Betrayal

Raine's Pov

Raine walked through the door of her father’s house and the creak of the hinges sent a shiver down her spines. Her senses heightened at once and her nostrils flared. Something was not right, and she could sense it.

Her father, Alpha Tiki, had gone on an expedition whose details they didn’t bother to leave with her because she was defective. Of course, they had left her behind with her sister, while the rest of the wolves went on the hunt.

The sound of Raine's sister shouting orders to the servants was absent, even though it's usually loud and high-pitched. Or at least, she should have been here in the sitting room, waiting for her arrival.

But none was the case. Everywhere was silent. Raine couldn’t help but think of the calm before the storm.

Knowing the tragedy that would befall her if she didn’t go to report to her sister about her trip to the mall, she headed straight to her room to give a briefing.

There were voices. Muffled voices. Raine could hear the distinct pitch coming from her sister. The other voice sounded quite familiar and male but she couldn’t place it. Not yet.

She idled closer to the door as the voices got clearer. A shaky gasp fell from her lips as she recognized the male voice. Her boyfriend.

Not delaying any further, Raine marched up to the door and swung it open with so much force. The scene before her broke the steely resolve and demeanor she had put up.

There in her father’s house, and on her sister’s bed, was her sister, Bellona and her boyfriend, Tyrion.

Tyrion was completely naked except for the gold chain which dangled from his neck. Bellona still had on her bra and panties, but there was no more clothing.

The sight tore a low growl from her chest and, just like any other wolf, she could smell the sex that lingered in the air.

“What the fuck?” She whispered forcefully. Tyrion snapped his head at the sound and his eyes widened at the sight of her. He jumped about twenty feet in the air while trying to get away from Bellona. And for a Beta wolf, he totally carried out the act with ease.

Raine’s eyes swung from Tyrion to Bellona. The bitch wore a smug expression, and that was all Raine needed to set her off.

Tyrion sensed the change in her. He snatched his jeans and quickly doled it on.

“It’s not what it looks like.” He pleaded.

“You asshole!” Raine screeched and looked around the nightstand. A hairbrush caught her eyesight, and she grabbed it at once. Tyrion’s eyes jerked to the makeshift weapon just as Raine hurled it at him. Even his beta instincts were not fast enough to save him, and the hairbrush hit him square on the forehead.

“Fuck!” He growled, glaring murderously at Raine. His menacing stare didn’t deter her. It would take more than a cheating bastard beta to break her spirit.

She looked between the two of them once more and wished she could just wipe that smug look off of Bellona’s face.

“How long?” She asked, staring at Tyrion. He looked away sheepishly, and she knew he had no intentions of answering her question. She turned back to Bellona and repeated.

“How long?”

“Long enough.” She bit back, shrugging into her own clothes.

Tears pricked Raine’s eyes, threatening to spill, but she wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing her crumble. She wouldn’t let them see the depth of her hurt.

Her eyes turned to Tyrion.

“You were my best friend.” She whispered. Guilt and hurt were written all over his face. He moved to go to her, but she took a step back.

“Don’t move another step. Don’t fucking touch me.” Her chest heaved at the words. But she wasn’t done. Not yet.

“You were my best friend. You said.. you said you loved me. You said you wanted to be with me.”

“Don’t kid yourself, baby sister. You were delusional and look where it got you,” Bellona snapped.

“Bellona..” Tyrion began, but two pairs of feline eyes snapped to him and he shut up at once.

“Go ahead, rise to her defence. It won’t remove the fact that you’ve been fucking all the while you both were engaged!” She pulled her t-shirt over her head and stared Tyrion down, daring him to deny her words.

Raine couldn’t believe her ears. Her best friend, the only boy who had promised her a happily ever after. The only boy she willingly opened herself to. Who she showed her vulnerability. The only one she could trust. Pain seared through her.

A string of curses rose from within her, threatening to spill, but her sob choked her and wouldn’t let them out.

“Why?” was all Raine could get out through the tightness in her chest.

Tyrion sighed and gripped his hair. She recognized the act. Whenever he was stressed or frustrated, he would sigh and grip his hair. Raine couldn’t decide which one he was feeling at the moment.

Bellona snorted at the question.

“Really, Raine? You had to ask?” She spat. “Look at him. He is a beta wolf. With his whole life ahead of him, and a lot of options to choose from. He could one day decide to form his own pack or decide to become a beta to a very powerful alpha. You think he wants to be stuck with you when that time comes? You are fucking defective. Get with the times!”

Raine looked at Tyrion, waiting for his answer. The silence and sorrow written on his face were all she needed.

“I might be defective, Tyrion, but I am still a wolf. You know that! You’ve been there my entire life and you’ve seen it.”

“I’ve seen it alright? I’ve witnessed it all. You are fast, and smart and strong, just like any other feline, but the fact remains Raine, you are not a wolf. You don’t even have the Spirit inside of you. Damn it Raine! You don’t even hear her voice. We can’t exactly call you latent because you don’t hear her!” Tyrion yelled.

“She’s a freak of nature, coupled with being a bastard.” Bellona chipped in.

Raine couldn’t take it anymore. She hung her head in shame.

“You said you loved me and I loved you. You said our love would conquer it all.” She pleaded. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but they heard her.

“I’m sorry, Raine. You are not a wolf. We could never have a true mating bond and we can never imprint because you don’t even have the Spirit.” Tyrion’s voice sounded like an apology. His words washed over her.

“Then why? All these years, all these times, why?” she asked, needing to hear his answer.

Tyrion sighed. He took another step toward her, wanting to offer her some comfort, but Raine withdrew from him. She needed to hear his words before she would fall into his arms.

“Why?” she asked again.

“Because you’re my best friend. All these years, Raine, I’ve been the only one to see you. You are so strong, everyone thinks you don’t care about your defect, but I’ve been there and I know how much it hurts you. I wanted to take it all away from you. I wanted you to be happy. I thought I could do it for you.” He explained. If she wasn’t so goddamned hurt from the betrayal, his words would have soothed, but she couldn’t see past the fact that he had cheated on her with her own sister.

“You could have.” She whispered.

“I don’t know about that, Raine. I love you more than anything, more than you’ll ever know. But I can’t be with you. I’m going to hurt you so bad. I’m going to need to mark you to claim you as mine, but I know you wouldn’t have been able to take it because...”

“... because I’m not a wolf.” She finished for him. “So that’s it. It all boils down to the fact that I’m defective.”

“You are a freak!” Bellona shrieked. Raine didn’t spare her a glance.

“You just hurt me. More than my defect ever did.” With those words, she stormed out of the bedroom. Tyrion called after her and rushed to follow her.

Her feet felt like Jell-O and her knees knocked together. Just as she got to the large sitting room ready to make her exit out of the house and before Tyrion could catch up, her legs gave out.

Raine hit the floor with a thud. She didn’t even have it in her to pick herself up and she just curled up on the cold tiles and let the tears falls.

Vaguely, she was aware of the servants gathering to know what the disturbance was all about.

Suddenly, the front door swung open and her father walked in with the rest of the pack.

“What the hell is going on?” His voice thundered.