Page 55

In my list of the most unlikely things to happen, Griffin begging was at the top of it. Hearing how sorry he was and seeing the sincerity in his eyes had me questioning my resolve.

My wolf whimpered, sensing the pain of her mate and wanting to console him. There’s nothing I wanted more than to melt into his arms and tell him that my heart has refused to love another besides him and to let him know that after all these years, he remained the only man who could rouse certain feelings from me.

Just as I was about to tell him I’d think about his proposal and revisit my decision to marry Victor, Lilith appeared from nowhere, dumping a bucket of cold water on my emotions and waking me to reality.

“Is it appropriate for you to be clinging onto another woman’s husband publicly while your fiancé watches?” she spat, looking at me like I was a stain on her pristine white robe.

I looked at the stage to find Victor watching me with a calm expression, and I was overwhelmed with a crippling amount of guilt. I tried to get away from Griffin, but his arm tightened around me, his eyes dripping with hate as he spoke to Lilith.

“I am not your husband. I made that clear a long time ago. Don’t you ever interrupt me like that again.”

His voice was so cold and hard I shivered at the intensity. I conducted a quick scan of the room again, thankful the audience remained lost in their world. All of them except Victor, who, although being caught in a conversation with one of the nobles, didn’t let me out of his sight, and Lady Sheila, who was watching with curious eyes.

“I am your wife, Griffin. How many times will you let this tramp come in between us?” Lilith hissed, her voice growing louder, and I figured it was only a matter of seconds before we had the eyes of the whole community on us.

“He’s all yours, Lilith, and I have no intention of taking him from you, so you can stop with the public embarrassment.”

Griffin’s eyes snapped to me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him, not trusting myself to hold strong to my decision after I saw the look in his eyes.

“Mira, don’t listen to whatever she’s saying. She’s a liar, and you know I meant every word of everything I said.”

“The same way you know I’m to be married to your brother soon. I love Victor, and I will marry him. Don’t abandon your wife for me because I won’t be there for you,” I replied, turning to leave the scene and bumping right into Victor.

“And I love you, too, sweetheart,” he said, flashing me a proud grin before turning to Griffin. “Stay away from my wife.”

The evening took a turn I didn’t expect, and as Victor and I walked to the garden, I couldn’t subdue the ache in my heart. The look on Griffin’s face when I said I loved Victor broke me in two, but I remembered what I suffered in the hands of Lilith and him, and I couldn’t bear to return to that life.

Victor was a safer bet, and with him, I didn’t need to worry about someone setting me up or Noah being kidnapped in my absence.

“Are you okay? You’re awfully quiet,” Victor said when we sat on the lover’s bench at the bottom of the oak tree.

“I’m fine. It’s just been a long week of celebration.”

His eyes softened a bit, and he pulled my fingers to his lips, placing a kiss on all of them. “We have one more celebration to go, and then it’s going to be just you and I. We can do whatever we want.”

I could only smile in return. The reminder of our approaching wedding felt like I was intentionally walking into an eternal prison.

Sometimes, I stop and wonder at the turn my life has taken. I went from being a lowly Omega serving at Darkmoon kitchen to finding out that I was fated to the prince, getting rejected by him and thrown in the jungle, to becoming a billionaire with enough wealth and influence to seek revenge for my beloved friend. Now, I was to marry my mate’s brothers. Ex mate.

My younger self couldn’t have pictured this in her wildest imagination, but here we were, seated with royalty and not depending on the leftovers from the pack house. I was proud of how far I’d come and not scared to go further, but something about getting married to Victor made my future appear bleaker than it was back at Darkmoon.

His lips started to move from my fingers to my arms and finally to my neck, and I couldn’t contain the shiver of unpleasantness thatcoursed through me. I cursed myself for wearing a sleeveless dress. Victor must’ve mistaken the shiver for pleasure and intensified his assault on my neck, sucking and nibbling on the sensitive skin.

I tried to get into it. I really tried. But I kept feeling like I was cheating on someone, and by the time his lips got to mine, I panicked and turned away, my heart thudding erratically.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have attacked you like that in a place like this. I was going to save it for later, but you look so beautiful.”

He was going to save it for later? The statement sent my skin crawling. I had insisted on separate rooms under the guise of wanting to wait until marriage, but now it seems I’ve come to the finish line, and there’s nowhere else to run. I forced a smile on my face. “It’s fine. I should be the one who’s sorry. I’m your fiance.”

A moment passed before he spoke. “Do you still care about him?”

“Who?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

“Griffin. Do you still care about him?” he repeated, his eyes not leaving mine.

I opened my mouth to answer, but I couldn’t say the words. I didn’t want to lie to him, but at the same time, I feared what telling him the truth might mean. What if he cancels the wedding, and I lose every chance of avenging Mary?

Before I could come up with a reasonable answer, Victor drew closer to me, taking my hands in his. “I understand if you still do. He was your mate, after all. A bond like that doesn’t go away.”