CHAPTER 3

Noah~

PRESENT 

I ran.

I could hear their laughter and see their mocking stares as they said all sorts of cruel things about me.

“How dare he call the Lycan King his mate?”

“The abomination thought he had a chance.”

“Talk about audacity.”

I got to the entrance of the hall where the ceremony was held and I found Tyrene there. She looked shocked till she saw me and she turned to me with a very strange expression.

“Ty, I–I need to go.”

She didn’t reply and if anything, she shifted back a bit and I stared at her but it was as if that expression was no longer there. She smiled and quickly held me.

What was that?

Her arms wrapped around me tightly, almost too tightly, like she was trying to hold me in place rather than comfort me. I could feel her breathing against my shoulder, uneven, and for a moment, I just stood there, confused, my hands hovering slightly before I slowly let them rest at my sides.

“It’s fine,” she murmured, her voice softer than I expected. “Let’s just go home.”

Home.

Right. 

I nodded, even though something about the way she said it didn’t sit well with me. Still, I didn’t question it. There was nothing left for me here anyway. Whatever had just happened… I didn’t even want to think about it.

The walk back was quiet. Tyrene stayed close, but she didn’t speak, and neither did I. The noise from the gathering faded behind us, but the words followed, echoing in my head like they had settled there permanently

As if they were a, fucking broken record.

Rejected.

Abomination.

I exhaled slowly, my chest tightening slightly, but I kept walking. When we got back to Ashvale, Tyrene didn’t stop with me like she usually did. She didn’t say anything either. The moment we reached my door, she let go of my arm.

“I’ll see you later,” she said quickly.

Before I could respond, she turned and walked away., I frowned slightly as I watched her leave, that strange feeling from earlier creeping back in, but I shook it off and stepped into my room.

I didn’t even get the chance to sit before the door burst open and two guards stepped in, their expressions cold and already decided.

“Come with us.”

They didn’t give me time to think either. One of them grabbed my arm, pulling me forward roughly as they dragged me out of the room and down the hall.

By the time we reached the holding cells, I had already stopped trying to process it. The metal door opened with a harsh sound before I was shoved inside, my body stumbling slightly before I caught myself.

The door slammed shut behind me and just like that, it began. For the next few days blurred together in a way that made it hard to keep track of time. Food came less often than it used to, and when it did, it wasn’t enough. Work replaced whatever little rest I had, tasks piling on top of each other like they were trying to break something out of me.

By the time I was summoned to the council, I already knew it wasn’t going to be anything good.

I stood in the center of the room, my hands clenched slightly at my sides as the elders looked down at me like I wasn’t even worth the effort of pretending.

“You have brought disgrace to this pack,” one of them began, his tone flat.

I didn’t speak.

“There are consequences for such actions.”

Another voice joined in. “Ashvale is in debt. Severe debt.”

That made my brows furrow slightly. I hadn’t expected that and what had it got to do with me? 

“The pack requires a solution,” the first elder continued. “And you… will serve as that solution.”

A cold feeling settled in my chest.

“No,” I said before I could stop myself, my voice coming out quieter than I intended. “No, you can’t—”

“You will be sold.”

The words cut through everything. For a moment, I just stood there, staring at them like I hadn’t heard it properly.

“Please,” I said, stepping forward slightly despite myself. “I didn’t mean to— I didn’t—”

“You have no say in this.”

The finality in his tone shut everything down before I could even try again. My gaze moved across the room, searching for something, anything but it stopped when it landed on her.

Tyrene stood to the side, watching. And for the first time… I didn’t recognize her.

There was no concern in her eyes, no hesitation, nothing that even resembled the person I thought I knew. What stared back at me instead was something darker, something colder, something that made my chest tighten without warning.

Hatred.

It was clear, unmistakable, sitting right there in her gaze like it had always belonged there and I had just been too blind to see it. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe, my thoughts stalling as I tried to make sense of it, trying to convince myself I was seeing it wrong.

I shook my head slightly, like that alone could fix it, like it would make whatever I was seeing disappear.

It didn’t.

She held my gaze without flinching, without looking away, and the worst part was that she didn’t even try to hide it. 

“Take him.”

Hands grabbed me before I could react, pulling me back as I struggled slightly, the desperation finally breaking through.

“Tyrene—”

She didn’t move or even react to me calling her name. The doors closed behind me not long after, the sound echoing louder than it should have as I was dragged back down to the cells. Chains were added around my wrists, tighter than before and restricting any movement as they locked me in place before leaving me there alone.

I don’t know how much time had passed before the door opened again. I didn’t bother looking up immediately. There weren’t many people who would come here for me anyway.

But her scent gave her away before anything else could. Tyrene stepped inside slowly, the door closing behind her with a soft click. For a moment, she didn’t say anything, and neither did I. The silence stretched between us, until she finally moved closer.

“I hate you,” she said quietly.

“Ty–”

“I hate you so fucking much,” she continued, her voice shaking slightly, but not with sadness, it was rage. “You had to be born an omega, be prettier than me and now you want to take the Lycan King too?”

My chest tightened, something twisting painfully beneath my ribs as I tried to say something, anything. “Ty—”

“I wish you were dead.”

The words barely settled before something sharp drove into my side.

My breath hitched violently as the pain spread instantly. My body jerked against the chains, metal clinking harshly as my hands clenched instinctively, a broken gasp tearing from my throat before I could stop it.

My own best friend, who I had trusted more than anyone in the world, had stabbed me.