Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

VENITA

My eyes were overflowing with streams of salt, each tear that fell a reminder that I, indeed, had fallen for the wrong man.

“We’re here, ma’am.” The cab driver said as he pulled up in front of the massive gate that belonged to my family.

I sat there, unmoving. What was left for me to do anyway? I had given everything I had – which was admittedly not much – to a rogue wolf, the height of betrayal in Bloodied-Fang Pack.

“Ma’am,” the driver probed. “We have arrived at your destination.”

I dabbed at the tears on my face and slipped my glasses on, handing the kind, pot-bellied man a hundred dollar bill before I thanked him and alighted.

He rolled his window down. “Thanks for the tip, miss.”

My lips pulled into a sad smile as I turned to face him. “No problem.”

The driver’s side door opened and he stepped out of the car, coming around it to meet me in front of the huge gates. “Here, have this.”

I frowned in confusion as I opened my palm to receive the small red coin he was offering. “What is this?”

The kind man smiled at me. “The pass. If you’re ever in trouble, call on Cassian and he will help you.”

My frown deepened. What the hell was he talking about? “Who is Cassian?” I asked.

“You will see.”

His smile didn’t fade and I closed my eyes, exhaling slowly as I tried to make sense of what was going on. I opened my eyes to ask him why he thought I would need help from this Cassian person, but he was gone.

I staggered backward in surprise. How had he and his car disappeared without a single sound?

“Veni, is that you?” My best friend’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I spun around to face her. “Where have you been?” she asked.

At the sight of her concerned face, the dam broke again, and this time I sobbed like a child whose candy was stolen.

We stayed out there for longer than twenty minutes, me crying and Lilith doing all that she could to console me. By the time I had calmed down, she smiled at me. “Come on, let’s have this conversation in private.”

“So, what exactly happened? Did Jerome do something?” She asked me as soon as we walked into my room and sat on my bed, already making a perfect guess as to what the problem was.

I swallowed thickly. “He… he broke up with me.”

Lilith sighed. “I know how much he means to you, Veni, but I’m sure all of this is for the best. He was never good enough for you, anyway.”

My mind spun with indecision. I questioned whether or not I should tell her what the real issue was. She must have seen the look on my face because she tilted her head and studied me.

“There’s more, isn’t there?”

Lilith had been my best friend since we were kids. Her father was the head driver for my father and one day he had brought her over because his wife was sick. She helped me pluck apples from our tiny orchard and taught me how to catch butterflies that day, and since then we became inseparable. Years later, she became my brother’s mate, taking her from friend to family in a heartbeat.

“I… I am…” I swallowed again, breathing with difficulty as the words lodged in my throat. “I am pregnant, Lith.”

Her eyes bulged, mouth going slack as she stared at me. “What?”

I hushed her. “Don’t yell. I don’t want anyone to find out about this.”

“You’re the beta of Bloodied-Fang pack, Veni. How can you be pregnant for…” she exhaled a heavy breath. “He’s a rogue, Venita.”

Whenever she called my name in full, I knew that she was mad at me. “Please, Lith, don’t make this any harder. You’re my best friend. You’re the only one I can tell about this.”

Lilith closed her eyes, nostrils flaring as she struggled to keep her temper in check. “I am also your Luna, Venita. How am I supposed to keep this away from your brother?”

At the mention of my brother’s name, my breath caught in my throat. If he found out that his sister and beta had been having an affair with a rogue, it would be deadly – literally.

I grabbed her hand in mine. “Please, Lith, give me some time to figure something out.”

Her face took on that edge that told me she was contemplating it, so I took advantage and shook her slightly. “Please, Lith. Please.”

She caved in with a sigh. “Okay. But you have to tell him yourself when the time is right.”

My throat bobbed in a hard swallow. I knew my brother and I knew exactly how he was going to react when it came to this. My life was never going to come above his duty as Alpha.

*******

“Where is Lilith?” I asked Rogen as soon as he pulled the door to his room open.

He looked worn, like he had been carrying a lot on his shoulder. His chest heaved in a sigh. “She isn’t doing well, Veni. The healer said she was poisoned, but it wasn’t with anything edible.”

My heart sank. “But she hasn’t left the pack in a long time. How…”

He cut me off. “How could she have gotten poisoned? I have no idea, and I’m hoping we can have some answers when she wakes up.”

I nodded, tears welling up in my eyes. “Can I see her?”

The door was pulled open wider and he ushered me inside. “I’m going to get some more water for her to drink. The healer said to keep her hydrated.”

As I stepped into the room, the first tear dropped from my eyes. She looked so pale, she was near lifeless. I had never seen her this way before, and it made me angry that someone had dared to do this to her.

I sat beside her, took her hand in mine and caressed the back of her palm. “I’m sorry, Lith. I’ll find whoever it was that did this to you.”

As if she heard me, she coughed, her chest rising and falling quickly. I helped her up and gave her the last sip of water in the glass beside her bed.

“Here. Have some water.”

She drank slowly and when she was done, she turned to look at me, pain in her eyes. “Why?”

My heart stuttered. “What do you mean, Lith?” I frowned. I didn’t understand what she was saying.

“Why did you have me poisoned?”