Chapter 2

LIANA

Could this be counted as selling your soul to the devil?

The phone slipped from my hands and with a dull thud, it fell on the marble floor but I was too disconnected to care.

Rain dripped from my hair, running down my face and seeping into my already damp clothes.

With shaky legs, I pushed myself up, jaw clenched as I braved the pain coursing through my palms.

One step at a time, I walked towards the door, arms wrapped around my body.

"Lucien..." My palms fell on the knocker, softly banging on it as the cold bit into my skin.

My body still hasn't recovered from the three days in the damp dungeon. I held onto the wall for support, knocking on the door.

"Lucien please..." My voice came out weak, palms pressing against the cold wood.

Yet. Nothing.

"Please open the door. " I was greeted with more silence.

I was about to knock again when I heard a soft voice. "Luc, maybe you should check on her."

My hand froze.

I heard Lucien snort. "Why should I? She hurt you."

"Maybe she didn't mean to. Liana is not a bad person." Vivian defended.

For one foolish second, hope stirred inside of me.

Would Lucien come for me?

Then I heard his cold voice. "No. She needs to learn her lesson."

Something inside my heart twisted, my wolf whimpered in my head, curling into herself.

Vivian let out a small whine. "But—"

A soft unmistakable sound interrupted her, my eyes widened as I heard Vivian gasp.

"Luc... stop."

"Stop talking about her and kiss me."

I stumbled backwards, back hitting the wall as my body spasmed.

Slowly, my hands rose towards my neck and fell on the necklace.

My fingers curled around the thin silver chain, then I pulled it out, the ring on the necklace reflecting the flashing lights from the lightning.

My eyes watered at the sight of it and for a moment, I couldn't breathe.

The silver ring lay in my palm, the coldness burrowing into my chest, chilling my heart, just like its owner had done.

Lucien had given it to me.

Five months after we discovered that we were mates.

He had pressed a kiss on my cheeks, slipping the delicate ring into my fingers. "Once everything is settled, I will make sure I mate with you the right and proper way."

Tears slid down my cheeks.

Unfortunately, the promise was never kept.

When did things go awry?

My eyes glazed over.

It was when I found out that I was pregnant.

After many false hopes, the test finally came back positive, I was finally pregnant for my mate.

I could remember my happiness as I packed lunch for Lucien, the pack hospital report in my hand as I walked to his office.

"Alpha Lucien is not in seat." The warrior at the front door had told me, his lips were tightened into a grim line.

I didn't insist, quietly, I just passed the lunch box to him and walked out. I had barely walked half of the pathway leading to the Alpha pack houses when I lost consciousness.

"She's awake." This was the first thing I heard the instant my eyes flipped open.

It took me some time to adjust to the dim lights of my environment, my palms instinctively landed on my stomach, cradling the flat belly protectively.

I had been kidnapped... and by rogues.

I shifted back awkwardly, body trembling. "Please... Just let me go." I mumbled, tears welling in my eyes.

One of them laughed and leaned closer. "Now why would we do that?" His breath stunk of rancid meat. "It took us two weeks to be able to take you away from that place."

I shook my head, sniffing in the yard that threatened to fall. "I am Alpha Lucien's mate. If anything happens to me, then you three are in trouble."

The three of them exchanged glances and chuckled. "That's exactly why we took you" The third one brought out a phone, a sick grin on his face as he tapped on the screen.

"I wonder how your mate will react when he finds out that we have you."

A few minutes later, the phone beeped. He raised it up, waving it slightly. "Seems your mate is busy."

He dialled Lucien's number again and this time, he answered the call.

"We have your mate."

There was silence from the other side, before a female voice spoke softly. "Luc. It's someone strange, they said that they have your mate."

My heart had skipped a beat when I heard that voice, body instinctively trembling.

I heard Lucien's cold voice from the other side of the phone. "Hang up, it's definitely a scammer." Then there was a beep.

"I think we have the wrong bitch." The first rogue said, glaring at me with red eyes.

I shrank back. "Please... I really am his mate. Please don't hurt me and my baby." Soft whimpers escaped from my lips.

I didn't know how long it took but I could swear that it was the most painful day of my life.

Claws sunk into my skin, punches rained down on me and when they were done with me... I was tossed out and left for dead.

I didn't know how long it took but when I opened my eyes again, I was in the pack hospital, tube in my nose as they dressed my wounds.

"Who did this to you?" Nurse Gianna cried.

"L-Lucien, c-call him." I mumbled with all my strength.

Nurse Gianna shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks as he applied pressure on my bleeding arms. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. The baby is gone. Alpha Lucien isn't going to come."

I didn't know what she meant by that.

It was only the next day, after the doctor had broken the unfortunate news to me.

"I'm sorry, but we had to do a hysterectomy or we would risk losing you."

Five days spent in the ward, yet, no signs of Lucien.

"He's not going to come." Nurse Gianna said again, changing the dressing on my wound. "Miss Vivian is back and she's..." She looked around nervously.

"Miss Vivian has a cold and Alpha Lucien is watching over her."

Of course.

Vivian.

Lucien's childhood friend and first love. A human who had been adopted by Lucien's father after the unfortunate death of her parents.

"Is that so?" I mumbled to myself.

Five days later, I was discharged and walked back to the pack house wearing nothing but the hospital dress because my previous clothes were damaged in the attack.

And when I walked into the house that my mate and I had shared for six years, I saw him cradling another woman in his arms while lovingly feeding her medicine.

From that day, everything changed.

Lucien no longer belonged to me, he was no longer my mate. Now, he was Vivian's lover.

Teeth clenched, I pulled out the ring he had given me, my lips pressed together, then I flung into the puddle of water.

My eyes sharpened with determination.

"I, Liana Snow, will never beg for a man's attention anymore."

My heart pounded against my ribcage as my wolf whimpered.

Just as I finished saying this, my vision blurred, then I crumbled to the floor.

"Liana!"

That was the last thing I heard before darkness swallowed me whole.