The shadow of a mate

"You will never be anything to me. I have told you this before, stupid bitch."

His voice thundered through the room. His hand clamped around my throat, pinning me to the wall. My bones trembled. My feet dangled off the floor, toes scraping desperately against the wall for balance, for air, for mercy.

“But… you promised me,” I gasped, clutching his wrist, my nails digging into his skin. “You said you’d protect me. What did I do to deserve this, Lucien?”

He didn’t flinch. His eyes, once warm, were dead now, cold as steel. He said nothing. Just the long silence filled the room until it screamed louder than his rage.

He hurled me across the room like I was nothing more than garbage.

I hit the wall hard. The sharp crack of impact rang in my ears, pain exploding down my spine and radiating through my ribs. I collapsed to the floor in a heap, coughing and trembling. My vision swam. The air was thick with dust and old memories.

My wolf inside, groveling for help, whimpered. I was too weak to fight back.

He turned to leave.

But I couldn’t let him go. Not like this.

I crawled forward and caught the edge of his boot.

“Please,” I begged, clutching it like it was my last lifeline. “Don’t do this. Don’t walk away.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks. My voice was broken, wrecked by emotion and bruised lungs. He stared down at me with the same loathing you'd give a bug you regret not squashing sooner.

Flashback

Lucien was once my best friend.

We grew up in the same neighborhood, climbing trees and stealing apples from Mrs. Grady’s yard. Back then, he was like a second shadow. Protective, quiet, loyal. I never imagined I’d fall for him. I never imagined he’d become this.

At fifteen, our parents told us we were fated mates. The Moonlace Pack had honored these pairings for generations. We didn’t fight it. We accepted it. We were young and naïve, caught in the rush of dreams and the comfort of destiny.

My father, Alpha Ridge of the Moonlace Pack, ruled the northern region of Silver Lace. He was a true leader, honorable, fair, and wise. He gave shelter to rogues and jobs to the desperate.

Lucien’s father, Beta Jacob, was once my father’s most trusted friend and second-in-command. My father had given him everything: wealth, recognition, land. But greed knows no gratitude.

When our pack's treasury began to dwindle, suspicion spread like wildfire. Government grants and business profits vanished. My father investigated. The deeper he looked, the more Jacob’s name surfaced.

Jacob denied it all.

But betrayal has a stench no lie can cover.

After an explosive confrontation, my father stripped Jacob of his rank, assets, and influence. He was cast out from council meetings, pack decisions, and every privilege he'd once taken for granted.

Jacob was an ingrate and lowlife who pretended to be loyal, but he was deceitful.

Lucien changed that day. He avoided my eyes. Stopped speaking to me in the halls. It was like he’d vanished into the version of himself his father had always been grooming beneath the surface.

One afternoon, I went to his house. The door creaked open, and he let me in. We sat on the couch, reminiscing about the time we got caught sneaking out during the Blood Moon festival. He smiled. I remember that smile. It almost felt real.

Until Jacob came home.

“Hi Uncle Jacob. I have been looking forward to seeing you,” I said and attempted to give him a hug. He shoved me aside without a word, his shoulder colliding into mine hard enough to send me stumbling.

He turned to Lucien.

"Come here, boy."

Lucien trembled, then obeyed. Jacob grabbed him by the collar, leaned close, and hissed so low I barely heard.

"Listen and listen good, boy. She’s not welcome here anymore. The sooner you accept that, the better."

Tears welled up. My face flushed red. My nose dripped with mucus. My stomach churned with discomfort.

Lucien’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t look at me. Not once.

Jacob dragged him into the house and slammed the door in my face.

That was the day I knew something in Lucien had died. Or maybe something darker had finally taken root.

End of flashback

“You can’t keep treating me like I’m nothing,” I said, forcing myself to stand. My body screamed in protest, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me broken.

Lucien turned, eyes gleaming with cruel delight.

“Exactly. You are nothing.”

The words cut deeper than any blade. I felt them in my marrow, the sting spreading like poison through every vein.

“I’ll never mate with you,” he spat. “Is that what this is about? Still clinging to some old, pathetic childhood fantasy? It’s over, Ava. It’s been over.”

I stared at him, my chest rising. “If you won’t claim me… then maybe I’ll find someone who will. Someone better. A real Alpha.”

His face twisted, fury igniting behind his eyes.

“You think you can replace me?” he hissed.

“It’s high time you realized this,” he growled.

I don't know if all men are like this, but my father never once treated my mother this way.

I never saw this side of Lucien when we were younger. For four years now, we have been a couple.

I had desperately wanted him—his touch, his lips—but he always found ways to avoid me, as if I were a plague.

“Is this what you want, huh?”

He slid his hand into my clothes, reaching for my bra and yanked it off, revealing my full blossom breasts.

He placed his tongue and sucked the tips of my breasts, making me gasp.

My hands playfully stroked his wavy dark hair.

I felt his fingers playing their way into my wet region as my legs parted gently.

He tore off my panties and fiddled with me.

My hands traced every part of his manly hold.

Deep down, this was what I craved.

I moaned as he played with every part of my being. My wolf inside began to whimper for more.

He stopped inches from my face, his breath hot and sharp against my skin. He leaned in, and I felt something shift in the air—a shattering cold snap in my soul.

And suddenly, he whispered in my ear:

“You are worthless.”

Instantly, my vision went blurry. What seemed like pleasure turned to madness filled with pain.

“No…” I whispered. “No.”

Lucien stepped back. His eyes danced with cruel satisfaction. He tilted his head like he was admiring a masterpiece—my suffering, his victory.

And then,

A knock echoed from the front door.

We both froze.