Shattered Dreams
Standing before the full-length mirror in her cosy room, Louisa smiled at her dazzling reflection for the umpteenth time.
She adjusted the sparkling silver necklace resting against her neck, its delicate shimmer complementing the mini red silk lingerie hugging her perfect curves. Her pulse drummed with anticipation as she imagined the private reunion awaiting her with her fated mate—her fiancé.
She wore his necklace as a promise—a reminder that her heart still yearned for him, even after a gruelling year apart.
Her fingers glided along the necklace.
It was the very treasure Kael had given her on her eighteenth birthday, the day their wolves had finally chosen one another. The mating bond had been agonising as hell, but she hadn't cared.
Not when the pain meant she had finally been bound to the boy she had loved since she was thirteen. The same boy she'd sparred with beneath the old oak tree in their pack, both of them laughing between breathless challenges, and later climbed that same tree with him to watch the sunset.
Even before the Goddess made their bond official, the entire pack had treated their union as a foregone conclusion. Louisa had been blessed with a powerful wolf spirit, making her the only woman they believed worthy of becoming Kael's true Luna Queen of CrestFang, especially as the daughter of their strongest Beta.
Everything about her life seemed perfect.
Perhaps too perfect.
Louisa allowed the thought to bloom inside her before a soft smile returned to her lips.
She couldn't wait any longer to be in that flowing white lace gown, walking down the aisle toward Kael just as she had imagined every day. To spend forever with the very man she had sacrificed everything for—the good and the bad.
Tonight, she thought, nothing could possibly go wrong.
But was he still the same man?
She couldn't be sure.
The brutal border wars with rival Lycans had kept him away, leaving them with barely a moment to connect through letters or the mind-link.
Waiting in her room had felt like an eternity while his comrades and the pack elders celebrated his triumphant return in the ceremony hall.
And now, the once-cheerful roars and heavy bass of the music had faded. The night had grown deep, and the pack had likely surrendered to drunken slumber.
Without another second of hesitation, Louisa slipped out of her room. Her mind raced with dizzying thoughts of being in his arms again. She missed his touch, his scent—everything about him.
A short walk through the manor grounds brought her to the VIP quarters, where Kael was staying until he formally reclaimed his place.
Ascending the threshold, Louisa spotted two brooding warriors stationed outside the door. She didn't find it strange; it was standard protocol to guard a soon-to-be Alpha, especially when he was exhausted.
As she approached, the warriors offered her a deep, respectful bow.
"Greetings, Lady Louisa."
Louisa hummed in acknowledgement, her eyes sparkling with impatience. "Is Alpha Kael in his room?"
"Yes. He has already retired for the night."
She frowned, her surprise momentarily halting her excitement.
"So soon? It hasn't been five minutes since I saw him leave the hall. And he never falls asleep that fast, no matter how exhausted he is. He struggles with insomnia."
"Tonight is different. You can return tomorrow," the second warrior interjected.
Louisa stared intensely at the heavy door, as if trying to see through the oak of Kael's sleeping form. Disappointment threatened to gnaw at her, but she swallowed it down.
She wouldn't let her own selfishness ruin his first night of real rest in a year.
Just as she parted her lips to dismiss herself, a muffled sound echoed from within.
"Mmm..."
Louisa's brows snapped together in realisation.
That didn't sound like Kael.
It sounded like a woman.
She jerked her puzzled gaze back to the warriors. They were staring straight ahead, their expressions carefully blank as if avoiding whatever question she'd throw at them.
"I thought you said he was sleeping. Who is in there with him?" Louisa demanded.
Instead of answering, the guards exchanged a rapid, uneasy glance.
"Please return to your chambers, my Lady. I can escort you; it's late," the first warrior offered, deliberately sidestepping her question.
"You didn't answer me!" Louisa's voice rose, competing with the soft, unmistakable noises growing louder behind the door.
"There is nothing to answer. Alpha Kael ordered that no one is allowed in his chambers tonight. Even you."
Those last words struck Louisa like a slap. This was the first time Kael had restricted her presence.
No matter how busy he was, he must surely leave a word to her personally.
Their evasiveness confirmed her worst suspicions.
Delaying no longer, Louisa surged forward to grab the handle, but the men instantly blocked her path.
Louisa's expression hardened into ice, her Beta blood flaring at their defiance.
"Get out of my way."
When they didn't budge and dared to drag her away, she moved.
Before they could reach her arms, she delivered a brutal kick to the first warrior's knee, sending him crashing to the floor in front of her.
The second lunged to restrain her, but Louisa neatly sidestepped. With lethal precision, she struck a nerve cluster at the base of his neck, paralysing his nerves instantly.
Ignoring their groans, she stepped over them. She shoved the heavy doors open and stormed into the living room, making straight for the sweeping staircase ahead.
With every step she took toward the master bedroom, the voices grew clearer.
More distinct. More familiar.
Her pulse drummed erratically against her ribs, threatening to explode as her thoughts raced in an unpleasant impossibility.
"No. My mind is tricking me," she whispered in desperate denial while her hands were trembling with the box.
But she forced herself to keep climbing and gripping the box tighter. It was a homemade dessert she had personally made for him.
The moment she reached the door and stretched her hands to the doorknob, her instinct yelled at her to turn away.
Still, she couldn't just leave in emotions that would cloud him and keep him doubting Kael.
Finally, Louisa pushed the bedroom door open, and her blood instantly turned to ice.
In the span of a single, suffocating heartbeat, her entire world crumbled to dust. There, tangled in a ferocious heat on the very bed they were meant to share, was her fated mate.
And beneath him... was her younger sister.
Their gazes collided.
Instead of shock, Lyra’s lips curled into a slow, sickening smirk, seemingly noticing Louisa first.
That sheer arrogance of it felt like a physical blow to Louisa's chest, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
The box in Louisa's trembling hand slipped, crashing to the floor with a hollow thud.
"Ahh, Kael... please don't stop," Lyra moaned loudly, arching her back beneath him. "Go deeper."
The wet, slapping sound of their bodies filled the room.
"Fuck... Lyra... you’re so sweet," Kael growled.
Lyra threw her flushed face back, still locking eyes with her devastated sister in the doorway. She wanted to rub more salt into Louisa's bleeding heart.
"What about your mate— I mean, my dear sister?" Lyra murmured provocatively, wrapping her legs possessively around Kael’s waist. "Does she make you feel this good? Who is better between us?"
Kael’s posture stiffened. His grip around her thighs tightened.
"Don't talk about her right now," he ground out impatiently, eager to finish the moment. "Just spread your legs."
Lyra pouted, obliging him. “I’ll take that as meaning I’m better than her. I know my sister keeps playing innocent for you, yet she never hesitated to let other men touch her. You’re just tolerating her, right?”
“That's Louisa’s duty to display her body to powerful rivals. But it's not a bad thing as long as they never penetrated,” Kael mumbled.
Lyra let out a dry chuckle.
Louisa couldn't stomach another second of the shameless spectacle that relentlessly bruised her heart and dignity.
She never expected her sister to throw those humiliating incidents that had haunted her back in her face, forcing her to confront every shameful act she had repeatedly committed for Kael's sake.
A visceral, anguished scream vibrated from her throat.
“How dare you two?!"
Kael violently jolted away from Lyra.
Lyra lay back against the pillows and rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed that her sister had stayed to ruin the fun instead of fleeing in tears.
"s**t!" Kael cursed, scrambling off the mattress.
Without even bothering to cover himself, Kael rushed toward Louisa.
"Louisa, it's not what you're thinking. I was—"
“What else am I supposed to think when I catch you betraying me with my own younger sister?!” she snapped, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. “The same girl you've always treated like a little sister?! And now the two of you are making me the subject of your disgusting conversation as though my dignity and humiliation are nothing but entertainment? Tell me, Kael!”
"Calm down. Please, just hear me out," he pleaded, reaching out a hand to soothe her.
She slapped his hand away with a resounding smack.