as if he had just seen something behind me.

I turned and there was Jacob, standing there, looking furious.

My heart dropped.

Did he hear everything?