Bella’s speech receives a thunderous applause that fills the hall.
“Aden…” I turn to face him, only to see his eyes on Bella. There is a dreamlike smile on his face as if he is transfixed by her.
And all around, murmurs of praise begin to rise, with heads nodding at the speech that spills out of Bella’s red-painted lips.
The guests gush, saying they never realized how talented she was before. They praise her speech, proclaming how great it is.
But it is not her speech. It is mine!
Bella stole my speech! The speech that I had written, crafted, and worked painstakingly on day and night! And Bella had stolen my speech, word for word!
“Why is she doing this? How can you allow this?! You know how hard I worked for this!” I ask in disbelief.
Dad comes up to us, his eyes also on Bella. “Liliana, I don’t see how you worked for this, you went missing the night before the ceremony only to pop up mere minutes before the ceremony started. Luckily, we had Bella to stand in for you. And look, she’s a natural on stage. The delivery of her speech is so much better than yours. So eloquent, so mature, it’s perfect!”
Aden nods his head profusely. “Yes, she’s doing a wonderful job! Luckily, we have her.”
I cannot believe this! If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought that all the hard work came from Bella. I would almost have believed their 'had to' if I didn’t know the speech was moved up.
I say, "But I could have made it in time."
Dad folds his arms across his chest and tsks at me, “You shouldn’t have gone drinking last night. It’s your own fault.“
“But –”
“And look at you.” Dad shakes his head. “I am so disappointed in you, Liliana. What on earth were you thinking wearing this dress to the ceremony? ”
I look down at my dress; it is a high-collared knee-length gown in a rich shade of midnight blue made of delicate chiffon with a floral print and it would have passed for an elegant dress if not for the thigh-high side split.
Bella had insisted on me wearing this dress, saying the dress I had originally chosen was too boring and dull. In fact, she had told me it was dad’s suggestion, and Aden had also complimented on the dress!
I look to Aden, surely he would take my side? He knows very well that he was the one who made me go drinking last night, saying that if I truly loved him as his future mate then, I would join him and Bella for drinks.
“You only have yourself to blame,” Aden mumbles under his breath before quickly averting his eyes.
I feel anger coursing through my veins. “How could you…”
One of the guests turns his head around, curious at the tone of my voice and I quickly suck in my breath. I need to keep my cool. I smile at him and pretend to be immersed in Bella’s speech.
Bella points a laser light pen at the screen. “And now, I present to you a video I prepared…”
My brows furrow. What video? There’s not supposed to be any video in the presentation.
“This video will showcase our two packs working together as a team to widen our territory…oh!”
The crowd gasps. My eyes widen as I stare at the video playing on the massive screen.
It is a video of me! And someone is kissing me!
“Oops, my mistake,” Bella quickly interjects with a giggle, trying to click a button on the remote to stop the video but like a nightmare, it continues to play. “It’s the wrong video. It’s just Liliana and Aden kissing last night. But aren’t they just sweet? A big round of applause for the sweet couple everyone!”
There is no applause. The joyous chatter among the guests dies down to a deathly silence and one by one, the eyes of the crowd leave the screen and land on me.
The man in the video is not Aden. One would have to be blind to believe otherwise.
But for the life of me, I do not recognise the man in the video! Just what is going on?!
Bella tries clicking on the remote again but somehow, the video zooms into the man’s face and clear enough, I’m sure I do not recognise this man.
“Goddess!” someone from the crowd shouts” That’s Joe Black, the notorious rogue!”
Everyone gasps. “Rogue?!” another person says in disbelief. “Liliana was kissing a rogue?!”
Disgust fills the air as the crowd closes in on me demanding to know what had happened. “How could you do this to Aden?” someone shouts.
“An utter disgrace!” another sneers.
I raise both hands to stop them. “I…I didn’t! I don’t even know him!”
“Oh, you did, sweetheart. You enjoyed every minute of it,” a voice booms from the very end of the hall and the crowd parts like the red sea to reveal a ragged-faced man.
The rogue from the video!
He runs a hand through his oily hair and flashes a crooked smile before swaggering over. Instinctively, I take a step back but the crowd circling me pushes me forward to face the rogue.
“We had fun together last night, didn’t we, sweetheart?” The rogue begins to boast about his supposed one-night stand with me and a hush falls over the crowd.
“You lie,” I hiss, anger pulsating through my body.
But the rogue’s assaulting scent brings back fragments of what happened last night, like pieces of an unfinished puzzle.
That is when I remember.
The rogue wasn’t kissing me, he was trying to rape me!
I remember choking for air in the deserted alleyway of the bar, blindly clawing at the rogue, my breath coming out in strangled pleas.
I remember crying out to Bella for help. I remember trying to mind-link Bella, who had given me candy just minutes ago but was nowhere to be found.
I remember trying to shift, trying to fight back but failing because my body was limp and weak as a newborn.
I remember growing increasingly desperate as I shouted Aden and Bella’s name again and again but received no response.
Now I understand that Aden must have already escorted Bella back home at that time.
I remember how I thought all hope was lost, and I remember closing my eyes in defeat.
That was when he appeared.
The door of the bar swung open savagely, striking the walls so hard that the sound of cracked bricks filled the air.
And in a move too quick for the human eye to see, a fist, massive and strong, crashed into the rogue’s face and the rogue crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
I shivered and kept my eyes shut but a masculine scent of pine, cedar and leather filled my senses. And strangely, the man’s scent took away my fears.
Silence fell briefly upon the alleyway before a voice of rich, deep timbre and powerful beyond reason spoke. It was the voice of the man who had saved me.
“Leave now, or die,” he said to the rogue, his voice emotionless and cold.
Without another word, the rogue got to his feet and scrambled off, tripping over his jeans on the way.
I tried to get up but my body failed me. And I would have fallen onto the ground if it were not for strong arms that caught me at my waist.
Our eyes met; my emerald green and his haunting silver. And instantly, an invisible bond, stronger than life itself formed between us; a bond so irrevocable I knew the life that I once lived would never be the same again.
Mate. That was my mate.
“You whore!” Aden’s roar interrupts my thoughts -- he grabs me by my neck, his nails sinking into my skin. He slams me against the wall behind my back.
“No, Aden, please… I didn’t… with him… He tried to force himself on me but someone saved me!” I try to explain but the words do not come easily. It is hard to breathe, let alone talk.
“Hah!” Someone from the crowd laughs sarcastically. “How can a mere rogue attack an Alpha’s daughter? With Alpha blood coursing through your veins, you’d have pulverised him in seconds!”
I cough, “...I am telling you the truth! Nothing happened between us.” I struggle against his suffocating grip. Small ragged breaths escape my throat. I cannot breathe…. he is killing me.
“Let her go.” A man calls out. It is Henry, Aden’s father.
The nails that dig into my skin finally loosen and I fall to the ground, gasping and coughing for air.
“Goddess!” someone gasps and points at me. More gasps and soon, whispers start to weave between the bewildered guests.
“See this!” the rogue storms up to me and points at me.
I look down, my eyes widening in surprise as realization sinks in. Aden had accidentally ripped away my collar during the struggle and before I can react, the rogue forcibly tears off my dress. It pools to the ground, leaving my semi-naked body for all to see.
“See this?!” he points to the bite marks on my chest. “They’re from our one-night stand. She kept asking for more!”
Humiliation, shame and anger - I feel them all. With trembling fingers, I quickly pull my dress back up to cover my body.
I try to pull myself up, but end up stumbling at Aden’s feet. “I…must have…been drugged, Aden. I’m telling the truth…” I beg him, a hand tugging at his pants but he lashes out his leg and rams his foot into my stomach. Hard. I double over and heave in pain. Goddess, it hurts…
“Sounds like a convenient excuse,” Aden sneers. His words cut through me like a poisoned knife. How can he choose to believe in a rogue over me? We grew up together, yet he refuses to listen to me. Tears well in my eyes.
“We are calling off the engagement. We Emerald Pack cannot accept a whore as our future Luna,“ Henry says, his tone unyielding. “My son’s position in the Alpha King’s council must be protected.”
Hearing this, dad comes pushing through the crowd like a madman. “No, Henry! Don’t do this! You can’t just discard us!! We had an agreement!”
Our pack needs theirs. Aden’s pack is far more powerful than ours and the allegiance is the only way to strengthen our weakening pack. Trembling, dad goes on his knees and bows to Henry, begging for another chance. It breaks my heart to see dad like this, pleading with them like a beggar.
“Dad…please…you don’t have to do this, “ I try to save the last of dad’s pride but he cuts me off with a stinging blow across my face, so much so that blood pools in my mouth.
“Quiet! This is all your fault!” he roars before turning back towards Aden’s parents.
But Henry remains unmoved. “We’ve made up our minds. Aden deserves better.”
The crowd readily agree and one by one they start hurtling insults at me. “Yes, Aden deserves better than a pack whore!”
Dad turns to me, his eyes filled with a murderous stare. “You have shamed me!” He raises his hand, ready to land another blow and I squeeze my eyes shut. Dad, please, no…
“ENOUGH!” A commanding voice slices through the air and immediately, the taunting stops. A woman, who had been silent all along walks up and my breath hitches.
Mom!
The guests part like the Red Sea to my way for her. Calmly, mother walks through the crowd. No one dares to stop her when she pulls me behind her and gently places a shawl to cover my body.
“I believe in Liliana. And I believe everyone is innocent until proven guilty,” she says. Then, turning to the rogue, she orders the guards, “Lock the rogue up. Have him questioned and find out the truth about what happened.” No one dares to speak up against her.
Then, politely, she urges the guests to leave, promising a thorough investigation. But as the guests begin to leave with words of comfort to my parents, their eyes conceal a cruel mockery that pierces my soul.
It’s funny how life can be, one minute I’m the beloved pack princess and now, I’m the pack whore.
Avoiding their accusatory gazes, my eyes inadvertently fall upon Bella who is now standing by Aden's side. And what I see shatters my world.
An expression I have never seen before dances on Bella’s face. It is an expression of triumph, perhaps, even of arrogance. Her lips curl up and a sinister smile plays upon her lips.
No, I have seen this look before. The kind of sparkle in her eyes when she was handing me the candy, was exactly the same.
At the time, I had thought she was playing a prank because the candy had a strange smell to it. But she had said that it was what Aden liked, so I went ahead and swallowed it.
Suddenly, everything becomes crystal clear.
I am sick because the truth is horrible beyond belief.
The candy. The rogue. The video. Everything has come together.
She had drugged me and orchestrated everything.
How could I have been so blind?!
Fury fuels my every step. I storm towards her, desperation threading through my voice. “You drugged me! You betrayed me!!”
Bella jumps behind Aden and clings tightly to his arm. “Liliana, why are you blaming me for your own greed, lies and lust for the rogue?” She wipes back a tear that never formed and claims, “I gave up my mate for you!!”
All my life, I had loved Bella as if she were my own sister, never once believing that she would betray me like this. But she has. And it hurts like hell.“Aden is my mate,” Bella says. Her confession stuns everyone. “I found out the truth a few months ago but I felt unworthy of Aden. I’m not like you, Liliana. I’m an orphan, not the heiress of Azure.” Tears stream down her face and she gently dabs them away with a tissue. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone, especially not you, Liliana. I….I was willing to bear the pain all alone, all by myself.”Heat swells behind my eyes and when I blink, a tear slips down. Why didn’t Bella tell me this before? She knows how much I love her; she knows I would give Aden up in a heartbeat for her. “You didn’t have to drug me, I would have stepped back and let you have Aden,” I say, my voice breaking, but no one listens to me. Everyone gathers around Bella, showering her with words of praise for her sacrifice.“Oh Bella, my poor child,” dad says, giving
I trip over a stretched-out leg and fall to my knees. Bundles of freshly folded clothes spill all over the floor in the hallway. “Oops,” Bella says with a fake smile. “I didn’t see you there.” Giggles come from behind me. I tilt my head slightly to see the pack members snicker at me before sauntering away. It has been this way ever since that day. I am now reduced to a mere slave of Azure. Day in and day out, I wake up at the crack of dawn to cook, clean and work until long after everyone has gone to bed. “Come one, Bella. Let’s get ready for our engagement ceremony,” Aden says, placing a hand on Bella’s butt and sliding a hand under her skirt. She giggles, he laughs and starts kissing her. “Get a room you two,” I mutter under my breath as I start retrieving the clothes. Someone kicks the clothes out of my hands and growls,” What did you say?” It is one of Bella’s newly appointed minions, a bleached blonde with a nose ring and pink leotards. “Nothing.” I grit my teeth. Fighting
KADEN FROST’s POV I feel her even before I see her. Mate. And the moment she steps into view, the world around me melts away. She is beautiful beyond comparison. She is five-six at most and wears a silken white dress that clings onto her curvaceous body like a second skin. Her auburn hair tumbled down past her shoulders and rests just slightly above her bosom and her rose-red lips part into a tiny ‘O’ when our eyes meet, hers of brilliant green hues and mine as dark as the abyss. For a moment, recognition skirts across her face before confusion takes over. “Liliana, bow down to Alpha King of the great Ancient Springs pack,” the ageing Alpha of Lock Wood pack commands from the side of the throne. My eyebrow arches high. Liliana Ross… Poor Landon is still searching everywhere for his beloved Rose. So this is the woman who abandoned my asshole half-brother in his sleep, and the infamous heiress of the Azure pack who fell from grace. What a deceptive woman. But as deceptive as sh
Liliana’s POVGrandpa clears his throat before he speaks, “Liliana, why don’t you talk to the Alpha King?”I swallow hard at grandpa’s suggestion. It is obvious what he is trying to do. He wants me to get into the Alpha King’s good books by striking up some meaningful conversations. But his efforts are futile, Alpha Kaden has been avoiding me all evening. Even the blind can see that.‘He hates me,’ I tell Cathy. It is true. He has been keeping his distance from me. For every step that I take forward, he moves five steps away.And all around us, whispers of contempt rise to a crescendo. The guests don’t even bother to hide their gossip about me anymore.“Look at the whore trying to seduce the Alpha King!” someone scoffs rather loudly.Another one responds, “Such embarrassment! Has she no shame?”Yet another chips in, “Goodness! Just get her out of here!”Their words break my heart and I wish to just disappear. Why did I even come? I bite my lips to hold back my tears and force my eyes
Liliana’s POV“Aden, is your mate, Bella even aware that you kissed Liliana today before your engagement ceremony?” the man asks, grinning like the young god he thinks he is. He is none other than Alpha Benedict of the Black Wind Pack, a long-time rival of our pack.Dad had invited him to the ceremony in an attempt to mend the strained relationship between our pack and his. But I never expected things to turn out like this. Murmurs start to rise once more, and confusion takes over the ceremonial hall.Alpha Benedict is enjoying every minute of putting the Azure pack to shame. He glances at Bella before nodding gravely in Aden’s direction, “Aden make a fool out of you, Bella, didn’t he?”Aden looks like a dear caught in the headlights. Clearly, my ex-fiancé was not prepared for this. Seconds tick by as everyone turns to face him, all waiting for an explanation. But he remains speechless. Sweat drips from his face like a broken faucet and his lower lip trembles.“Well? What do you have
Liliana’s POVThey say that when a person panics, they either go into fight, flight or freeze mode. And though Aden is frozen in shock by Alpha Kaden’s confession, Bella immediately switches into fight mode. She starts to speak defiantly, albeit stuttering in her delivery, “M-My Lord, there’s no way Liliana can be your mate! She slept with a rogue! The rogue even testified to it! She…she must have used the sorcery to bewitch you!”Aden breaks out of his shell of shock. “Yes! Yes! That must be it! Alpha Kaden, Liliana cheated on me with a rogue! That was the reason her father stripped her of the status of heiress to Azure! She is a master manipulator! That’s the real Liliana! A liar and a cheater!”They are trying to drag me down with them, they are trying to bring me to the pits of hell.But as I stand before Alpha Kaden, I realize I have lost the power and the will to fight. Shame engulfs me, I had betrayed him and there is nothing I can do to make up for all the pain that I caused
CHAPTER 9 Liliana’s POV I am in shock, my emotions a swirling storm. I sit silently at mom’s dressing table and stare at the woman in the mirror. She stares back at me with the same bewildered look. Kaden is my mate. I cannot believe it. Mom, on the other hand, is overjoyed by the news. She can barely contain her excitement. Neither can Cathy, she howls triumphantly in my head, happy to have finally found our mate. "You should dress up, dear, before you go to Alpha Kaden's palace. It's a special occasion! You were invited, not dragged in shackles." Mom’s voice brims with enthusiasm as rummages through her wardrobe, trying to find me something fitting to wear. She hums and talks to herself as she does so. “I had an inkling it was one of the Frost brothers but I didn’t expect your mate to be Alpha Kaden! Who would have thought!”There is so much joy in her voice, but it is a joy which I do not share. The truth is, I am scared. Very scared. But I can't just find the same enthusiasm
ALPHA KADEN FROST’s POV I eye her for a long moment, searching, before the tension leaves her body and I become the man she thinks she saw that fateful night, in the shadows of the sanctuary of the hotel room. Before the door closes, I wrap my arms around her from behind. Her breath hitches as I hold her tight, not wanting for her to turn around just yet. My right hand drops to her thigh, zipping slowly the dress she is wearing. She cannot even move if she tries. She wants to, yet remains, wanting to see where this goes from here. With my grip on her waist, I turn her around. Her dress pools to the ground and she stands before me in all her naked glory and by the Moon Goddess, she is beautiful. I lift her right off her feet and carry her towards an inner room. The lights here are warmer and the mattress is softer, almost like it is made for this event. I leave her to fall with a soft bounce and then lock eyes with her. Her breathing quickens, she is nervous. I see uncertainty in