Evangeline Vale tightened her grip on the basket of homemade blueberry muffins. The glass door of the Nightfall Pack’s main building was heavy, but she pushed it open with the ease of someone who had been coming here for three years—ever since she turned eighteen and the mate bond clicked between her and Cassian Draven.

She smiled at the receptionist, who nodded back. No one ever stopped her. She was the future Luna, after all. Cassian’s chosen mate. The girl who went from being the Beta’s quiet daughter to the most envied she-wolf in the pack.

The elevator smelled like cedar and old paper. Evangeline took a deep breath. She’d spent the whole morning baking. Cassian had been stressed lately—more meetings, less sleep, and that hard line between his brows that only she was supposed to notice. She wanted to surprise him. Show him she cared. Maybe he’d finally open up about what was going on.

Her phone buzzed. A text from her father, Gideon.

“Dinner at seven? Your mother’s grave. I want to visit her.”

She typed back quickly: “Of course. Love you, Dad.”

The elevator stopped at the fourth floor. Executive offices. Cassian’s office was at the end of the hall, the one with the dark oak door and the view of the pack’s training grounds. Evangeline had been there a hundred times. She knew the security code, the smell of his cologne, the way he always kissed her forehead when she brought him coffee.

But today, something was different.

Halfway down the corridor, she caught a scent. Sweet, floral, with an undertone of expensive perfume. Selene Ashford. Cassian’s former fling—the one everyone said meant nothing after the mate bond clicked. Selene had been polite to Evangeline’s face but cold behind her back. Cassian had assured her many times: “She’s nothing. Just pack business.”

So why was Selene’s scent so strong outside his office?

Evangeline slowed her steps. The muffins suddenly felt heavier. She told herself it was fine. A meeting. That’s all. Selene worked in pack relations. Maybe they were discussing the upcoming alliance with the Silver Ridge Pack.

Then she heard a laugh.

Low. Intimate. Selene’s laugh.

Evangeline’s wolf stirred inside her, uneasy. Go back, her instinct whispered. Leave. But her feet kept moving. She needed to see. She had to know.

The door to Cassian’s office was slightly ajar. Just an inch. Maybe the latch hadn’t caught. Evangeline pressed herself against the wall, her heart hammering so loud she was sure they could hear it. She peered through the crack.

Selene was sitting on the edge of Cassian’s desk, her blouse unbuttoned one button too many. Cassian stood between her legs, his hand on her thigh. His jacket was off. His tie was loose. And he was smiling—that rare, unguarded smile he only ever gave Evangeline in the privacy of their home.

Or so she’d thought.

“She’s so predictable,” Selene purred, running a finger down his chest. “Still bringing you little gifts? Like a trained little deer.”

Evangeline’s blood turned to ice.

Cassian didn’t deny it. He didn’t pull away. He just shrugged. “It keeps her happy. And happy mates don’t ask questions.”

“But when do I get what I want?” Selene tilted her head. “You promised me, Cassian. You said the bond with her was a mistake.”

“It is a mistake.” His voice was flat. Cold. Nothing like the warm tone he used when he told Evangeline goodnight. “But mistakes have consequences. She’s a Vale. Her father is Beta. If I reject her now, the Council will tear my inheritance apart.”

Selene pouted. “So you’re going to keep playing house?”

“For now.” Cassian’s hand moved higher on her thigh. “Let her have the baby. A legitimate heir. Once the child is born and the succession is secure, I’ll end the bond. She’ll be nothing. A footnote. You’ll be Luna.”

Evangeline’s knees buckled. She caught herself on the wall, the basket tipping. One muffin rolled out and stopped against the baseboard.

Let her have the baby.

End the bond.

She’ll be nothing.

She had given him everything. Three years of loyalty. Her body. Her future. She had turned down a scholarship to the university in the human city because he said he needed her here. She had learned to manage pack events, to smile at old wolves who criticized her bloodline, to be the perfect future Luna everyone expected.

And he had been planning to throw her away like a broken toy.

The worst part wasn’t even the betrayal. It was the calm. The way Cassian talked about it like he was discussing a business contract. Like she was an asset to be liquidated.

Selene laughed again. “What about her father? Gideon won’t just sit by.”

“Gideon is loyal to the Draven name. His daughter married the heir. He won’t risk that for a broken mate bond. Besides—” Cassian’s voice dropped, “—by the time I end it, everyone will believe she was unstable. Emotional. Maybe even a danger to the pack. I’ll make sure of it.”

Evangeline’s wolf snarled inside her chest, but she forced it down. No. Not here. Not yet. If she burst in now, they would spin it. Call her hysterical. Jealous. Unfit to be Luna. Cassian would apologize, smooth things over, and she would be trapped again.

She needed evidence.

Slowly, carefully, she pulled out her phone. The camera lens was small. She switched it to video mode, held it steady, and pressed record.

Through the screen, she watched the man she loved promise another woman her destruction.

“So you never loved her?” Selene asked.

Cassian paused. For one second—just one—his eyes flickered. Then he shook his head. “The mate bond chose wrong. It happens. She was convenient. Nothing more.”

The words hit harder than any physical blow. Evangeline’s vision blurred, but she didn’t stop recording. She couldn’t afford tears. Not yet.

Selene wrapped her arms around his neck. “And when do I get my ring?”

“After the baby.” He kissed her forehead—the same spot he always kissed Evangeline. “Patience, Selene. We’re almost there.”

The video kept rolling. Evangeline’s hand was steady, even as her soul shattered.

She recorded for another minute. Their casual cruelty. Their laughter. The way Selene whispered, “She really is a stupid little deer.”

Then Evangeline backed away from the door. One step. Two. She bent down and picked up the fallen muffin. The scent of blueberries and betrayal mixed in her nose.

She didn’t run. Running would make noise. Instead, she walked—calm, composed—toward the stairwell. The elevator was too slow. Too exposed.

Behind her, she heard Selene moan softly. Cassian’s low chuckle.

Evangeline pushed open the stairwell door and let it close behind her. She leaned against the cold concrete wall and finally allowed herself to breathe.

The video was still recording. Twenty-three seconds left on her storage.

She stopped it. Saved it. Then she opened her text messages.

Harper. I need you. Don’t ask questions yet. Just be ready.

Her thumb hovered over the send button. Then she added:

If something happens to me, this video is the reason.

She hit send.

And for the first time in three years, Evangeline Vale didn’t feel like a future Luna.

She felt like a ghost.

The Rejected Beta Became Queen — Chapter 1: The Crack of the Door

Anda Mungkin Juga Suka

Tidak ada rekomendasi