Liora Ashwin
"Oh, my God!! Where are my clothes?"
That was my first thought as my eyes snapped open. My gaze darted around the room, and there, on the floor, lay my dresses… shredded.
"No… No, this can't be."
My hands trembled as I held the silk blanket tightly, afraid it would slip off my body. I turned toward the bathroom door, but there was no sound. Everything was quiet, one of those suffocating silences that made one's heart race.
My brain scrambled for answers as blurry memories from the previous night flooded in slowly.
Last night had been splendid. It was my birthday; I had turned twenty, and my mate, the future Alpha of our pack, Ryan Crest, had pronounced me his Luna-to-be. Everything had happened so fast. One moment we were dancing and celebrating, and the next he was ravaging me behind closed doors.
A moan rippled through me.
"Fuck, Ryan," I gasped as he panted heavily, his breathing fast, his waist moving rapidly as he slammed into me with reckless abandon, like a man under a spell.
His hands roamed my body impatiently as he shredded my clothes, his lips, once whispering my name, now groaning instead. Wet sounds echoed in the air, skin slapping against skin. My thighs were drenched with cum, yet he did not stop, nor did he slow down.
His body reacted to mine too perfectly, yes, desperately.
A small smile formed on my lips as my mind settled. I sighed tiredly, relieved, watching over me.
"He must have stepped out to get me new clothes… and flowers, as always," I told myself, beaming from ear to ear.
I tried sitting up, but a wave of pain shot through me, as if my body had been run over by a trailer. Last night had been my first time, and Ryan had been anything but gentle.
I turned to the nightstand, hoping to pick up my phone, but it was missing. I was certain I had placed it there the night before.
"Well," I shrugged and struggled to my feet.
A faint scent caught my attention. It wasn't thick in the room.
"It must have been one of the guards or a hotel attendant," I told myself as I walked to the bathroom.
But the moment I pushed the door open, a heavier mix of freshly moist earth hit me so hard that I staggered back.
"This…"
I didn't have time to analyze my thoughts when the door slammed open, and Ryan stepped in, alongside my family and his parents.
"Hey, baby," I whispered shyly as I tried to cover myself. "You should have told me you were bringing others so I would have at least gotten into something more appropriate."
But the man before me did not smile.
His face darkened in seconds, his eyes burning with rage. "So it is true," he said, his voice cutting sharp.
"What's wrong?" I asked, stepping forward and reaching for his hand.
He slapped my hand away, making me stagger backward in shock.
"Babe," I whispered, my voice pained.
"Babe?" His voice dripped with contempt. "How could you, Liora?"
"Liora, what is the meaning of this?" my mother's voice cut in, dripping with malice. "I thought we raised you better," my father added.
None of their questions made sense to me.
"What's happening? I just, "
"You just what?" Ryan snapped. "Last night I showed you to the world as my woman, and this morning you climbed down from another man's bed? How could you?"
"Wh… what?" My world tilted, and I staggered backward.
And then I caught it.
The unfamiliar air. The smell was wild and thick with earthy moisture. It was certainly not Ryan's.
My throat went dry. My head throbbed like I'd been struck by lightning itself. My breathing came rapidly and shallowly.
"I… I thought it was you," I stammered desperately.
I was certain a wolf could never get their mate's scent wrong, yet as I stood there with accusations hanging over my head, my wolf was just as confused. We had been certain.
But the unfamiliar scent, the ache in my body, the hickeys, and now my mate barging in with our family…
This had to be a sick nightmare.
Yet no matter how hard I pinched myself, no matter how tightly my fingers clenched around the silk blanket, I couldn't wake up.
My lips trembled.
"Ryan…" I stepped closer.
His eyes darkened. "My name from your mouth disgusts me, Liora," he said flatly. "Do you know what you've done?"
"Everyone is watching," he hissed. "This is already all over the pack. Everyone saw my mate walk into a hotel room with a man who wasn't me. How desperate were you, Liora? I left you for a minute and you, "
He laughed bitterly.
The kind of laugh that killed one from within.
"A minute, and you slipped into another man's arms. Tell me, what did he have that I don't? Money? Jewelry? Gold?" he yelled.
I could only bite my lips as tears streamed down my face.
My chest tightened, but I forced myself to speak. "I was framed… drugged, maybe," I said hoarsely, repeating the truth no one would believe. "I didn't."
"Enough!"
The cold voice of the Alpha sliced through the room.
He stepped forward, pulling his son behind him protectively, as though I were some kind of curse.
Alpha Eric Crest was a man of few words, and harsh ones.
"The evidence is clear," he said. "You were seen entering another male's room, and now…" He sneered.
"Your sister will take your place."
My blood ran cold.
From the back, Selene smiled, the kind of smile that said, "I won."
"I warned you, Liora," she murmured, every word dripping with fake sympathy. "You've always been wild, but I never thought you'd jeopardize your bond with your mate."
"As Alpha," Ryan began, his voice firm, "I am rejecting you, Liora Ashwin, as my mate."
The words hit harder than any slap.
Pain tore through my chest as though my heart had been ripped out by force. I struggled to breathe, air coming in gasps, as I collapsed to the ground.
"Please…" I begged.
But he walked out.
So did everyone else.
My parents didn't even look back.
The room fell silent as Selene stood over me.
"Oh, poor Liora," she sneered. "If you think this is painful, wait until you find out who set you up."
I blinked through tears as my blurry vision slowly cleared, though the pain did not.
"Who did this… was it you?" I asked.
Selene shook her head too quickly.
"Oh no, big sis. I wasn't fast enough. Someone beat me to it. I planned to have you drugged and snapped with a man, but he was brutal, so I let it happen; Hope your first time wasn't too hard."
Her eyes skimmed over my bruised, branded skin.
"On second thought," she giggled, "the beast ravished every bit of you. Your waist must be sore. I can only imagine."
Selene has always been like this, owning up to her cruelty when no one else was around. Like when she pushed me down the stairs and I was stuck in a cast for weeks, or when she swapped our projects so I would fail a course.
She always admitted it. At least to me. And an empty room.
"Please tell me," I begged. "Please, Selene." My voice dropped desperately like my world depended on it… Well, my world did depend on it.
Selene sat down to my level, her face burned with happiness. Slowly, she leaned forward, and with utmost confidence, she whispered
"Ryan set you up."
Her words fell.
And so did my world.