Chapter 1 The Unexpected Surprise

*Selena*

"Why don't you leave her? She doesn't deserve to be your mate. She is weak and wolfless," I heard the voice resonate from within Zander's office. It was a voice I recognized all too well. Avery, Zander's childhood friend. Their fathers had been Alphas and the closest of friends.

"Not now, Avery. I have to leave for the conference. We will talk about it later," Zander's voice responded, leaving me dumbfounded.

Then the words hit me like a thundering stroke.

Mate.

Weak.

Wolfless.

They were talking about me!

"Why don't you kill her just like you killed her family and pack?" Avery's voice dripped with boredom, seeping out from behind the wide and thick doors.

A gasp was muffled by my trembling hand as I covered my mouth tightly. Tears welled up in my eyes, the sting blurring my vision.

"Stop it! Don't speak another word now. I'm running late for the conference," Zander growled, his tone laced with frustration, yet he didn't deny it.

The panic shot up into me.

It couldn't be true.

It simply couldn't be true.

My mate had killed my family.

The realization hit me like a tidal wave, crashing against the fragile shores of my heart.

No.

No!

My heart refused to accept the damning truth that my ears had just heard. Just then, I heard footsteps approaching the door. I had to escape before they sensed my presence.

Swiftly, I slid away from the door and hurriedly made my way to my room. Closing the door of my room, I desperately searched for my phone and dialed my father's number.

Each ring felt like an eternity as I waited impatiently for my father to answer my call, but to no avail. The silence on the other end of the line gnawed at my soul, amplifying the fear that gripped my heart.

In the hope of getting some news, I dialed the number of my uncle, Jack. He answered after three rings.

"Uncle, I've been trying to reach Father and Mother, but there's no answer at home," I blurted out as my words tumbled forth in a torrent of worry.

"Selena, my dear child, it's over. The pack... our pack... it's gone," Uncle Jack's voice cracked with anguish, conveying a pain that mirrored my own. The weight of his words crashed down upon me like a relentless wave, threatening to drown me in sorrow.

"Who... who could have done such a thing?" I managed to choke out, my voice trembling with a mixture of anticipation and dread.

"It was him, Selena. It was your mate," Uncle Jack's voice trembled with a mixture of sadness and resentment.

The ground beneath my feet seemed to crumble away, leaving me suspended in a world of disbelief.

"The Alpha King, Zander Blake. He murdered your family... our pack," Uncle's voice lowered to a somber tone, carrying the weight of an unbearable truth.

My already shattered heart splintered into countless pieces, each fragment a testament to the immense loss I had suffered. The realization that Zander had committed such a heinous act sent shockwaves of pain through my entire being. He knew very well how much I loved my family. Still, he didn't hesitate before doing this. The knowledge of his betrayal tore at the very core of my existence.

I clasped a hand over my mouth, attempting to stifle the sobs that threatened to consume me. Tears streamed down my face, mingling with the remnants of shattered dreams as I mourned the devastating loss of my beloved family and the pack members who had once been my kin.

"Uncle, he... he also wants to kill me," Unable to keep this secret, I confessed.

"What are you saying, Selena? He's your mate. He can't possibly harbor such intentions," his voice trembled with a mixture of concern and confusion.

"He only took me as his mate because of some arrangement between our packs," I whispered, my voice barely audible as the bitterness of betrayal tinged every word. "Despite the fact he marked me and married me as per his pack's rituals, I doubt he ever felt anything genuine for me."

"What has happened, my child? Are you safe?" Uncle Jack's voice grew laden with worry.

"Uncle," I hesitated, my voice shaking, "I overheard Zander and his childhood friend, Avery, plotting my murder. It seems they have been having an affair, and they want to eliminate me as an obstacle."

"Oh, Goddess! I always knew he was cruel, but to be so heartless..." Uncle's words trailed off, overcome by deep sorrow for my plight. "Selena, my dear, I implore you to leave immediately and come to me. I will protect you with my life, my child. We'll escape to the South, leaving this treacherous land behind. There, we shall build a new life, far away from their grasp, where no one will ever discover our presence."

"No, uncle, I can't simply run and hide from him," I whispered. "He is my mate, the Alpha King. His power knows no bounds. I have no doubt that he will find me, no matter where I go. And... I... I am pregnant, carrying his pup," I confessed as I glanced around anxiously as if the walls themselves held secrets that threatened to expose my vulnerability.

"What?! You are pregnant?!" My uncle's voice surged with sudden excitement, echoing through the receiver.

I bit my trembling lips, nodding even though he couldn't see me.

"He... he will kill you or your child," my uncle's voice trembled with a mixture of concern and desperation. "If he does not love you and he won't love your child. Selena, you must flee. I am coming to take you away from him," he advised, and he was right.

If Zander held no love for me, he would not love our unborn child. It was a truth I couldn't deny, a painful acceptance that stung my heart.

"I, too, wish to escape from this wretched place," I whispered as I swallowed the lump in my throat, steeling myself for the difficult choice that lay ahead. "But before that, I must sever the bond between us. But I fear the pain of rejection will kill me, and now I am pregnant, it can kill my child. I need a solution, Uncle. A way to reject him without it killing me," I whimpered and with trembling hands, I wiped away the tears that stained my cheeks.

The weight of the impending rejection loomed over me, its magnitude threatening to engulf my very soul. The mere thought of enduring such pain was unbearable, amplified by the knowledge that it could endanger both my life and the life I carried within.

"There is a way, Selena," Uncle's voice broke through the despair, offering a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness. "You must blame him for his sins and make him accept them. If you insult him before the whole community, blaming and proving his sins, and then reject him, the moon Goddess will save you because you deserve not to be with him," Uncle explained, his words carrying both conviction and a sense of divine justice.

"I believe I can do it, Uncle," I responded, wiping my wet cheeks. "Wait for me outside the borders of this pack. I will join you in a matter of hours," I declared, the tinge of determination echoing in my voice as I brought an end to the call.