6
1179 Words
Isla POV
My lips trembled the moment Chase asked the question. My entire world shrank to the sound of his voice, low and sharp, cutting through the silence like a blade pressed against my throat. My heart hammered so loudly I could barely hear my own breath. My fingers dug into the sheets as I stared at my lap, unable to lift my eyes to his.
“W… what do you mean?” I whispered, though the words felt pathetic even as they left my mouth. My voice was barely more than a squeak.
Chase took a step closer.
It felt like the room shrank.
“Do not play dumb,” he said quietly. His voice was calm, controlled, but there was a dangerous edge beneath it. “You are not Cassandra. I have known since the moment you walked down the aisle.”
My lungs seized.
I tried to speak, but my voice broke into scattered sounds.
“I… I can explain.”
He let out a slow breath, a sound that vibrated with impatience.
“Think carefully before you speak, Isla.” His eyes darkened as he watched me. “I am an Alpha. If you lie, I will know. And you will regret it.”
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes instantly. The pressure was too much. The shame too heavy. My heartbeat felt like it was bruising my ribs. I wanted to shrink into the mattress, disappear into the folds of my gown, dissolve into nothing but air.
He waited.
Silent.
Still.
Watching.
The weight of his gaze pinned me in place, forcing me to confront the truth I had been trying to run from all night.
Finally, with a trembling breath, I spoke.
“I did not want to do it,” I whispered. “I never wanted to marry you. I never wanted to deceive you.”
Chase scoffed softly, but not cruelly. More like he already knew that part.
“So tell me why you did.”
I swallowed hard. The tears that I had been holding back all evening finally spilled over. My voice cracked.
“Cassandra ran away.”
His expression shifted, just slightly, but enough to send another wave of panic through me. His jaw tightened. His eyes narrowed. His breathing grew heavier.
I forced myself to continue.
“I was sent to get her before the ceremony. Her room was empty. She left a note. She said she could not go through with the wedding and she was sorry. I… I panicked. My parents panicked. The wedding planner almost fainted.”
Chase did not interrupt. He stood there, arms crossed, gaze burning into me as if searching for even the smallest hint of falsehood.
I wiped my tears with trembling fingers and continued.
“The guests were waiting. The cameras were rolling. My parents said… they said it would ruin everything if the bride did not appear.” My voice shook harder. “They begged me. They said it was just for the ceremony. They said Cassandra would come back. They said it would be fixed before tonight.”
His silence was suffocating.
“So they made you take her place,” he said finally, his tone unreadable.
I nodded shakily.
“I did not want to,” I whispered. “But everyone was so terrified. I was scared. I thought maybe after the reception she would come back and no one would have to know.”
Chase’s expression darkened like a storm rolling across the sky.
“So your family thought they could deceive me. They thought they could parade you in your sister’s place and I would just accept it.”
“That is not what I wanted,” I cried. “I only wanted to protect them. I wanted to stop a scandal. I did not think this would go so far.”
The temperature in the room seemed to shift as Chase’s anger began to rise. His wolf was awake now, pressing against the surface of his control. I could feel it in the air, in the way his chest rose and fell, in the faint growl embedded beneath his breath.
“They used me,” he said in a low, furious tone. “They used the Silverfang name. They used this marriage. They used you.”
He paced once, only a few steps, but each movement radiated tension. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. His breathing grew heavier as his anger escalated.
“They played me for a fool,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Your family humiliated me in front of the entire community. They put me in a position where I had to protect their lie. They forced my hand.”
His voice rose with each word, not yelled, but sharp and powerful enough to scrape against my skin like claws.
I flinched.
And that tiny movement, that tiny sign of fear, snapped something inside him.
His growl cut off abruptly.
His shoulders dropped a fraction.
His eyes shifted from fury to something else. Something startled. Something softer, hidden deep beneath the anger.
His wolf had reacted.
I could sense it.
He could sense it.
The moment my tears hit my cheeks, something inside him recoiled, not from disgust, but from guilt.
His wolf hated the sound of my crying.
I did not know why. I did not understand what that meant. But the moment my tears fell, Chase’s expression shifted, his body went still, and the anger in his gaze dimmed just slightly.
He looked at me differently.
“As you cry… your scent changes,” he said quietly, almost to himself. “My wolf does not like it.”
I swallowed hard, unable to stop the trembling in my chest.
“I am sorry,” I whispered. “I am so sorry.”
For a long moment, he said nothing. The fire crackled softly behind him. My tears fell silently into my lap. The room felt heavier than before, yet somehow calmer. His anger did not vanish, but it changed shape.
He rubbed a hand across his jaw, exhaling slowly.
“I cannot deal with this right now,” he said finally. “Not tonight.”
He took one small step back.
“I will not punish you. But I will not stay here either.”
I blinked through blurry vision.
“You… are leaving?” I asked in a small voice.
“Only for the night,” he said. “I need to think clearly before I make any decisions.”
I nodded, though my chest tightened.
He walked past me, his expression still tense but not as sharp as before. When he reached the door, he paused.
For a moment, I thought he would say something more. Something sharp. Something final.
Instead, he said only one thing.
“Get some rest, Isla. We will speak in the morning.”
And then he left the chamber.
The door clicked shut behind him.
The silence that followed was the loneliest sound I had ever heard.
- Writer
