Forsaken by My Mate, Chosen by the Tyrant

Isabella POV:

I stood in front of the massive oak doors of the Silvercrest Pack cathedral, surrounded by tens of thousands of white roses, and dragged in a deep breath to slow my racing heart.

Two burly pack Warriors gripped the brass handles and pushed the heavy double doors open. Blinding morning sunlight and the booming chords of a pipe organ poured over me at the same time.

I glanced down at my hands. The custom white lace long gloves hid the ugly, twisted silver-blade scars on my wrists completely. In werewolf society, silver is our only fatal weakness, leaving burns that not even our rapid healing can erase.

At the far end of the red carpet, Darrin Tanner stood waiting in a sharp black custom tuxedo. A white rose matching my bouquet was pinned to his lapel, and his burning gaze was locked right on me.

As the young Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack and my childhood sweetheart, he didn't wait at the altar like protocol demanded. Instead, he strode down the marble steps, took my hand gently, and pressed a warm kiss to my fingertips right through the lace.

"Bella, you look so stunning today my wolf is shaking," he murmured, keeping his voice low enough for only the two of us to hear.

I smiled back, feeling the scorching heat radiating from his palm. That was the raw vitality of an Alpha, and for the past four years since my wrists were ruined, he had been my only pillar of support.

We walked side by side toward the altar. On both sides of the aisle, high-ranking Pack executives and Elders watched us with respect and blessing.

The officiating Elder held up a ceremonial silver chalice symbolizing the Moon Goddess-strictly for show, kept safely away from our skin-and declared that we would now bind our sacred Mate-bond.

Darrin turned to face me, staring deeply into my eyes. His gaze was filled with the fierce heat of a male about to complete the permanent Marking on my neck.

He raised his hand and brushed his thumb softly across my cheek. My blood warmed and hummed under my skin at his touch.

"I, Darrin Tanner, Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack, swear to the Moon Goddess to stay loyal to my Luna forever," he vowed, his deep voice echoing through the hall's speakers.

It was my turn. I parted my lips, ready to speak the vows I had practiced a thousand times.

Bang!

The heavy side door of the cathedral flew open and slammed against the stone wall, shattering the sacred quiet.

I whipped my head around. Past the rows of standing guests, a small dark figure broke through the outer ring of security guards.

A boy about five years old, wearing a worn-out jacket two sizes too big, stumbled and sprinted wildly down the red carpet.

Darrin's hand froze against my cheek. The next second, he yanked his fingers back as if my skin had shocked him.

The little boy fell hard at the base of the altar steps. Ignoring his scraped knees, he lunged forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Darrin's leg.

"Alpha Daddy! Save Mommy!" the boy screamed, his shrill cries bouncing off the high dome and hitting everyone in the hall like a thunderclap.

The crowd erupted into chaos. Loud whispers drowned out the fading organ music, and hundreds of shocked gazes hit the three of us like spotlights.

A loud ringing filled my ears. My mind went completely blank, and an invisible, freezing hand squeezed my heart so hard I couldn't draw a breath.

"What... did you call him?" I stared at the boy's light chestnut hair-the exact same shade as Darrin's-my voice shaking so badly it didn't sound like mine.

The boy snapped his head toward me and glared with pure hostility, his dark brown eyes flashing with the feral nature of a werewolf pup.

All the blood drained from Darrin's face. He didn't look at me. Instead, he bent down in a panic and tried to pry the boy's small fingers off his tuxedo pants.

"Leo, why are you here? Where is your mom?" Darrin asked, his voice thick with undeniable panic and familiarity.

That familiar tone hit my eardrums like a bucket of ice water. He didn't just know this kid; he said his name like he called it every day.

"Mommy is bleeding so much! Aunt Darcie said she's dying! Daddy, hurry and save her!" Leo bawled at the top of his lungs.

At the words "bleeding" and "dying," Darrin's tall frame jolted. His terrifying Alpha aura burst out of him in a wave of lost control.

Standing right beside him, the crushing pressure of his Dominion hit my chest and forced me half a step back. My knees buckled, and I nearly fell onto the hard marble steps.

I reached out to grab his sleeve to steady myself, but he spun around to scoop the boy into his arms, leaving my hand clutching empty air.

I stumbled and caught my balance, looking past his broad shoulder toward the shadows of the side door, where Darcie Tanner stood pale and trembling.

She was Darrin's cousin. She was gasping for air, refusing to meet my eyes as she stared fixedly at Darrin.

"It's Brandon..." My dry voice cracked through the tense air like a death sentence.

Brandon was his savior. Darrin's arms tightened around the child. He finally turned his head to look at me, and the eyes that usually held only my reflection were now overflowing with panic and guilt.

He didn't deny it. His silence crushed my last bit of hope and ground my pride into the dust right on the wedding altar.

Isabella POV:

Dead silence stretched across the cathedral as sunlight filtered through the stained glass, casting bizarre shadows over Darrin's pale face while he held the boy.

I raised my right hand and swung hard. With a sharp crack, my palm landed squarely across Darrin's cheek.

That slap took every ounce of strength I had. The impact sent a violent spasm through the old scars on my wrist, and I bit my lower lip hard to keep from gasping in pain.

"Look me in the eye, Darrin," I barked, my voice echoing through the hall. "Whose pup is this?"

Darrin's head was knocked to the side. He didn't get angry; he just kept his eyes lowered, his Adam's apple bobbing heavily in his throat.

"Bella, I... I can explain. It's not what you think." He reached out his free hand to touch my shoulder, and simultaneously tried to push his voice into my head through our pack Mind-Link: Bella, please listen to me-

I stepped back coldly to dodge his fingers and slammed my mental barrier shut, bouncing his mental projection back like he was knocking on an iron door.

"Explain? Halfway through our wedding vows?" I let out a cold laugh, pointing a gloved finger at Leo, who was glaring daggers at me from his chest.

Before Darrin could speak, Darcie sprinted over from the side door, her high heels clattering frantically against the stone floor.

She grabbed Darrin's arm, her face twisted in panic. "Darrin! Come with me right now! Brandon slit her wrist at the Medical Center!"

I watched Darrin's pupils shrink instantly. The golden glow of his Alpha wolf surfaced in his eyes, an involuntary physical reaction to extreme terror.

"She used a silver blade!" Darcie sobbed out, and those four words blew the entire room apart.

Werewolves have zero defense against silver; its toxic burn destroys our healing factor and is the only thing that can kill our Inner Wolf. Darrin's breathing turned ragged and heavy on the spot.

He whipped his head back to me. The guilt in his eyes was gone, replaced by burning desperation and resolve.

"Bella, I'm sorry, I have to save her. She became crippled four years ago to save my life-I can't watch her die!" Darrin rattled off the words at breakneck speed.

"If you walk out that door today, our engagement contract is dead!" I raised my voice, using the last of my dignity to draw a line.

In the front pews, several Pack Elders stood up, trying to stop this farce with stern glares, yet none of them could suppress a frantic Alpha in his prime.

Darrin hesitated for less than a second. He gave me one deep look, as if assuming I would always forgive him like I had for the past four years.

Then he turned his back on me without another word, clutching Leo tightly as he sprinted toward the side door in long strides.

Darcie hurried right behind him, not once looking back at me-the bride abandoned at the altar.

The heavy wooden door slammed shut behind them with a dull thud, locking me inside a ridiculous joke.

I stood alone at the end of the empty red carpet. The million-dollar custom wedding gown suddenly felt like a heavy prison uniform suffocating my chest.

Waves of whispers rose from the pews below. Pitying, mocking, and gloating stares washed over me from every corner of the hall.

"How pathetic," a female voice murmured nearby. "The heiress of the Norris family just got upstaged at her own wedding by a low-tier disabled wolf."

I sucked in a cold breath and forced my spine straight. I would rather die than break down in front of these vultures.

I reached up, ripped the intricate lace veil from my hair, and tossed it onto the floor like trash.

Lifting my heavy skirt, I walked down the steps in my heels and locked my eyes on Liam Sullivan, who was standing by the groomsmen's side.

Liam was Darrin's Beta and right-hand vice president in the pack corporation. Right now, he looked completely lost and embarrassed.

"Get a car ready," I said, stopping right in front of him, my voice as cold as ice. "Take me to the Medical Center."

"Luna, the Alpha ordered me to stay-" Liam tried to use Darrin's authority to hold me back.

I stepped right into his personal space, my gaze sweeping over his face. "Don't use him to pressure me. Either you go pull the car around, or I call your Gamma security director myself and have you replaced."

Liam flinched under my sudden cold aura. He swallowed hard and lowered his head in submission.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll arrange it right now." He turned and jogged quickly toward the side exit.

Ignoring the murmurs and half-hearted attempts from the guests to stop me, I walked out of the cathedral with steady steps.

The sunlight outside was blinding, yet my hands and feet were freezing cold inside my dress.

I was going to see for myself what kind of tricks a paralyzed woman used to turn the man I loved into the father of another woman's child.

Isabella POV:

Ten minutes after leaving the cathedral, the black bulletproof Maybach Liam drove screeched to a halt in front of the Pack Medical Center, the tires smoking against the asphalt.

Before Liam could even get out to open my door, I shoved the handle open myself, gathered my heavy wedding skirt, and charged out of the car.

My high heels clattered loudly across the terrazzo floor of the emergency hall. Passing Pack Doctors, nurses, and the sole Pack Healer stared at my wedding dress in shock and scrambled out of my way.

"They're in the VIP ward on the third floor," Liam said, hurrying behind me, his voice dripping with guilt.

I didn't answer. I pushed straight into the private VIP elevator and jammed the button for the third floor. The sudden upward pull made my stomach churn violently.

The elevator chimed and the doors slid open. The sharp smell of disinfectant mixed with the coppery tang of werewolf blood hit my nose immediately.

Using my sharp werewolf sense of smell-which always identifies individuals faster than sight-I caught Darrin's distinct cedarwood scent down the hall, now tangled up with another woman's sickly-sweet herbal scent.

I followed the mixed scents toward Ward 301 at the end of the corridor. With every step I took, the old silver scars under my lace gloves throbbed in time with my racing pulse.

The heavy wooden door to Ward 301 wasn't fully shut. Through the wide gap, the voices inside carried clearly into the quiet hallway.

"Brandon, have you lost your mind? Why did you use a silver blade? Do you have any idea that could destroy your wolf and kill you!" It was Darrin's voice, half-roaring yet thick with agony.

I stopped right outside the door and looked through the gap into the bright room.

Brandon Zimmerman was propped up weakly against the hospital pillows in an oversized patient gown. Her left wrist was wrapped in thick white bandages stained with bright red blood.

Her face was deathly pale, and her light gray-blue eyes brimmed with tears as she looked pitifully at the man beside her bed.

Darrin sat on the edge of the mattress, holding her uninjured hand tightly between both of his. His broad shoulders were slumped forward in a posture of total helplessness.

"I'm just... so useless," Brandon whispered, her voice so faint it sounded ready to break. "I can't even walk, and I don't even have the right to give you and Leo a complete family. I don't want to be your burden anymore."

"Shut up! I won't let you say that!" Darrin raised his hand and gently wiped the tears from the corner of her eye with his thumb.

I stared fixedly at his hand-the exact same hand that, half an hour ago, was supposed to slide a wedding ring onto my finger.

"If you hadn't pushed me out of the way of that out-of-control race car four years ago, your legs wouldn't be paralyzed," Darrin said, his voice heavy with crushing guilt. "I owe you my life, Brandon. I'll owe you for the rest of my days."

I clenched my jaw until my teeth ached. I had heard this "savior" story a thousand times over the last four years, and every time, it acted like an invisible chain tying him to her side.

Just then, the boy named Leo scrambled up from the other side of the hospital bed and threw himself into Darrin's chest.

"Don't cry, Daddy. Leo will protect Mommy," the boy said, patting Darrin's back with his small hands.

Darrin wrapped his long arms around both the boy and Brandon, using his massive Alpha frame to shield the mother and son completely inside his embrace.

Sunlight streamed through the window blinds and fell over the three of them, painting a disgusting picture of a happy family.

Standing in the cold shadow outside the door in my wedding gown, I looked like a total intruder-a joke who didn't even belong in the frame.

My chest felt like it was being crushed under a boulder, until all the rage and humiliation froze into a dead, hollow calm.

I raised my hand and shoved the half-open door with all my strength.

Bang! The solid wood panel slammed against the wall, shaking the room.

All three people on the bed jerked their heads around and stared at me in shock.

Wearing my ridiculous white wedding dress, I let my cold gaze sweep over their tangled arms.

"Looks like I interrupted a touching family reunion," I said flatly, my voice steady without a single tremor.

Darrin dropped his hands as if he had been burned and shot to his feet. He stared at me, his mouth opening and closing without a sound.

On the bed, Brandon shrank back and instinctively pulled Leo behind her shoulder, acting like I was some monster about to eat her pup.

"Bella, let me explain..." Darrin finally found his voice and took a hasty step toward me.

I took half a step back and raised my right hand in its white lace glove, palm out in a sharp "stop" gesture.

"Stand right there and don't move," I snapped, looking at him with pure disgust. "The scent on your body makes me sick to my stomach."