Lilian’s POV
When I finally reached home and pushed the front door open,Adeline’s sobs poured out of the living room like a blade dragged across my nerves.
She was curled up on the sofa,trembling,her face buried against Brian’s chest.His arms wrapped around her instinctively,protectively,as if she were something fragile that might shatter if he loosened his grip even slightly.The air was thick with her scent—sweet,pitiful,carefully controlled—so different from the sharp bitterness clinging to my own clothes.
“Brian…”Adeline cried hoarsely.“I don’t want to go through with the arranged mating.I don’t want to marry that mad Alpha.He’s cruel.Brutal.The females from his previous pack alliances…they all died.”Her fingers clenched in his shirt.“Why does it have to be me?Why can’t it be Lilian instead?”
Her words landed with surgical precision.
Brian’s hand moved slowly,soothing her back in steady circles,the way one calmed a frightened wolf.His voice dropped into that gentle register he only ever used for her.
“Don’t be afraid.With me here,no one will force you.”He paused,then added with quiet certainty,“No matter who has to go through with the arranged mating,it won’t be you.”
My parents immediately echoed him,their Alpha and Luna authority wrapping around Adeline like armor.
“Don’t worry,sweetheart,”my mother said softly.“We would never let you go to that pack.”
“We’ll protect you,”my father added.“No matter what.”
I stood in the doorway,half in shadow.
No one looked at me.
Not Brian.Not my parents.Not even Adeline,who cried so convincingly in his arms.It was as if I were already invisible—already chosen as the unspoken alternative.
Without saying a word,I walked past them and went straight to my room.
The door clicked shut behind me,and the silence cracked something open inside my chest.
Memories flooded in without mercy.
I remembered the night I had casually mentioned wanting to see the sunrise from above the clouds.That very evening,Brian had ordered a private jet prepared.By dawn,we were standing on a remote island cliff,an observation platform built overnight just so I wouldn’t have to stand in the cold sea wind.
He had once spent hundreds of millions without blinking just to make me smile.
He took me skiing through the Alps,held my hand while we chased the aurora across frozen plains,cooked for me when I was too tired to eat,traveled with me to places even wandering wolves rarely reached.He documented every journey,every laugh,every quiet moment,as if he were afraid time would steal them away.
Back then,I truly believed he was my mate.
Now I understood the truth.
I wasn’t irreplaceable.I was just new.
A novelty.A distraction that had lasted longer than expected.
I wiped my tears away quickly,not allowing myself the luxury of breaking down.My hands moved with practiced calm as I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small recorder.I removed the memory card,then slid it into an envelope along with a copy of the detention center’s CCTV footage.
I sent everything to my friend with a single tap.
As the progress bar filled,a bitter taste rose in my throat.
At first,I had only meant to record Adeline’s pitiful performance in front of Brian and my parents.Evidence,just in case.But fate had been cruelly efficient—I had also captured her ordering the inmates to“teach me a lesson.”
When the files finally sent,my screen dimmed.
Footsteps sounded outside my door.
My heart tightened.
The door opened quietly,and Brian stepped inside.His tall frame filled the doorway,his presence as familiar as it was unbearable.Before I could react,he crossed the room in long strides and pulled me into his arms.
The scent of cedar and night air clung to him—the same scent that once made me feel safe.Now,it only made me feel trapped.
He rested his chin against the top of my head,his grip firm,almost desperate.
“Forgive me,Lilian,”he whispered weakly.
I froze in his embrace.
My lips pressed together,every word lodged painfully in my throat.I didn’t respond—but he didn’t seem to need me to.
“Don’t be so hard on Adeline,”he continued softly,as if soothing a child.“She’s different from you.You’re the Wyatt Pack’s biological daughter.You already have everything.”
He hesitated,then added,“I’ll marry you one day.”
My fingers curled slowly.
“But Adeline…”His voice gentled further.“She has nothing.It’s normal for her to be sensitive.You should try to understand her.Be patient with her.”
“I have everything…”
The words slipped out of me in a whisper so bitter it made my stomach churn.
So this was his apology.
He hadn’t come to admit fault.He hadn’t come to acknowledge what had been done to me.He had come to excuse Adeline—and to remind me of my place.
Brian truly believed that a hug and a few soft words could erase everything.That no matter how deeply he hurt me,I would forgive him as I always had.Even if just yesterday,he had sent me home bruised,broken,and bleeding.
In his eyes,he could strike me ninety-nine times—
and then toss me a single bone and expect me to crawl back,tail wagging.
I lifted my head and looked at his face.
My heart ached so fiercely it felt like it might splinter apart.
Slowly,I realized something crucial.
Brian was wrong.
And this time,I would not come back.
