Chapter 4

Hailey: 

One Year Later

"Two weeks, " I whispered to myself. 

Two weeks until my contract with Alpha Lucien ended. Two weeks until I was truly free to build a life where no one owned me or controlled me. 

Alpha Lucien had kept to his words about everything. He had given me protection and in return, I was his fiancée in name only.

No expectations beyond appearances. No demands beyond playing my role.

Just like I had needed a safe place to stay, he had needed a woman by his side while he took over his Silverwood pack and according to him I was the perfect fit. Strong blood because I was beta even if my old pack had treated me like a slave. 

Now as the car went through gates I'd sworn I'd never see again that fragile peace shattered.

"You're nervous." Lucien's voice brought me back to reality. His hand covered mine, warm and steady. Those amber-gold eyes held so much concern.

"I'm fine " I lied, forcing a smile.

"You don't have to be nervous, you’ve done this a thousand times.” I nodded. I have. 

I have faked being Lucien’s fiancée so much that it has become accustomed to me. Big parties with high ranked werewolves, fake laughs and a fake alliance between both of us. We played the perfect couple to the entire Silverwood pack. 

If only he knew that I wasn't nervous about meeting new Alphas or maintaining our fake engagement. I was terrified because these Alphas were my nightmares made flesh. 

The architects of my destruction. The men who looked at me with disgust and tore out my heart without a thought. The men who sold me.

"I know " I managed, squeezing his hand.

"I just... I'm tired from the journey." The lie tasted bad. 

Silverwood pack had an alliance with Hallow hades pack.  It was the words that had crashed my peace for the past few days, an alliance that gave me access to my past life. I hated it. 

As Luncien’s fiancée, I had to be there with him. It was an important alliance and being there mattered even if I was just a fake fiancée. However, I dreaded the alliance because it meant coming in contact with the devils that tried to kill me.

The car stopped in front of the pack house, the door opened and Lucien got out. He  stretched his hand to me and helped me get out of the car.

It was steady, strong and soft. His eyes had some kind of will power that I still never understood.

As I got down, my eyes scanned the entire mansion. It was too haunting. Exactly how it was one year ago.

They were waiting. The Alpha’s, Royce and Killian stood on the steps looking exactly as I remembered. Axel wasn’t there.

Beautiful and cold and untouchable. Those eyes locked onto me. I saw recognition hit them like a physical force.

Royce's perfect mask cracked, shock flickering across his features before he could hide it. Killian went still the kind of stillness that preceded violence, both  of them stared at me like I was a ghost risen from the grave.

"Alpha Lucien," Royce recovered first his toned smile sliding into place.

His eyes kept darting to me assessing, calculating. 

"Welcome to Hallow Hades. We're honored to host you and your..." He paused deliberately. 

"Fiancée."

“ Hailey " Lucien corrected, an edge to his tone. His arm wrapped around my waist in a way he never was before

"Of course, " Killian said smoothly but his ice-blue eyes burned into me.

"Luna Hailey, forgive our rudeness, please come in." I nodded. 

With my hand locked in Lucien’s arm, I had walked into the same place that had kept me up most nights for the past years.

I couldn't do this. 

I couldn't stand having conversations with the men who destroyed me. My chest felt too tight and my lungs struggled to breathe. The phantom pain of the broken mate bond flared to life, a reminder of wounds that never truly healed.

"Lucien, " I called softly, touching his arm.

"I'm sorry. I'm exhausted. Would it be terribly rude if I rested before dinner?" The question slipped through my lips in a whisper and concern  flooded his features immediately. 

" Of course not. You should have said something sooner." He turned to Royce and Killian. 

"My apologies, the journey was long.  Hailey needs rest.”

"Naturally " Royce said, his smile not reaching his eyes.

"We'll have someone show her to your room." A maid appeared as if summoned and she  gestured for me to follow. 

I squeezed Lucien's hand once, drew on every ounce of training he gave me over the year and walked after her with my head held high.

The hallways were exactly as I remembered. The same marble floors I scrubbed on my hands and knees, the same expensive artwork I dusted a thousand times. The oppressive weight of a place that stole everything from me. 

Lucien knew nothing about my past in this pack. He didn’t know I was from this pack and I would keep it that way until our contract was over. 

"The guest wing is this way, Luna, " the maid said respectfully.

They  were calling me Luna now, the  irony was almost funny. I wasn’t even a Luna and in the next week my contract would be over and my title as Lucien’s wife will be gone.

We'd just turned down a corridor when someone shot out from an open doorway, fingers wrapping around my wrist and yanking me sideways with brutal force.

I stumbled into the room and a scream building in my throat, but died when his scent hit me. 

Winter frost, dominance and barely leashed violence.

The door slammed shut behind me and he stood in front of me. 

Axel Throne, the first triplet. The one that had made his other brothers reject me too. 

Hotter than I remembered and even more  dangerous. Those silver eyes that haunted my nightmares blazed with something I couldn't name. Shock, anger and something else that made my skin prickle with warning.

I tried to jerk my wrist but his grip was iron. 

"Let me go." I snapped, trying to wiggle may hand free but who the hell was I kidding. 

"How?" His voice was rough, almost desperate. He pulled me closer, his other hand coming up to grip my shoulder holding me in place like he thought I might disappear. 

"You were supposed to be. " He cut himself off, his jaw clenched. 

“You had died and we had seen your body.” His voice did not crack.

"You thought I was dead?” A smug smile appeared on my lips.

His fingers tightened painfully on my wrist. 

They thought I was dead. For a year they believed their rejected mate died in the service of the monster they sold her to.

"Answer the question " he growled, giving me a small shake.

"How are you alive?"  He was inches away from me, breathing the same air I was breathing. 

His hand caged mine and  I could feel my heart pound with each second we stayed that way.

He sniffed my neck. And then his eyes stared right at mine. 

“Maybe you are talking to my ghost. You should be scared.” I tried to push him off me but he was too strong. He’d steadied himself and pressed me to the wall.

“How did you get tangled with Lucien?”

“That’s none of your business.”  I finally pushed him away from my body but for some reason I missed the honest emitting from his body.