2. Escape the Truth

I couldn't stop shaking as I left the office. The image of Selena and Castor seared into my mind like a wound that wouldn't stop bleeding. 

I fumbled with my keys, trying to keep my tears at bay, but they came anyway.

 I just needed to get home. Get away from all of this.

As I sped out of the parking garage, I didn't see Cast run into the driveway until it was almost too late.

I slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching as he threw his hands up, trying to get me to stop.

"Lila, please!" he shouted, approaching the car.

I saw the desperation in his eyes, but I didn't care.

Not after what he had done.

I pressed the gas, swerving around him, and sped off. He didn't deserve my attention, not anymore.

The house didn't feel like my home anymore when I got there. I yanked open the closet and pulled out a suitcase frantically as I shoved clothes inside without looking. 

I didn't care what I grabbed. I just needed to get out of here.

"Lila, stop!" Cast's deep, angry voice echoed through the house as he burst through the door. He must have followed me from the office. "Don't do this. Don't leave me."

I ignored him, shaking as I grabbed more clothes and stuffed them into the suitcase. 

I had to leave. I couldn't stay here, not after what I saw. Not after seeing what he did with Selena.

"Lila, please," Castor begged. He stepped closer, but I refused to look at him. "I made a mistake, okay? It was a stupid, terrible mistake. You know I love you. It was just a really foolish mistake."

"You think that's enough?" I snapped, finally turning to face him. "You think you can just say it was a mistake, and that makes everything better? I saw you, Castor. I saw you with her. I saw her bouncing up and down on your lap. I heard you say her name, Cast. Just like you say mine."

"I know," he mumbled. "But it didn't mean anything. You have to believe me."

"Didn't mean anything?" I scoffed. "You were fucking my best friend, Castor! How does that mean nothing? How am I ever supposed to forget that?"

He took another step toward me, but I backed away. "I love you, Lila. You're my mate. You're the one I chose."

"Chosen?" I repeated. "You had a funny way of showing it."

"I was stupid, okay?" he said. "I don't know what came over me, but it was a mistake. I swear. A stupid damn mistake."

My eyes stung, but I forced the tears back. "You're right, Castor. You were stupid. And I'm stupid too, for ever believing you loved me."

"Don't say that," he declared. "I do love you."

I shook my head, zipping up the suitcase and grabbing it off the bed. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have betrayed me like that."

"Please, don't go," Castor said as I walked past him, heading for the door. "We can fix this. I can fix this."

I paused, turning to look at him one last time. "There's no fixing this, Castor. It's over."

He grabbed my arm as I reached for the door. "Lila, don't do this. Please. I can't lose you."

I pulled my arm free, the tears finally spilling from my eyes. "You already lost me."

I left the house, leaving him standing there, his pleas following me down the driveway.

 I didn't look back. I couldn't.

 If I did, I might break.

And I couldn't afford to break right now. Not when everything was already in pieces.

My parents' house was a short drive away, but it felt like it took forever to get there. I hoped they would understand, but I should have known better.

"What are you doing here?" my mother asked the moment I walked in the door. "Where's Castor?"

I didn't want to answer. I didn't want to say it out loud. But it came out anyway. "He was with Selena."

My father frowned, crossing his arms. "With her? What do you mean with her?"

"They were together," I said, my voice shaking. "I caught them... Having sex in his office."

My mother scoffed. "And what did you do to drive him to that, Lila?"

I stared at her, unable to believe what I was hearing. "What did I do?"

"Don't act so surprised," she spat. "Castor is an Alpha. He has needs. Strong needs. If you're not meeting them, what do you expect?"

"I didn't..." I tried to explain, but my father cut me off.

"You need to be the Luna the pack deserves, Lila," he said. "If you can't give him an heir, then what are you doing? No wonder he turned to someone else."

The room spun, each word a fresh stab to the heart. I had come here for support, for comfort, but all I found was more blame. 

They didn't care about my pain. 

They only cared about raising their social status, about the heir I hadn't given the Alpha who I was so damn lucky to be fated to.

"I'm staying here," I declared. "Until I figure out what to do."

"You're not staying here to escape your problems," my mother snapped. "You need to fix this."

"There's no fixing it," I said, wiping the tears from my cheeks. "It's over."

I turned and walked up the stairs. I couldn't listen to them anymore. I couldn't take their disappointment, their judgment. Their blatant disregard for my feelings and my happiness.

Once I was in my old bedroom, I collapsed on the bed and curled into a ball as sobs wracked my body. 

I was alone. Completely and utterly alone.

A knock on the door pulled me from my grief. I thought it was Mom, but when I opened the door, Castor was standing there.

"We're not done, Lila," he said, pushing past me into the room.

"Yes, we are," I said, trying to hold onto the anger that had kept me going. "I told you, it's over."

He turned to face me. "You think you can just leave? Just walk away from me?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing," I shot back. Did he really come to my parent's house to have this argument? 

"You're my mate," he growled. "You're the Luna of the pack. You can't just leave. That isn't how it works."

"Watch me," I said, crossing my arms.

He turned from a frantic cheating husband to a dark, aggressive Alpha in a couple of blinks. I watched him change from one side I knew so well to another I'd only seen when he was furious. "If you want a divorce, you'll give me an heir first. You sighed the paperwork. You don't have another option."

I froze. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," he said, stepping closer. "You owe me an heir. If you want to leave, fine. I won't stop you. But not until you've given me that. Then you can go. I don't know why you would want to. You wouldn't have any other options. No one will want someone who divorced their fated mate."

My world tilted, the ground slipping out from under me. "You can't be serious."

"I'm dead serious," he growled. "I need an heir, Lila. A strong one. If you can't do that, you're useless to me."

I stumbled back. 

This wasn't the man I had married. This wasn't the man I had loved. The realization hit me, knocking the wind out of me. It was impossible to breathe as I looked at him. He just stared back at me with cold, unfeeling eyes. Eyes I'd seen a thousand times when he was dealing with the pack's issues.

Castor didn't love me. 

He never had. 

He only cared about the pack and the heir I hadn't given him.

I couldn't stay here. 

Not with him. 

Not with this.

Tears blurred my vision as I turned and ran from the room, from the house, from the man who had shattered my heart into a million pieces. 

But no matter how far I ran, I knew I could never escape the truth.

The man I loved was gone. 

And in his place was a monster.