Chapter 2

Lily POV

I trudged back to my room, my father’s cold words and Vanessa’s smirk still echoing in my mind. I was used to their ill-treatment. I should be used to it, but every time they spoke to me like this, the sting of their words would pierce through my heart, leaving me miserable.

Collapsing onto my bed, I closed my eyes, allowing myself to drift into fantasies of having the best birthday ever tomorrow – one where Lucas would make me feel special and loved.

I had barely settled into the dream when the annoying buzz of my alarm clock rang, jolting me awake. Stretching like a lazy cat, I stared at the wall opposite me for a few minutes, I couldn’t believe I was 18 today. Instead of excitement, a familiar weight settled in my chest.

No one cared that I was 18 today…

Also, I had to make breakfast for my father and Vanessa and do other chores… it didn’t matter that today was my birthday.

Dragging myself out of bed, I made my way to the kitchen. Since no one was up, I had the pack house to myself for a few minutes.

About time,” Vanessa sneered as she sauntered into the kitchen, shattering my peaceful moment and my daydreaming. She looked dressed up. “I’m starving,”.

A second later, Alpha Gregory came down too, and walked straight to Vanessa ignoring my ‘Good morning Dad,”.

“Happy birthday princess!” he exclaimed, placing a glittering tiara on Vanessa’s perfectly styled hair. “We party hard tonight,”.

Vanessa squealed with delight as she ran to the mirror in the hallway to check the tiara, then came back panting. “Oh, Daddy, it’s beautiful. You’re the best,”.

Alpha Gregory barely spared me a glance as he settled onto his side of the table and picked up the morning paper. After reading for a while, he looked up at me. The first glance he was giving me since he came downstairs.

“Don’t forget to clean up before you leave,” He said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

“Yes, Dad,” I nodded silently watching as they ate their breakfast. I would eat later after they finish.

After eating they both left the house. Finally, alone, I cleared the table and ate one hard, boiled egg before going back to my room. I retrieved the dress I’d been saving up for months to buy.

Since I didn’t have an allowance like Vanessa, I had to save up the little pennies I scraped from going to the market and running errands around the pack for me. The dress was a beautiful emerald green that brought out the gold flecks in my hazel eyes. Slipping it on, I stood before the mirror, admiring how it hugged my curves.

For a brief moment, I imagined myself as beautiful as Vanessa. My sister was the belle of the pack. She was tall… without being too tall and slender with the right amount of cheekbones, colour of eyes and beautiful hair. She always drew eyes wherever she went. Me on the other hand, my chestnut curly hair was hard to tame, despite everything I had done, my hazel eyes and freckled face made me look like I had existed in the dragon age and it didn’t help that I was fat.

I had bigger boobs, bigger butts and wider hips that I have to always hide with big clothes. I looked like a boar compared to Vanessa who was as beautiful as a gazelle and carried herself well. People often told me I looked like my mother – my father’s mate who had died shortly after giving birth to me. The very reason why my dad – Alpha Gregory hates me. To him, I killed his mate.

Studying my reflection, I felt a pang of longing. I wished I had known my mother, maybe I could have experienced the love and acceptance I’d always craved and maybe my father would hate me less.

I styled my stubborn hair and applied light makeup from the products Vanessa had thrown away last month because another Alpha’s daughter from school told her they didn’t match her skin tone. Satisfied with my little touchup, I headed downstairs.

The house was already bustling with activity. Decorators rushed in and out, shouting instructions to each other, hanging streamers and arranging flowers. The party was supposed to start in the evening and it was only noon, I wondered why they were all freaking out.

The delicious aroma of freshly baked cake wafted from the kitchen to my nose and for a moment, I allowed myself to imagine it was all for me.

Exhaling, I started for me Lucas’s secret spot – a small clearing in the woods near the border of the pack lands. It was when Lucas first asked me to be his girlfriend when we’d shared our first kiss. Surely, he would make this birthday special.

My stomach fluttered with excitement when I arrived at the clearing expecting to see some decorations but nothing was there and there was no sign of Lucas too. Maybe he got caught up with something besides, it’s the thoughts that matter and not decoration. I told myself.

Minutes ticked into hours… and the initial excitement turned to worry. Lucas was never late, not for our meetings. Four hours passed and there was no sign of him. By now, I know the pack house will be filled to the brim with people for the party.

One more hour later, it was dark already and I couldn’t bear waiting any longer. With a heavy heart, I left the secret spot and started heading home. Lucas must have been so busy. As I approached the pack house, the sounds of music and laughter grew louder, a stark reminder of the celebration I wasn’t part of.

“I’ll just go to my room, change into something casual and go check up on Lucas,” I murmured to myself.

“Isn’t that the other ‘weird sister’ – Lily Stone,” someone announced with a microphone, making me freeze. When I turned, it was Vanessa’s group of friends. They came towards me immediately, flanking me on all sides, making it difficult for me to continue to my room.

The others laughed, their eyes roving over my dress with disdain. Since I’d been caught, there was no need to hide now. “I know you all are dumb but I didn’t know you’d be dumb enough not to figure that I live here too…and that means I can come and go as I please. If your alcohol bedazzled minds had allowed you to think, you’d have noticed that I was heading upstairs, to my room,”.

“Wow!” the girls exclaimed in unison, clapping, still laughing “What’s making you so brazen today? Is it the new age?” one of them asked.

“It should be the dress,” one of them pointed out.

“I wonder what charity home she had to go pick this up from. You should swing by my house later, I have lots of clothes that are ten times better than what you’re wearing. Consider it, a gesture to help a destitute like you,”.

“Wouldn’t that make me as dumb as you, Aria?” I recognized her. She was the Beta’s daughter. “I heard you’d need to retake sophomore year for the third time in a row. “That’s too bad dear… all your friends would have graduated and left before you ever caught up,” I retorted with a smile.

Aria scoffed with annoyance. I could see that my words had gone right through her. The other girls snickered, each one of them looking away. Aria scoffed and folded her hands, looking at me with mockery.

“At least my boyfriend didn’t desert me to attend my sister’s birthday party instead,” she said

My heart pricked with fear at her words. It could only mean one thing… Lucas had come to the party just like I suspected. Ignoring the taunts, I pushed past them. I had more important things to worry about now – finding Lucas.

I searched the crowded living room, the kitchen, and even the backyard but Lucas was nowhere to be seen. With each passing minute, the knot in my stomach tightened. Where could he be? Why didn’t he just tell me he was at Vanessa’s party? It was probably his father that forced him to attend.

As a last resort, I headed upstairs. The second floor was off-limits for the party, but I thought Lucas might have gone up to escape the noise. He hated parties just like me. But as I passed by Vanessa’s room, my ears caught muffled voices from within.

I paused for a while, hoping I wasn’t hearing things. There was no way the celebrant of the party would be in her room when the party was just starting. But it wouldn’t hurt to check.

My hand hovered over the doorknob, hesitating. Then I heard it – Lucas’s laugh, followed by Vanessa’s sultry giggle. My blood ran cold. I pressed my ears against the door.

“You should just reject her, Lucas,” Vanessa’s voice came through now. “She’s no good for you. We’d be so much stronger together. My wolf is more powerful unlike her who has no wolf and to the best of my knowledge, she didn’t get any today and you know what it means when someone doesn’t get their wolf on their 18th birthday. Think about it, Lucas, you could be the next Alpha if we mate,”.

My heart pounded in my chest, as my ears strained to hear Lucas’s response.

“I know, I know!” he replied, his voice low and husky. “But I’ve been with Lily for three years. I can’t just dump her, especially on her birthday of all days. It’ll break her. So, we need to take this slow and easy… be smart about it. I wasn’t planning on ending up with her anyways,”.

A gasp escaped my lips before I could stop it. I stumbled backwards, bumping into a small table in the hallway. The vase on top wobbled and crashed to the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces.

The voices in the room went silent. Moments later, the door flew open and Vanessa stood there, her perfect hair slightly mussed, wearing nothing but a silky robe. Behind her, Lucas scrambled to pull on his shirt, his face pale with shock.

“Well, well,” Vanessa drawled, clapping as a cruel smile spread across her face. “Look what we have here. Lily, the little spy,”.

I stood frozen, my eyes darting between Vanessa and Lucas. “How…how could you?” I whispered to him, my voice breaking.

He stepped forwards raising his hands placatingly. “Willow, I can explain -,”.

“Oh, stop it, Lucas,” Vanessa cut him off, rolling her eyes. “No more pretending please. Let’s just put her out of her misery… she deserves to know the truth,”.

Then she turned to me “Did you think he could ever truly want you? Look at you – no wolf, no power, nothing to offer. You’re pathetic, Lily. Always have been, always will be,”.

“Lucas, please,” I pleaded, tears streaming down my face. “Tell me it’s not true. We love each other, don’t we?”

But Lucas couldn’t meet my eyes. “I’m sorry, Lily. I never meant for you to find out like this,”.

Vanessa laughed, “Oh, this is rich. Did you believe he loves you? Wake up little sister. You were just a placeholder until something better came along,”.

The room spun but I refused to believe this was happening. Perhaps, he was under duress, Vanessa had a way to make anyone do what she wanted.

Vanessa then turned to Lucas. “You know what you need to do now, don’t you? It’s time to end this charade once and for all,”.

I saw him hesitate his eyes darting between me and Vanessa. Suddenly, I saw the moment his resolve hardened, and my heart shattered.

“Do it!” Vanessa urged. “Reject her, right now!”

Time slowed as he stepped towards me. I wanted to run, to hide… anything to delay the blow I was about to receive but my feet felt rooted to the spot. I watched, as if from a great distance as Lucas’s lips moved…

“I, Lucas Steele, reject you, Lily Stone as my mate,”.

The pain was immediate and overwhelming, I felt like my soul was being torn apart. I gasped, clutching at my chest as the agony of his rejection coursed through my body. I stumbled to the ground, fighting the darkness that slowly enclosed me.

The last thing I saw before the darkness claimed me was Vanessa’s triumphant smile.

Then… black out.