KYLIE'S POV

Why? Why did my fiancé do this to me?

Earlier, I stood before the arching display of flowers at the end of the red carpet. It was our garden wedding day, but the empty space for the groom on the makeshift altar and the worried faces of the guests told me something was wrong.

Despite the uneasy feeling, I swallowed hard and continued walking down the red carpet with my bouquet of roses. I had dreamt of this day, but why did every step feel like a nightmare?

Just then, I saw my mother hurrying towards me, her expression filled with anxiety.

"Kylie," my mom said. "Why don't you take a seat first?"

I looked at her, confused. "Seat? Mom, it's my wedding day. Brides aren't supposed to sit down."

My mother couldn't meet my gaze, so I looked around. My pack, the Raven Pack, was seated on the right, and my groom's pack, the Herekin Pack, was on the left. Most of them were whispering and gossiping, looking at me in a way that made me uncomfortable. I could see their pitying glances, the hushed whispers of the guests, their unspoken questions echoing in the deafening silence: What happened? Where is my fiancé? Where is Carion?

"Mom?"

"Kylie, honey," my mom said, looking down. "I'm sorry. Your fiancé—"

"Kylie!"

My mom was interrupted when Steven, my best friend from Herekin Pack, called my name. Without saying anything, he hugged me, which bothered me because he doesn't usually hug without reason.

"What happened? Why does it feel like a funeral, not a wedding?" I forced a fake laugh.

"Because it is," said Steven seriously. "Carion called me. He said he won't appear today because he changed his mind. He said he chose someone else to be his mate."

I froze, trying to process what I heard. He changed his mind? Was I hearing this right? Carion didn't want to continue the wedding? Why? What did I do?

Whispers, then accusations, escalated into a deafening roar of indignation. I noticed Carion’s pack becoming worried about their soon-to-be Alpha's disappearance.

My pack, on the other hand, showed their anger and disappointment. They felt offended by Carion's actions, but most of all, I was greatly insulted.

"Your member is a traitor!" roared Beta Jake, my uncle. "How dare he not appear today! Is he disrespecting our pack?"

"Carion is a man of his word," countered Alpha Lucian, Carion's father. "He'll be here in a minute or two. I'm sure he was caught in traffic, or else, he was abducted. We've started tracing him, Beta."

"Don't defend the traitor, or we're cutting ties with your pack."

I could smell my own pack's impending transformation into wolf form. Claws extended, teeth bared, I immediately stepped into the center aisle to stop them.

"Enough!"

Wearing my white gown, I stood between the two packs, hands raised.

"Maybe it's better to talk this out instead of resorting to battle. I know Carion. He's not the enemy here. My heartbreak is my own, but I won't let this break the bond of our pack. So, please, let's all be civil and act as if this didn't happen, even if Carion doesn't show up."

When the last guest departed, I stood in my wedding gown alone, without a groom.

"Kylie," a voice broke the silence, soft yet firm. I turned and met Steven's concerned eyes. Ever since we were kids, we are inseparable. Aside from that, he was also Carion's cousin. He was the reason I met the man who I thought was my fated mate.

"I know you're hurting. You don't have to pretend to be strong, Kylie."

I fought back tears. I had always appreciated Steven, especially his kindness and unwavering support.

"I just... I don't understand," I whispered. "He promised me... He swore..."

"It's okay, Kylie," he said. "I'll take care of this."

I hesitated. "But I don't..."

"Don't worry," Steven interrupted, his eyes filled with warmth. "Everything will be alright."

Then, Steven surprised me. He knelt, not with a ring, but with a sincerity that shone brighter than any jewel.

"Kylie," he said, "You deserve happiness. You deserve love. And you don’t have to settle for anything less. I’ve always admired you. You’re strong, you’re beautiful, you’re everything that matters. It's Carion's mistake for ditching you at the altar. Marry me instead, right here, right now."

I was too shocked to speak. The organizers, who were already cleaning the venue, stopped and watched. I noticed they are waiting for a response. To be honest, I felt pressured to answer yes to cover up my humiliation and not embarrass Steven, so I nodded.

"Y-yes."

If Carion wouldn't show up, I would save our packs by marrying his cousin instead.

He stood and embraced me. In that moment, I felt a sense of weirdness, but also relief, to have solved the brewing chaos between the packs.

Then, Steven said something that made no sense to me at that time. "I deserve to be your mate. I deserve to be at the top, and he will be doomed in my hands forever."

KYLIE'S POV

"My mate, I've missed you," Steven greeted me when I opened the door to my condo unit and saw him with shopping bags. "For you, my dearest" he handed me a handful of bags.

Steven, now my pack mate, loves giving gifts. It's his love language, very different from Carion, who always showed me love through service. But why would I compare the two if Steven is now the one I love?

Three months after Carion ditched me, and my shotgun marriage to Steven, the Herekin and Raven packs became united again. Steven is one of the candidates to be the new Alpha, and the other is Carion.

However, Carion returned months later, and he seems to have forgotten everything.

He didn't even recognize the pain he inflicted on me when we met again.

"Hi," he said. "I heard you married Steven. Congratulations."

And I'm annoyed by the way he said it because he sounded as if he were betrayed. He sounded sad, when, in fact, I was the one who was tossed upon a tumultuous sea of grief and betrayal.

I only smiled at him and left the meeting room after the council's session. Even in the meeting, I could feel his eyes staring straight at me, as if asking why I married his cousin and not him.

But I don't need to explain myself because I'm not in the wrong. Steven became my anchor when the storm happened, while Carion was the reason why I was drowning.

Steven showered me with small gestures of love. Delicate bouquets of lilies arrived on my doorstep almost every day. Each one was accompanied by a note filled with words of comfort and encouragement.

My mate was a great guy. He spent hours with me, sharing stories to make me happy, listening to my silent sorrows, and filling the empty spaces in my life with his gentle presence.

"You are strong, my mate," he'd say, looking at me with deep admiration. "You are beautiful, inside and out. And you deserve to be loved."

Steven saw me, truly saw me, and his love felt like a safe haven. I started to laugh again, began to feel a sense of peace, and a sense that maybe, just maybe, this wasn't the end of my story.

Maybe it was a new beginning.

We had decided that when our schedules were free, we would spend our time in a shopping mall buying anything we like.

And tonight, we went to a jewelry store.

"You look best in this."

He suggested a dainty necklace with a moon pendant. When he put it around my neck, the pendant shone under the lights. I thought it was just the fluorescent lamps above the ceiling, but I figured out that the flashes of light were from the paparazzi around us.

"Oh, damn," Steven murmured, a hint of amusement. "Looks like we've been caught."

He was right. The paparazzi had found us. After the scandal about my humiliation at the altar and my marriage to Carion's cousin as a payback, we had become public figures. And to be honest, this was not the life I had envisioned—a life of public scrutiny.

The next morning, my face's and Steven's graced the front page of every local publication. The headlines screamed: "Kylie from the Raven Pack Finally Found Her Ever After! New Beginning for the Abandoned Bride!"

It made me feel like I was truly in my new era. But the world had other plans.

The following day, my phone buzzed with a notification from the same publication. A new article had splashed my newfound happiness across its front page.

"Carion from the Herekin Pack Makes His Move! The Powerful Alpha-candidate Proposes to Hailee from his own pack, the Fashion Icon!"

The article included a picture of Carion kissing the stunning Hailee.

As I stared at the picture on my phone, a wave of emotions crashed over me—confusion, anger, a lingering sense of unease. I had just found happiness. It was my fragile hope amidst the wreckage of my past. But now, the world had thrown me into a new kind of storm.

And I couldn't help but wonder: Is Carion trying to compete with us? With me?

KYLIE'S POV

Steven and I visited our personal doctor for our daily check-up. After our marriage, Steven was excited to have a baby, so we made sure we were healthy to produce one.

I had done my regular check-up and excused myself first to buy healthy food to eat as a snack. When I came back, the doctor's office was slightly ajar. I was about to enter when I stopped upon hearing the doctor's voice.

"We need to make sure she gets pregnant," Doctor Philip said, hushed yet distinct.

"I know. That's the only way to secure my position," I heard Steven say.

I froze, my heart pounding in my chest.

"But you're infertile, you know that," Doctor Philip answered, his voice laced with concern. "But I believe we have other options. Your cousin. We can use his sample to impregnate your wife and act as if it was yours. Carion is a strong werewolf, and his bloodline is pure. I'm sure he can produce."

My blood ran cold. What did I just overhear? Is this real or maybe they are just joking? What did he mean impregnate? I wanted to ask Steven to be clear, but I decided to go home without even telling him.

I lay in bed, my body trembling and my mind a jumble of disjointed thoughts and terrifying suspicions. Who wouldn't get suspicious over my husband when I overheard that kind of conversation? Who are they trying to impregnate with that kind of method?

Then, I realize something. Are they planning to do it to me? I was shocked but I tried to dismiss it. I kept on convincing myself that Steven is not like that. He's a good person.

But is he truly a good person? I don't know him anymore.

One night, I went to sleep early because Steven told me he'd be late at work. I didn't know what happened but I woke up from a deep slumber when I felt a sharp, stinging sensation pricked in my arm. I sensed an object piercing my flesh, like a syringe injecting me.

Who would do it if my husband wasn't on my side that night?

Days later, I found myself curled up on the sofa, feeling nauseated as well as emotional. The announcement of Carion and Hailee's wedding date was all over the news. I couldn't help but wail like a baby. I thought I had already moved on, but I was wrong.

The news was playing on the television. I had heard the date, the time, the location, the details, but I couldn't remember a single word. All I felt was a suffocating sense of dread.

Later that day, as I sat at my kitchen table, another wave of nausea washed over me. I stumbled to the bathroom and vomited.

I called Steven but he wouldn't answer. I guess he's busy with his work as a Beta of the pack and a chief operating officer of his own business company. I paused, thinking of contacting Carion instead. But I controlled myself.

I shouldn't need help from him. As a matter of fact, I will go to the doctor and make sure my health is well.

I drove on the way to the clinic. When I got there, I immediately went straight to our personal doctor. I told him what's happening to me, and his smile, giddy when he saw me, became serious.

"Have you taken a pregnancy test?"

I blinked upon what he asked. "P-pregnancy test? Do you mean...?"

"As what you've told me, you had the signs that you're pregnant. But we can't be sure if we don't test it, Kylie."

From the clinic's pharmacy, I bought three pregnancy kits and used them all to be sure. I waited for the last pregnancy kit to show the line, and when it did, it showed two lines, just like the previous kits.

Two lines mean positive. Does that mean I am finally pregnant with Steven's heir?