Chapter 0001

Valeria’s POV

“I can’t accept you as my mate.”

It’s happening again. The seven words that sparked the beginning of the end, haunting me even in my dreams. I force myself to wake up, but even with my fitful sleep, I can’t.

Matthew’s face looms over mine, in perfect color even in a dream. He’s as handsome as ever, with his bright blue eyes and messy blond hair. I want to reach out to him and change the course of events, but this is just an echo of reality.

And all I can do is ask, “Why?”

“Valeria.” He meets my questioning gaze. “Don’t make this hard for both of us. Go home and don’t tell anyone. Does anyone know that we were together? Because if so, you have to tell them that it wasn’t true, that you made it all up. I can’t have this tarnish my reputation.”

My heart breaks. One quick snap. I take a deep breath, but it’s like inhaling daggers. Tears brim my eyes, and the feelings of betrayal once again rise in my throat.

“I don’t understand,” I whisper. “We’re mates. We love each other.” I look at him. “I thought you love me. You told me that I’m enough.”

“You couldn’t have possibly believed that,” he says directly, letting out an exasperated laugh. “You’re not the one for me. You’re different. Everyone would talk about us and say that I must have gone crazy if I ended up marrying you. Everyone already thinks you’re a curse. I can’t have a Luna who has a weak, white wolf. Goodbye, Valeria.”

I can’t breathe. I open my mouth to beg him to tell me that he’s just lying, that he truly loves me. I want him to say that it’s just his family making him do this. I want to cling to what I have known, and that he is the only light in my broken life.

But that doesn’t happen. He just looks at me one last time and leaves--

“Wake up, you lazy pig,” Naomi hisses, breaking through the recurring nightmare I’ve been having for a month.

I struggle to get up and show her that I’m alert and awake, but it’s too late. Before I can react, she tips a bucket of ice-cold water all over my face, making me gasp and sit up.

Anger flashes inside me. I want to take the empty bucket from her hands and smash it over her head, but I know that if I touch even a single hair on her head, my father will kill me for it.

Naomi is just my step-sister. My father, Beta Hector, owns the house we’re living in, and by default, it all belongs to me by birthright. Naomi and her mother Margot are supposed to be the outsiders, but here I am, being treated like a maid when Dad’s back is turned.

Not that he would care if he sees me getting treated like this, anyway.

“That’s right, get up,” she spits out. “It’s late, and you have no right to be lazing around at this time of day. We have a visitor today.”

I get up from bed, still shivering from my anger and the coldness of the water. “Who?”

“The Alpha’s son, Matthew Holt.”

My world stops spinning on its axis at the sound of that name.

I don’t even notice Naomi leaving. Like a robot on autopilot, I start cleaning my room before heading downstairs to make breakfast for everyone. But my mind is no longer there.

It’s with Matthew, and all the history we shared.

Matthew was my first love. He was the only boy at school who didn’t call me a witch or a freak, all because I was different. You see, my left eye is bright yellow while my right eye is dark green. It wasn’t considered unique in my society. The elders thought it’s a bad omen, and because of that, no one wanted anything to do with me.

Except for him.

“You should be happy to have it,” he told me when I was locked in a bathroom by my bullies. I was crying when he saved me, and he stayed with me for comfort. “It doesn’t make you a freak. It makes you beautiful. Besides, you should be proud, because your mother shared the same feature.”

Because of that, the entire way I looked at myself changed, and I realized that he was the only solace in my dark life.

I seem to have been cursed the moment I was born. My mom died giving birth to me, and my father despised me for it. He thought that I killed his mate. He still thinks that to this day, even after his remarriage one year into my mother’s death. I don’t know why he acts that way since he easily replaced her.

As thought it couldn’t get any worse, my stepmother Margot and my stepsister Naomi act like complete angels in front of him while abusing me every chance they get when he’s not around. I tried to tell him before, but all I got was another beating and a reminder that I was the reason my mother died.

Matthew changed me for the better. I knew then that I would love him forever, and I trusted that he would always feel the same.

However, on my eighteenth birthday, I found out that my wolf was white. Weak and incapable. I shifted at home where no one could see, but it turned out that Naomi did.

She told Matthew, and even though we’re mates, Matthew rejected me.

The very same night of my birthday and my rejection, I saw him and Naomi kissing. The day after that, he announced to everyone that he chose her as is mate.

One month has passed and it still hurts me. Thinking about it still brings tears to my eyes, but I just finish cooking the elaborate breakfast Naomi wanted so I can return to my room and avoid everyone.

“Are you done?” Margot asks as she enters the kitchen. She’s wearing a fancy maroon dress and her hair is in braids. “Make sure the dining room is all set. Matthew is coming.”

I nod, taking the dishes to the dining room. I’m just about to leave when suddenly, a familiar smell hits my senses.

Matthew’s scent.

This can’t be happening to me. Why is he here already?

I panic so much that I almost drop a plate, but I just set down the napkins and try to slip back into the kitchen.

But I’m too late. Before I can move, Matthew steps into the dining room with Naomi clinging on his arm, wearing a low-cut red dress that shows off her cleavage. She’s smiling and simpering at Matthew, who looks up and meets my eyes.

I avert my gaze.

Behind them is Dad. His jaw clenches when he sees me, but he just takes the seat at the head of the table while Matthew sits on the other end. The ladies sit on their right sides.

It’s clear that they don’t need me here, and I don’t want to be here either. So I try to make a quick escape. But of course Naomi stops me.

“Sister!” she says in a sweet tone. “Where are you going? Join us for breakfast.”

She points at the seat on the other side of Matthew.

Naomi really wants me to suffer, and she’s doing a great job faking her sweet persona.

Gritting my teeth, I obey and sit at the opposite side of her.

“So,” my Dad begins, “to what do we owe this pleasure, Alpha heir Matthew?”

“I will be crowned Alpha soon,” he announces, making my heart stop. “I would like to ask your assistance, Beta Hector. I want you at my right side like my father did.”

Dad lets out a laugh. “Of course, my boy!” He grins cheekily. “And of course, I wish to know… when do you plan to marry my daughter?”

Naomi lets out a squeal and Matthew leans over to kiss her. “As soon as I get the Alpha title, Beta Hector. I will make Naomi mine.”

She bats her eyelashes at him and glances at me. When she’s sure that I’m looking, she leans over and whispers something in his ear before kissing him again.

“I’ll be a wonderful Luna,” she says with a smile, turning to me. “Don’t you think, sister?”

I want to tell her that she will make the most annoying Luna to ever walk this earth, but I just smile.

We begin to eat, and I want nothing more but to stab them both with my fork. My skin is burning with hurt and anger. They’re laughing and asking each other questions, while I remain there like a shadow. The only one who seems to see me is Matthew. I can feel his eyes on me, raking over my body like he’s hungry….

When I look up at him, he gives me a subtle wink.

What the hell is he thinking?

Scandalized, I get up from my seat and take a random plate. “I will just refill this. Excuse me.”

With that, I storm into the kitchen. I have no intentions to go back. I dump the plate in the sink and prepare to leave, but someone enters the kitchen.

It’s Matthew.

“Shh,” he says before I can speak, cornering me against the sink. “God, I missed you, Valeria.”

I gasp. “Matthew--”

The rest of my words get cut off when he captures my lips with his.

I still feel love for him even after what he did, but this act is wrong. I pummel his chest and try to push him off, but he presses me against the corner, using the weight of his body to pin me down. His body starts to roam around, from my shoulders to my waist and down to my butt.

“I need you,” he pants hungrily, trailing kisses down my neck. His hand crawls up to my breasts. “I missed you so much. We can’t be married, but we can still be together. I’ll give you a spot in my pack. We can do this every night--”

“No way,” I mutter, pushing him off me. “You disgust me.”

Matthew staggers back, his eyes wide with shock. He opens his mouth to speak but then he closes it again. But then, anger clouds his face.

“How dare you,” he says loudly. Loud enough for everyone to hear. “How dare you disrespect Naomi like that!”

“What?” I splutter, but before I can say anything more, he slaps me across the face.

I fall back to the floor, clutching my face. Naomi and the others rush into the kitchen. Margot looks horrified and my dad looks angry.

“How dare you,” Matthew repeats, then he reaches for Naomi and hugs her. “I love Naomi, Valeria. She’s the only one I want.”

“What’s happening?” Naomi demands.

Without taking his eyes off me, Matthew says, “Valeria kissed me. She tried to seduce me.”