Silver’s POV
My head ached as I came to.
I slowly opened my eyes, trying to adjust my eyes to the dimmed room. The sun was desperately trying to peer in through the closed window shades. The memories of last night slowly returned and I gasped.
I had proposed to a stranger and then kissed him!
We both had some more shots and then we got a cab, and I went home with him. As I looked around the strange, unfamiliar room I was in, I realized the mistake I had made. I had a one-night stand with a stranger!
I looked down at myself and saw that I was still naked and when I saw the man sleeping beside me, his arm over his face, covering his eyes, I stifled a scream.
He was shirtless and from his 8-pack abs, it was clear he took great care of himself.
Oh, Moon Goddess… he was so attractive even early in the morning.
Finding my clothes on the ground beside the bed, I quickly and quietly dressed. I tiptoed toward the door only to pause and look back at his sleeping form. He was still in the same position and sighed out in relief before leaving.
Instead of returning to the home I shared with Gavin, I went home to my father’s house, intent on telling him that I was canceling the wedding. But I wasn’t expecting Gavin to be standing on the front porch.
Was he waiting for me?
“Where have you been?” Gavin asked, stomping over to me. “I’ve been trying to call you all night.”
“I don’t need to answer to you,” I said heatedly. I was done shedding tears over this man; my eyes were dry, and I was fed up with being walked on. I just wanted to speak with my father and then figure out my next steps. Rebecca already said I could stay with her if needed.
“You are my fiancé, and we are getting married today,” Gavin told me, his lip curling up in a snarl.
“I’m here because I’m canceling the wedding, Gavin.”
I tried to walk past him, but he grabbed my shirt and I saw his nostrils flare with anger.
“Are those hickeys?!” He asked, his face red as fury poured off him in waves. “Have you been seeing someone else?!”
I pulled away from him, trying to cover my neck.
“I knew you were wolfless and weak, but I had no idea you were a whore too!” Gavin hissed.
“You were the one who cheated on me, Gavin! You have no right to call me a whore,” I retorted, my voice rising.
Just then, the front door swung open, and I turned to see my father storming outside.
“What is going on out here?” My father asked, his eyes narrowing at me. “I should have known it would be you. Why am I not surprised that you are making a scene on my front porch.”
He glanced at Gavin and his eyes softened.
“Gavin, it’s good to see you. Please, come in.”
My jaw tightened as Gavin walked past me and into the house; my father right behind him. I reluctantly followed them and shut the door behind me.
“What are you doing here, Silver? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your wedding?” My father asked, glaring at me.
“That’s why I’m here,” I said, shooting Gavin a look. “I’m calling off the wedding.”
“The hell you are!” My father hissed. “What gives you the right to decide something like that??”
“I won’t marry someone who cheats on me,” I told him coldly, my lips pressing together in a thin line.
“I’m not the cheater here,” Gavin said, his voice sounding almost weak as he grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled it down, revealing the hickeys on my neck. “She was with someone else the night before our wedding!”
“What is the meaning of this?!” My father growled, his eyes blazing.
I pulled myself away from Gavin.
“Father, he cheated on me! It wasn’t the other way around,” I told him, trying to plead with him to understand.
“Those marks on your neck say otherwise,” my father hissed.
“It was only a misunderstanding, Silver,” Gavin said, his voice softening along with his expression. “I came here to rectify. I’m hurt that you sought comfort in the arms of another man.”
He was trying hard to look innocent, however it wasn’t going to work on me. But before I could say anything, he turned to my father.
“I’m willing to forgive her because of my love for her,” Gavin told him. “In a few hours, she will be walking down the aisle, and we will marry. Or else the alliance between our packs will be voided.”
My father’s jaw ticked as Gavin turned and faced me. His eyes shone with bemusement.
“I’ll see you soon, my love,” he said, his tone dropping low and dangerous.
I watched as he walked out of the house. I turned to my father to explain myself and to tell him I refused to marry Gavin but before I could utter a single word, my father slapped me across the face!
“How dare you embarrass this family like that,” he seethed. “You are lucky he even pays you any mind at all.”
“But father—”
“If you don’t marry Gavin, I will banish you from this pack and you will be forced to live out your days as a rogue. Do I make myself clear?”
I flinched at his words; living as a rogue was one of the worst things that could happen to a wolf-shifter, especially one that couldn’t shift. Oftentimes, wolves without a pack go crazy and lose their humanity. I wouldn’t last a single second on my own.
With my father’s threat in play, it didn’t seem like I had a choice.
Satisfied with my submissive silence, he turned his back on me and stormed out of the living room. The last time my father stormed away from me like this was when I turned 18 and couldn’t shift. I was a disgrace to him then just like I am now. After my engagement with Gavin, my father started to pay me more attention and actually treated me like I was part of the family.
But now he was back to being cold and aloof and I was left feeling more broken than ever.
“Tsk tsk, Silver. Won’t you ever learn,” a feminine voice said from the archway of the kitchen.
My sister, Stella, leaned against the doorframe with her arms folded across her busty chest. I had to stifle a groan as she walked toward me.
Stella was my father’s golden child, and she was gorgeous with her long flowing blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes, equipped with naturally dark and long lashes. She wore a white crop top and waist-high fitted jeans that hugged her figure perfectly.
“Did you really think you could back out of marrying Gavin?” She asked, her tone mocking. “If you refuse to marry him, you will be disrespecting and angering the Alpha of the Crown pack. It would jeopardize our entire pack. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”
“If you like him so much, how about you marry him instead,” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.
She looked taken aback by my outburst, but it only lasted a moment before she flipped her long hair over her shoulder.
“Oh, please. I’m meant to marry an Alpha and be a Luna. Not the pathetic nephew of an Alpha,” she said dismissively.
A knock on the door turned our attention away from one another. My father returned to the living room, looking annoyed.
“Silver, get the door,” he ordered.
I sighed and opened the front door only to be faced with Beta Leo of the Crown pack. Unlike the Alpha, I had met the Beta previously.
“Beta Leo,” my father greeted, nearly shoving me aside to greet the Crown Pack’s Beta. “What honor do I have for this visit?”
“Good morning, Alpha,” Beta Leo greeted in return. “I’m here per the orders of the Alpha of the Crown pack.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, wrapped in silver paper with a bow on top and his eyes found mine.
“Alpha Elliot Crown would like to present the bride-to-be with a gift.”
