My Second Chance Mate Hates Me

His fist connects with my cheek.

The impact is brutal.

I stumble backward, caught completely off guard.

One moment, I'm carrying his morning tea.

The next, the tray is knocked from my hands.

Scalding liquid splashes across my lap.

My skin turns an angry red instantly.

It feels like fire.

A scream tears from my throat.

I scramble on the ground, pain radiating up my legs.

"You useless creature! Can't you do anything right?!" His voice is pure venom.

It's nothing like the man I once knew.

I clutch at my burning skin, trying to shift my dress for relief.

Before I can even catch my breath, his fingers dig into my arm.

He yanks me up from the floor.

Liam towers over me.

His grip is excruciating.

I don't recognize him anymore.

Where are the soft eyes that once looked at me with love?

His golden-brown hair, always so soft, is now wild and disheveled.

The jaw I used to kiss is clenched tight.

All the warmth is gone.

"Look at you. Pathetic." He spits the words. "I don't even know why I bother."

He shoves me away.

I stumble hard into the edge of the table.

I will not cry today.

I've shed enough tears over the last four months.

I kept hoping this was just a nightmare.

I clung to the belief that one day I'd wake up and it would all be over.

But I never wake up.

It started when he failed to secure our pack a place in the Summit Alliance.

That elite coalition of werewolf packs in Ravenwood City.

Liam wanted it so badly.

But no matter how hard he pushed, our pack was always overlooked.

First, it was just frustration.

Anger at the exclusion.

Then, the whispers began.

Rumors that Liam was deep in debt.

That he owed massive sums to other pack leaders.

The stress changed him.

Or was he always like this, and I just failed to see it?

He started drinking heavily.

He shut me out completely.

When I tried to talk to him, tried to help, he lashed out.

His anger turned to violence.

He hit me.

Again.

And again.

He promised my father he would protect me.

As his Luna.

As his wife.

Those promises are shattered now.

Every single one.

Today, I've made a decision.

I'm done.

I'm walking away from this marriage.

From this life.

I don't know how long I've been gripping the table.

My knuckles are white.

I feel his presence behind me.

His hands move to push my dress up.

"Stop it!" I gasp, twisting around.

I try to shove him away.

He presses against me, a cruel smirk on his lips.

"Fine. Deny me." His voice is a low growl. "I'll just get it from the omegas."

My lips tremble.

The truth sinks in like a stone.

He's been cheating on me.

I suspected it when the female omegas started looking down on me too.

The door swings open.

Ethan, Liam's beta, walks in.

He holds a paper and a pen.

The look in his eyes is no longer a surprise.

He used to regard me with respect.

Now, like everyone else in the pack, he's changed.

He follows Liam's lead like a shadow.

"Sign these." His tone is flat as he hands me the documents.

My hands shake as I take them.

I scan the paper.

My worst fear is confirmed.

Divorce papers.

From the Conclave of Bonds, the werewolf legal system for mates.

Liam has already signed.

I swallow the lump in my throat.

I pull the pen from Ethan's hand.

With one last glance at the man I once loved, I place the paper on the table.

I scrawl my name quickly.

As soon as the ink dries, a wave of finality washes over me.

But before I can process it, Liam turns to me.

He raises his hand.

"I, Liam Union, Alpha of the Steelclaw Pack, reject you, Aria, daughter of the late Atticus, as my mate and Luna." His voice is ice. "You are no longer bound to me. I release you from any claim or responsibility."

His words feel like a death sentence.

Something inside me shatters.

I feel a tearing deep in my chest.

A physical pain as my wolf withdraws, pulling away from him.

Luna, my wolf, lets go.

She falls silent, distant.

I am left hollow.

Broken.

"Now, I require one simple thing from you…" Liam flicks his finger lazily.

He and Ethan exchange a look.

They burst into cruel laughter.

"I will leave the pack house immediately." I cut in, determined.

I won't play their twisted game.

Liam's grin vanishes.

His eyes darken.

"No, Aria. You're not going anywhere." His voice drops. "I may have divorced you, but I own you."

I freeze.

"What in hell are you talking about?!"

Before I can process it, two gammas enter the room.

They block the doorway.

Their presence makes it clear I won't be leaving.

Panic rises in my chest.

I take a step back.

"What… what are you going to do to me?" My voice breaks despite my effort to sound strong.

Liam smirks with cruel delight.

"You see, I owe a lot of debt. But one of the wolves I owe… is someone I never want to mess with." He pauses for effect. "So, I've made arrangements. I've sold you to the Alpha of the Shadowfang Pack. Alpha Sebastian."

His words hit me like a physical blow.

Everyone in Ravenwood City knows of Alpha Sebastian.

They call him the Alpha of the Blazefang bloodline.

These wolves are beings of fire and heat.

Rumor says they can play with flames.

Their claws and fangs ignite with scorching heat.

They can bite down and leave a trail of fiery destruction.

They walk through fire as if it were a warm breeze.

It's these terrifying abilities that place them at the top.

The most feared and revered wolves in the city.

They control the monuments.

They control the very ground we walk on.

To be associated with them is to invite death.

"Sold to Sebastian." I whisper it.

It sounds like a cruel joke.

Then, I find my voice again.

"I am no one's property! You cannot sell me to anyone!" I hiss.

"Good luck telling that to Sebastian when you meet him." Liam says it casually, like discussing the weather. "I thought he would kill me for my debts. But then I heard he was looking for a pristine female. A bloodline of Briarwood wolves."

He looks at me, his gaze calculating.

"I wondered, where could I find one of those? If I could, he would wipe out a large portion of my debt. He's paying millions for such a wolf."

A cold dread settles in my stomach.

"And then it struck me… your mother was never a native of the Steelclaw pack. She was a Briarwood. She left her pack in the European Territories to be with your father."

He smiles, a terrible, empty smile.

"So now, I have what Sebastian wants. And he doesn't care if you think you're your own property. All I have to do is tell him I have you."

His words slam into me.

Tears spill from my eyes, unstoppable.

My voice cracks as I plead.

"No. Don't do this to me, Liam. Please!"

My vision blurs.

"Liam! Have you forgotten your promise? You swore you'd protect me! That you'd love me until our last breath!"

"Yeah, I used to love you, Aria." His tone is mocking. "I have to say… I'll miss being with you. Lying between your legs. No woman in this pack compares to you in beauty."

He leans closer, his breath hot on my face.

"But you see, I value my life a hell of a lot more than your body. Your breasts… your face… and the part behind."

He straightens up, his expression hardening.

"Take her. Now!"

His gammas latch onto my arms roughly.

They begin to drag me out of the room.

Three hours later.

Tears blur everything, but I can still make out the towering buildings.

Intimidating structures loom above like shadows against the sun.

This isn't the Steelclaw pack.

It's far bigger.

More fortified than anything I've ever seen.

High towers scrape the sky in imposing shapes.

They dominate a vast, green landscape.

Is this the Shadowfang pack?

I am dragged out of the car by Ethan.

My head spins.

I can't focus.

"If you know what's good for you, you will keep quiet!" Ethan threatens.

We enter one of the buildings.

Gammas escort us in a rigid formation.

They move like soldiers awaiting orders.

Their uniforms bear the emblem of their pack stitched across their chests.

After walking for several minutes, we stop.

My ears ring, but I catch snippets of Liam's voice.

"I have brought her for Alpha Sebastian. She's of Briarwood bloodline."

A grand, dull-colored door opens in front of us.

For the first time in hours, I stop crying.

I see a man step out.

Tall.

Easily six-foot-one.

The fabric of his dark shirt clings to his chest.

It strains over hard muscles.

His trousers are heavy, military-like.