Chapter 1
You Can’t Stop Me
Kylie POV
“You are gorgeous, Zoe!” my husband said.
Not to me. To Zoe Muller.
Everyone was stealing glances at me as awkwardness blanketed the air while I watched them with stunned expression.
“You don’t look good, Luna Kylie,” Ginger said as she passed me a glass of lemonade. “Please have this.”
How could I look good? My heart shed silent tears because my husband and mate, Alpha Graham, was dancing with Zoe Muller who was his high school sweetheart and daughter of his father’s Beta.
Zoe giggled. Her eyes found me and she smirked as Graham pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her lips, murmuring sweet nothings. It should have been me dancing with him because it was our two-year marriage anniversary, but ever since Zoe had come back in his life ten days ago, I was beginning to get dangerously sidelined. Zoe was Graham’s first love. And she had returned.
“Thanks Ginger,” I said, trying to will myself not to let tears fall out.
When Graham’s father, Alpha Johan, urged him to get married, his first choice was obviously Zoe. But she refused him at that point in time, saying that she was in love with Alpha Liam of the Brownfur pack. She broke up with Graham and went into the arms of Alpha Liam.
At that time, I had just finished college. A vivacious twenty-two-year-old me sensed Alpha Graham as my mate in a small party, which my father threw for my success. Alpha Johan was ecstatic, and so was my father.
I, Kylie Kennedy, heir of the Nightbloom pack, married my mate, Graham Silas, heir of the Lunar pack. Ever since, I helped him to grow his pack and his business. Since I was a business major, I saw every flaw in the business of the Lunar pack, rectified it and it yielded fantastic results. A year after our marriage, my father passed away, and as a result, our pack merged with the Lunar pack.
As soon as Graham became the Alpha of the Lunar pack about two months ago, after his father died, Zoe returned to him. Until then, Graham’s love for me was unconditional.
Graham’s invitation to neighboring Alphas, Lunas, and Betas for our two-year anniversary was not merely a celebration, but a deliberate move to make a statement that Zoe was on his side and he was giving her importance over me.
“Goddess, I missed you so much, Graham,” Zoe said with tears in her eyes. “Now that I am here, it is difficult to stay a moment without you.” She rested her head on his chest as he stroked her back and she glanced at me.
“I want to fix this as much as you want, Zoe,” he signed.
My cheeks heated with the humiliation at his words. What was he going to fix? Clenching my jaws, I steeled myself and rose to my feet. This had to be nipped now, else this was going to become a huge issue in my life—a life I had so beautifully built for myself.
I walked to them and with a smile, said, “Well, this is going to be very hard for you, Zoe, but as you can see, Alpha Graham is my mate and husband. Unfortunately, there’s no room for a third person in this marriage. My recommendation is for you to work on resolving the issues you have with Alpha Liam.” I turned my face to Graham and added, “Isn’t that right, love?” I would not get humiliated in front of so many people.
Zoe’s mouth dropped to the floor. She let out a loud cry as tears rolled out of her eyes and then ran out of the gathering.
“Zoe!” Graham called her.
My wolf, Coral, growled inside my head. ‘I want to kill her. Let me shift.’
“Graham,” I said, suppressing Coral. “This is wrong at so many levels.”
Graham snapped his head towards me and glared. He said nothing that time and stayed, but after the party got over, instead of going back with me to our bedroom, he went to the guest room where Zoe was.
“Graham!” I rushed after him, but he snarled at me dangerously. I winced and stopped. He stormed to her room.
The night stretched on endlessly as I waited for him, the darkness intensifying my sense of longing. Sleep was nowhere near me as I tossed and turned in my bed. I wanted to go to the guest room where Zoe had been living for the past ten days and throw her out of our house, but suddenly a sharp pain in my belly made me gasp. Gripping my stomach, I collapsed to the ground, wondering what had truly occurred. I rushed to the bathroom and emptied all that I had eaten in the toilet.
The pain subsided after a while. I lifted myself from the floor to rinse my mouth. When I looked in the mirror, I saw my face and realized that I was crying. My eyes were red-rimmed and there were marks of tears across my face. My makeup was completely ruined. Alone, I felt helpless and then, with a loud cry, I started crying when the realization hit me.
The reason for my pain wasn’t any disease. Alpha Graham had f**ked Zoe. In the werewolf world, when your mate had s*x with someone else other than you after marking and claiming you, you experienced such sharp pain. That was how the Moon Goddess punished you. She should be punishing the one who cheated, not the one who was cheated upon. But how could I question the goddess? I wished Alpha Johan was alive. He would have supported me, at least.
Bitter, angry and frustrated, I waited for the morning for Graham to return, but he didn’t. I couldn’t just let Zoe take away all that I had painstakingly built. Making another resolution, I took a nice bath, wore Graham’s favorite color dress, an aquamarine silk gown, and braided my long blond hair. My eyelashes were pretty long, but still I applied black mascara, which made my green eyes stand out. Zoe was perhaps one of the most beautiful women, but I wasn’t less. Still, I found myself competing against her.
I walked to the dining hall where the omegas saw me with pity. I ate my breakfast quickly and hastened to the guest room.
There were two guards standing at the door. “Sorry, Luna Kylie,” said one of them, blocking me from opening the door. “You can’t go inside. Those are Alpha’s strict orders.”
“I am his wife and Luna of the pack,” I said in an icy voice. “You can’t stop me.”
He glanced nervously at the other guard. “I’m very sorry, Luna, but the Alpha has specifically asked us not to let you in. He has said that you have to make an appointment to meet him.”
I balked. “What? Make an appointement to meet my husband?”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Beta Asher coming. “Luna Kylie!” he rasped. “Alpha is very… busy. It is advisable to schedule a lunch meeting with him.”
“Beta Asher!” I snapped. “You can’t deny me from meeting my—” All at once, I heard groans and moans from inside.
“Faster. Harder!” Zoe moaned.
My stomach was hit with another wave of pain, causing me to collapse. Fresh tears rolled out as I gasped for air.
“Luna Kylie!” Asher was on my side. He picked me up and carried me to my bedroom. “I’ll send the doctor,” he said and left, leaving me miserable as hell.