Chapter 2

Before I could say a word, a soft, delicate voice drifted out from behind them. "Maggie, please don't be unkind. Lisa is already suffering enough."

It was Morgan. She wore old, faded clothes, her expression carefully arranged into a mask of concern and kindness as she walked toward me.

She was still playing the innocent little saint.

In my previous life, I had been utterly fooled by that act. I thought she was nothing more than a helpless girl in need of my protection.

She came up to me, took my hand, and her eyes grew red-rimmed with unshed tears. "Lisa, don't be afraid. I will protect you from now on."

No sooner had she spoken than Augustus's tall figure appeared in the distance.

He watched Morgan "defend" me, and for a fleeting moment, his gaze softened.

But when his eyes landed on me, all that softness vanished, replaced at once by cold disgust.

He strode over, positioning Morgan behind him with an easy, protective motion.

"What trouble are you stirring up now?" Augustus said, frowning at me with clear annoyance.

Maggie and her pack instantly fell silent, bowing their heads in deference.

Morgan peeked out from behind him, her voice timid and trembling. "My Alpha, it is not Lisa's fault. It's mine. I am the one who has failed."

Tears began to slip down her cheeks as she spoke, and she looked so pitiful, so deeply wronged.

"I am so useless. I am nothing but an outcast. I cannot protect Lisa, and now everyone blames her because of me," she whimpered.

What a performance, playing the victim while acting so terribly put-upon.

I could see the ache in Augustus's eyes.

He turned an icy glare on me. "Lisa, when will you stop being so difficult? Morgan was only trying to help you, and this is how you treat her?"

Watching him shield Morgan like that made my stomach churn. It was not jealousy. It was pure, physical revulsion.

"So what? Am I supposed to bow and thank her?" I sneered.

"You!" Augustus snapped, losing his composure entirely. The crushing aura of the Wolf Alpha crashed over me once again.

But this time, I did not flinch the way I had in my previous life. I simply stared him down, calm and steady, watching him flex his power for the sake of another woman.

Right then, the backlash from rejecting our bond struck us both. Augustus and I doubled over, smothering groans, our faces turning ashen.

He clenched his jaw, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Morgan immediately seized his arm, her voice trembling with concern. "My Alpha, are you alright? Did Lisa upset you again?"

With a few deft words, she shifted all the blame onto me.

Augustus drew a sharp breath, fighting through the pain, and fixed me with a glare of pure loathing. "From this moment on, you are forbidden from causing Morgan any trouble.

"If you so much as lay a finger on her, I will make you regret the day you were born."

With that, he took the frail Morgan by the arm and walked away without a backward glance, as though the mere sight of me was beneath him.

With Augustus so openly bacAlpha Morgan, Maggie and her gang grew bolder than ever.

They shoved me into the filthiest, dampest shack and tossed every last one of my belongings into the muddy water.

"You heard him? Stay far away from Morgan from now on!" Maggie taunted, chin lifted high.

I paid no mind to their jeers. I only watched Augustus and Morgan's retreating backs.

It didn't matter. They could keep up the act. It wouldn't be long before the Alpha of Wolves, who took such pleasure in casting me aside, humiliated himself in front of everyone.

*****

As evening fell, the Pack Steward returned to the Outcast Camp, his face grim as he sought me out.

He brought a command no one saw coming.

"By order of the Alpha of Wolves," he announced, "because the rejected mate bond has triggered a divine backlash, the Alpha requires rest.

"While he recovers, Lisa Silvermoon is to remain at his side and tend to him personally."

The moment the order landed, the entire Outcast Camp fell deathly silent. Maggie's jaw practically dropped.

I smirked to myself. There it was, one of the forced binding effects between fated mates.

Even if we tried to refuse the bond, the backlash demanded proximity. Stay apart, and the pain would double.

In my previous life, I knew nothing of this, and he used it to torment me again and again. This time, it was his turn to suffer.

I took my time picAlpha up my coat from the muddy ground, brushed off the dirt, and said, "Lead the way."

The Pack Steward looked utterly furious, but he dared not defy the order. With a face like thunder, he walked ahead to show me the way.

I was brought back to the Wolf Alpha's territory, but not to the alpha's quarters I had once called home. Instead, they stuck me in a cramped, secluded den off to the side.

There was nothing inside but a bed and a table, barely an upgrade from the shacks in the Outcast Camp.

Augustus lay propped against the headboard in his chambers, his face pale and his breathing ragged.

"From now on, you will handle my meals and daily care," he said coldly. "Do not test my patience, or I can send you straight back to the Outcast Camp whenever I please."

That was a threat.

I nodded, letting him know I understood.

I did not bow. I did not bristle. I simply stayed calm, as though I were nothing more than a spectator watching someone else's misfortune unfold.

My quiet obedience seemed to catch Augustus off guard. He frowned but said nothing.