Chapter 3

Lucas POV

I sat on the edge of Lily’s bed feeling like a fraud, my eyes fixed on her unconscious form.

My heart felt heavy with the weight of what I’d done. I reached out, gently, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear.

“I’m so sorry, Lily,” I whispered, trying to rein my emotions in. “You deserve so much better than this – than me,”.

How had it come to this?

As I watched her, memories of us flooded my mind. The first day I met, Lily, she was hiding from a group of girls who had obviously been bullying her. She had looked so fragile that day when she ran up to me and asked me to hide her.

She was so different from the others in the pack. While others mocked me for my status as an adopted child, Lily had seen past that and befriended me.

That was the first time anyone ever needed me or asked for my help. In that singular moment, I felt as powerful as the moon goddess. Our first date had been at a local diner after weeks of saving… I wanted to take her somewhere special but she knew we couldn’t afford the big restaurants in town, so she lied to me about craving locally made food.

But that was the best day of my life to date. After that, we’d spend countless hours studying with Lily patiently explaining complex topics until they clicked for me. The way she’d stood up to a group of bullies picking on a young boy we had seen one of the nights when he had taken a stroll…her bright echoing laughter through the school hallway or the way her eyes would light up with smiles when she talked about her favourite book.

In this world filled with deceit and lies, Lily was the only true thing.

“You were always so genuine,” I murmured “So smart and brave. I admired that about you, and still do. There were times when I worried that you were too good for me,” I added my voice breaking “Turns out you are,”.

I sighed heavily, running a hand through my hair. “It’s just that, I wish things could be different. I haven’t told you this before but I know what it means to be bullied. I understand what it’s like to never belong. This pack is the first place that felt like home,”.

I was adopted by the Gamma of this pack when I was 10 years old. As a child, I had to put up with taunts, beatings and constant fear. I was always the easy target since I was small and it didn’t help that I didn’t grow as fast as the other kids.

So, I became the subject of bullying by rogues and senior wolves who made my life a living hell.

The world was cruel… and I was taught to always grab opportunities, especially the obvious ones.

I love Lily but she was just like me. She was a nobody in the pack – no wolf, no power but Vanessa her sister… Vanessa was everything I wanted to have. Strong, beautiful with an equally powerful wolf. Mating her would secure my position. It would elevate me to heights I never dreamed of. No more bullying, no more sidelong glances and no more whispers about the ‘adopted runt’.

“I can’t go through that again,” I said more to myself than to the still-unconscious Lily. “I won’t be weak anymore – I can’t afford to be weak anymore and Vanessa… she can give me the strength I need. If I get mated to her, it means, I would become the next Alpha and no one would dare bully me or you … ever again… or anyone. I would make sure of that. So, I hope you can understand why I had to do that…”.

I trailed off as tears sprung from the corner of my eyes. I love, Lily… so much that it hurts me to see her lying there without smiling or talking back to me with excitement and knowing I was cause pricked my heart more.

No matter how much I’ve tried to fit in here, I was always referred to as the child who was adopted. It was like a stigma and the only way to get rid of it was to be with Vanessa. She wasn’t so great of a woman… but she had the power I needed.

I reached for her hands, pressing tiny kisses at the back of it… I wish I could tell her everything I had in mind… all my plans but I couldn’t risk it. I knew this day was coming… a day when I’ll finally have to let go of her but why did it seem so painful.

Suddenly, she groaned making me jump up startled. I stared at her as she stirred murmuring words that seemed strange to me but didn’t wake. I was beginning to get worried now… if she had fainted like Vanessa had said, she should be awake by now.

I stood, watching her stir again without opening her eyes. I decided to go and call Vanessa, she was one of the pack’s paramedics, so she had sufficient knowledge about keeping someone alive.

I checked in her room but didn’t see her. Taking the stairs, two at a time, I reached the ground floor and was about to call out her name when voices drifted to me. Pausing, I strained my ears recognizing Vanessa’s voice. Following the side of her voice, I arrived at a door at the corner of the hallway. The door was partially open, so it was easy to hear the people talking.

“You don’t have to worry about her shifting, Dad,” Vanessa’s voice came on strong, dripping with hatred “The dosage should be enough to suppress even the strongest wolf. Plus that little bitch hasn’t shown a single sign of shifting,”.

“Yeah! I agree,” Alpha Stone replied. “It’s a good thing that we’ve been poisoning her for years and she hasn’t noticed. Always so clueless… that one,” the Alpha chuckled. “We can’t risk her wolf awakening now, not when we’re so close. Do you think she fainted because of the rejection? You said she held her chest and seemed in pain? Maybe she felt some stirring within her. You know her bloodline…” the Alpha hesitated for a second… “I’m worried that our potion will not be strong enough for it. Plus, with her turning 18…It’s a significant number,”.

My blood ran cold. Poisoning? Suppressing Lily’s wolf? My mind reeled as I tried to understand what I was hearing.

“Once I mate with Lucas and he marks me, it won’t matter anymore,” Vanessa continued, her voice dripping with confidence. “With his strength and my bloodline, we’ll be unstoppable and she will be nothing but a forgotten memory,”.

“And you’re sure the boy will do what we want?” Alpha Stone asked.

“He’s in my palms, Father. He loves me so much and he didn’t hesitate when I told him that we can only be together when he rejects Lily which he did yesterday. Don’t worry, Dad… you can trust Lucas,”.

“Good!” Alpha Stone sounded pleased “After your wedding with the boy, then we would move on to phase 2 of the plan,”.

I stumbled back, my heart pounding as I crept up the stairs, careful not the make a noise. I’d known Vanessa to be cruel, but this? This was beyond anything I could have imagined.

Why were they so determined to harm her? What was phase 2 of their plan? I couldn’t believe I had put Lily in such a vulnerable position. Now, whatever they were going to do to her, I would be an accomplice.

“I must save her!” I murmured urgently to myself, taking the stairs faster.

I couldn’t undo the hurt; I’d caused but I could try to make it right. I had to warn, Lily. To tell her the truth about what her family had been doing to her and what they planned to do.

With shaky legs, I continued until I arrived at Lily’s room. As I pushed open the door, a warm feeling coursed through me as I stared at her… she was awake!”