Chapter 1 Betrayal

Makenna's POV:

"Mm... Ah... Oh, Frank... that feels so good... Harder, Frank... just like that..."

I stood frozen at the threshold, the woman's moans bouncing off the walls and creeping into my ears like daggers. My heart turned cold, and a tremor coursed through my body, refusing to be stilled.

The name she was calling-Frank-was my mate's name.

Summoning my little courage, I nudged the door open just enough to see inside. There they were, tangled in each other, bodies pressed together in a fevered rhythm. The man driving into her with such abandon was indeed my mate, Frank Thomas.

And the woman beneath him-gripping him, gasping with every thrust-was my stepsister, Jessica Dunn!

When had this betrayal begun? How long had they been sneaking around, tearing at the seams of my life?

My mind whirled in a dizzying blur of disbelief.

And then, Jessica's sweet voice broke through the passion. "Frank... when are you going to mark me as your mate?"

Still moving inside her, Frank whispered, "Why the rush? I'll break the mate bond with Makenna soon enough. You know you're the only one I love."

A cold, suffocating weight pressed against my chest.

He loved Jessica? Only her? What was I to him? What about the promises he made to me?

My vision blurred with fury. The world turned red.

Before I knew what I was doing, I slammed the door open wide with a force that rattled the walls.

"You shameless, disgusting pair!" I shouted at the two tangled on the bed.

Startled, they both jerked upright. Frank's expression flickered with panic for a heartbeat. But Jessica didn't even flinch.

Tears welled in my eyes as I took in the sight of them-Frank's arms still wrapped around her. I couldn't stop the words from spilling out. "Why, Frank? Why would you betray me like this?"

He didn't respond, didn't even look at me. Instead, he absentmindedly caressed Jessica's smooth skin, as though he was still savoring their passionate moments.

The knot of bile and hurt rose in my throat, choking me.

He made no attempt to hide it.

"My dear sister," Jessica purred, snuggling deeper into Frank's arms with sickening ease. "Don't be so dramatic."

Her lips curved into a smug smirk before pressing a lingering kiss to Frank's neck, her eyes locking with mine in a taunting gaze. "What betrayal? Frank just happens to love me more."

Frank stroked her hair, his gaze icy and detached as it flicked toward me. "She's right. This is exactly what it looks like. I want to break the mate bond with you, Makenna. Jessica is the one I choose."

Their brutal honesty gnawed at the edges of my sanity.

"Go to Hell! Both of you!"

The words erupted from me as I hurled anything within reach at them, desperate to break something-anything.

Frank shielded Jessica with a swift motion, his hand pushing me down without a shred of mercy. "Have you lost your mind, Makenna Dunn? Look at yourself-how could you ever compare to Jessica?"

I crumbled to the floor, my heart a heap of shattered pieces, as if all the joy and dignity I'd once possessed had been stomped into the dirt in that single moment.

Through gritted teeth, I asked again, broken, "Why? Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" Jessica's laughter was sharp, cruel. She clung tighter to Frank, her voice dripping with malice as she looked down at me.

"Oh, Makenna, haven't you heard? The Lycan princes are looking for sex slaves. Every unmated woman in the country is up for grabs in their little 'selection process.' Frank can't let me be one of them, so naturally, you're the perfect replacement."

Sending me to be the Lycan princes' sex slave?

My voice barely came out, strangled by disbelief. "Those princes are monsters. They're infamous for their cruelty... Are you sentencing me to death?"

I couldn't wrap my mind around it. The man who once vowed to protect me, to cherish me, now stood here, willing to toss me to the monsters for another woman.

Frank's voice delivered the final blow, cold and unfeeling. "I stopped loving you long ago, Makenna. Jessica is the one I care about now. There's no way I'm letting her face that fate. As for you... You mean nothing to me anymore!"

A bitter laugh escaped me, tasting of betrayal. "Frank, you're still bound to me by the mate bond! Are you seriously going to break your vow to the Moon Goddess?"

"And if I am?" His gaze held a malicious gleam, daring me to stop him.

Before I could even process the weight of his words, he spoke again.

"Witnessed by the Moon Goddess, I, Frank Thomas, reject you, Makenna Dunn, as my mate!"

The moment the words left his lips, a searing pain shot through my soul. I gasped, clutching my head, the unbearable agony of rejection tearing through me.

My vision swam, consciousness slipping from my grasp. Before the darkness fully claimed me, the last thing I saw was Jessica's triumphant grin and the cold emptiness in Frank's eyes, devoid of any trace of warmth.