Chapter 1 1

VIOLET

There has never been a time in my life where I felt like stabbing someone in the eyes than now. My eyes burnt with tears and my hands balled into a fist in anger and pain. My sharp nails pierced into the flesh of my palm, but the pain was nothing compared to the pain in my chest.

Just a few hours ago, I was just a cheerful young lady, sharing and discussing everything about my wedding plan with my best friend with a smile on my face. But here I was, glaring dagger into the reflection of my best friend in the mirror, wishing I could stab her to death.

"Hey, Vee," Kira called out, jolting me out of the murderous plan I was planning for her in my head.

I felt the chair I was sitting on moved, and I was face to face with the dirty little whore I called my best friend.

"What?" I gritted my teeth as I watched her slowly raise an eyes-blinding silver necklace in the air, a disgusting smile plastered on her face.

"I will be letting go of my position as your number one person as of today, I felt horrible that someone else will be filing my sport in your life, but since the person is going to be your soon-to-be husband, I don't mind at all." Kira sniffed back her tears, smiling as she caressed the little stone on the necklace.

I stared blankly at her, watching her tears fall freely as she stared back at me. I was staring deep into her eyes, but I couldn't see my best friend. Kira had gone from the person I loved the most in the world, to someone I wouldn't hesitate to drive a dagger into the crook of her neck if I was given a chance to do as I pleased with her.

"My poor baby is going to get married, and she will be stuck in the palace for the rest of her life, carrying the whole pack's affairs on her little shoulders along with the Alpha. Oh, my poor baby!" more tears rolled down her eyes, she slapped a hand over her mouth as she sobbed quietly into her hand.

My chest tightened at the sight of my terrible friend, acting like she cared about me. I had a lot of questions to ask her, I wanted to know how long she has been faking to be my friend. I wanted to know if all we had had in the past were all fake and if she had ever loved me at all.

"I..." my lips curved into a smile, it was the first time I would be smiling since I saw her doing what she shouldn't have done to me.

I rubbed my palms together and laughed so hard until I felt tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Oh my, no tears, baby! We can't have you ruining your makeup. I worked hard to get it done." Kira scolded, grabbed my shoulders and forced me to stay still on the chair.

"You can't have me ruin the make up" but you can ruin my life without thinking twice about how I was going to feel?

I gulped down the rest of the question since I couldn't find it in me to bring the incident up. I wanted to make it a secret to take to my grave because it hurt so much mere thinking about it.

"Um, yes, the make-up." Kira pouted, still not letting go of my shoulders.

Her nails cut into my flesh, but I didn't say anything to let her know she was hurting me. If what I heard the previous night was true, Kira knew how badly she was hurting me, she just didn't care.

"Why are you doing this?" I slowly raised my head to meet her gaze. Kira arched her brows, shrugging off her shoulders like she didn't understand what I was insinuating. Or she thought it wasn't a big deal.

Her mouth parted and her eyes flickered as she smiled softly. "Huh? Come on, don't be absurd." she moved her palm to cup my cheeks.

Bile rose in my throat, my stomach churned with disgust as she slowly caressed my cheeks. I wanted to yell at her, to tell her to go to hell where she belonged, but I couldn't.

I was afraid everything would go wrong and I would be the one to suffer the consequences.

"You asked why I was doing this?" Kira scoffed, her eyes darkened as she stared deep into my eyes. Chill ran down my body and I was sure I would have sunk to the floor if I wasn't sitting down on a chair.

"Y–yes. I want to know why you're doing this to me." I stuttered, moving my gaze away from her.

I wasn't surprised by how afraid I was to hear her tell me she hated me, or that she never liked me. She was my only friend and the only person who talked to me after what happened to my mother.

"Because I'm the only one you have." she smirked and let go of my shoulders. "What can you do without me?"

My heart hammered in my chest as I thought of it. Kira has always been my go-to person. I had never done anything without consulting her. Not because I needed her validation, but because she was my only friend and I needed someone to talk to about my life.

"You're right." I mumbled under my breath before turning the chair, facing the mirror. "You are the only one I have" and I regret ever making you feel like you mean the world to me.

I mumbled the rest of the sentence to myself. My eyes went shut as I remembered what my father said to me, how he made it clear not to fuck this up.

Hands wrapped around my chest and I felt the weight of a head resting on my shoulder, hot breath fanning my cheek.

"You are stuck with me, Vee." Kira whispered into my ear and I felt every hair on my body stood in irritation. Anger surged through me and I wanted to drive my fist into her jaw but I remembered my father's intense warning to me.

"You can't fuck this up for me, Violet Hemsworth. Never!"

••• A DAY EARLIER •••

"I'm not going to marry Alpha Ansel." I gulped down nervously as I watched my father's hand hang in the air. The glass slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. The shattering sound made my heart thumping hard against my chest.

"Repeat what you just said!" my father barked at me. He hastily stood up from the couch, his height towering over me.

I flinched back in fear, I had always been afraid of my father right after the incident with my mother. I couldn't stand before him without fearing he might hurt me.

"I..." I took a step backwards, leaving as safe a distance between us as possible. "I think we should return the wedding dress back to the Alpha, I'm going to reject him as my mate. I don't want to be bond with him.

My back stiffen as I moved my gaze to stare at my father, I winced and hastily dropped my gaze back to the floor. The look in his eyes wasn't friendly. The rage in his eyes could burn me to death if I look for another second.

"Why are you doing this, Violet?" my father barked out the question. The venom in his tone made me hold my breath. Slowly wishing for a painless death.

But wait, did my father just said, Violet?

Violet? My father called my name for the first time in six years. I should have been happy that he called my name if not for how disgusting he made it sound to my ear.

"The Alpha didn't regard me as his mate; he didn't care about this marriage. He only wants to marry me because we're mates. He didn't love me. No, he detests me." I blinked back my tears. My fingers curled into a tight fist as I kept my head bowed to the floor.

"Listen, girl," my father closed the distance between us. He slid his index finger under my jaw, caging my chin between his index finger and thumb before forcing my head up. Making me look straight into his cold eyes.

"I didn't marry your mother because I liked her. I married her because, unfortunately, she was my mate and I knew I would benefit a lot from her family if I married her. Marriage is not about love or whatever your little head tells you. Marriage is about what you would benefit from it." he spat out, forcefully let go of my chin and I staggered backward. Stunned by his cold, heartless words.

"You..."

"I always do what would bring benefits to me. And marrying the Alpha would bring a lot of benefits to this household. The Alpha is a bastard who let his dick control his head, fine. That's your problem to deal with, not mine." my father took a deep breath and turned his back on me, walking back towards the couch.

"You can't fuck this up for me, Violet Hemsworth. Never!" he added before sinking back into his seat.

I held back my tears as I rushed out of the living room, I didn't look back as I ran out of the house not paying the maid any head as they asked me where I was rushing off to.

I only had one place and one person in mind, Kira, my best friend. If anything, she was the only one who knew how to get my mind off my messed up life.

I knew my father didn't care for me that much, but I couldn't believe he would choose what will benefit him over me, his only child.

Alpha Ansel was a certified manwhore. I foolishly thought he would change his ways when he found me, his mate, but that never happened. Despite announcing our wedding, he continued to see other women.

Kira was the only one who understood my intense dislike for the manwhore Alpha, who turned out to be my mate, and she shared my disdain. She loathed him as much as I did, and I thanked the goddess for giving me a friend who thought so similarly to me.

I panted heavily as I arrived at Kira's place. My head was a jumbled mess, and I couldn't imagine what I would do without her in my life. She was the only one who truly cared for me, who understood me.

I entered the password to the lock and entered her apartment. That just showed the depth of our love and trust. She knew the password to my heart, and I knew everything about her-we shared a bond deeper than words.

I was about to step into the foyer of her apartment when I heard soft moans from the inside. A groan left my mouth and I sighed sadly. I had thought I would meet her alone so she could get my mind off the hurtful words my father said to me but it seemed like that won't be possible now. She was with her lover.

"I will just come back." I grumbled and made to turn around and leave when I heard Kira's voice from her room and I immediately stopped dead in my tracks.

"Even as I ride you like this, Alpha, would you still marry that bitch?!" she panted, my brows crooked as I turned back to stare at her room.

"Yes. Don't you want me to? She's my mate."

Color drained from my face as I heard that voice I couldn't mistake anywhere. Alpha Ansel, my mate in a room with my best friend?

I wanted to match to her room, to yell at them both, but I stood rooted to the floor. My shoulders heaved and my heart hammered in my chest.

"I don't care if she's your mate, you should reject her. She didn't deserve you. You deserve better."

"Ki–Kira?" I whispered, tears streaming down my eyes as I held my chest in shock from what I had just heard from the person I called my best friend.

••• PRESENT •••

"This is my gift for you. If you don't want me to be mad at you, always have this on you." Kira whispered into my ear as she wore the necklace on my neck.

Bile rose in the back of my throat as I stared at her face in the mirror. How can she be faking that she liked me to my face and said bad things about me behind my back?

How can she pretend to like me when she was on the bed with my mate the previous night?

"I'm your only friend, okay? Don't ever forget that." She hugged me from the back, her forehead pressing on the back of my head.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying everything I could to control my breathing. Everything to control my anger and not do anything to fuck up this for my father.

I slowly opened my eyes only to see Kira, staring at my neck with her eyes widened in shock. I didn't understand what she saw that made her so shocked but immediately it dawned on me, I hastily pushed her away from me and stood up from the chair, dragging my wedding dress up to cover my neck.

"Where did you get that... Mark? Who marked you?" she demanded, terror was clearly shown on her face.

I dragged my bottom lip into my mouth and nibbled on it. How can I forget about what I did the previous night?