"I didn't sacrifice it. I exchanged it with that of my husband's."
"But he said you asked for it," she murmured, her voice like dry leaves. "Well, that's none of my business. Settle in and come out at night."
Before I could demand what she meant, she faded into the shadows of the hallway, disappearing as if she were never there. I was left alone in the silence of the upstairs, the weight of the house pressing down on me. My husband was nowhere to be found.
When night finally fell, I moved through the hotel like a ghost, joining my friend Linda in her celebration. The air was thick with the scent of expensive cologne, champagne, and the musk of werewolves, but I couldn't find Maxine. Throughout the night, my head was on a constant swivel. I was hyper-aware of every door that opened, every laugh that echoed through the hall, turning my head like an owl, desperate for a glimpse of him.
"You looking for something?"
A deep voice cut through my frantic searching. A man was standing too close, his presence demanding. I didn't even look at him; I just felt the heat of his gaze.
"Stay away from me. I am happily married," I snapped, thrusting my hand out so the light caught the glint of my ring.
"But it doesn't look so," he countered, his voice dripping with a mocking sort of pity. "I can't smell another person on you. Or is it what I am thinking?"
"I said stay away!" I turned around angrily, my hand raised to push him back, but the breath caught in my throat. Standing before me was Alpha Rue—the Alpha of Linda's father's pack. He was tall, imposing, and looking down at me with a smirk that felt like a slap.
"Alpha Rue... I am so sorry, I didn't know it was you," I stammered, quickly bowing my head in a sign of respect I didn't feel.
"Sure. How would you know when you were so lost looking for your beloved husband? Showcasing that cheap ring like it's a shield."
. "Have you seen him?"
"Am I a human holder?" Rue stepped closer, his scent of expensive lattafa smell overwhelming. "And besides, what's his name again? The wedding is almost over and he isn't here to see it. Why not call him?"
The question stung. I couldn't tell him I didn't have the courage to call, or that I feared he wouldn't pick up. "I don't want to disturb him," I lied.
"Or he doesn't answer your calls. Who knows? He might be in the arms of another," Rue said. He had always been this way—arrogant, observant, and incredibly annoying.
"He is not like y'all werewolves who go around with your heat fucking everyone," I hissed, the sting of his words fueling my anger. I couldn't stand there anymore, not with Alpha Rue—the man I had secretly crushed on my entire life—looking at me with such disdain. "Maybe he has returned to his room."
I turned on my heel and fled toward the suite. When I reached the door, I knocked, my knuckles white. To my surprise, the door swung open. It wasn't locked. Why would he leave it open? It isn't safe.
I stepped inside, calling his name softly. The room was empty. I checked the restroom, the balcony nothing. But as I turned to leave, a sound drifted in through the open glass doors leading to the courtyard. Laughter.
"That's his voice," I whispered.
I traced the sound, my feet moving of their own accord toward the pool side. The moonlight shimmered on the water, and then I saw him. "Maxi—" I wanted to call out but
The name died in my throat. A man jumped out of the water, droplets spraying everywhere. It was Tony, his assistant. I froze, my blood turning to ice. My husband, Maxine, reached out and grabbed Tony, hoisting him up to sit on the edge of the pool slide.
In one fluid, practiced motion, Maxine began stroking Tony's cock.
"What the fuck?" The words were a silent gasp. "Am I seeing this well?"
I moved closer, hidden by the shadows of the tall hedge. My vision tunneled. I watched as Maxine leaned in, his mouth closing over Tony's cock. He moved his head up and down with a rhythmic, hungry intensity. Tony let out a low, guttural moan, his fingers tangling deep into Maxine's hair, pulling him closer.
My husband is gay? The realization hit me like a physical blow. All the times he avoided me, the lack of intimacy, the way he never looked at me with desire it wasn't because he was a "gentleman." It was because I wasn't a man. I watched him work, the wet sounds of him sucking his fellow man's cock echoing in the quiet night.
Maxine pulled back, the spit glistening on his lips as he climbed out of the pool. "Come on, baby. Let me ride you," he groaned.
They walked over to the lounge chair. I felt the hair on my arms stand up. A strange, frantic itch spread across my skin, and my vision blurred with hot, angry tears. Tony laid back on the chair, his hard cock pointing toward the sky. Maxine didn't hesitate. He straddled him, lowering himself down slowly, taking Tony's entire length into his ass.
"Fuck, you are so sweet, Tony... this cock is everything," Maxine moaned, his head tossing back as he began to ride him, his hips grinding down with a desperation he had never shown me.
I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. The moans grew louder—"Yes, harder!"—tearing through my heart. That was supposed to be me. That was my husband taking a dick on his ass where as me his wife hasn't even be penetrated before even by a finger not to talk off.
In the middle of his ecstasy, Maxine's head snapped up. His eyes met mine. He saw me standing there, trembling in the shadows. He didn't stop. He didn't even flinch. Tony saw me too and froze, but Maxine just gripped Tony's lap tighter.
"Don't mind that bitch. Continue fucking me from below," Maxine sneered, his voice cold and devoid of any regret.
Tony obeyed, thrusting up into him while Maxine watched me seductively, his eyes challenging me to keep looking. He wanted me to see how much he enjoyed it. He wanted to break me.
"Do I really deserve this?" I finally screamed, the sound raw and broken. "Why did you use me to cover up for your shame life?!"
Maxine didn't even pause his rhythm. "Go and ask your mother that question. I signed a contract with your mother in exchange for money, so don't blame me blame her for giving you away for money. Fuck... you are so good," he moaned as Tony leaned forward to suck his cock.
Tony looked like he wanted to say something to me, but Maxine shoved his head back down. "I told you, you can do whatever you want. Go out there, get yourself a man to burst that ancient hole you call a virginity. I won't leave this moment just to please you. And one more thing—divorce isn't an option. Consider this an open relationship. You're free to do whatever you want but if you go against the contract you are going to pay for it."
I couldn't believe what I just heard, I couldn't believe the life I was living in was so foolish and blinded by money that I didn't even know what was happening in my cupboard,
I finally found the strength to move my legs. I turned away from the sight of my husband being fucked by his assistant and walked blindly back toward the hotel entrance.
My mother that monster I called my mother literally sold me off. She had signed me into a lavender marriage without my consent no wonder everything changed for my family no wonder. The betrayal was a double-edged sword, cutting me from both sides. I reached the hallway leading to the lobby, my face streaked with tears, trying to scrub the image of the pool from my brain.
A man dressed in black appeared in my present "I told you" he said as he started laughing. Alpha Rue was standing there, his expression mocking. I stepped back, my chest heaving. "Since when have you been here, Alpha Rue?"
"Since the beginning. Don't get me wrong I only followed you because I wanted to watch you cry I wanted to see your expression when you see the man you were protecting in the arms of another," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "The next time I tell you something, be sure to believe me. So, now that you've found out your beloved husband is gay, what are you going to do?"
"Alpha Rue, please... can you keep this a secret?" I begged, my voice cracking. "From your Beta, from Linda... I am in a deep mess and I need to speak to my mother."
"Beg me," he whispered, stepping into my personal space. "Or else I will tell the world."
"Please, Alpha. I beg you."
"Fine. What are you going to give me in return?"
"Whatever you want," I said desperately. "Just don't tell people. I don't want to be a laughing stock."
He didn't speak. Instead, he reached out, his hand wrapping around my waist as he "I heard you were an ancient virgin, how true is that???? Well if he said you are a virgin that means you are, so now let's make a deal."
I looked at him, the man who had been the subject of my every fantasy since I was a girl. But Rue was a predator. He was the kind of man who couldn't stay a day without sex in the clubs, in the cars, everywhere. I had kept myself pure for a husband who didn't want me, while the man who wanted me would never be faithful.
"Stop mocking me. I don't want to make a deal," I said, pulling away.
"Okay, fine. Then call me when you need a drinking partner And a sex partner I will be here in a blink of an eye" He reached out, sliding his business card into the cleavage of my dress, his fingers grazing my skin he kissed me in a flash. Before I could blink, he disappeared into the night like a gust of wind.
I walked back to my own room, the silence of the suite deafening. I closed the door and leaned against it, the weight of the night finally crushing me. I had stayed "pure" for a lie. I had been sold by my own blood.
I spent the rest of the night alone, the sounds of Linda's wedding party echoing in the distance. She thought I was with my husband, wrapped in marital bliss. She didn't know I was on the floor, mourning a life that was never mine to begin with.