When Angels fall

Eden Grace

Jake’s grip was iron around Eden’s wrist as he dragged her through the garden gate, away from the warm buzz of the engagement party. 

Her heels scraped the pavement, her breath was catching in her throat.

“Let go!” Eden hissed, trying to yank her wrist free but Jake’s grip tightened as he dragged her like she was just an object.

Jake's alpha aura flared uncontrollably, thick and suffocating, pressing against her skin like invisible chains. Even without meaning to, he was exerting dominance.

The lights from the house faded behind them, replaced by the quiet chill of the backyard.

Jake let go of her roughly, running a hand through his hair and he turned to face her, his expression unreadable.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he hissed. 

Eden’s voice cracked. “This is my home. You think I wouldn’t come back to the place where I lived? With you?”

He snapped, “You shouldn’t have come!”

She stared at him, pain flickering through her gaze. “Right. More like I wasn't supposed to see you getting engaged with Freya Heyes.”

His silence was answer enough.

“You’re not only a renowned doctor but also really great at acting, Alpha Jake.” Eden said, voice trembling beneath her composure. “For all these years you pretended like you couldn't stand her, but now….I see you slip a ring on her finger. Smiling while your mother made a toast.”

“You don’t understand,” Jake said, his tone already falling into that careful, practiced calm. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“No?” Eden said bitterly. “But it looks exactly like betrayal.”

Jake grit his teeth, his jaw tightening. “You think I wanted this? You think I actually want to spend my life with her? If it weren’t for you—” he began, then stopped, as if weighing how much to say. 

Her voice trembled, “Me what..?” 

“If it weren’t for your goddamn scandal, none of this would’ve happened. My mom went ballistic. She wanted to clean the mess, the pack needed stability…and Freya was the only solution.”

Eden’s chest rose and fell. “So you’re saying this is my fault?”

“I’m saying I had to make a decision, Eden.” Jake said, his voice rising. “I didn’t want to, but everything fell apart because of you! My future with you, the credibility, everything Eden!”

Tears slid down her cheek, but she didn’t wipe it away. “So you don’t believe me either? You think I killed Ria?”

Jake looked away for a moment, his jaw tight. That pause brief was louder than a confession.

Eden let out a shaky laugh, the silence from him slicing her deeper than any accusation could.

“What about your promise? What about us being mates forever?” Eden's tears streamed out of her cheeks. “You said you would stay with me forever. You said you did not care what anyone thought.”

Her throat tightened.

“Did you mean it…?”

Jake looked at her for a moment, his expression calm, controlled, almost distant, as if she were asking something inconvenient.

“Does it matter now, Eden?” Jake’s amber gaze hardened. Can't you see…it's all ruined now? And moreover you romanticize every thing, act like we were some legendary love story. Eden, we were just two teenagers who liked each other.”

Just liked? She stared at him in disbelief.

“Eden, I care about you but you cannot expect me to destroy everything I worked for because you cannot handle your own problems. I'm sorry.”

Her breath faltered. “So you're rejecting our bond now?” 

Jake laughed softly, without humor.

“Bond? There was never any official bond, mom was right. We were never officially chosen by the Moon goddess. So there is nothing to break in the first place. We were together because we chose to be. That is all.” 

Jake's words were like a whiplash, his cruel words slicing through her flesh.

Eden finally said, “So this is how it is. Even you don't believe me and you are so eager to replace me just for the sake of your reputation. Is that it? Very well played, Alpha Jake. You just threw me like anything when I needed you the most. I hope Freya and you live happily together.” 

She turned, taking a step back, her heart thudding like it knew it would never return.

Jake’s voice came low, hard behind her. “Eden. Don’t come back here again, Freya won’t like it. She doesn’t want you near the hospital… or me.”

Her steps halted. He didn’t stop there.

“If you want,” he added stiffly, “I can transfer some money. Enough to help you start over somewhere far away. You don't have to keep struggling, this is the least I can do.” 

Eden let out a soft, stunned laugh, bitter and hollow.

“Oh, how noble,” she whispered, wiping her face but missing the tears. “Throwing money at me to disappear. Is that what I am now to you? Huh Mr. next board member of the hospital committee…?" 

Jake looked at her with a stone face. “What..?”

Eden's smile widened mockingly. “You think I wouldn't know..? Climbing the ladders already. Must be nice, sucking up to your fiancé and her father at the same time. You just want to expand your territory.”

“Eden.” Jake’s voice sliced through the air but she didn't stop. 

“Or what? You let the pack tear me apart, you let them drag my name to filth. And you stood there like a good dog, tail wagging, ready to be patted. You're really a pathetic spineless bastard.”

“Eden..!”

She glared at him, “Hope you enjoy your miserable little marriage ahead. You two deserve each other…liars, leeches, and cowards.”

With that she turned and walked away. And this time, she didn’t look back.

The night was colder than it should’ve been.

The Alpha estate stood like a ghost behind her. The same place where she'd once been welcomed, smiled at, now looked like a disaster.

Her suitcase was flung open. Clothes tossed, some soaked from the sprinklers. Her coat was crushed beneath the wheel of a car.

All of her things were thrown out like trash.

She knelt down slowly, not caring who saw her. Her hands moved on their own, gathering the scattered remains of her life. 

There was no destination in her mind now. No pack to return to.

No den to hide in. No mate. No home.

Eden kept walking aimlessly, her legs carrying her past busy streets and glowing signboards. Neon lights blurred with the tears she refused to wipe. 

Life had been really cruel to her now. Her parents died leaving her early. The medical career she had fought for despite being wolfless was destroyed overnight. Her reputation? It was smeared beyond repair.

The Alpha she had loved for years had chosen Freya. 

He believed she was capable of killing someone. He offered her money like some exiled embarrassment.

She let out a breathless laugh, broken and bitter. A disaster of a love story. A disaster of a life. There was nothing left. No home. No job. No one.

Eden crossed the road blindly, ignoring a honking scooter. Her mind was spiraling now, thoughts tightening like a noose.

No one would even notice if she vanished. No one would care.

She was so tired of crying. So tired of pretending to be strong. Of hoping. Of surviving.

She just wanted to die. 

Maybe the river would be quiet tonight. Or maybe a car could do it for her. One second. One decision. And the pain would stop.

Her legs turned instinctively into a narrow, empty alley. Somewhere dark. Somewhere away from eyes.

“I should just die,” she whispered. “I can't do this anymore, Mom and Dad.”

She pressed her back to the wall and slid down, sitting in the filth, knees pulled to her chest.

But then she heard a loud, rough groan. 

Eden froze. It was a deep growl, a voice of a male. Her head snapped toward the sound. She turned on her phone torch, hand shaking.

“Who's there..!?” Her voice trembled and then she saw a man bleeding, slumped beside the dumpster.

She froze, her heart skipping a beat as she looked at the man. It wasn't the blood, it was him.

He was ridiculously handsome, even with blood staining his shirt. Chiseled face, lips parted, lashes were long and dark against his pale skin.

Even injured, even half-conscious, he radiated power. Raw.

Untamed. Dangerous.

A dominant wolf. An Alpha. Or something even more terrifying.

He looked like a fallen god of the wild, dragged from the moonlit forests and thrown into the filth of the city.

An angel who had fallen straight into darkness.

For a moment, she forgot everything. Her pain. Her grief. Her desire to end it all.

Who was this young man?