Chapter 4

The song on stage ended to a thunderous round of applause.

Vanessa and Brian held hands, bowing to the crowd.

When she walked down, she looked at me, pretending to be shocked.

"Emma! You're still here?"

She blinked her big eyes, acting innocent. "Wow, your skin really is thick, isn't it?"

Brian frowned, stepping closer to her and creating distance between us.

"Don't call her Emma, Vanessa. We don't know if she even deserves that name."

My heart was cold, but my face remained a mask of calm.

Vanessa’s eyes flared with pure triumph.

"True. A mating bond is a lifetime commitment. You can't be marrying someone who might bring STDs into the pack lineage."

Brian’s face paled. "Vanessa, don't say things like that."

Vanessa flinched as if frightened. "I'm sorry, Brian! I'm being too blunt again."

"I shouldn't talk about other people's dirty laundry."

The moment she said that, everyone sitting near me dragged their chairs away.

They looked at me as if I were a walking plague.

Brian’s knuckles turned white. His voice shook. "Where did you hear that?"

"From Emma's old flames, of course. They weren't exactly careful when they were together."

Vanessa tapped her head as if remembering something.

"Oh! One of them actually sent me a photo."

The moment Vanessa pulled up the photo—a picture of me in a suggestive pose with a man—I snapped a quick photo of her screen and sent it to my dad.

Brian completely lost his mind.

He lunged forward, grabbing me by the collar and yelling in my face.

"Emma! You dirty b*tch! You refused to sleep with me before the mating ceremony, but you were out there getting dirty with other guys?!"

"If I knew you were this cheap, I would have let those rogue wolves tear you apart three years ago!"

The lack of oxygen made my head spin. I struggled to break his grip.

Looking at this face that I had loved for three years, now twisted with ugly rage, I felt a deep ache in my chest.

"Brian," I choked out, "the only thing I lied about was my background. I never cheated on you! Vanessa is the one lying! She—"

*SMASH!*

A wine bottle shattered against the side of my head.

It was one of the guys who had been kissing up to Vanessa.

"You cheap wh*re! How dare you try to defame Vanessa? She is our pack's princess!"

I tried to defend myself, but two men pinned my arms behind my back.

A girl from the pack stepped up, grabbing my chin and squeezing it painfully.

"So, how much did this pretty face cost to maintain?"

The guy next to her laughed dirtily. "Let's see if the rest of her body is as fake as her face."

My vision blurred as I looked at Brian.

I held on to a tiny, pathetic hope that he would step in and save me, just like he did years ago.

But he just turned his face away coldly.

My heart died completely.

Just as the man's hand was about to touch my shirt, a commotion broke out near the entrance.

"Alpha Harrison is here!"

Through the haze of blood and wine dripping down my face, I saw the crowd parting for Alpha Marcus Harrison.

I couldn't believe my luck.

Brian grabbed my arm, dragging me toward the exit. "Emma, we are done! Get the hell out of my pack!"

I ripped my arm out of his grip.

"I'm leaving. But not before I ask one question."

"What else do you have to say?!" Brian hissed.

Across the room, Alpha Harrison was raising his glass to the VIP table.

I looked at Luna Elizabeth Harrison, who was smiling elegantly next to him.

I pointed directly at Vanessa, my voice cutting through the noise of the hall.

"Luna Elizabeth! Did you know that girl is your husband's favorite side chick?"

The entire hall fell into a dead, suffocating silence.