Chapter 2

****Leila POV***

“You pathetic failure…” Damian growled. Before he could say another word to me, my father grabbed him by the collar, pulling him close enough that their foreheads were almost touching each other. 

“Mention Leila’s name again and I will see to it that I hunt you down. Even if you hide under a rock.” Dad warned, in a cold, menacing voice. 

He was the beta of our pack.

Damian waved my father’s hands off his collar, taking a couple of steps back. 

“Oathbreaker!” Damian yelled at me. “Your family is a disgrace, a bunch of liars and cheats. You deceived me into this relationship with your daughter,” he said looking at us through hard, flinty eyes. 

Before he could continue, my father interrupted him. 

“Alpha Xander will soon be here, you know he won't tolerate all the despicable things you've said so far.”

Damian's face turned pale at my father's words. I watched his jaw drop as he tried to reply but failed. It was the same for me as I widened my eyes in shock.

Alpha Xander?

Any wolf with half his brains intact would do well to fear Alpha Xander. 

The leader of the Black Pool Pack was a man I've known for most of my life. Yet I could barely count the number of times I've seen him speak outside of pack functions. 

Xander oozed power from his every pore. Tall and imposing with deep blue eyes, he had broad shoulders, even as a predator, he was a ruthless beast. Forgetting that was a danger in itself. 

“Bullshit!” Damian yelled. It was clear to me that he was intimidated. 

“Everyone will know about this dishonorable family” He then made his way out.

I prayed that this would be the end of his madness. But as soon as Damian flung my door open. He started calling me names, calling my family a cheat, calling us tricksters. 

“Damian!” Sonia, my stepmom yelled at him. “Stop this madness already. You are causing a scene.”

She said and walked over, placing her hand around Alessia's shoulders. Clearly, she enjoyed the scene. Grabbing Alessia, she took her out of the room with a smirk on her face. I wasn't surprised. We never got along. 

“I am just getting warmed up,” Damian replied, his eyes shooting daggers. As he strolled into the courtyard where the packs normally gathered for the announcement. He yelled at the top of his voice. 

“The Romanov family are fraudsters!” Eyes swiveled at us. “Carlson and Sonia do not deserve to be the Beta of Black Pool Pack”

The atmosphere was cloaked in silence, I could feel my heart thumping inside my chest. As my legs trembled. 

“Despite knowing she was an irreparably damaged wolf, they tricked me into an engagement with their daughter, Leila.” 

What the hell is this nutcase doing? I thought.

 “Leila’s wolf is disabled. It lacks its sense of smell and can't transform. She can't possibly sense her mate. Knowing this about herself, she lied to me with promises of love, and how we were destined to be together. Which all turned out to be lies.” Damian added. 

Several people around me gasped, as I felt the weight of their gaze closing in on me. 

Did he just use my weakness against me? I asked myself.

He painted himself as the victim. Damian lied to the people when he claimed he was ignorant about my disabilities. 

I felt a pool of tears building up in my eyes, my throat dried up from exhaustion. I froze at the spot, just staring at Damian in total disbelief. Inside me, Lea whimpered. 

‘Leila, I apologize. If I wasn't damaged, you wouldn't be in the situation, being dragged because of me.’ she whined in a tone, heavy with grief. 

‘It's not your fault’ I assured her in a firm tone. Even though my vision was blurry, just like Lea, I never asked or wished for any of this to happen. But here it was, happening right before me. 

"I can't believe she's this desperate" a loud voice came through from the crowd.

"Wow! What a shameless slut." another said.

"I am glad he didn't fall for lies"

"It's a good thing he exposed her."

"What a cheap slut"

"She must be a weakling!"

"This family is a disgrace to our pack."

The insults kept coming and I couldn't be any more humiliated.

“Leila! How could you do this to Damian?” my father yelled. “How could you be this wicked? You disappoint not just me, your father but the entire pack as well” he said, as he slowly distanced himself from me. I stood there confused, trying to make sense of what was happening before my eyes. What was he talking about? He knew I confided in Damian about my challenges. 

The realization soon hit me. I felt my knees buckle. Father was putting the entire blame on me just to save the family name.  I felt a shiver run down my spine as I gasped. 

“Please Dad,” I begged weakly, but he remained unfazed. I let out a hoarse sob, as tears streamed down my face. 

All I had ever wanted was to live in peace. But time and time again. I was reminded that good wasn't my Destiny. 

I cried, not sensing the new arrival. The crowd parted to let him through until he stood in front of my family. 

“What is happening here,” Came a thundering voice. 

My breath hitched in my chest as his powerful voice washed over me, sending cold chills all over me. 

I turned slowly, to see who it was.