The days after were a total blur—awkward introductions, endless expectations, and tension so thick it was exhausting. The Lancater weren’t outright hostile, but they definitely weren’t warm and fuzzy either.
Victor was all business, Killian kept his distance, and the rest of the pack watched me like I was some sort of experiment.
One afternoon, I found myself back in the chair by his bed, staring at the walls. The silence was suffocating, so I broke it.
“This isn’t exactly what I had in mind for my life, you know,” I said, tugging at the hem of my shirt. My voice sounded flat in the giant room. “I was supposed to marry Halvard. But he. . . He betrayed me!”
I glanced at him, half-hoping for some kind of miracle response. Nothing.
“But nope,” I went on, the bitterness creeping into my tone. “Instead, I get shoved into this mess. A cursed husband. A pack that’s barely holding it together. And absolutely no one seems to care what I want.”
Still nothing.
I sighed, leaning back. “You’re not exactly great at small talk, are you?”
Right as I was about to give up and let the silence take over again, my phone buzzed. For a second, I let myself hope it was my dad or someone from my pack.
It wasn’t.
It was a social media notification.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I opened it. Instant regret. Amelia had just posted her engagement photos with Harvard. They were all dressed up, smiling like they’d just won the lottery.
The captions were bad enough. “To forever with my true mate.”
But the comments? Those were a whole new level of awful.
“They’re perfect together!”
“Finally, someone worthy of Harvard.”
“What happened to the other girl? Oh, right—she wasn’t good enough.”
“Imagine getting dumped by your own mate for someone better.”
Each comment felt like a punch to the gut. And then I saw the one that broke me:
“Amelia is everything Saffire could never be. No wonder Harvard chose her.”
My hands started shaking as I slammed my phone down on the table. Anger bubbled up, drowning out everything else. Without thinking, I picked up my phone and went back to the post. My fingers flew across the screen, typing out a response.
“Well, you both deserve each other. A traitor and a worthless fraud—perfect match.”
I hit send before I could second-guess myself, then blocked both of their accounts. My chest heaved as I deactivated my entire social media, cutting off the flood of negativity.
For a moment, I just sat there, staring at the wall and trying to calm down.
Then my phone buzzed again.
I glanced at the screen and saw Harvard's name flashing. Great. Just what I need.
I declined the call, my jaw tightening.
A moment later, another notification popped up—a message from Amelia.
“Jealous much? You’ll never have what I do. Keep dreaming, bitch.”
My fingers twitched, tempted to throw the phone across the room.
And then Harard messaged.
“Leave Amelia alone, or you’ll regret it. Bullying her just proves how pathetic you are.”
That was the last straw. I called him back, my blood boiling.
When he picked up, his voice was smug. “Finally decided to answer?”
I cut him off. “Listen to me, Harvard. Stop contacting me. I’m done with you, with her, with all of it. Newsflash—I’m engaged to a powerful Alpha now, so whatever this is? It’s over! Don’t call or text me again.”
He laughed, a cruel sound that made my skin crawl. “A powerful Alpha? Who would marry someone like you? Everyone knows your family’s pack business is going under. Bankrupt. And let’s not forget—you’ve been madly, deeply obsessed with me for years. You’re just trying to make me jealous.”
For a moment, his words stung, but then I burst out laughing, startling myself with how bitter it sounded.
“Obsessed with you? Oh, please,” I shot back, my tone laced with sarcasm. “If anything, I was obsessed with the idea of you, Harvard. You were never half the man I thought you were—and now, I see you for what you really are. A pathetic excuse for a mate who threw away the best thing he’d ever have for a cheap replacement.”
The silence on the other end was satisfying, and before he could respond, I added, “Enjoy your life with Amelia. You deserve each other. Goodbye, Harvard.”
I ended the call, blocked his number, and tossed my phone onto the table.
Turning back to Sebastian, I was shocked by what I saw.
I rubbed my eyes.
Wait. Was I being delusional or did Sabastian's fingers just twitched?
