Three Months Ago
“This is Rowan, my son. You know him, right? Your father said he’s your… your m-mate?”
The older man’s voice wavered, uncertain.
“That’s right, uh… Sir,” I said, smiling.
I turned to Rowan, extending my hand in greeting. “My name is Laura Wilson. It’s nice meeting you, Rowan.”
He hesitated, dark eyes sharp with disdain. If not for his father’s nudge, he wouldn’t have shaken my hand at all.
The corner of my lips twitched in amusement. It fascinated me—how a man could resist a woman he’d just met. He wasn’t like those who smiled too easily, who knew how to charm and flatter.
Rowan wasn’t like that.
And that told me something important: he wasn’t a flirt.
Men of my kind—the wealthy and powerful Lycans—often exploited their status, using strength and influence to claim any woman they desired. But Rowan? He was different.
As a member of the Moonpack, the wealthiest Lycan family, I held power, supporting the Alpha and the Council. Yet my fated mate wasn’t one of us.
He was human. My pack would never approve.
They saw humans as weak, insignificant. Relationships with them were forbidden.
But I didn’t care.
I had spent ten months hiding my identity, living quietly, searching for him. Now that I had found him, I wasn’t going to let him go.
His family was in trouble. His mother was sick. His company was failing.
And I could save them. All I asked in return… was him.
"Our kind values mates," I said gently. "When I learned we were bound, I didn't hesitate."
Rowan's jaw tightened. "You want me to marry you to save my mother and my company?"
I nodded. “Will you? I promise to help you with everything. And I promise to make you love me. Just let me try.”
His father nudged him again. “Rowan, be respectful.”
Rowan let out a sharp breath, arching a brow. “You want us to marry? Just like that?”
I laughed softly. “Not right away. Let’s get to know each other first.”
That was a lie.
I already knew everything about him. I knew about Tanya.
His first love.
A woman he met in a lowly club—a prostitute. He'd been obsessed with her, but his family never approved. Compared to me? She was nothing.
I was his mate.
Fate had chosen me for him. He just needed time to realize it. Mates were bound to fall in love.
I believed that. I truly did. So why?
Why did he find it so impossible to love me?
Present Day
“Let me go…” I pleaded, my voice weak, my throat raw.
Rowan crouched before me, his expression cold as he held a cup of water.
I parted my lips, desperate for relief—only for him to yank it away just as I began to drink.
I choked on the little I managed to swallow, my throat burning.
For five days, they gave me only small sips—just enough to keep me alive.
But the worst part wasn’t the thirst. It was what they made me witness.
Rowan and Tanya, tangled in pleasure, moaning before me—again and again.
And the wolfsbane. They had done their research, knowing exactly how to weaken me, how to kill me slowly without leaving a trace.
They knew my father thought I’d been kidnapped, that he was searching for me while Rowan played the grieving husband, desperate to find his missing wife.
But I was here, hidden away, dying.
Rowan smirked, lifting my chin with two fingers.
“What’s wrong, monster?” he taunted. “Can’t handle a little pain?”
I choked back tears, my body trembling. “W-why…? I saved your mother. I—I was the reason she’s alive.”
His grip tightened.
"You think that makes you innocent?"
He let out a bitter laugh and shoved me back, towering over me.
"You manipulated me," he spat. "Used my company, my mother—my life—just to force me into this marriage."
His voice turned sharp, almost shaking with anger.
"Do you know what I lost the moment you did that?"
I swallowed hard. My vision blurred. My body ached. My head throbbed. But nothing could have prepared me for what he said next.
“Tanya lost our child when my father forced her away,” he growled. “She was pregnant. With my child. And because of you, we lost him.”
The world tilted.
I felt sick.
Rowan seized the cup and forced water down my throat, too fast, too much.
I gasped, choked, sputtered. My lungs burned as water filled my airway. My body jerked, desperate for air, but he didn’t stop.
Not until my body went limp.
I collapsed onto the floor, coughing violently, chest heaving as I gasped for breath.
Above me, Rowan’s voice was cold.
"You deserve this, Laura. Every second of it."
A door creaked open.
"Hon!" Tanya’s voice rang through the room. "You won’t believe what I just found out!"
She skipped toward Rowan, a wicked smile on her lips.
"We can finally get rid of this bitch without getting caught."
Rowan turned to her, intrigued. She grinned down at me, eyes gleaming with triumph.
"We sent a letter to her pack. Told them she married a human."
My blood ran cold.
No.
My pack wouldn’t forgive me for this.
This was betrayal.
They would execute my parents.
I pressed my hands together, my body trembling. “P-please… don’t…”
But Tanya only smirked. She crouched, whispering in my ear, “Too late, bitch. Your parents are dead.”
