Chapter 2

The night wrapped itself around me like a shroud, thick and oppressive, as though the entire universe was mourning my broken heart. Gabriel had chosen Isabel. I told myself to expect it—I always knew deep down that I would never measure up to the woman who had been his first love. But knowing didn’t soften the blow.

The betrayal wasn’t a clean cut; it was a jagged blade twisting in my chest. The bond between us, cruel and unyielding, pulsed with the agony of his choice. My wolf whimpered in my mind, the sound a haunting echo of my own despair.

“Why?” The word escaped my trembling lips before I could stop it. My voice was fragile, barely a whisper, but it carried the weight of my shattered soul. “Why her, Gabriel? Why not me?”

His jade-green eyes met mine, their familiar warmth replaced by an icy detachment. The face I had once loved, the one that had been my world, now felt alien. “Evelyn,” he said, his tone devoid of even the smallest hint of remorse, “you’re nothing to me anymore. You were never meant to be more than a tool. Isabel... she has everything I need. Class. Beauty. Power. You? You’re just a washed-up princess who gave up her throne for nothing.”

The words hit me like a physical blow, knocking the breath from my lungs. My hands curled into fists at my sides, nails biting into my palms to ground myself. “Then reject me,” I demanded, my voice trembling with anger and pain. “Be done with it, Gabriel. Set me free.”

His lips curled into a sneer, and he leaned closer, his presence suffocating. “Reject you? Oh no, Evelyn. I don’t have the luxury of dealing with that kind of pain right now. You’re not worth the inconvenience.”

Before I could respond, he shoved me backward. My feet slipped on the loose gravel of the downhill path, and I tumbled hard onto the ground. My head struck a jagged rock with a sickening crack, and warmth trickled down the side of my face. Blood. My blood.

I lay there, the world spinning as the pain bloomed across my skull. For a moment, I thought of my grandmother’s stories—tales of fated mates who would die for each other. A bitter laugh bubbled up in my throat. Gabriel wasn’t my mate. He was my executioner.

Above me, the wolves that had been circling now edged closer, their glowing eyes fixed on me. Their low growls filled the air, a menacing symphony of death. I closed my eyes, tears mingling with the blood on my face. This was it. The Moon Goddess had finally decided I had suffered enough.

Then, a voice cut through the night like a blade. “Hold.”

The wolves stilled instantly, their growls dying into uneasy whines. I blinked through the haze of pain, my vision locking onto a figure emerging from the shadows.

He moved with a predatory grace, his ash-brown hair tousled but somehow deliberate, his piercing gray eyes assessing me with unsettling precision. Even the air around him felt charged, heavy with dominance that made the wolves bow their heads in submission.

“Are you alright, Princess?” His voice was calm, but there was no kindness in it. It was cold, clinical, as if he were inspecting a damaged piece of property.

I glared at him, forcing myself to sit up despite the pounding in my skull. “Don’t call me that,” I snapped, my voice hoarse but defiant. “I’m no princess anymore. And I don’t need your help.”

His lips twitched into a smirk, but he said nothing. With a casual wave of his hand, the wolves surrounding us retreated, their obedience to him absolute.

“Who are you?” I demanded, my voice trembling despite my best efforts.

He crouched beside me, his gaze unwavering. “Watch your tone, Evelyn,” he said, his voice low and dangerous.

“I told you, I’m not a princess!” I shouted, the rawness of my pain bleeding into my words.

“And I told you to watch your tone.” The steel in his voice made me flinch, but I refused to back down.

Before I could respond, he scooped me up as if I weighed nothing. “Put me down!” I yelled, pounding weakly at his chest.

“Stop struggling,” he ordered, his tone bored. “You’ll only make your injury worse.”

“Who are you?” I gasped, my strength ebbing as the dizziness returned.

He didn’t answer immediately, carrying me toward a sleek black car parked at the edge of the woods. Finally, he spoke, his voice as emotionless as ever. “I am Alpha Dalton. Your betrothed.”

The world seemed to tilt at his words. Alpha Dalton—the man I had run from, the man I had defied my family to avoid—was now claiming me?

“You’re lying,” I whispered, my voice breaking.

His gray eyes burned into mine. “You’re mine, Evelyn Spencer,” he said, his words a declaration of fact, not affection.

He placed me in the car, his movements careful but devoid of tenderness. As the door closed, sealing me inside with him, he turned to his subordinate. “Hunt down Gabriel and his whore,” he commanded. “I want them alive.”

My breath hitched, and I found the strength to speak one last time. “Why are you doing this?”

Dalton’s lips curved into a cruel smile. “Because you chose wrong, Evelyn. Now, I’m here to fix your mistake.”

His words were the last thing I heard before the darkness claimed me again.