Betrayed

 ⁠~Roseline~

Turning twenty-one was something I had always look forward to. It was the age when I would finally get to meet my mate and my wolf but the mate part was the one I was most excited because of my boyfriend, Liam. All I ever wanted was for us to be fated mates, but regardless of whether the moon goddess made my wish come through, Liam and I had already made plans to choose eachother as mates and get married. However, my father and step mother had other plans for me, forcing me into a marriage to Alpha Edward, the ruthless Alpha just to pay off their debts. But I refused to go along with their plans.

I didn't know much about Alpha Edward, and I didn't care to. The few rumors I'd heard about him were enough to make me want to keep my distance far away from him. Yet, my father was throwing me at him. It was no surprise, really. My father had never seen me as a daughter, He'd hated me since my mother death's in a rogue attack on our pack, where she had given up her life to save mine. He'd always wished it was me who had died that day, not her.

He blamed me for her death, neglecting me and got married to Linda, my stepmother, who I thought would care for me. But I was wrong, my step mother and her daughter, Isabelle, my half sister made my life a living hell. They tortured me mercilessly but I endured, hoping my father would eventually see through their facade, kick them out and love me again. But with his decision to marry me off, I've realized I'll never have the father I once knew, and it's a painful truth I've come to accept. But one thing I won't accept is letting him choose this next chapter of my life, not when I've already planned a life with Liam, the only person who brings me happiness and gives me hope for a beautiful future.

I couldn't throw away my future with Liam just to pay off his debts. If they were so desperate to find someone to pay off their debts, they could take Isabelle, instead.

"I won't marry Alpha Edward, and there's nothing you can do about it," I said, my final words to my father and stepmother before I left the house. I had better things to do than argue with them about a stupid marriage, like attend my birthday party. They've managed to ruin my morning with this marriage nonsense but I can't let them ruin the rest of me so I pushed them aside, focusing on my party alone.

I was celebrating my birthday tonight at a local bar. Liam and Claire, my best friend, had both planned something special for me at the bar. I wore a skinny black short dress and paired it with a matching lingerie set underneath, planning ahead for a romantic night with Liam. I was nervous about losing my virginity, but I trusted Liam to be gentle.

The bar was crowded and loud, not exactly what I had planned. I wanted something intimate with Liam, Claire and myself but Claire refused my idea and insisted we make it big as it was a special birthday. It's hard to talk Claire out of her ideas so I just let her plan the guests list but I didn't think she would end up inviting half of the pack. That's just Claire, she always goes the extra mile for the people she cares about, and I'm grateful to have her in my life. Liam and Claire are my go-to people when I need to escape reality. We share our problems and solutions with each other, but I haven't told them about my father's plan to marry me off. I don't intend to, either, since I refuse to give in to his demands, so it's not worth their worry.

My thoughts wandered back to Liam and I realized it's been a while since we last saw eachother. The last we were together, he was greeting a couple of friends so I excused myself to greet some of the guests but when I returned, he wasn't there. I tried reaching him but he wasn't answering my calls or texts. I should go ask Claire, she must have seen him go somewhere.

"Hey Claire!" I pulled Claire from the dancing floor to a quiet corner, where we could talk.

"How's it going, birthday girl!" Claire slurred, staggering from all the drinking. She almost fell, but I caught her just in time.

"Have you seen Liam anywhere? I saw him a minute ago, but I can't find him," I asked.

"Yeah," Claire replied, letting out a loud hiccup. "He's in the bathroom cleaning up. Someone spilled their drink all over him."

"Oh, okay. Thanks. I'll go see if he needs any help," I said.

"Yeah, with taking it off," Claire winked, hinting at what she meant.

"Oh my gosh Claire! why do you have to be so dirty?" I blushed, knowing exactly what she meant.

"I'm not, you're just so innocent," she teased.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes. "Bye, I'm going to find Liam now." I gently pushed Claire back into the crowd, away from our quiet corner.

"Can't wait for all the details tomorrow!" Claire yelled, making a suggestive gesture that implied what she thought I was going to do with Liam. I shot her a glare to stop it before anyone else noticed and figured out what she meant. It was already embarrassing enough that Claire knew I was planning to lose my virginity to Liam tonight, I didn't need the whole party to know too. So, I quickly hurried away from her before she could do anything else crazy.

I tried calling Liam again, to find out which one of stalls he was in, but he wasn't answering. So, I decided to check each stall for him until I heard a low growl. I knew that voice too well to mistake it for another, it was Liam's. I was glad to have found him so quickly and was about to call out to him, when I heard another voice, a female's this time.

"Arghh... so good, don't stop." My heart sank as I recognized the moans coming from the stall Liam was in. It wasn't just the intimacy of the sounds that shocked me, but the voice itself. "Isabelle," I whispered, my mind racing with the thoughts of what my boyfriend and sister was doing in there.

"Mmm, Liam... yes" Isabelle moaned again and a surge of anger coursed through me knowing what they were doing so without letting another second pass, I pushed the door open, and I was faced with my worst nightmare. Liam had my sister pinned against the wall, her legs wrapped around him, his head buried in her chest.

"What the hell, Liam!" I yelled, breaking the two apart. Liam turned to me, a guilty look on his face as he frantically pulled up his pants, while Isabelle just smirked at me, showing no shame. But I didn't care about her. "How could you, Liam?" I turned to him, tears welling up in my eyes as my heart shattered into a million pieces.

"'I'm sorry, Rose, it's not what you think. I tried to resist, but..." Liam tried explaining himself but Isabelle interrupted him.

"But he couldn't," she said, her voice dripping with confidence. "I'm his mate, and it's natural for us to be drawn to each other. It's not something he should apologise for" She wrapped her arms around Liam's, but he pushed her off.

"Mate?" I asked, my voice trembling. Did I just hear what I thought I did? I turned to Liam, hoping he would correct Isabelle's statement, but his silence was all the confirmation I needed. My heart shattered into a million pieces.

"But...but you said we'd be together," I stammered, my voice shaking.

"And I'm still sticking to that. I want you, not her. I'm going to reject her," Liam said

"'No, you're not!' Isabelle jumped in "I won't let you break our mate bond because of her" she turned to me with glaring eyes but I've heard enough.

"We're done!" I turned to Liam before storming out, tears streaming down my face, my heart shattering even more at the discovery that my half-sister and boyfriend were fated mates. The one thing I thought was mine had been snatched away from me and of all persons why did the moon goddess choose Isabelle to be his mate, why, why her and not me?

I foolishly thought Liam would chase after me, but he didn't. The loud moans echoing crushed me even more. How could Liam do this to me? Didn't we promise each other that we'd be each other's mates? How could he betrayal me this way?

I found myself in another local bar, I couldn't bear to be in the same room as Liam, that cheater and backstabber!. And I couldn't go home, not yet. I can't listen to my father rant about me getting married to Alpha Edward. So, I ended up here, alone, with my thoughts consuming me. My mind was a mess, flooded with Liam's betrayal, my father's hatred from me and it was all just too much, l wanted it to stop so I drank. I've never drunk so much in my life, but I didn't care. I threw back shot after shot, determined to drown my sorrows and forget about everything that happened today.

My eyes scanned the room, and I felt a pang of sadness seeing all the happy couples around me. This was supposed to be my night with Liam, if only he hadn't turned out to be such a jerk. I continued to search the crowd, wishing things had turned out differently, wishing I was Liam's mate, not Isabelle. But my gaze stopped when I saw a muscular figure sitting alone at the other end of the bar. He was different from the other guys, who all had girls surround them. The more I stared at him, the more I became intrigued and suddenly had an idea.

Maybe this stranger had also had his heart broken, just like me. Why not keep each other company and curse those who made broke our heart?

I stood up, a little unsteady from the drinks, and staggered towards him. Just as I was about to reach him, someone grabbed my arm, holding me back.

"I'm sorry, miss, but that man over there isn't like the guys here," the lady warned.

"And I'm not like the girls here." I shook her hand away and continued walking towards the stranger, and thankfully, she didn't try to stop me again.