LAILA

The next morning, I woke up feeling a little braver. The tiny voice inside me had grown a little stronger overnight. Maybe I didn't have to be so scared all the time.

I decided to surprise Damien with his favorite breakfast when he came home from the pack meeting. Maybe if I was really nice to him, he would be nice to me too.

I dialed his phone and it rang for a couple of times before he picked up the call.

"What?" He said when he answered the phone.

"G..good morning Damien, uhm when are you getting home?"

"Wow, so you're asking me questions about my whereabouts now?"

Oh no he was angry now.

"N..no Damien I..I just wanted to cook something special f..for you"

"Something special, your special burnt food?" He laughed and I heard someone laugh at the background.

"I.. I'm sorry"

"Well, I'm still busy with pack duties so I won't be back till dinner. You better make sure not to burn the food and if you do, make sure to burn yourself along with it. Did I make myself clear?" He yelled

"Y..yes"

"What's that?" He growled.

"Y..yes Damien" I spoke louder.

"Pathetic thing for a mate" He said before disconnecting the call.

I felt a tear drop down my cheek but I quickly wiped it with my hand and smiled at myself.

At least he still wants me to cook. He's just busy with his Beta duties. Damien is not completely mean I know it.

I cleaned up the house, put some makeup to cover my bruise and wore a long sleeved shirt before going to the store to get ingredients and a gift for Damien because our two year anniversary is tomorrow.

When I got to the store to buy ingredients, I saw something that made my heart break into a million pieces.

Damien was there, but he wasn't alone. He was with Vivian Hartwell, the daughter of Alpha Robert from the Mountain View Pack.

They were standing very close together, and Damien had his arms around her waist.

I hid behind a tall shelf and watched them. Vivian was everything I wasn't.

She was tall and beautiful with long dark hair. Her wolf was strong - I had seen her shift into a gorgeous chstenut wolf with black stripes at previous festivals.

"I can't wait until this is all over," I heard Vivian say to Damien. "When are you going to get rid of that pathetic excuse for a mate?"

Damien laughed. "Soon, my love. Very soon. I just need to wait for the right moment."

"She's so ugly and weak," Vivian said meanly. "I can't believe you've been pretending to be mated to that thing for two years."

"It hasn't been easy," Damien said. "But my father said I needed to be mated to someone from this pack to secure our alliance. Laila was the easiest target because she's so desperate and stupid."

"I'm sick and tired of being away from you my darling" Vivian whined with a pout.

"I know my love, you are just the perfect woman fit to be my mate and Luna of my pack. Not that pathetic weak thing"

I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. All those sweet words he said to me at the festival... all those promises to love and protect me... they were all lies.

'Well, at least after tomorrow's Harvest Festival, you won't have to pretend anymore," Vivian said.

"When all the other Alphas are there to witness it, you can publicly tell them about me, then we can finally be together as one big family." She said and held her slightly protruding stomach.

"Yes I can't wait to be with you and my pup and the best part," Damien said with a cruel smile, "is that I found out some very interesting information about Laila. Information that will make sure no other male ever wants her."

"Really? That's so amazing Damien" Vivian squealed and hugged him.

They kissed then, long and passionate.

I had to cover my mouth to keep from crying out loud.

I ran home as fast as I could. When I got there, I threw up from all the pain in my heart.

Everything I thought I knew about my life was a lie.

Damien didn't love me. He had never loved me.

I was just a tool he used to make his father happy and tomorrow, at our second anniversary, in front of everyone, he was going to throw me away like garbage.

He has been cheating on me. I was his mate. He even has a child with that woman.

I have been suspicious about him for a couple of months but I never wanted to believe that he could cheat on me. I even thought I was ungrateful for thinking that way about him.

Now I realize that all my suspicions were true.

Every single time he said he was busy with pack duties, he most likely wasn't.

We weren't even living in the pack house. He said it was because he wanted us to have our own privacy but it was just because he wanted to have his privacy with his Vivian.

Five months into our marriage, he stopped being intimate with me. He said it was because he didn't want to hurt me and wanted me to be able to shift before we had a child but they were all lies.

He barely touched me except when he started hitting me, grabbing me or a few times when he forced his drunk self on me.

If he never wanted to be with me, he should have at least treated me right.

I have always been treated differently by pack members because I was an orphan who couldn't shift.

When Damien came into my life, I thought I finally found happiness, love and a family to call my own but I was wrong.

I was so wrong. No one loved me and no one will.

I cried thinking about everything until I had no more tears left.

Then I sat on my bed and tried to think about what to do. I could run away before the festival but where would I go?

I had no money, no family except my uncle who clearly didn't care about me, and no friends who would help me.

Or I could stay and face whatever horrible thing Damien was planning to do to me. At least then I would know the truth.

The tiny voice inside me whispered like it was in pain

"You deserve better than this."

For the first time, I listened to it completely.

"You're right," I whispered. "I do deserve better."

-End of Flashback-

As tears streamed down my face.

I thought about everything and how I didn't have anything to live for anymore.

Going with him wouldn't matter right?

LAILA

The car ride to Kieran's territory took twelve hours.

I sat in the back seat, staring out the window and trying not to cry anymore but my chest still hurt from the rejection, like someone had reached inside me and squeezed my heart with sharp claws.

Kieran sat in the front seat next to his driver.

He didn't talk much during the trip, but every few hour, he would look back at me to make sure I was okay.

"Are you hungry?" he asked when we were halfway there.

I shook my head, even though I was. My stomach felt too sick to eat anything.

"You should try to eat something small," Kieran said gently.

"Rejection sickness is hard on the body. Food will help you heal faster."

One of his pack members, a nice woman named Emma, gave me a granola bar and some water.

I managed to eat a few bites, and it did make me feel a little better.

As we got closer to Shadow Ridge territory, I started to get nervous.

What if Kieran's pack didn't want me there? What if they treated me badly because I was half-human?

"Laila," Kieran said, turning around to look at me.

"I need to tell you something before we arrive."My heart jumped.

"What?"

"My pack doesn't know the real reason I brought you here," he said carefully.

"They think I chose you to be my... companion."

"Companion?" I didn't understand.

"Like a girlfriend, but not a mate," Emma explained.

"It's common for Alphas to have companions while they're looking for their true mates or if..." She trailed off looking at Kieran.

I felt confused. "But why would you tell them that?" Kieran's jaw got tight.

"Because if they knew you were a rejected half-breed, some of them might not welcome you. This way, they'll treat you with respect because they think you're important to me."

"So it's another lie," I sighed sadly. "Just like everything else in my life."

"It's protection," Kieran said firmly. "Sometimes we need to protect ourselves until we're strong enough to face the truth."

I thought about that as we drove through the gates of Shadow Ridge territory.

Maybe he was right. Maybe sometimes lies could protect people instead of hurt them.

The Shadow Ridge pack house was huge. It looked like a castle made of dark stone and wood.

There were smaller houses scattered around it, and I could see pack members walking around doing their daily work.

When our car stopped in front of the main house, people came out to see us. They looked curious but not mean, that was better than I expected.

Kieran got out first, then came around to open my door.

"Ready?" he asked.

I nodded, even though I wasn't ready at all.

As soon as I stepped out of the car, I could feel everyone staring at me but it wasn't the cruel staring from the festival.

It was more like they were trying to figure out who I was and why their Alpha had brought me home.

"Everyone," Kieran said in a loud, clear voice. "I want you to meet Laila. She'll be staying with us for a while."

A younger man who looked a lot like Kieran stepped forward. He had the same black hair but friendlier eyes.

"I'm Marcus," he said with a warm smile. "Kieran's younger brother. Welcome to Shadow Ridge."

"Thank you," I said quietly.

A woman about my age came up next.

She had long dark hair and pretty green eyes, but her face looked suspicious.

"I'm Elena, Kieran's sister," she said. Her voice wasn't mean, but it wasn't very friendly either.

"How long will you be staying?"

"Elena," Kieran warned.

"It's okay," I said quickly. "I don't know how long. I... I don't really have anywhere else to go."

Elena's scowl remained. "As long as you don't meddle."

Other pack members came up to introduce themselves.

Most of them seemed nice, though some looked confused about why their Alpha had brought home a strange girl.

"Come," Kieran said, putting his hand on my back gently. "Let me show you where you'll stay."

He led me into the big house. Inside, it was even more beautiful than outside.

There were comfortable chairs and couches, a huge fireplace, and pictures of pack members covering the walls. It felt warm and safe.

"Your room is upstairs," Kieran said, leading me up a wide staircase.

The room he showed me was bigger than the entire house I had shared with Damien.

It had a big bed with soft pink blankets, a dresser, and a window that looked out over the forest.

There was a bathroom and closet too.

"This is too much," I said, feeling overwhelmed. "I can't take such a nice room."

"It's yours for as long as you need it," Kieran said. "Emma will bring you some clothes and other things you'll need."

I sat down on the bed carefully. It was so soft I felt like I might sink into it.

"Alpha Kieran," I said quietly. "Why are you really doing this? Why are you being so nice to me?"

He was quiet for a long moment, looking out the window.

"Because everyone deserves a chance to be safe and happy," he said finally. "And because I know what it's like to lose everything."

"What do you mean?" Kieran's scowled.

"I lost my mate five years ago. Her name was Seraphina. She was killed by enemy wolves while I was away on pack business."

"I..I'm sorry," I said, meaning it. "That must have been terrible."

"It was. For a long time, I thought I would never feel happy again but eventually, I learned that helping others can help heal your own heart."

I thought about that. Maybe that's why he saved me, not because I was special, but because helping me made him feel better about his own sadness.

"There's something else you should know," Kieran said, sitting down in a chair across from the bed.

"My pack is different from yours. Here, we don't judge people for things they can't control, like who their parents were or whether they can shift. We care about who you are as a person."

"But what if I really am broken?" I asked. "What if I never learn to shift into a wolf?"

"Then you'll still have a place here," Kieran said simply. "There are many ways to be valuable to a pack that don't require shifting."

For the first time since the festival, I felt like I could breathe properly.

"Thank you," I whispered. "For saving me. For bringing me here. For everything."

"You don't need to thank me," Kieran said, standing up. "Just focus on healing. The rejection pain will fade, and then you can decide what you want to do with your life."

After he left, I lay down on the soft bed and closed my eyes. For the first time in months, I felt a bit safe. I wasn't walking on eggshells, afraid that someone would hurt me or so I thought.

Emma came by with some clothes that fit me perfectly, and some other girls from the pack stopped by to introduce themselves.

They seemed genuinely happy to have me here.

Later at dinner, I sat at a long table with Kieran's family and the other pack members.

The food was delicious and everyone talked and laughed together.

It was nothing like the quiet, tense meals I used to have with Damien.

Marcus told funny stories that made everyone laugh.

Even though Elena still glared at me, it was fine. She was just being safe, not everyone warms up to a stranger immediately.

The younger pack members included me in their conversations but the best part was when Kieran looked at me across the table, his silver eyes were kind and patient.

He made sure I had enough food and didn't let anyone ask me questions that might upset me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly when dinner was over.

"Better," I said honestly. "Thank you."

"Good. Tomorrow, if you're feeling up to it, Marcus can show you around the territory. Help you get familiar with everything."

"I'd like that," I said.

As I got ready for bed that night, I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror.

The bruises on my face were almost gone. Sad sapphire eyes stared back at me.

I climbed into the soft bed and pulled the warm blankets up to my chin.

Outside my window, the moon was shining bright and full. It seemed to be smiling down at me, like it was saying everything was going to be okay.

Could I really start over here and figure out who I was supposed to be when no one was telling me I was broken and worthless?