Chapter 2

The mark on my neck still burned when Rydan slammed the door behind us. He looked at me the way a hunter looks at prey that has the nerve to keep breathing.

“Stand up,” he snapped.

I did, trembling. My wolf whimpered inside me, but I kept my chin high.

“Don’t look at me like that, omega,” he spat with distaste “A fucking omega in my house—what a joke.”

He hit the wall beside my head, hard enough to make the wood splinter. I flinched and shut my eyes. I tried to imagine he wasn't here. That he wasn't touching me.

When he left, the silence was worse than his shouting. My skin stung, my body ached, and I lay there staring at the ceiling until my eyes blurred. I turned on the bed and hugged myself tight.

Only a year. That’s what Darius promised. Just one year, and he’d take me away from this hell.

I closed my eyes and whispered his name like a prayer.

I thought it would only last one day, but Rydan seemed to derive pleasure from my pain. I could do nothing right in his eyes. Anything I did or said or didn't do or didn't say would end up with me curled on the floor bruised and battered.

One morning, I had enough. I gathered enough courage to call my parents. My hands shook as I held the phone.

“Mother, he—he’s cruel. Please, I—”

Her sigh cut me off. “Kaelina, enough of this nonsense. You’re fortunate he accepted you. Stop looking for attention.”

“Attention?” My voice cracked. “He—he hurts me! Please, you have to believe me—”

“Do not embarrass us,” my father said, his voice sharp as a blade. “You’re unstable, Kaelina. You always have been. I should have known you’d make trouble.”

The line went dead before I could speak again.

My hands shaking, I called Darius next. He answered on the third ring.

“Kaelina,” he said carefully, “what’s wrong now?”

The words stung. “Now? You make it sound like I’m making this up.”

“Because you might be,” he said. “You’ve been through a lot, and you’re scared. Rydan’s rough, but he’s still your mate. You have to give it time.”

“Time?” I whispered. “He treats me like I’m—”

A soft laugh floated through the receiver. A woman’s laugh.

“Darius, where did you put the towel?”

My heart stopped. “Lira?”

There was a pause. Darius’s voice came hurried, defensive. “She came by to drop some papers from your father. It started raining. She had to dry off, that’s all.”

I pressed a trembling hand to my mouth. “You expect me to believe that?”

“Kaelina, stop overthinking everything,” he said. “You’re exhausted, that’s all. Get some rest.”

I wanted to ask him if he still loved me, if I still meant anything. But before I could, Lira’s voice came again, closer this time, soft and teasing.

“Darius, quick. I'll catch a cold.”

He cursed quietly. “Kaelina, I have to go.”

The line went dead.

I stared at the phone until my reflection blurred through my tears.

Suddenly, the door behind me slammed open. Rydan’s scent filled the room.

“Who were you talking to?” he growled.

“No one,” I said quickly, hiding the phone behind me.

He snatched it from my hand and hurled it across the room. It hit the wall and shattered. “Lying little witch.”

“Please—”

His hand tangled in my hair, jerking my head back. “You think you can spread gossip about me?” His voice was a snarl in my ear. “You’ll learn what happens to ungrateful omegas.”

He dragged me down the hall, ignoring my pleas. The heavy door of a storage room opened and then slammed behind me, locking tight.

“Stay there,” he said through the door. “You’ll eat when you remember your place.”

His footsteps faded.

I sank to the cold floor, hugging myself, shaking. My throat burned from holding back screams. I’d thought pain had limits, but Rydan kept proving me wrong.

Weeks blurred together after that. Bruises came and went like seasons. My reflection in the mirror grew thinner, hollower.

Sometimes I’d whisper to myself in the dark: Just one year. But even those words started to sound like lies.

Then, one morning, Rydan told me to dress.

“We’re going to the Thorn estate,” he said.

“Why?” I asked quietly.

He smirked. “Your dear family requested your presence.”

I didn’t argue. I was too tired to care.

The manor looked the same. I kept my eyes on the floor as Rydan led me through the hall. The scent of flowers, candles, and polished stone filled the air. Laughter floated around us and I didn't pay attention.

But then I saw the stage, the moonlight pouring through the glass roof, and the crowd gathered in celebration.

At the center stood Darius. And beside him—Lira, radiant in white.

My heart stopped.

The words of the High Shaman echoed through the hall: “Tonight we bless the bond between Alpha Darius Veylan and his chosen Luna, Lira Thornblood.”

I stood frozen.

No. No, this couldn’t be real.

“Darius?” My voice cracked as I rushed forward. “What—what is this? You said—”

Lira turned, her eyes widening dramatically. She stumbled back with a small gasp. “Kaelina, please! Don’t cause a scene.”

Her hand went to her stomach.

A murmur swept through the crowd. She was pregnant.

The word slammed into me like a physical blow.

Everyone was staring now—my parents, Rydan, the entire hall. My father’s face twisted in disgust. “Kaelina, enough. You're a disgrace.”

“I just—” My voice broke. “I just want to understand!”

Darius’s expression hardened, and for the first time I saw no warmth there at all. “Are you out of your mind?” he snapped. “You should leave before you embarrass yourself further.”

Tears blurred my vision. “You said you loved me,” I whispered.

He didn’t answer. He turned back to Lira, taking her hands gently as if I’d never existed.

The High Shaman raised his voice again, calling for the moon to witness their union.

And under that silver light, Darius leaned forward and marked her—his teeth pressing into her skin, sealing a promise that was supposed to be mine.

The crowd roared their approval.

Rydan’s hand cracked across my face, sending me sprawling. “Pathetic,” he hissed, gripping my arm. “You’ve shamed yourself enough.”

He dragged me toward the exit as the ceremony continued.

Behind me, I heard Darius whisper something to Lira, and her soft laugh followed me out into the cold night.

I didn’t know when the tears started. Maybe the moment I realized that love, for me, was only ever meant to hurt.