EVE.
Yes. That's it.
He knew me.
I was doomed. He saw my face!
I stood frozen, caught in the grip of those cold, merciless eyes. The atmosphere around us felt like ice, almost as if something had broken inside this space and sucked the warmth out with it.
"I'm… Uh…" My voice broke. The words were there, trapped behind my tongue, but none of them made it out. What was I even supposed to say?
Sorry for what?
For stealing from him? Or sorry for being a shameless whore for just one night that was about to ruin my life forever?
"To think that I'd combed round your stupid town, looking for you..." He scoffed again, but his lips didn't even twitch. His voice was cold and detached. No hint of emotion, anger, or rage. Just… emptiness.
"Yet, here you are... Stepsister," the condensation in his tone and in the way he looked at me made my skin burn. And the way he called me "Stepsister...?" it said a lot. But I was in no position to demand respect from him.
"Please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I..."
"You're not sorry, girl. You just hate that I know you." He said, his dead eyes peering into my soul. I couldn't even hold his gaze for a second. His stare was too much, like it could peel my skin off, layer by layer, until there was nothing left but what I wanted to forget.
I didn't know when uninvited tears began to slide down my cheeks. I tried to stop them. I tried. God, I tried. But they fell anyway.
"You didn't cry when you spread your legs for me and my friend, Eve. Why now?" He said, and I was shocked that he already knew my name. And my name sounded like disgusting poison on his tongue.
"Look," I began, "I'm sorry I stole from you. I can return the watch. I swear. We can forget it happened. Please. I'll leave your pack. I'll disappear. Just please... please forget it..." I sounded so pathetic and weak pleading this way. But I had no choice, and I didn't care. Pride couldn't save me now.
He just scoffed like I was an insect buzzing at his feet, his hands still tucked calmly into his pockets. "The perfect daughter, huh?" he murmured, taking another step. "How disappointed would your mother be… if she knew what you are?"
My heart dropped. The wheels in my head turned instantly. No. No. No, he wouldn't. He couldn't possibly be serious about telling my mother... He wouldn't dare.
"I'd like to find out," he added, tilting his head as if he were studying a broken thing barely worth the dust it collected.. Amused by the damage.
"Please, Alpha," I went down on my knees, "I swear, I'm not what you think I am... I was..." More tears were already blurring my vision. "I was in need of the money and..."
"And you couldn't fuck enough cocks to get it. You had to steal from me..." He stated, and God, his calmness was unraveling me even more. It didn't even seem like my pleas were reaching his ears.
"Please don't tell my mother. It would kill her. Please," I pleaded.
"You know, I used to wonder," he murmured, almost like he was talking to himself, "how a woman like your mother could ever convince a man like my father to marry her."
Then his eyes dragged over me before stealing an inch from me by taking another step closer, "But now I see it. Clear as fucking daylight. She must've traded her cunt for a ring."
Something shattered inside me. It felt like he'd reached into my chest and ripped something out.
Not only was he tearing me open, he was dragging my mother down with me, ripping her dignity to pieces.
"Don't say that, please. My mother is not like that. I am not..." He didn't even let me finish. He just turned around and headed for the door.
"Wait!" I choked out, crawling after him on shaking limbs. He paused without looking back, "Please don't tell my mother. Please," I sobbed.
There was a beat of silence before he spoke again.
"Welcome to my pack, stepsister. I hope you enjoy your stay." With that, he walked out without even a glance.
I knew I was doomed.
***
I watched Mum dance, her cheeks glowing as she smiled away with the new love of her life, and guilt lodged so deep in my throat it felt like a knife that it threatened to choke me to death. I might be the one to deprive my Mum of this radiance I was seeing on her face. It killed me.
I stood on the sidelines in my soft champagne dress, holding a glass of sparkling apple cider with trembling fingers. I couldn't even drink. My stomach was in knots, and my throat was dry. But I kept raising the glass to my lips to look normal and to seem... composed.
I kept glancing over my shoulder, half-expecting Saint to appear again. What was I even thinking?
The event was hurrying to an end, and a part of me wished the day would not end because, from here, we were meant to have a family dinner... of course, as one big family, according to Mum.
I felt sick.
I pressed my free hand to my stomach and turned slightly to the side, trying to steady myself.
She said she would like to introduce me to my new family, officially, as if I hadn't already met my stepbrother, who was now my doom.
Thankfully, Saint's friend hadn't approached me yet. Perhaps he hadn't realized I was the one just yet... Or...
"Hey, Eve," Someone squealed behind me, and I nearly dropped my glass. The drink sloshed dangerously near the rim as I turned, startled.
It was the girl from earlier – the bubbly one who'd invited me to some party when we arrived.
"Oh… hi," I said, forcing a tight smile.
"I am Hazer. Sorry, I didn't introduce myself when we first met," she said.
Hazer looked cool. She looked… safe.
And for a second, I hated her for that.
She seemed like someone who could be trusted. Or, maybe, I was just seeing things because I was desperate to know from someone who really knew Saint to tell me how far he could go to punish an offender. In fact, I was tempted a few minutes ago to engage in a conversation with a man who introduced himself as one of the elders of the pack, just to know more about Saint. Can you imagine that?
"You look tense. Already exhausted?" Hazer asked, and I realized then I'd just been standing there like a mannequin. I hadn't even responded to her name.
"Oh God... I'm sorry, Hazer." I laughed tightly. "It's just been a long day. I mean..."
She waved it off, smiling again. "Don't worry about it. I get it. Big events are a lot."
Then suddenly, she gasped, dramatically slapping her palm over her mouth like something out of a teen movie. "Oops."
"What?" I asked, startled.
"He's watching." Her voice dropped to a whisper, and she leaned in like she was about to share a scandalous secret. "Oh my God, Eve... how do I look? Tell me I look good."
I blinked. "Who's...?"
She nodded toward the far end of the courtyard.
I followed her gaze.
And cold punched through my stomach.
Saint.
He was standing just a few feet from the champagne fountain, half-shadowed under a tree, hands in his pockets, his face carved from stone. Watching me. Not her.
What the hell?
Someone could actually go crazy for a psycho like that?
"You're talking about… him?" I asked in a thin voice.
She giggled, like the idea of it was thrilling. "God, yes. That's Alpha Saint. He's so cold and mysterious and powerful… ugh, it's so hot. I've had a crush on him since forever." She laughed again and touched her earring. "I mean, you can't blame me, right?"
My stomach twisted.
"Is he your… boyfriend?" I asked, grasping at straws.
If he was, maybe… maybe I could use that. Maybe I could talk to her to help beg him not to tell my Mum anything.
Her eyes widened in shock. "Oh, God, no. I wish. He doesn't date girls like me. Or anyone really. I don't think I've ever seen him even smile. Some people say he's emotionally dead. Like, not even kidding."
"Uhm..." I cleared my throat, "Can I ask you a question about... uhm... Saint?" I forced myself to say, and the elation in Hazer's eyes told me she was totally obsessed with that monster.
"Of course, you can!" She squealed.
"How..." I was about to say when someone cleared their throat beside me, and when I turned to look, I swear, my heart almost gave out.
"Hello, Eve." The voice said ever so calmly, and I immediately forgot how to breathe.
It was Beta Kyrie. Alpha Saint's best friend.
Oh, my God. Just when I thought he couldn't recognize me.