Chapter!
Chapter 1
Charlotte’s POV
館
“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
The chant echoed through the hall as he slid the huge diamond ring on her finger.
It was Ace’s twenty–fifth birthday and his engagement party to his long time girlfriend. He had become Alpha after his father stepped down a few months ago, and tonight, the entire pack was here to celebrate. Alphas from far and near filled the hall, eager to get acquainted with him.
He was on the dance floor with his girlfriend, now fiancee, Moon.
My mate and my stepsister.
“Should we leave?” my best friend Kathryn whispered close to my ear.
I turned to her and saw the sympathy in her eyes. I should have listened, but my legs refused to move.
Then the crowd roared again.
I turned my head slowly, and my heart dropped. Ace leaned in and kissed Moon. Softly at first. Then harder..
Tears burned behind my eyes. Watching my mate kiss my sister in front of everyone was a pain I couldn’t explain.
When his eyes found mine, he looked away instantly as if I was invisible. Then he kissed her again, deeper, harder.
“We should leave,” Kathy said again. This time, she didn’t wait for my answer. She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the hall.
My mind wasn’t in the hall anymore.
It went back to last night to the moment I thought he wanted me.
Last night, he had touched me like a man starved, wild and desperate. I thought he wanted me. I thought he desired me. I was foolish to believe it.
The moment he released inside me, everything changed. He only used me to satisfy his needs. His expression darkened, and I saw regret flicker in his eyes.
“This was a mistake,” he said coldly. “I was just horny, and you were cheaply available.” He smirked, and something inside me cracked.
I had just given him my virginity and he’s calling me cheap?!
“Ace…”
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Chapter 1
LIV
He waved a hand carelessly and dismissively, his voice dripping with mockery. “I guess you do that with other male wolves too, spread your legs whenever they need to release”
Before my mind caught up, my hand had already flown across his face.
The sharp crack filled the room.
He turned his head slowly, a faint red mark blooming on his cheek. Then his eyes came back to me, steady. unbothered. No anger, no pain. Just shock, as if he couldn’t believe I had the guts to touch him.
“Don’t you ever call me a slut again,” I said through clenched teeth.
He chuckled. That low, smug, cruel chuckle.
“You were way too easy… Ugly.”
Something inside me cracked. My chest tightened, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe. He smiled with satisfaction when he saw the fresh pain that registered on my face.
Ugly. That’s what everyone in the pack called me. Because of the big, round, dark birthmark on my right cheekbone. It wasn’t ugly.
But when Moon started calling me ugly, everyone joined in.
And just like that, it became my name.
He turned and walked out of the room and that was the last I saw him until this night.
“He doesn’t care about me.”
My father, a high–ranked wolf, had an affair with my mother, who was a low–ranked wolf, years after he had Moon. When my mother got pregnant, he wanted her to get rid of me. He didn’t want me to ruin his perfect life.
But my mother fought for me. She raised me alone, teaching me everything she could, until sickness stole her away. When she died, my father had no choice but to drag me into his world, a world that didn’t want me.
I got a tiny room at the back of the house, cold and empty while Moon had a room filled with the most beautiful and expensive things. She lived like a princess. My father didn’t care about me. Neither did Moon or her mother.
I’ll never forget the first time I met Ace. I was fourteen, and for the first time, Moon invited me to play with her. We wandered down a lonely path, and then she disappeared. It was late at night and I was scared. I cried and yelled for her but she didn’t show up.
I thought I was going to die when I saw three wolves, I instantly knew they were rogues by their stench and looks. They were about to lunge at me when a bigger black wolf suddenly emerged and tore them to shreds.
It was Ace. He saved me that night and carried me home. My young heart foolishly fell in love with him but he never spared me another glance after that. I stole glances at him all the time from the corners hoping that 1 – -nd Moon started a relationship. They
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Chapter 1
looked so good together and everyone believed they were fated mates.
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It wasn’t easy but I tried to get over my feelings for him. But the Moon Goddess decided to play a fast one on me. A few weeks ago when I turned nineteen, we both found out that we were mates. I thought that he was going to reject me and when he didn’t I was over the moon.
He just ignored me and continued with his relationship with Moon. Until last night when he came into my room, desperate and wild and like a puppy I gave into him without resistance. And he rejected me right after.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid.”
I angrily wiped the tears from my eyes, they wouldn’t stop coming out. I was so foolish to think that Alpha Ace would want me. He just used me while he made it clear that I was cheap.
Hours passed. I lay on my small bed, staring at the ceiling. The memory of Ace sliding that ring on Moon’s finger, and then kissing her, wouldn’t leave my eyes.
It was past midnight when a knock on my door made me sit up.
“Come in,” I said, not caring who it was.
The old wooden door creaked open, and one of our chefs stepped in.
“Miss, your sister asked you to make her favorite chicken soup. She has an upset stomach, and you know only your soup calms her,” the chef said, forcing a tight smile. She was usually cheerful, but tonight something felt
off.
I followed her to the kitchen. The ingredients were laid out, and in just a few minutes, the soup was ready. I walked out of the kitchen and was heading back outside to my house when I heard the chef’s voice again.
“Sorry, miss, but Moon said you have to bring the food to her yourself.”
I stopped, surprised. “Why would she ask that? I’m not her servant.” It was true, I wasn’t. But the thought of seeing her and Ace together, I didn’t know if I could bear it.
“She said it would make her feel better if you delivered it yourself.”
I dragged my feet back to the kitchen and took the soup. My heart thumped in my chest as I made my way to her room. When I got there, it was too quiet. Signifying her absence.
“Why ask me to bring her the soup if she isn’t here?” I muttered under my breath.
I set the soup down on the table, my hands trembling slightly. I wanted to turn and run, to escape before seeing anything that would break me even more. But I stayed. Just a little, to congratulate her at least. It’s not her fault my mate wants her.
I heard footsteps echoing down the hall. And then it stopped, the door clicked. Not from the inside, from the outside. Someone locked it.
A strange smell hit the room, and suddenly I couldn’t breathe. It felt like someone had wrapped their hand tightly around my neck. I struggled, trying to pull it off, but it wouldn’t budge.
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Chapter 1
Then a hard punch landed on my face. Everything went black.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
