Chapter 1: What had she done wrong?
1236 Words
Chapter 1: What had she done wrong?
(Seraphina Vance's POV)
Night was deep, and the rain poured. On this very night, I surrendered my virginity to my fiancé, Alpha heir Julian Thorne in his den of Thorne Pack.
I pulled the silk sheets closer to my bare skin, still feeling the lingering ache between my thighs from what had just happened.
Julian had already left for his bachelor party. Tomorrow is our mating ceremony.
"Get some rest, little wolf," he'd whispered against my ear back then. Julian had been so gentle tonight. So different from the cold, demanding man he'd become over the past year. For a moment, I'd almost believed we could make this work.
But now, two hours later, my phone buzzed with his message.
Bring my black coat to Suite 1099 at Celestial Summit Lodge. Need it for the party. - J
I stared at the screen, my heart sinking. The lodge was in neutral territory, at least an hour's drive through this storm. My body still ached, and exhaustion weighed down my limbs like lead.
My first time had been... intense. Julian was obsessed with my body. Maybe this would mark a new beginning for us. I can't ruin this. I forced myself out of bed, drive to the Lodge.
As I approached the suite, I heard it. A soft, breathy moan that made my blood freeze.
"Mmm... Honey, won't your fiancée make a fuss if she sees us like this?"
The voice was delicate, coquettish. Definitely not Julian's.
My hand trembled as I reached for the door handle, then stopped. Through the c***k between the door and frame, I could see inside.
Julian was on the sofa, his shirt discarded, his hands roaming over a woman's curves.
He was thrusting against her, their bodies moving in a rhythm I recognized all too well. The same rhythm he'd used with me just hours ago.
"That woman is already tamed, so docile," Julian panted between thrusts. "What am I afraid of?"
"You're so bad," the woman moaned, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss. "If that's the case, why even mate with her?"
Julian's laugh was cruel. "My father is very pleased with her, insists she has some special ability and that I must marry her. Hmph, what special ability? She's just an ordinary healer from a fallen werewolf family who somehow pleased my father."
Each word hit me like a physical blow. I pressed my hand to my mouth to keep from crying out.
"She isn't worthy to be my Luna with that status!" Julian continued, his voice growing harsher. "But if I don't marry her, my father might get angry and revoke my Alpha inheritance. How much would I lose then? Once I inherit the Alpha position, I'll dump her."
He thrust harder into the woman beneath him, making her cry out in pleasure. The sound made bile rise in my throat.
"Besides, that woman is so damn prudish. She only finally agreed to let me f**k her tonight before the mating ceremony. All the money spent on her is better off spent on a prostitute."
Laughter erupted from around the room. I see Julian's friends besides. The Thorne Pack Sycophants lounging in chairs with wine in their hands, watching the show like it was entertainment.
"So, how does she perform in bed?" one of them called out.
"Hahahaha, ecstatic. I f****d her so hard she couldn't get out of bed," Julian boasted. "But such a beauty will still have to come and bring me my coat like a servant in a while."
"So, our future Alpha already gets her virginity, will we have the chance to get lucky?" another voice chimed in.
"Such a beautiful woman, it must be exciting to f**k her."
Julian waved his hand dismissively, never stopping his movements. "Sure, after the mating ceremony, line up one by one. I'll let you all taste what it's like to have s*x with a lewd Luna."
"Hahaha, our future Alpha is so generous!"
The room filled with lewd laughter.
My knees nearly buckled. I felt something inside me shatter.
I stumbled backward, Julian's coat falling from my numb fingers to the floor.
How had I been so blind? So stupid?
The memories came flooding back. Julian and I had met at the Pack's healing center when my father collapsed during his shift. The diagnosis had been devastating - a rare condition that would require expensive surgery and months of treatment.
Our family had nothing. We were barely scraping by as it was, and the medical bills would have destroyed us completely.
That's when Julian's father, Alpha Marcus Thorne, had stepped in. He'd covered all the costs, given my father a position in the Thorne Pack, and treated our family with a kindness we'd never experienced from the upper ranks.
I'd been so grateful. So overwhelmed by their generosity that when Julian began courting me. Although he is not my fated mate, I'd felt obligated to accept. How could I refuse the son of the man who'd saved my father's life?
In the beginning, Julian had been everything I'd dreamed of in a mate. Gentle, considerate, caring. He'd brought me flowers, taken me on romantic walks, listened to my dreams of becoming a master healer.
I'd actually started to fall for him.
But everything changed the night I'd refused to have s*x with him. It had been six months into our courtship, and while I cared for him, I wasn't ready for that level of intimacy. I'd wanted to wait until we were properly mated.
Julian's entire demeanor had shifted overnight. The gentle touches became possessive grabs. The sweet words became cutting remarks about my appearance, my family's status, my worth as a potential Luna.
He'd started calling me at all hours, demanding I bring him things or run errands. Medicine when he had a headache. Alcohol when he was stressed. Food when he was hungry. It didn't matter if I was sleeping, studying, or caring for my father.
"A good mate anticipates her Alpha's needs," he'd say whenever I hesitated.
Over the past year, I'd become a shadow of myself. Exhausted, anxious, constantly questioning whether I was good enough, trying enough, worthy enough.
Now, standing in that hallway, listening to him describe me as a w***e he planned to share with his friends, I finally understood the truth.
Grief and rage warred in my chest, making it hard to breathe.
My wolf, Ava, was howling inside me, "Let me go tear them apart."
My reason told me to stop her. I can't throw a straw against the wind right now.
I turned and ran out into the storm.
The rain soaked through my cloak instantly, but I didn't care. I ran blindly through the empty streets, tears mixing with rainwater on my cheeks.
I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I had to get away from that place. I stumbled through narrow alleys.
Both Ava and I had lost our usual vigilance. We were too consumed by grief and rage to pay attention to our surroundings.
My foot caught on something solid in the darkness. I staggered forward, arms windmilling as I fought to keep my balance.
A short, muffled groan came from behind me.
I spun around. There in the shadows lay a man, motionless on the wet cobblestones.
- Writer
