Kate's POV

"Father you cannot be serious!" I cried out, my voice cracking with disbelief.

Damien, the towering Alpha of the powerful Twilight Fang pack, fixed me with an icy stare.

I didn't understand how my fate would end up this way. The people call him cursed, even I know he's cursed...

The people say they hear howls and ravaging at night from his room and have witnessed him murmur people right before their eyes.

He was ruthless, arrogant and dominant, a fate I didn't want to experience.

"I've made my decision, Kate. You will be traded to Dimitri of the Bloodmoon Park at the next full moon ritual."

"B-But he's a monster! Everyone fears him, even his own packmates!" I looked around, desperately at the assembled Betas and warriors, but none would meet my eyes.

My stepmother Jane stepped forward, elegant lips curled in a cruel smirk. "Finally rid of this embarrassment. Perhaps Dimitri will teach you some respect, you spoiled little whelp."

"Mother, please!" I turned to beg my stepmother, the woman who had raised me since birth. "I'll do anything, I swear. Don't let Father send me away to him!"

Jane's sharp nails dug into my shoulder with startling force causing me to squirm with pain.

"Do not call me that again, omega filth. You're no daughter of mine, and it's time you learned your place."

Celine, my younger stepsister, strutted over with a hateful gleam in her eye.

What did I expect? I was thrown into the camp of the omegas after years of abuse. I was nothing but a mere toy in the hands of my family.

I was disposable, replaceable, useless and they didn't care if I died.

Being the daughter of the alpha meant absolutely nothing because even my father regarded me as the lowest ranking status.

I didn't understand why.

"That's right, we're well rid of this pathetic half-breed at last. Isn't that right, Kayden darling?"

I flinched as if struck when Kayden, my fated mate, silently moved to stand possessively by Celine's side.

His stormy gaze burned into me, radiating a confusing mix of shame, disgust... and regret.

"Don't look at him like that, wretch," Celine sneered. "He's all mine now - my one true mate. Isn't that right, my love?"

To my utter desolation, Kayden gave a solemn nod of confirmation.

My own fated mate, choosing my stepsister over our sacred bond. It was unthinkable... but terribly real.

"N-No... Kayden, why?" I pleaded brokenly. "We were supposed to be mated for life! You swore your wolf only had eyes for me!"

A muscle ticked in his chiseled jaw, and he finally spoke in a low, hollow tone.

"Things change, Kate. This was never my choice, but the situation is... complicated. I cannot be your mate any longer."

"But I love you!" I cried, tears streaming down my cheeks. "We were meant for each other, destined! You can't just throw that all away!"

His face remained impassive, cold... yet I could detect the barest flicker of anguish deep in his eyes before he turned away.

"It's done. That part of my life is over now."

Jane clapped my hands briskly. "Well, that's settled then. Run along and get packed, half-breed. You leave at the rise of the crimson moon."

The dismissal stung like a white-hot lash.

Around me, various packmates jeered and made crude gestures, celebrating my humiliation.

Once I'd walk these halls with my head high, my omega status be damned - now I was lower than dirt.

Because Kayden had rejected me. Thrown me away like garbage.

Hollow and numb, I retreated, slowly blinking away the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes.

I didn't bother arguing further - it was clear my cruel family had woven this trap with ruthless precision.

Soon, the lost princess of the Twilight Fang pack would be shipped off to the Bloodmoon territory like worthless cargo.

To be mated to Dimitri... the most powerful, unhinged Alpha in all the packs.

A feral beast who showed no mercy and followed no rules but his own savage whims.

Rumors abounded of his animalistic rages, his vicious cruelty to even his own kind.

And I would soon be his... his mate, his possession. Trapped with this rabid monster until my dying day.

Stumbling into my chambers, I slammed the heavy door behind me and sank to the floor, rocking back and forth as the sobs finally broke free in harsh, choking bursts.

I had lost everything - my status, my mate, my entire world.

Nothing ahead but a bleak existence bound to a brutal Alpha I already knew would show me no kindness.

I cried and screamed until my voice was hoarse and raw, a tormented, visceral wail of anguish and despair.

My wrenching sobs were finally interrupted by a hesitant rapping at the door. I hastily scrubbed at my tear-stained cheeks.

"W-Who is it?" I called out in a raspy croak.

A pause, and then an achingly familiar voice. "Kate? It's me... Kayden. Please, let me explain..."

I jolted back, gripped by a sudden fury so intense it felt like my very blood was boiling.

Kayden... my lying, traitorous mate who had ripped my life apart without a shred of remorse!

How dare he come crawling back now, as if his precious platitudes could fix anything!

"Explain?" I spat the word like poison. "How could you possibly explain betraying me like that? Throwing away our bond, our destiny... for my wretched stepsister?!"

My words were met with heavy silence. Then, Kayden sighed, an utterly defeated sound.

"I never wanted to hurt you, Kate. You have to know that. There were just... forces beyond my control. Please, let me in so I can--"

"Save it!" I slammed my fist against the door. "I don't want to hear any more of your excuses, Kayden! As far as I'm concerned, you're just as bad as the rest of my vile family!"

"Kate, don't say that! Despite what it looks like, you know I've only ever cared for y--"

"ENOUGH!" I roared the alpha command, putting every ounce of my anguish and rage into that single word.

A sharp indrawn breath from Kayden's side of the door, but mercifully silence.

Blessed silence, giving her a temporary respite from his useless pleading.

Wrapping my arms around my knees, I rocked back and forth, squeezing my eyes shut against the maelstrom of agony and disbelief howling through my mind.

I would soon be leaving this place, these people behind forever.

But the sting of Kayden's betrayal would follow me into the jaws of my harsh new destiny... forever branded on my soul like a scar.