Chapter 21. She Was Mine To Begin With

Ria

unknowing, uninvited and potentially expendable.

I blinked, trying to convince myself I wasn’t hallucinating. How would she be here, breathing, training alongside the fiercest pack in the region?

I felt pangs of sympathy mixed with dread. For a moment, I caught a glimpse of the man I thought Liam was—the charming fiancée who protected me—but that moment shattered under the weight of his obsession.

“Do you think she recognised us?” I whispered.

Liam shook his head, "Not yet, but she will."

His voice softened but remained deadly. “We’ll get her back, Lame. No matter what it takes.”

My heart thundered “We will get her back.” I repeated “what do you want to do with her?” 

“She was mine to begin with.” He said unapologetically. Forgetting the women he used to satisfy his sexual pleasure is here.

"And what if she doesn’t want to come back? 

What if she wants to stay here?” I asked.

He turned to me, eyes blazing. “She doesn’t get to decide that.”

“No,” I challenge, my voice rising. “Maybe she’s not the fragile girl we thought she was.”

He scoffed, “Fragile, you don’t know anything about her.”

I could see the darkness flicker in his eyes — the madness I’d tried to ignore. He was dangerous. And his obsession with Bliss only made him worse.

“This is my pack.” He said “she had no choice. Don’t know how she’s managed to hide hers till now because I know my brother will never accept strays.”

“Your Pack? This is your Pack?” I asked.

“Is it supposed to be yours?” He asked back, his eyes on Bliss.

I looked away, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. Jealousy clawed at my throat—not just because of Liam, but because Bliss had something I didn’t.

“She's your problem now.” I said, stepping back, trying to keep my voice steady.

Liam’s eyes never leaving where Bliss was . “She’s mine; always has been.”

For a long moment, we just stood there, the distance between us shrinking as the tension mounted.

I looked back at Bliss.

Suddenly Liam’s hand shot out, grabbing my wrist. “Ria,we need a plan.”

I looked up at him, feeling trapped. “What kind of plan?”

He smirked, “One that brings her back—one way or the other.”

I realised that Liam’s obsession wasn’t just about power—it was personal. And Bliss was the prize he refused to lose.

“Do you want her back that badly?”

Bliss’s breath came in steady rhythm, the sound faint but clear in the vast space.

I watched her shift into a series of punches and kicks, every muscle moving with sharp precision.

She was alive. More than alive—she was thriving.

The thought made my stomach twist. Liam had told me she had died.

“She’s not just training,” I murmured. “She’s preparing.”

Liam’s eyes darkened. “For war against us?”

His voice was almost reverent.

“What do you think?” I said.

I could not help but feel a flicker of respect for Bliss. She was a fighter. Someone who refused to be broken.

But then the old jealousy flared up again. Liam’s attention was fixed on her, not me. The thought stung more than what I wanted to admit.

I glanced sideways at Liam. “You never cared about me, did you?”

His gaze flicked at me, sharp and unreadable.

“I care about what you could give me; you’re really good in bed,” he said quietly. “But she—Bliss—is a prize and a threat all at once.”

I pulled my arm free from his grip. “So what now? You’re going to drag her back by force?”

He smiled coldly and hard. “if I have to.”

Suddenly, Bliss stopped her workout and looked directly at us.

Our eyes locked.

For a moment time slowed.

I saw surprise flash across her face, then recognition—pure, raw and electric.

She didn’t run.

She didn’t scream.

She just stared.

And in the moment, I felt a strange twist in my gut. Something like guilt, envy, and fear all mixed together.

“Liam”, I whispered, my voice barely steady, “she knows.”

His jaw clenched. “Good.”

“Good?” I echoed.

He took a step forward, voice low and fierce. “Because now the game begins.”

Later, as the training hall buzzed with activity around us, Liam and I went into a corner to talk.

“I want her back,” he said, “alive and under my control.”

I nodded. “And if she refuses?”

He shrugged. “Then I’ll take her by force.”

I swallowed my unease. “And me? Where do I fit in all this?”

He turned to me, expression unreadable. “You’ll be useful. For now.”

“For now?”

The words stung. I wanted to scream, to fight. But deep down, I knew I needed Liam—for protection and power and, most of all, he’s good to me when it comes to sex.