The Lycan Prince’s Defiant Mate

Ara's POV I stood stunned in my wedding gown, the delicate lace suddenly felt like chains around my body. My eyes flickered between the man I just married and the fragile, half fainted woman in his arms. This couldn’t be real! This wasn’t happening! It was supposed to be my fairytale! “I thought you loved me,” the words left my mouth before I could stop them, raw and broken. My eyes flickered between the man I had just vowed to love forever and the fragile, trembling woman cradled in his arms. In another word, my best friend, and also the woman he truly loved. Bianca’s golden hair was a tangled mess, her makeup streaked with tears. She looked so small against Lucian’s chest, so broken, as if she were the one whose heart had just been ripped out. And maybe it had. Because she was his soulmate. Not me. Never me. And I got to learn this on my wedding day! “I have always loved you Ara, but as a sister,” Lucian, my newly-wed husband, said. His grip tightened around Bianca. A Sister! The words cut deeper than any blade. All those years. All those stolen glances, the warmth in his touch, the promises unspoken— was it all just pity? “Are you even hearing yourself right now?” I meant to scream, but my voice came out as a broken whisper. My eyes fell on Bianca once more. I thought of her as my family. “We didn't mean to, Ara… please don't blame Lucian,” Her voice was a fragile whimper. Her manicured hands covered her face as she broke into tears again, “this is all my fault. I made you all sad. I am so sorry.” “No, baby, you did nothing wrong,” Lucian hushed her, as he pulled her even closer to his chest. His lips casually touched her forehead. Baby! This word was supposed to be mine. His touch was supposed to be mine. But it probably never was! “All these years Lucian… it was all a lie!” I gasped at realisation. “Couldn't you have said once that you never loved me? That she is the one in your heart?” My voice choked. I always had my eyes for Lucian. The mischievous boy stole my heart when I didn’t even know what love meant. We were always together. He was two years older than me. So on his eighteenth birthday when I found we weren’t mates, I was heartbroken. But that didn't change a thing. “I never said I loved you either, Ara,” he mumbled. My stomach twisted. He was right. He had never said the words. Never asked me on a date. Never promised me forever. But he was always there, protecting me, teasing me, making me feel I was special. And I had been stupid enough to believe it. “And you.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “I thought we were sisters. You held me when I cried for my parents. You knew how much I loved him. How could you stay silent?” Bianca and I were of the same age. After my parents, I practically grew up in her house. Her mom cooked me food, her dad took us for runs and Bianca… She was my world. She hugged me during countless sleepless nights when I kept having nightmares. Her shoulder soaked in my tears. She watched me fall for Lucian— her soul mate, but said nothing until now. “We wanted to, Ara. Believe me,” Bianca’s voice shivered. “You were always sad and alone after Rowan. I just wanted to be there for you. Even though I always felt strongly towards Bianca, and I wanted to ask her out, I couldn’t since you two were close too. When I found that Bianca was my mate, I wasn’t sure how you would react. So we decided to wait,” Lucian's jaw tensed as he tried to explain. “Wait for what?” I yelled. “Till your eighteenth birthday. We thought once you have your wolf, you won't be alone anymore and we could finally tell you about us. But then…” Bianca didn't have to complete it. My eighteenth birthday came and I never shifted. Turned out I was wolfless. So typical! It was a shocker as my bloodline, the Vaelcrests, were known for producing strong beta warriors. My father, Rowan, was chosen as the beta of this pack at a very young age. On the contrary, I was the first child in the entire Blue Moon Pack who didn't have her wolf, despite being nineteen. Some turned out to be late bloomers but I wasn’t clearly one of them either. So they just pitied me. “And you think it is better now?” I argued. “No, it's not… I am sorry I should have never uttered this… I couldn’t just take when Lucian was about to kiss you… and mark you,” Bianca sobbed. That's right. We got married and that's all. No bond. No claim. Just the narrow thread created by the ceremony was lingering between us. Bianca fainted suddenly during the wedding. Lucian carried her in here. And I, the i***t, followed them. I sighed. These two were the closest people in my life. They had made a terrible mistake, but they had also been the only ones who stayed when my world fell apart and I was left all alone. “Well, good thing is, the marking isn't done yet. We can go back there and tell the pack the truth. We can break the marriage and move with our lives. I am sure everyone will understand.” I suggested. “My dad won't. He made it clear that he won't make me the next alpha unless I marry you,” Lucian spoke. And there goes Adrian Black, Lucian's father. Both my parents died protecting the pack and dad saved his life once. Hence he always felt obligated to take extra good care of me. His obligations had become my prison now. “Did you even tell him that you found your mate?” I asked. “No. Besides, Bianca is just an omega. If I do, he will make Bianca leave the pack,” Lucian clenched his jaw. Bianca stumbled forward. “Please, Ara,” she said, as she reached for my hands. Slowly she dropped to her knees, clutching my wedding gown, as she continued, “don't make us leave apart. I won't survive it. I am weak! My wolf will die.” Die! My heart sank. I heard that one's wolf became weak if they lived apart from their soulmate. For an omega, the wolf might die as well. “Bianca, please stop this.” I stepped back. She slowly stood up. “This is ridiculous. What do you want me to do then?” I felt sad, angry and frustrated all together. “Let’s just pretend to be husband and wife for now. You know dad's wolf had been injured and he might not live that long. I don't want to make him sad during his last days.” Lucian concluded. Alpha Adrian was counting his days now. He was like my father and the thought of making him sad wasn't a great one. But where did it leave me? “And You are ok with this?” I asked Bianca. “I am ok… if you don't mark her or mate,” she sobbed, standing up. Lucian pulled her closer again, and kissed the corner of her forehead, “don't worry baby, I will never mark anyone else but you. And I won't touch her. I see her only as my little sister.” His words hurt! I stared at them. So that's it. It was never my story to begin with. It was their fairytale and I was the villain. “So what kind of idiotic arrangement are you proposing? Do you take everyone as a fool? The entire pack will question,” I tried to knock some senses in their heads. I was ok to be left alone. I was ok to be rejected. But this stupid arrangement was beyond my dignity. “I can tell the pack that you want to wait for your wolf to show up. So we don't want to rush things,” Lucian's voice sounded calm. Too calm. And I gasped. I let out a bitter laugh. Of course it was pre-planned. Because the wolfless girl wouldn’t want to rush into a bond. How convenient! “Why can’t we just end this? I will talk to the alpha. He will understand,” I pressed. Bianca’s breath hitched. “If you do, the pack will think we forced you. That we bullied the wolfless girl into breaking her own marriage.” Because everyone pitied the wolfless orphan! “Please, Ara. For the sake of all these years, please go with it?” Bianca said. What should I do? They thought of a way to be together but where did it leave me? I was married but not marked. I had a husband just in name who would occasionally sleep with my best friend! My parents were gone. My wolf never came. And now, the two people I loved most were asking me to fake my marriage. Why does it always hurt to breathe? I looked at them—Lucian, my first love, holding the girl who used to wipe my tears. And I realized… I have no one left.