Chapter 3
The air still pulsed with Alpha heat and the sound of our ragged breaths.
Alec’s breathing hadn’t steadied yet. I lay limp in his arms, my body flushed with warmth, satisfaction
laced with something sharp and dangerous.
For a fleeting second, I doubted everything I’d heard about him.
Wasn’t this the cold-blooded man who put the pack above all else?
Then why had this happened-so easily, so completely?
But that second of haze shattered with a deafening crash.
The door burst open from the outside.
Selah stood at the threshold, face drained of all color.
Her gaze sliced across the room and landed on my bare shoulder like a blade.
“You-” Her voice trembled, every word like ground glass. “How dare you-”
Leander stormed in behind her, as if ready to follow the script he’d written. But the moment his eyes
landed on my tousled hair, the bruises blooming across my throat-his mask cracked.
His voice came out sharp, almost shrieking.
“Are you out of your mind, Isolde?”
Selah lunged forward, her palm striking my cheek with a burning sting. Her nails dragged fire across my
skin.
Before I could react, Alec stepped in front of me, his voice low and cold as steel.
“That’s enough, Selah.”
She froze mid-breath.
“You’d better be more surprised that I already know,” he continued, “about you and Leander. Three months
ago. After that little drunken night.”
The blood drained from her face. Her pupils contracted in shock.
I stood still, breath caught, a punch to the chest I hadn’t seen coming.
“I, Alec Blackmore, reject Selah Storm as my mate.”
He paused just long enough for the words to land.
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“Whether or not you accept my rejection… I will never marry you.”
The room dropped into an eerie silence.
Leander’s hand hovered in mid-air, frozen for a half-second. Then it shifted, settling gently on Selah’s back
as he pulled her close.
“He doesn’t understand you,” he murmured, holding her like she was made of glass, his arms a fragile
shield against the world.
They turned to leave. Just before walking out, Leander looked back at me.
His eyes flickered with rage, restraint, and something far more fractured-something he couldn’t even
name.
The next morning, the sun blazed bright in a cloudless sky, but it held no warmth.
Alec had left early to handle pack matters.
Selah didn’t knock.
She pushed the door open like she owned the house.
Her makeup was flawless today, sculpted like a weapon meant for display. She walked toward me slowly,
lips curved in a polite, poisonous smile.
“You really think climbing into the Alpha’s bed is enough to keep you here?”
I pressed my lips together. I didn’t answer.
Her smile deepened. “You’re just a stray Omega they dragged in from the woods. Leander took pity on you,
that’s all.”
She leaned close, her whisper a blade to the gut.
“Don’t flatter yourself. You’ll never replace me. I’m the true Luna.”
My wolf growled low inside me, but before I could move, she shoved me hard against the dresser.
Pain shot through my spine.
I barely found my footing when she grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me to the floor.
The door slammed open again.
Leander.
He stepped forward, brows furrowed. “That’s enough, Selah-”
She whirled around, eyes instantly glassy with tears. “You’re defending this little whore? You’d hit me over
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her?”
Leander froze.
His hand hovered in the air, hesitated… then dropped.
He stepped aside.
And just like that, something inside me died for good.
Selah walked out, heels tearing my dress beneath her feet. The sound of silk ripping echoed behind her
like a final sentence.
That night, I packed in silence.
Whatever I owed Leander-I had repaid it all.
It was time to leave.
But just as I stepped into the hallway, I heard it.
Low breaths. The rhythm of a bed creaking in the dark.
I stopped.
The door at the end of the hall was ajar. Candlelight flickered across the floor.
Selah lay across the bed, golden hair sprawled out, red-tipped nails clawing at the sheets.
She looked straight at me.
And moaned louder.
Her eyes never left mine. Every gasp, every motion was deliberate-an unspoken, brutal message: This is what real victory looks like. This is your shame.
No.
Not like this. I wouldn’t let it end here.
