Chapter 3
Talia
When I surfaced from that dizzying, soul-deep mating, Laiko was already out cold, felled by the drug.
His breathing was heavy, his beautiful face softened by moonlight. I stroked his cheek. Joy and a fierce, quiet peace flooded me. My newly awakened wolf kept calling for him, and the pull of a fated mate made me feel safe and whole.
"Laiko," I whispered in his ear. He didn't stir.
The drug was strong. He needed time. I straightened his clothes, then gathered the shredded scraps of my gown and tried to cover myself.
I was about to wait for him to wake up when the door slammed open.
Trained guards rushed in, seized my arms, and hauled me out silently. My scream died in my throat as they dragged me to a shadowed corner of the garden like trash.
My knees skinned raw on the stone. My dress hung in tatters.
"You shameless slut!" Liriel stormed up and slapped me hard. "Filthy bitch! I went to all that trouble drugging Laiko, and you walked off with the prize?"
Rage twisted her face; the pretty mask was gone. "How dare you steal what's mine!"
She hit me again, harder. Blood spread in my mouth—and yet a strange calm settled in my bones.
Because I knew the truth. Her fury couldn't change it—Laiko was my fated mate. We had mated.
This realization made my heart race like crazy, and even facing this humiliation, I couldn't feel truly hopeless. Because I knew that starting tonight, everything would be different.
"Liriel." I lifted my head and met her distorted, furious face. "You can hit me, you can insult me, but there are some things you can't change."
"What?"
"Fate." My voice was soft and sure. "Real fated mates can't be torn apart."
"You delusional idiot," she hissed. "Even if something happened, he'll never want you. You know what you are? You're a pathetic nobody."
I believed in Laiko. He'd come for me. Our wolves had recognized each other. That bond was forever.
"Teach her a lesson," she snarled to the guards. "Make her learn her place."
"Liriel, stop wasting time." A lilting voice cut in. Clarissa stood a few steps away, a gentle smile on her lips, cold in her eyes. "This is beneath you. You have bigger things to handle."
"Mother?" Liriel glanced over, confused.
Clarissa winked at her, then told the guards, "Dump her at the back gate. And remember—nothing happened tonight."
They threw me out of the manor like garbage. I was bruised and bleeding, my dress barely a dress at all. But I didn't feel hopeless. The voice inside wouldn't stop—he'll come. He won't abandon me.
I pushed myself up and limped toward home. Every step burned, but I had to tell my mother the news—I had shifted, and I had found my fated mate.
She'd be happy. She always said every girl finds her own joy. Trust fate, even when the road hurts.
We lived in a small house on the edge of Ward Manor—a "kindness" from my father. A roof over our heads, tucked away so we wouldn't stain his new life.
The moon was sinking; a smear of gray dawn touched the horizon. I unlatched the gate. I'd been gone all night. She must be worried. But the house was dark.
"Mother?" I called as I stepped inside. "I'm back."
No answer.
I flicked on the light. Empty living room. Her teacup sat on the table, the tea long cold. She'd been gone awhile.
"Mother?" I went to the bedroom. The bed was made, untouched.
Dread rose like ice water. She was never well, and she never went out alone at night. Where had she gone?
I tore through the house—every corner, the cellar, the attic. Nothing. Panic slammed my chest. My wolf stirred, uneasy, a low keen starting up inside me.
Suddenly, I noticed the kitchen back door was open. That door led to the mountain trail behind the house—Mother never took that path because it was too steep and dangerous for someone as frail as her.
I grabbed a flashlight and rushed out. The night wind was freezing, cutting into my wounded body like knives, but I didn't care.
"Mother! Mother!" I shouted as I ran, my voice echoing through the night air, sounding especially desperate.
The trail wound upward in the moonlight, and I dragged my exhausted body up the steep climb. The higher I went, the stronger my unease grew. The wolf inside me seemed to sense something and began letting out low howls.
When I finally reached the cliff's edge, what I saw made my blood freeze instantly.
At the cliff's edge, a woman's shoe lay quietly there, with fresh dirt still clinging to the heel. It was Mother's favorite pair—light blue leather with tiny pearls embedded in it, a gift Father had given her when she was young.
"No... impossible..." I collapsed to my knees, trembling as I reached out to touch the shoe. It still carried Mother's body warmth and the scent of her usual rose perfume.
I crawled to the edge and looked down into the dark abyss that gaped open like a monster's mouth. The moonlight couldn't reach that deep—I couldn't see anything, only hear the wind moaning through the rocky walls.
"Mother!" I shouted down into the cliff, my voice echoing through the valley, but there was nothing except my own echo coming back.
No, this couldn't be happening. Mother would never come to a place like this—she'd been afraid of heights since childhood, getting dizzy even standing on a second-floor balcony. She could never have walked to this cliff edge alone.
Someone... someone must have forced her...
"Talia? What are you doing up here?"
I turned. Pack guards came up the trail, led by my father's right hand, Marcus.
"Marcus!" I clutched him like a lifeline. "My mother—she—"
"Easy, kid." His face was set. "We know. Mrs. Ward... slipped. She fell off the cliff."
"No!" I screamed. "No way! She would never come up here! Someone did this!"
"Talia, calm down. I know it's hard, but it is what happened," he said, weary. "Mrs. Ward hasn't been well. Maybe she wanted air and... it went wrong."
"You're lying!" I cut him off. "Her body's weak, but her mind is clear. And she's afraid of heights. She would never come to a cliff!"
He shared a look with the others. "You need to accept it. She's gone. No point in arguing. Your father asked me to tell you—the funeral will be soon."
A funeral? My mother was still lying at the bottom of an icy ravine, and they were already planning a burial?
"I want to see my father!" I shoved to my feet. "I have to tell him the truth!"
"Elder Ward is busy," Marcus said, cool and flat. "And old Alpha ordered this not be discussed. This is family business. Outsiders don't meddle."
"I'm her daughter!"
"Be smart, Talia." His words cut. "Face it. Keep your head down."
They left me kneeling at the edge of the cliff.
Five days later, I had to swallow the brutal truth—my mother was dead.
I scoured the gorge like a madwoman those five days, praying for a sign she'd lived. Then the search team found her broken body at the bottom.
The doctor ruled accidental fall. No other injuries. An unfortunate mishap. But I knew it wasn't that simple.
The funeral was in the Ward Family's cemetery. Almost no one showed. My father stood in a black suit before the stone and laid a single flower like he was ticking a box.
"Talia." He looked at me with dry eyes. "Good. I was about to send for you."
"About what?"
"My wedding to Clarissa will be in three days," he said, calm as a weather report. "As my daughter, you'll attend."
The world tilted. My mother barely in the ground, and he was marrying his mistress—now?
"How could you..." My voice broke. "She just... how can you marry her so soon—"
"Sophia is dead." Not a shred of warmth. "The dead don't return. The living go on. I need a wife to run family affairs. Clarissa is the right choice."
"Please, Father, let me investigate—"
"Enough!" He raised his voice. "You've shamed us enough. Now you want to make a scene over a dead woman?"
Clarissa patted his hand. "Don't be angry, dear. Talia is young." She turned to me with that sickly smile. "Talia, your mother's death is unfortunate, but death is part of life. You should be happy your father has found new joy."
"It was you." Ice slid into my bones. "You killed her."
SLAP!
Father's hand hit my face so hard it sent me tumbling to the ground.
"Enough!" He looked down at me. "I won't let you say such ridiculous things! Sofia's death was an accident—that's final!"
I clutched my swollen cheek, tears of rage filling my eyes. But what hurt even more was catching that flash of satisfaction in Clarissa's eyes.
.
"Besides," my father went on, "you have another matter to handle."
"What do you mean?"
"Old Alpha just set Laiko and Liriel's wedding," he said coldly. "Six months from now. As Liriel's big sister, you'll give them your blessing."
The world fell apart.
"No... that can't be..." I whispered.
A group approached then—Alpha Thorn—Laiko's father, with several of the pack's power players. Laiko walked among them.
My heart kicked. I hadn't seen him since that night. I'd waited for him to come for me. I was suffering. I needed him.
He was finally here. Wrong place, wrong time, but still—relief surged. He must have come for me! He would stand up for me and see that justice was done!
"Elder Ward," the old Alpha walked up to Father, "please accept my condolences."
"Thank you for your concern," Father replied respectfully.
My eyes stayed locked on Laiko the whole time. He was wearing a black formal suit, his face as cold and stern as a statue. But what confused me most was that he didn't even glance at me once, as if I didn't exist at all.
"Laiko." I couldn't stop myself. I said his name.
He looked over at last. The emotion in his eyes gutted me—no love, no concern, no nothing. Just distance. Cold.
"Laiko," I stepped toward him, my voice trembling from excitement, "you're finally here. I thought—"
"Miss Ward," he cut in, voice like frost, "I'm sorry for your loss."
Miss Ward? Why did he call me that? Why that icy attitude? My blood turned to ice.
"Laiko, I need to talk. Alone. About that night—"
"That night?" He frowned as if reaching for a far-off memory. "Miss Ward, I don't know what you mean."
What? He didn't remember?
"You can't do this," I choked. "You promised to protect me. You said I was your—"
"I never said anything like that," he said. Calm, flat. "Miss Ward, grief can muddle memories. You may have... misremembered."
Misremembered? He called everything between us a mistake in my head?
The words hit like lightning. I went numb.
Just then, Liriel appeared. She was wearing an elegant black dress, her arm linked through Laiko's, with an appropriately sad expression on her face. What shocked me even more was that Laiko didn't push her away—he just let her hold onto his arm.
"Talia, I'm sorry for Mrs. Ward's tragedy. I hope you can stay strong. Laiko and I need your blessing for our wedding."
I was sure I caught the smugness and provocation in Liriel's eyes.
My body started shaking, tears streaming down uncontrollably. I was losing my mind. "No! Laiko, tell them! Tell them I'm your fated mate!"
But Laiko just looked at me coldly, his eyes showing no emotion at all.
"Miss Ward," he said calmly, "Liriel is my fated mate. She always has been."
"No... you're lying..." I said, trembling. "You held me. You said I was yours. You said from that night on I belonged to—"
"Enough, Talia!" Father angrily cut me off. "You've embarrassed yourself enough! Laiko and Liriel are a perfect match—what right do you have to covet that?"
Low laughter came from the onlookers, and I could feel their contemptuous stares.
I looked at Laiko with pleading eyes, my voice utterly desperate. "I'm not lying! Laiko, tell them! You can't do this to me! You can't deny everything that happened between us!"
But Laiko just coldly shook his head.
Looking at his distant expression, I finally understood a cruel truth—he really didn't want me anymore. Whatever happened that night, whatever connection we had, in his heart I was still just someone dispensable.
My wolf was crying in despair.
He said nothing and turned to leave with Liriel. The pain in my heart crashed over me like a tidal wave. Why? Why was he denying everything that had already happened? Why was he hurting me?
"Talia," Clarissa walked over gently, "child, you should accept reality. Laiko would never look at you that way. The gap between you is too wide."
"Get away!" I angrily pushed her aside. "It's all you! All of you!"
"Talia!" Father warned.
But I didn't care anymore. I rushed out of the cemetery, running aimlessly through the streets. Tears blurred my vision, and the pain in my heart nearly tore me apart.
Mother was dead, and I couldn't find her killer. Laiko had betrayed me, denied everything between us, and chosen another woman.
I had lost everything. Everyone was betraying me, everyone was deceiving me.
In the weeks that followed, I lived like a walking dead. I locked myself in my room all day, refusing to see anyone, refusing to eat anything. I kept replaying that night over and over, trying to find any clue in my memory to prove I hadn't been dreaming.
But in the end, all I could remember was the smugness in Clarissa's eyes, Liriel's mockery, Father's coldness, and Laiko's distant gaze.
I would get revenge for Mother. I knew I was weak, but even if it meant mutual destruction, I had to end this pain.
After I walked out the door with a sharp dagger, a wave of intense nausea hit me, and I couldn't help but bend over and throw up.
I felt like the whole world had stopped.
Because I clearly heard my wolf telling me,
"Talia, we're pregnant."
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