Madeline.
Beta Donald began exchanging words with the triplets, and soon laughter filled the atmosphere, completely making me forgotten. I stood there on the fringes of their joyful circle, an invisible phantom watching a family reunite.
Every shared joke, every playful nudge between them felt like a silent instruction for me to erase myself. The sound of their genuine happiness echoed around the courtyard, a sharp, bitter reminder that the warmth I had spent years cultivating never actually belonged to me.
I held back the tears in my eyes, and immediately rushed towards the corners of the pack. I needed to escape before the cracks in my posture betrayed the violent storm brewing in my chest. My legs moved on instinct, taking me far away from the light of the fire and the suffocating melody of their laughter. Every step felt heavy, driven by the suffocating truth that had finally unraveled before me.
That was it, I was just a substitute.
A placeholder kept warm until the original returned. The reality hit me with the weight of a physical blow, knocking the breath straight from my lungs.
Could I have been so foolish? Why didn't I ever notice that we looked alike?
The mirror had been telling me the story all along, yet I had chosen to be blind. Every subtle expression, every contour of my face that they had ever stared at with subtle nostalgia was simply her shadow. I had mistaken their longing glances for genuine affection, wrapping myself in a delusion built on stolen features.
But can I really blame myself?
From what I can remember, I had come to know them more when she actually left. I was there for them when they were down, picking up the shattered pieces of their grief, nursing their wounds, and offering every fragment of my heart to fill their void.
And now, the moment she stepped back into the picture, I was easily discarded. Years of loyalty, comfort, and devotion were wiped away in a single second, rendered completely meaningless.
The tears I had fought so hard to keep began streaming down my cheeks without hesitation.
The dam had broken, and there was no hiding from the pain anymore. I collapsed against the cold rough bark of a tree at the edge of the territory, my hands trembling as I tried to muffle the sounds of my own destruction. I choked on my sobs repeatedly, as I cried my heart out.
The agony in my chest was unbearable, burning through my ribs with every gasping breath.
Geez, I was so pathetic. Miserable, broken, and weeping over people who hadn't even noticed my disappearance.
"Why would a damsel like you be crying?" A voice echoed from behind me.
I immediately panicked, as I wiped my tears away and looked at the direction of the voice.
My heart leaped into my throat, fear spiking through the haze of my grief as I tried to regain my composure. I scrubbed my face hurriedly, attempting to erase the evidence of my weakness before turning around to confront the intruder.
And behold was a tall dark handsome looking guy. Damn, I was still heartbroken from the scene that had played out earlier, but I really couldn't help but to admire his beauty.
He possessed an undeniable, magnetic presence that cut straight through the shadows of the woods. Even through the blur of my tear-stained vision, his striking features and towering silhouette demanded attention.
"Who are you?" I asked curiously.
My voice was thick, raspy from weeping, but my eyes remained fixed on him. I really had not seen him in this pack for the last five years. He was an absolute anomaly, a face that didn't belong to any family I knew within these borders.
But this stranger smirked, as he leaned into the wall, casually putting his hands in his pocket. The gesture was entirely unbothered, oozing a supreme confidence that contrasted sharply with my trembling mess of a frame. He didn't seem alarmed by my presence, nor was he deterred by my defensive tone.
"Someone that can help ease your pain!" He said, as he raised his brows up and gave a wide smirk.
I took a step backwards, as I really wasn't sure what to do. My heel caught against the uneven ground, but I managed to keep my balance as I created space between us.
My mind was already overwhelmed, drowning in a sea of heartache and betrayal, and this unexpected encounter was pushing me past my limit. I had no time for this, as I needed to deal with my own affairs.
I needed to hide, to bleed out my pain in solitude, not stand in the dark engaging in cryptic exchanges with a reckless stranger who seemed to view my agony as entertainment.
"I'm sorry mister, but I really do not…." I started, but I didn't finish, as the strange handsome man took two long strides and pulled me closer by my waist, causing my breath to hitch.
The movement was so swift, so impossibly fluid, that I didn't even see him shift before his large, warm hand was locked around my lower back, snapping the distance between us down to nothing. The sudden, intimate contact sent a jolt straight through my spine, freezing the words right in my throat.
He looked his golden eyes into mine, his breath hot against my skin as he leaned on to whisper in my ears. The intense hue of his gaze seemed to glow in the dim light of the tree line, pinning me to the spot like a predator holding its target fast.
The warmth of his breath brushed against the side of my neck, sending a chaotic flutter through my pulse as his proximity completely overwhelmed my senses.
"It's been five years, Madeline…" He paused, as he took a strand of my hair backwards, while he used the tips of his fingers to trace the loose curve of my hair, tucking it tenderly behind my ear in a gesture that was far too intimate for a stranger. "... and I really can't believe you forgot who I was!" He added.
Shiver ran through mine instantly, I immediately pushed him backwards with the little strength I had.
The electric shock of his touch snapped me out of my trance. I planted both hands firmly against his broad chest, shoving him away as hard as my trembling body would allow. He let me step back, a light chuckle echoing in his throat as he watched me scramble for space, my heart hammering like a trapped bird against my ribs.
It took me six whole minutes to finally process who he was. I stood there frozen, my mind desperately churning through half-buried memories, pulling at threads from half a decade ago.
The sharp jawline, the golden eyes, the arrogant slope of his brow—they all began to align into a terrifyingly familiar image. I threw my hands to my mouth in shock, at the sudden realisation.
It was Melvin, the triplets Alpha illegitimate brother.
The name crashed over me like a tidal wave. I remembered the whispered scandals that used to echo through the pack house hallways, the quiet tensions whenever he walked into a room.
I really could not tell what exactly had happened five years ago but he was suddenly sent away. He had vanished overnight, erased from the pack's daily life as if he had never existed at all, leaving behind only rumors and unanswered questions.
And now he is back too.
A heavy dread settled deep within my chest, suffocating the last bit of air in my lungs.
No, why does everyone have to return now? Why tonight, of all nights, was the past rising up to consume me?
Melvin was a renowned playboy, he has kissed almost every omega in this pack. His reputation had preceded him everywhere he went—he was notorious for his quick charm, his careless heart, and the trail of breathless, hopeful girls he left in his wake.
He was actually popular amongst us, but I really never looked his way. I had always been too quiet, too invisible, far too preoccupied with trying to earn a place among the triplets to ever pay attention to the pack's most infamous rogue.
He moved forward, and then his lips widened in a smirk. The shadow of the trees fell across his face, accentuating the sharp angle of his smile as he took a deliberate step toward me.
"You are mine now, little runt!" He declared firmly.
My heart skipped, as the words hung heavy in the cool night air, sharp and unyielding.
What? Was I his next prey?
Was I really about to be dragged into another cruel game, just as my world had finished falling apart?