Chapter 5

AIYANA

A soft knock on the door woke me, and I lifted my head, dazed and still feeling like the entire night had been a battle. The knock came again, firmer this time.

It’s been a year since the flame revealed that Maxim and I are fated mates, and things have only gotten worse. Isabela has grown more cruel with each passing day, making it her mission to turn every moment I spent near her into pure hell. There wasn’t a single instance where she didn’t rub it in my face how she and Maxim were together and happy, constantly touching him, kissing him right in front of me, or forcing him to say he loved her. He, on the other hand, mostly ignored me. But he never stopped her, never did anything to prevent her mean-spirited attacks.

Sometimes, I’d catch him looking at me. A gaze that seemed to pierce through me, and for a fleeting moment, I thought I saw something there. But it was always gone in an instant. Maxim remained distant, cold like I meant nothing to him.

“Aiyana?”

I lifted my head again, still groggy, the weight of the previous night pressing on my chest like the exhaustion went far beyond the physical.

The knock came once more, firmer than before.

“Are you alright, my dear?” my grandmother’s voice came from the other side of the door. Her gentle tone was laced with concern, the same way it was always when she sensed something was wrong.

I didn’t want to worry her. I didn’t want her to know just how worn out I felt. But I knew she already did she always did. My grandmother had a way of knowing when something was wrong, even when I tried to hide it.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. She stood there, just outside my room, with that tender and loving look in her eyes. Those eyes, always filled with care made me feel like a fragile child again, just seeking shelter.

She looked at me and gently pulled me into a warm hug. At that moment, a wave of relief washed over me like she was the anchor keeping me from drowning. I didn’t need to say a word. She could feel the pain, the sadness I was trying so hard to hide.

“No matter what he said to you, sweetheart,” she whispered, stroking my hair with her usual gentleness. “Don’t let his words define who you are. You’re stronger than you think, don’t ever forget that.”

After a long silence, I pulled away just enough to look at her, wiping my eyes. And almost without realizing it, the words escaped my lips filled with all the months of frustration and pain.

“Maxim… he’s a detestable idiot,” I whispered, my voice shaky and tired.

My grandmother looked at me calmly, wearing her usual composed expression. She didn’t respond right away. Instead, she hugged me tighter, as if trying to shield me from the world, and from myself.

A wave of warmth spread through my chest, and for the first time in a long while, I felt a flicker of hope. Even though I was broken, lost in a storm of conflicted emotions, my grandmother was there to remind me of who I still was… and who I could still become.

The day after the flame’s revelation, Maxim’s father, Scott Blackwood, Alpha of the pack came to my house with that commanding tone of someone who knows he’s talking to someone “beneath” him. He made it very clear that I wasn’t to get involved with anyone until I turned twenty-one, until the bond could be tested again to confirm whether or not I was truly Maxim’s mate.

The audacity! I was expected to keep my purity intact, while he allowed Maxim to do whatever he please, including practically living with Isabela. He didn’t even try to hide it. But me? I was supposed to wait. Wait to be treated like a backup plan, like some object under review.

Not anymore.

I wasn’t a child anymore.

In fact, I’d just turned eighteen last week. That’s why tonight was going to be different. It was my prom night my last day of high school, and I wouldn’t let this mess of rejection and neglect steal my chance at happiness. Alyssa and I had spent the whole month picking out our dresses, perfecting every detail. I wasn’t going to sit at home while everyone else lived their lives. While he lived his with my wicked cousin.

My grandmother was still there, watching me with those knowing eyes that always saw more than I said. Maybe she was waiting for me to shrink back, to let the pain swallow me again.

But not this time.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand and lifted my chin.

“I’m going to prom.”

She looked at me for a moment, then gave me a soft smile.

“Then go with your head held high,” she said, her voice firm but kind. “Show them you’re not a girl who hides in the shadows.”

Her wrinkled fingers brushed my cheek in a brief, affectionate gesture before she stepped back to give me space.

I stood and walked to the closet, where the dress Alyssa and I had chosen hung waiting. I’m not usually a dress girl everyone knows I prefer pants, but there was something about this one that changed my mind for just one night. It was a deep shade of green, like leaves after the rain. The fabric hugged my body in elegant lines, gliding over my skin as if it had been made just for me. The neckline revealed just enough to highlight my femininity without being too much. A long slit starting at the thigh added a daring touch, and the off-shoulder design emphasized my neck.

I slipped on the highest heels I owned, the extra height giving me a more powerful posture.

When I turned to the mirror, I didn’t see a hurt girl anymore, tired of being overlooked. I saw someone who wouldn’t let herself be pushed into the background. Someone who wouldn’t let others decide what her life should be.

My grandmother smiled as she watched me and nodded in approval.

“You look beautiful, my girl,” she said, pride clear in her voice.

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the night ahead on my shoulders.

I knew Maxim and Isabela would be there. Maxim had started the year as a P.E. assistant and volunteered to help supervise the prom, and my cousin somehow managed to be his date. I knew they probably wouldn’t care about my presence or worse, Isabela would go out of her way to remind me of that. But in the end, none of that mattered.

I wasn’t going for them.

I was going for me.

And if tonight was going to be my revenge?

So be it.