Lies of the Silver Blade

I was the proudest princess of our tribe, but I harbored a secret I could never share.

I fell in love with my sister Emily's former mate and slept with him, recording countless videos.

I stood before Walker, the alpha holding his phone, uncomfortably shielding my body. "Walker, can we skip filming today?"

He chuckled softly, his large hand gripping my waist, his tone suggestive. "Baby, aren't these videos proof of our love?"

He pulled me close, and we went at it again.

When I came to my senses, he was gone.

I caught my breath and noticed he left behind his prized watch.

As I hurried to return it, I overheard sounds of Walker and me from inside a private room.

...

I froze, peering through the door's crack.

Walker stood at the center, basking in praise for his performance in the videos and their mockery of me.

When the video ended, he led the cheers, and my heart ached as tears streamed down my face.

"Walker, you know how captivating Audrey looks beneath you? Blindfold her and let me have a turn someday!"

"Audrey's so high and mighty, she probably doesn't realize everyone's seen her already. If Emily knew, she'd rip you apart!"

I clamped my hand over my mouth, not daring to make a sound.

"He's only with her to get back at Emily for choosing her tribe over him years ago."

"If she ever finds out, Walker can just use these videos to trap her. She'll never escape."

They laughed, oblivious to the fact that their subject stood just outside the door.

My mind went blank as I looked at the man I trusted most.

"Exactly," Walker's familiar voice cut through. "She's just a tool. I feel nothing for her. My true mate is someone else. On Emily's birthday, I'll play all the videos on a big screen for a surprise."

I gasped.

Walker spun toward the door. "Who's there?"

His voice was cold as ice, perhaps his true self showing through.

I fled the hotel, collapsing in a dark alley, sobbing uncontrollably.

I thought Walker was the person who loved me most after Emily, but he was only using me.

I felt sorry for betraying Emily. I was such a fool.

My sister was someone I admired deeply.

When I was young, enemy tribes killed our parents.

As an alpha, Emily carried the weight of our tribe's future and, three years later, avenged our parents herself.

She even rescued me when I was kidnapped.

So when I faced danger again and Walker, a stranger, saved me, I fell for him instantly, seeing echoes of Emily in him.

It happened the day I awakened my wolf.

A gang of rogue wolves broke into our home while Emily was away, knocking me out and taking me.

When I woke, I was bound, staring up at a group of furious rogue wolves.

"This is Emily's sister. Since she killed so many of our tribe, her sister will pay with her life!"

One drew a silver blade and swung it toward me.

"Am I going to die here?" I thought, closing my eyes in fear.

The expected pain never came. I opened my eyes to see Walker standing before me like a guardian angel, taking the blow for me.

Blood dripped from his mouth, yet sunlight gleamed in his eyes.

A stranger alpha had shielded me from a silver blade.

I watched him drive off the rogues before collapsing in front of me.

In that moment, even without the Moon Goddess's decree, I believed Walker was my destined mate.

A werewolf struck by a silver blade could not heal; the wound would bleed and fester.

Yet when I visited Walker a week later with medicine from a witch, he had miraculously recovered.

He told me the Moon Goddess had blessed him.

Now, I realized those rogues might not have used a silver blade at all. It could have been Walker's setup.

My body trembled with anger as I bit my lip hard.

For three years, I lived at the tribe's edge, far from home, to be with Walker.

I did it because his parents had killed mine.

I wanted to bring Walker to meet Emily countless times.

I knew Emily despised everyone from Walker's tribe, especially her former mate.

But Emily loved me dearly. If I insisted, she would have agreed.

I was wrong. Walker wasn't worth it.

I hugged myself, tears falling, my wolf letting out mournful howls.

Then Emily's call came through. "Sweetheart, I brought a man home. Come see if you like him. I'm sure you'll love him. But if you have your own plans, I won't push you. I just want you to have the happiest life."

Emily's gentle tone warmed my frozen heart, and my eyes welled up again.

I sniffled and mumbled, "Mhm." "Emily, you're the best. I love you. I'll be back in three days."

Emily sounded surprised by my response. "You're actually agreeing? Are you willing to give up your mate? You don't love him deeply?"

Her voice trembled as if something dawned on her. "Audrey, did that alpha hurt you?"

Tears welled up again, and I fought to keep my voice steady, not wanting to worry her.

Emily was so good to me, yet I acted so foolishly. "It's fine... I decided on my own. He's no longer my mate."

But how could Emily miss the quiver in my voice?

Her tone darkened. "Did he hurt you? Who is he? I'll make him pay."

I refused to tell her. If I did, Emily's anger would flare, and she might wipe out everyone left from that tribe.

She couldn't do that. Lately, several people challenged her alpha status, and if she killed for me, her reputation would suffer.

I couldn't always rely on Emily to fix my problems. I needed to handle this myself.

So I sniffled and forced a smile. "It's okay, Emily. I can handle it."

Emily didn't fully believe me, but she respected my choice.

I stared at the ended call, then looked up at the cloudy sky, silently resolving to move on.

It was time to leave.

...

I returned to the home I shared with Walker and began packing my things.

The house held countless memories of us.

But now, every sweet moment had turned into painful evidence of betrayal.

It felt disgusting.

As I tossed a photo from Paradise Park into the trash, Walker returned.

I caught a whiff of an unfamiliar pheromone on him and instinctively frowned.

But what did it matter to me anymore?

With that thought, I lowered my eyes numbly and continued packing.

Walker approached with a doting look, kissing my forehead as usual. "My dear Audrey, did you sleep well?"

I stayed silent, lifting my hand to wipe where his lips touched.

He was too good at pretending. If I hadn't overheard those words, I might have believed his heart was mine.

I bit my lip, my heart stinging as if pierced by countless needles.

Walker sensed something was off and leaned down, concern in his eyes. Before he could speak, he noticed the photo in the trash. "Why'd you throw it away?"

He grabbed my hand, but I avoided his gaze and said flatly, "I don't like it anymore."

Walker chuckled and gently stroked my hand. "Are you missing Paradise Park? How about we go again in three days and take a new photo? I've prepared some gifts for our anniversary. How's that sound?"

I sneered inwardly.

Anniversary gifts?

I knew our anniversary was also Emily's birthday.

Would I even see his so-called gifts before he broadcasted my videos?

Or were those intimate videos his idea of an anniversary present?

I struggled to feign excitement.

I forced a smile and looked up at him. "Really? I can't wait. I got you a gift too."

Maybe my reaction seemed off, because Walker frowned. "Audrey, I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I think you'll be moved to tears on our anniversary. So, why not invite Emily over?"

I snapped my head up, staring at him in shock, my heart throbbing with dense pain.

I couldn't believe he'd exploit my desire to bond with him just to lure Emily here.

All to get revenge on her and drag me into hell.

I took a deep breath. "Walker, Emily's busy running the tribe. We shouldn't bother her. We can celebrate alone."

Hearing this, Walker grew anxious and grabbed my hand tightly. "No! She has to come this time!"

I gasped, and he quickly realized his outburst, releasing me.

I looked down at my reddened wrist, staring at him silently.

"Sorry, baby," he said. "I got too eager. These moments need family to witness. I don't want you to feel sad later. I want to take you to the Moon Goddess."

His hint was obvious, but I just looked away and kept packing.

Walker knew I was upset. He sighed and approached, leaning in to kiss me as he always did.

"Don't touch me..."

He didn't listen, his hand slipping under my clothes.

I slapped him hard, my wolf roaring in anger. "I don't want to do this today."

Walker, stunned by my reaction, held his cheek and nodded after a long pause. "Okay."

Watching him walk away, I exhaled in relief but collapsed to the floor, legs weak.

I noticed droplets on the ground and touched my face, realizing I was crying.

In all our years together, I never once defied Walker.

I used to hate seeing him hurt, but he tore my heart to shreds.

I took a deep breath, stood slowly, and resumed packing.

After throwing out everything we shared, my phone pinged.

I opened it and froze.

"I'm the Moon Goddess's chosen mate for Walker. Want to meet?"

The promise token Walker gave me slipped from my hand and fell into the trash.

I arrived at the coffee shop as agreed and saw an Omega already seated.

She looked up at me, her eyes full of disdain. "Hello, I'm Ursula."

She smirked. "I thought whoever delayed our bonding would be special, but you're just an ordinary woman."

I sat across from Ursula, studying her closely.

She looked so much like Emily.

Compared to me, this Omega resembled my sister even more.

It was almost like they were the same person.

Unlike me, she hadn't hurt Walker and was the Moon Goddess's chosen mate for him.

It was inevitable that Walker would fall for her.

No wonder he refused to go with me to the Moon Goddess to confirm our mate bond.

If we went, his lies would unravel.

How could he carry out his revenge then?

Perhaps my stunned silence made her restless, because she spoke first. "I heard I look like your sister." "But I saw her photo, and she doesn't even compare to half of me."

I could tolerate insults to myself, but not to Emily.

My face hardened as I grabbed Ursula's coffee and splashed it on her face. "If your eyes don't work, see a doctor. Don't spew nonsense in front of me."

Ursula shrieked and raised her hand to slap me.

I caught her wrist.

She struggled for a while before giving up, her eyes red. "You're just Walker's fling. What right do you have to treat me like this?"

I sneered. A fling?

Was that how Walker described me to her?

I looked at her blankly. "You don't need to see me as a rival. I'm not fighting you for Walker. I'm leaving him soon."

Ursula froze, staring at me in disbelief.

She thought my splashing her coffee was a sign of breaking down, not that I genuinely didn't care.

She didn't believe me and assumed I was pretending, raising her voice. "You're lying! You just threw coffee at me because of Walker!"

As if struck by a thought, she pulled a moonstone ring from her bag.

"It doesn't matter if you don't give up. You never had a chance!" She tossed her head smugly. "Four days from now, Walker will seek the Moon Goddess's blessing for me, and we'll bond in front of everyone!"

Four days?

So Walker planned to ruin me and Emily before living happily with her?

How dare he?

Seeing my furious gaze, Ursula thought her taunting worked and proudly slipped the moonstone ring onto her finger. "And you'll always be just his fling!"

I looked at her triumphant expression but felt pity for her.

She was as pathetic as I once was.

She thought she was loved, but she was just a clean substitute.

I couldn't help speaking. "I suggest you look into him carefully. Don't fall for an alpha with a shady past. When you regret it, it'll be too late."

My sincere words only earned Ursula's mocking laughter.

She slapped me hard across the face, leaving it red and stinging. "I told you, you're just a fling. How dare you talk to me like that! You just want me to leave Walker so you can keep sleeping with him! Women like you deserve to be nothing but homewreckers!"

My breathing grew heavy, my hands clenched, and my wolf let out its fiercest growl.

Before I could act, someone slammed Ursula to the ground.

"Ursula, what are you doing!" Walker appeared beside us, glaring coldly at Ursula, who was spitting blood on the floor. He knelt before me, anxiously examining my swollen face, his eyes filling with murderous intent. "Ursula, apologize to her."

Ursula looked up at him in disbelief, crawling to grab his sleeve, looking pitiful. "Walker, you're my mate! How can you defend your fling?"

Walker sneered, as if mocking her arrogance.

Without looking at her, he ordered his follower. "Check the cameras. Find out which hand she used to hit Audrey and cut it off."

Ursula's mouth fell open, but before she could speak, her arm went limp.

A sharp pain exploded through her as her arm- the one wearing the moonstone ring-was severed by a silver blade.

My breath stopped as I stared at the scene unfolding in an instant.

Walker was this cruel?

A silver blade-did he truly intend for Ursula to die?

If I hadn't discovered his secret and was trapped by his threats, would I face the same fate?

Walker seemed to notice my fear. He hugged my trembling body, his hand patting my back gently. "Don't be scared, Audrey. This is for your own good. She's a bad person. Don't believe a word she says."

My gaze drifted to Ursula, now unconscious, and my trembling worsened.

But Walker didn't see the faint smile curling my lips.