Chapter 2
“Awake?”
That voice is Alpha Franklin. My wolf stirred inside me, baring her teeth, even though my body lay limp and useless in the bed.
I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t–not with the rage bubbling in my chest. Every muscle in my body went taut as his scent hit me.
He stepped into the room, backlit by sterile hallway light, his tall frame casting a long shadow across the tiles.
Each step he took was a hammer to my ribs. When he reached the bed, he sat beside me like he hadn’t just ripped my world apart.
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Chapter 2
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His hand reached for my face, and despite myself, I flinched. A tiny motion, but enough. His hand paused, then resumed its path, brushing away a tear I didn’t know had fallen. His fingers were gentle. Familiar.
Disgusting.
“Does it hurt?” he asked softly, brows drawn like he actually cared.
How dare he?
How dare he sit there, acting like he hadn’t just carved out my kidney to gift it to his precious Claire? Like he hadn’t already taken our pup. Like ten years of my life were just stepping stones to his happy ending.
I stared at him, my throat dry, heart clawing at my ribs like a caged beast. My wolf
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whimpered, but not from pain–no, she was furious.
“What… happened to me?” I rasped. My voice didn’t sound like mine–hoarse, shredded, like it had been dragged through thorns.
His face didn’t even twitch. “You had an appendicitis attack,” he said with that same steady tone. “The operation went well. You’re fine now.”
“Appendicitis?”
A laugh tore out of me before I could stop it. Harsh. Bitter. Wrong. It scraped down my throat and dragged tears from my eyes faster than I could blink them away.
He didn’t even try to lie well.
I laughed and cried at the same time, like
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some unhinged she–wolf fresh out of a blood moon hunt.and he just sat there, looking mildly concerned.
He stood abruptly. “You’re in a lot of pain. I’ll call the doctor.””
And then he left.
Just like that.
Didn’t even text.
Didn’t even look back.
Three hours later, a nurse padded in and began to change my bandages. I caught her whispering to another one by the door, her voice soft with admiration.
“Alpha Franklin is so good to Claire,” she said. “Stayed with her all night. And just
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now, when she said she wanted that chicken porridge from the west side–you know, the one near the old Moonstone shrine–he went to get it himself. Even though it’s pouring out there.”
I stared at the ceiling, feeling an eerie calm wash over me.
That was why Alpha Franklin never returned. Claire wanted porridge. And me? I was just supposed to wait, quietly, like always. He didn’t even bother to text. Why would he? Franklin Monroe was certain I’d always be here, always love him, no matter how far he pushed me.
I let out a slow breath, and something inside me snapped.like a string pulled too tight for too long finally giving way.
“Alpha Franklin,” I whispered to the empty
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room, voice hoarse but steady, “do you really think I’m that cheap? That I’ll keep loving you no matter what?”
I turned my head to the window. Rain blurred the world outside into watercolor streaks. But inside, my mind was crystal clear.
My wolf pressed forward, not in pain, but in rage. We’re done, she growled inside me.
When the nurse left, I reached for my phone. My fingers trembled, still weak, but I forced them to move. Scrolling through my contacts.
And then–I paused.
One number.
Untouched in years.
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I hit the call button before I could think.
The line clicked. A familiar, lazy voice answered, roughened by amusement. “Sirena?”
I could hear the forest wind in the background. The sound of wolves training. A pack alive and well.
My lips trembled. “Alpha Roderick,are you interested… in marrying me?”
A pause. Then, dry as desert bones, he replied, “You’ve got the wrong number, darling. I’m not Alpha Franklin.”
“I know,” I said, voice stronger now. “I’m asking you!”
Another silence.
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“You’re asking me… what, exactly?”
“I don’t want to marry Alpha Franklin anymore,” I said. The words came out steady. Like they’d been waiting years to be said. “I’m done begging to be loved. I’m done being second.”
A beat.
Then his voice, low and curious: “And why do you think I’d marry you?”
“Because you’re his sworn enemy,” I said without missing a beat. “And because…”
I hesitated, staring at the faint reflection of myself in the rain–slicked window.
“And because the photo on your desk- It’s me. We’re fate mates, aren’t we?”
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