ALISHA’S POV
Lucien released his grip on my neck as suddenly as he'd grabbed me. As I gasped for breath, the overwhelming urge to leave consumed me. I needed to escape this toxic web I was entangled in. My resolve was slowly beginning to strengthen, forming a wall of succor as I tried to be strong a while long.
Camilla walked into the room. I could sense her nasty presence before I laid eyes on her. As soon as she walked in, she examined all the scattered food and broken glass lying around, and it didn't take long for her to deduce that we'd just fought.
"What's going on?" she asked, her voice dripping with a fake amount of concern, pretending to care like she was a good person would.
I didn't reply. Rather, I remained silent, refusing to dignify her questions with a response.
Lucien sneered, his dark eyes gleaming with malice as he watched me stay bowed down, fighting the pain.
Camilla, undeterred by my silence, grabbed Lucien's hand and asked again, "What's going on?"
"I only want a good meal," he said offhandedly.
I almost rolled my eyes. Such lies!
"Then make him a good meal," Camilla said, turning to look at me. "I'm also hungry."
"Now, go on, make something delicious for I and Camilla. Not that trash you just served me."
I stood there, unmoving.
"I said, go and make something delicious for I and Camilla. Now!"
I clenched my hands into fists as he ordered me, his voice laced with his Alpha's commanding tone. I swear, that was all he used the tone for—to make me do what I wouldn't willingly do. I scoffed at his audacity, daring to mock him under my breath as I reluctantly made my way back to the kitchen.
With each step I took, I couldn't help but resent the situation that had brought me to this point. Cooking was once my sanctuary, a form of self-expression, but now it felt tainted by the dark cloud hanging over this house.
With the anger simmering within me, I began to cook a new meal from scratch. Alfredo pasta.
Every cut, every scoop of spice and creamy sauce, every movement was a show of defiance.
As soon as the sauce was ready, I added the last key ingredient, just for Camilla—bits and pieces of shrimps.
With a wry smile tugging at the corners of my lips, I served them the meal in the parlor since the dining was currently a mess. Then I stood by and watched Camilla eat.
As she took her first bite, her expression turned sour instantly.
"This isn't delicious," she exclaimed, disappointment evident in her voice. "And, what's this? What's in it?! Is that shrimp? I'm allergic to shrimp!" Redness began to creep from her neck to her face.
My eyes darted to Lucien, searching for any sign of support or disagreement. To my surprise, he nodded in agreement with Camilla's accusation.
He turned to me. "Camilla is allergic to shrimp. Why would you put it in her meal?"
"What? Allergic to shrimp? Is there any shrimp in there?"
"There is!"
"Oh, come on." I rolled my eyes.
So, this was how we were going to banter now?
Lucien's cold gaze fixed upon me as he spoke again, "Alisha, go back into that kitchen and cook Camilla's favorite dish."
My heart sank at his words. I shot him a look. He meant it. He really meant it. It was a moment of cruel realization to know that Lucien, who had never cared about my preferences, cared about Camilla's preferences.
I heard his demand, and instead of feeling defeated, my lips curled into a wry smile. There was a newfound strength within me, a rebellion fueled by the flames of injustice. I will no longer be a pawn in their twisted game. From this moment forward, I vowed to take control of my own destiny.
With a determined glint in my eyes, I turned away from Lucien and held my own ground.
No.
"Alisha," he said through his teeth. "Go back into that kitchen and cook Camilla's favorite dish."
Just as he tried to force me to make food once again, the door swung open, and Kane strode into the room. His presence brought a much-needed interruption to the tense atmosphere.
"Lucien," Kane called out, his voice tinged with urgency. "Something's up. A bunch of warriors and gamma are fighting in the pack house, along with a small portion of omegas. We need to do something, and fast."
My heart skipped a beat at his words. Shock washed over me as I turned to Lucien, my voice trembling as I asked the first question that came to my mind. "What have you done, Lucien?"
He frowned, refusing to answer. The truth hung heavily in the air, and I could see it in his eyes. Lucien was impulsive, and his impulsive actions had consequences. This was one of the consequences.
"He'd only imprisoned a few warriors, which had triggered the fight. That's all. Traitors, the lot of them," Kane said casually, sounding like he was trying to brush off the situation.
Anger burned within me, fueling my next question. I turned to Lucien. "Why did you imprison the warriors, Lucien?"
He ignored my question, choosing, instead, to throw it back at me. "Do I need your consent to imprison my own people?"
A bitter smile curved upon my lips. His disregard for the consequences of his actions was evident. "All these things you're doing," I said, my voice tinged with disappointment, "It's only making the pack members hate you even more."
His anger flared at my words, and he lashed out in response. "You and your family are brainwashing the wolves! This has nothing to do with me. It's all on you and your damn proud family!"
Surprise washed over me at his accusation. The realization struck me like a bolt of lightning—he had never truly trusted my family. Doubts and insecurities I had buried deep within resurfaced, threatening to consume me once more.
Camilla, ever the pretender, stepped forward, trying to appease both sides. But her words only fueled the fire within me.
"Was that why you arrested Calum? Was that what caused the uproar?" she asked, feigning innocence.
At the revelation that Lucien had ordered for Calum's arrest, it shattered the fragile peace I had tried to maintain.
Unable to bear it any longer, my voice broke through the tension as I called out Lucien's name, using both his given name and surname. "Lucien Hale, do you even deserve the title of Alpha?"
ALISHA’S POVAs Lucien and I locked eyes, the tension between us reached its breaking point. His question cut through the air like a blade, filled with challenge and defiance. "Do you also want to resist me and my rule, Alisha?"I sneered in response, my voice dripping with disdain. "I despise you, Lucien, but there's nothing left for me to resist. I have never truly obeyed you."His fury ignited like a wildfire, consuming him in its flames. He called for someone to detain me, his Alpha authority ringing through the room. "Guards! Come and get her out of here! Take her away now!"As the guards entered in and pulled me all the way to the prison, I held my head high, refusing to let the weight of his dominance break my spirit.When I stepped into the dimly lit confines of the prison, my heart sank as I caught sight of my brother, Calum. Guilt washed over me, and I rushed to his side, a torrent of apologies tumbling from my lips. "I'm sorry, Calum. I haven't been a good Luna neither have
ALISHA’S POVI wiped the final drops of tears from my cheeks, coming face to face with my new reality.I had rejected my mate officially and severed all ties I had with him. So there was no need to feel even the tiniest ounce of emotions towards him anymore.Reminding myself of that fact, I nodded and turned to face my brother and Arthur, a feeling of relief and nervousness immediately washing towards me.“It’s done,” I said to them both. “Let’s leave this god forsaken pack forever.”“What?” Calum immediately said, his expression changing. I mirrored his actions, suddenly confused on why he didn’t seem as excited as I expected him to be. “No, Alisha. I can’t leave the pack just like that. I am the Beta and that means I have a responsibility here so I can’t just leave.”His voice had the same warm and comforting tone it always did but for the first time, it couldn’t comfort me.Instead, I felt my heart shattering, plunging me into another pool of sadness. I didn’t want to leave alone b
LUCIEN’S POV“Like a fool, I did love you.”“I loved you, Lucien.”Fear gripped me as my reality came crashing down on me with a huge force. Alisha loved me. she once loved me.For the years I’d known her for, I never imagined, not even for a second that I’d hear those words come from her. I’d concluded ever having her love me was nothing but a dream. A far fetched dream.But suddenly, that dream was becoming a reality.Maybe things would have turned out differently if she had uttered those words to me a bit earlier. Maybe that way, I’d have been consumed by an emotion totally different from the anger that took over my body and soul.I was hurt and pained, those emotions slowly dissolving into anger and I had no one to blame but Alisha. She brought it all upon herself by accepting my rejection. Though she was far from me, I felt the rejection, a sharp pain piercing my soul as our mate bond went up into smoke.That must have been what birthed my anger. The pent up frustration I felt to
LUCIEN’S POVIt had to be the first time I found myself in Alisha’s room.After our wedding, I never deemed it fit to step into our room, not even once. Not even on our wedding night.And now that I was finally in it, it was coming with a whole lot of realizations.Still in awe, I stared at my reflection in the mirror, checking the new body that seemed to be mine over and over again. Clad in the wedding dress, she looked beautiful. The shimmering white of her dress glowed softly against the candlelit walls, the veil cascading down her back blending into an ethereal blur.I stepped closer to the mirror, taking in every detail carefully. The elegant lines of the dress hugged her slender curves, her hair hung around her shoulders to reveal the graceful slope on her face. Her skin was flawless, beautiful, bright and dazzling, a gasp immediately escaping my lips as I realized it was the first time I was paying that much detail to her.Guilt made its way towards me as I recollected how I ha
ALISHA’S POVI woke up in a daze to the faint sound of my voice alongside Camila’s voice.What was going on? Was I dreaming? Why could I hear Camila’s voice so close to me? And even more weirdly, how could I hear my own voice when I was barely conscious?Pulling myself out of the trance I just had to be in, I opened my eyes and much to my surprise, found Camila next to me, embracing me!I could have sworn it was a dream. What was Camila doing in my room? So close to be and embracing me?“What is-“I didn’t need to think twice as I immediately pushed her away from me, still in shock from it all. However, the shock didn’t end there as literally the next second, I raised my head to try to understand what was going on only to have the the woman who looked so much like me rush towards me to cover my mouth with her hands, sending me a glare immediately.“Shh.”I couldn’t even speak even if I wanted to. What was going on? How was I suddenly in two places? Was I hallucinating?“What are you d
ALISHA’S POV“Do you want to go through all of that pain again?”I watched his face twist into one of anger, pleasure seething through me. He was mad. He was enraged. And I loved to see it.The tides had changed and I was suddenly more powerful than he could ever imagine. Trying to go physical with me would be a foolish decision as I was going to easily overpower him and if he wanted to lash out on me as his way of venting out his anger, then he was free to as I was more than ready to give him befitting replies.“Why aren’t you speaking?” I purposely tried to taunt him. “Since you are now like me, you should act the part! You should endure it all like I had to for all these years. And then try to overcome it! You should fight it! You should feel the torture and try to avoid it! You should spend every second in pain and anger, contemplating between giving up and trying to continue fighting and enduring for your life!”I was boiling with anger, memories of how he had treated me so poorl
ALISHA’S POV“Diana? Is that you?”I blinked as I listened to the voice again. Shock mixed with fear suddenly gripped me, the realization completely settling in.I was listening to my wolf, Diana. My wolf that had completely left me was suddenly back into my life.Her voice grew fainter but it was in every way better than I could have ever imagined. In my previous life, my wolf had gotten weak and only weaker until she completely disappeared from me. And it was all thanks to Lucien. Lucien’s repeated betrayal.It hurt me but it hurt even more when I could no longer feel the presence of my wolf. For the first time, I’d felt really alone and lonely and had no choice but to pretend to be strong despite the continuous feeling of a part of me being missing.It was my secret. My secret that was known to no one other than Lucien and my brother. After all, I couldn’t afford to allow any other person know I had no wolf. What type of Luna would I be if I had no wolf?The news was not only going
ALISHA’S POVOne thing was certain, it definitely wasn’t Camila’s first time of performing whatever magic she was currently performing on my dick.She drew closer towards me and skillfully allowed my dick slip into her hands. Her smile deepened as she locked gazes with me, her hands rubbing against my dick in an unfamiliar yet oddly comforting rhythm.It was supposed to be weird. I wasn’t supposed to feel oddly calm and comfortable. It wasn’t supposed to be what I must have needed to get rid of the tension and discomfort I had been in for a while.But regardless of how good it felt, i knew I was supposed to be disgusted by the entire situation. Particularly, embarrassed too.The feeling of embarrassment took the lead as she tried to move even closer towards me. Without wasting another second, I came to my senses and immediately pushed her away from me, rushing into the bathroom without looking back for even a second.“Lucien!” I heard her yell out to me as I slammed the door of the ba