Chapter 3

"You're running a fever. Don't wander around the manor for the next few days. Chloe is human, much more fragile than you. Stay away from her."

Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes, soaking into the pillow.

I couldn't understand how someone could rot from the inside out so fast.

He stood by the door, thoroughly rubbing his hands with disinfectant, refusing to let Chloe catch a whiff of any scent that didn't belong to her.

Pattering footsteps echoed outside, and the next second, Chloe threw herself into Mason's embrace.

The door to the side room clicked shut, locked from the outside.

A standard lock couldn't truly hold me. Even though I was an Omega, I was still a werewolf; one kick would shatter the frame.

Yet it was Mason's command, and he was my Alpha. Submission was etched into my very bones, binding me far tighter than iron chains.

No matter how hard I pounded on the door, no one answered.

I was locked away, simply because I had fallen ill.

I slid down the door until I hit the floor, my wolf curling into a tight, defeated ball.

In the dark, my phone buzzed with an incoming alert.

[Match confirmed. One day remaining until contract finalization.]

A bitter, self-deprecating smile pulled at my lips. I couldn't bring myself to tap on the profile of my assigned mate.

A whole day slipped by. It felt as though the entire world had forgotten I existed.

My fever-weakened body ached with hunger after twenty-four hours without food.

My throat was bone-dry and itching, every breath scorching hot.

The door cracked open a sliver. Chloe stood a safe distance away, holding a piece of stale bread.

She tossed it onto the floor before me like feeding a stray dog.

Then, she pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of me.

"Didn't you say you despised homewreckers more than anything?"

"Now, I'm going to make you taste what it feels like."

She laughed maliciously, typing out a caption and posting it instantly on social media.

Pings and chimes flooded my phone as mutual acquaintances quickly recognized me.

Staring at the cruel comments popping up on the screen, I shook my head, choking back a sob. "No... that's not true..."

I wanted to scream that Chloe was the homewrecker, that I was the real victim here.

Then I remembered the forged mating certificate, already burned to ashes.

My hand slowly dropped.

After a long silence, my hoarse voice broke the quiet.

"Let me leave. I won't interfere in your lives anymore."

Chloe let out a cold sneer.

"Not a chance."

"I want you here to watch my pup come into this world. I want you to watch me take every single thing you love, piece by piece."

She leaned close to my ear, whispering so only the two of us could hear.

"Do you want to know when this pup was conceived?"

My heart seized. I instinctively tried to pull back, but Chloe gripped my arm in a vice.

Her venomous whisper continued.

"On your mother's death anniversary."

My pupils contracted violently, an overwhelming hatred erupting in my chest.

I remembered that day so vividly. Mason had promised to go with me, only to cancel at the last minute.

"There's an emergency at work. I can't get away."

"Vivian, we'll visit your mother's grave together next year, alright?"

Looking back, Mason had sounded breathless over the phone.

I had been too drowned in grief to notice.

My fists clenched until my knuckles turned stark white.

If I had a blade in my hands right then, I would have driven it straight into Chloe's belly.