003: The Alpha’s Kiss

Lyra’s POV

“Just look at the way you’ve messed up your makeup.”

My stepmother’s voice dripped with annoyance, each word laced with contempt.

She’d always been that way. Since my father married her and she brought her daughter along, she’d always wanted Elina to be at the center, above me. She never missed a chance to throw tantrums at me, to remind me that I was somehow less than. That I didn’t deserve my position as the Alpha’s daughter.

“Don’t ruin today for the pack. Everybody is waiting.” She turned on her heel and left the room without waiting for a response.

The makeup artist was already touching my face, dabbing at the streaks I’d made. My chest was beating so heavily I thought I might vomit.

The door opened, and Adrian came in.

I looked at the face of the man I once loved through the mirror.

How innocent he looked. Nobody would suspect how evil he was. No one would dare suspect that he’d used his claws to rip his own mate’s heart out just to cover his lies.

Adrian nodded to the makeup artist to leave. She bowed and slipped out of the room.

He moved closer to me.

“I know how happy you are to see this day,” he said softly, his voice gentle. “And I’m happy too.”

He squatted in front of me, taking my hands in his.

I felt disgusted. Bile rose in my throat, and I nearly threw up right there.

“You’re the best gift that’s ever happened to me,” Adrian continued, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. “All my life, I’ve prayed to the Moon Goddess for one thing… to be with you forever.” His eyes met mine, earnest and warm. “I promise to make you happy forever. To be your mate, your protector, your everything.”

Liar.

That word screamed inside my mind. How could he lie without batting an eye? No wonder he’d been able to deceive me all these years.

My mate, my protector, when I’d caught him tangled with my stepsister on a day I thought was sacred to us.

Lost in thought, tears fell from my eyes.

Adrian gently wiped them away with his thumb. “I know they’re tears of joy, but you shouldn’t ruin your makeup.”

He smiled that perfect smile and stood. “Get ready. I’ll be waiting at the altar.”

The door closed behind him.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I felt embarrassed that I’d even thought of running away. If Adrian could lie so innocently in front of me, then I needed to hurt him. All of them. Everyone who made me cry, everyone who killed me.

***

The ceremonial hall doors opened with a grand flourish.

My face was hidden behind a white veil as my father took my hand. We walked down the aisle together, pack members from both sides clapping and cheering like this was some fairy tale come true.

Adrian stood at the altar, that perfect smile plastered on his face. The same smile he’d worn while betraying me.

Looking at him now, knowing what I knew, I wanted to shift and let my wolf tear his throat out. The pain was suffocating, crushing my chest from the inside. Before I could stop them, tears slipped down my cheeks.

I glanced toward my stepsister, Elina. She was smiling too, but not at me. At Adrian.

It had always been Adrian. Behind my back.

My fingers tightened around the bouquet of flowers until my knuckles went white. No, I told myself. I wouldn’t be pathetic this time. I wasn’t given a second chance just to be a victim again.

When we reached the altar, I turned to face the pack elder officiating the ceremony.

He cleared his throat and began. “Brothers and sisters of the pack, we are gathered here under the light of the full moon to witness the sacred mating bond between Lyra Dominic and Adrian Massimo. The mate bond is blessed by the Moon Goddess herself, not to be entered into lightly, but with reverence and eternal commitment…”

He droned on about loyalty and the sanctity of the mate bond and forever. Words that meant nothing coming from a man who had no idea what was really happening.

“Do you, Adrian Massimo, accept Lyra Dominic as your mate, to honor and protect until your last breath?”

“I do,” Adrian said, his voice steady and sure.

Liar.

“And do you, Lyra Dominic…”

That’s when my eyes caught the Massimo pack crest pendant on Adrian’s chest.

I dropped my flowers. They hit the floor with a soft thud.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

I reached forward and removed the pendant from Adrian’s ceremonial robes. His expression shifted from confusion to alarm as I brought the sharp edge to my dress.

The sound of fabric tearing was impossibly loud in the sudden silence.

I cut the ceremonial dress from my upper thigh all the way down to the hem, the heavy layers of white silk falling away in strips.

Gasps erupted throughout the hall. Pack members jumped to their feet.

“What the hell are you doing?” Adrian hissed, his perfect composure finally cracking. His eyes flashed gold… his wolf rising in anger.

Satisfaction flooded through me, warm and intoxicating. This chaos, this shock, I was causing it. I was in control of my destiny now.

I took the microphone from the elder’s frozen hands and used it to amplify my voice.

“I’m sorry for the disruption,” I said, my voice carrying through the entire hall.

Silence fell like a hammer.

“But I cannot complete this mating bond.”

“Lyra!!!” My father’s voice boomed from his seat, Alpha command threading through it.

I looked at him, then deliberately turned away. My wolf pushed back against his authority, something I’d never done before.

My eyes landed on Killian. He wasn’t looking shocked. Instead, he smirked like I was putting on the most interesting show he’d ever seen. His Alpha presence filled the room, rivaling even my father’s.

“I’ve found my true mate,” I said.

I took a deep breath, letting the lie flow smoothly. “And I’m carrying his child.”

I threw the microphone aside and walked straight toward Killian.

The room exploded behind me, shouts, gasps, the scraping of chairs as pack members stood. I could hear my father roaring, Adrian snarling, the chaos spreading like wildfire.

When I reached him, I grabbed his collar and pulled him down, pressing my lips to his.

His eyes went wide with shock.

But he recovered instantly. The mate bond flared to life between us, hot and electric and utterly overwhelming. His hands came up to cup my face as he pulled me deeper into the kiss, his Alpha dominance washing over me in waves. It was possessive, claiming, and entirely for show.

His scent wrapped around me, and my wolf purred in satisfaction even as my mind screamed at the recklessness of what I’d just done.

But…

I didn’t mind kneeling before the devil to get my revenge.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​