Brielle’s POV

Aziel’s expression shifted in an instant, the guilt in his eyes hardening into something colder. He instinctively pulled Kaia behind him, his eyes glowing a fierce red as his Alpha aura flared. His roar echoed through the room. “Brielle, what are you doing?!”

Ignoring him, I glared at Kaia with my golden yellow eyes and snarled, “You’d better keep your mouth shut, Kaia!”

Kaia’s eyes shimmered with feigned innocence as she clung to Aziel, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “Was I wrong? If your mother hadn’t faked that curse and forced Aziel into marrying you, he wouldn’t have had to go through with it.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I turned to Aziel, searching his eyes for the truth. “Is it true?”

He didn’t answer. But the truth was there, written plainly in his gaze, in the way he didn’t deny it. My heart sank, the last of my hope crumbling to dust.

Half a year ago, my mother was cursed by a witch, her life draining away with every passing day. Her final wish was for me to find happiness with the man I loved, to marry him, and to secure my future before she passed. Desperate to fulfill her wish, I begged Aziel for the wedding, even though it was the natural course of our bond as fated mates. But he believed my mother was lying, manipulating him to speed up a union he never truly wanted.

Perhaps he had always looked down on me. Aziel, with his royal blood, the proud Alpha of the Crimson Shadow Pack, and me, the Omega who had fallen hopelessly in love with him at first sight, shamelessly pursued him for four long years.

When I learned he preferred women who were obedient, I molded myself to his desires, always bending to his will, and giving him everything he wanted. But then Kaia came along, and I saw a different side of him. He was gentle with her, attentive. She could tease him, hold his hand, embrace him in ways I never dared.

Once, in a desperate attempt to be closer to him, I tried to imitate Kaia and acted like a spoiled child. But he shoved me away with a scowl. “Brielle, stop it. It doesn’t suit you.”

His words were a slap in the face, leaving me humiliated and broken as I watched him walk away. After that, I never dared to show affection in that way again.

He never once reached out to hold my hand. When we were together, I was always a step behind him, a shadow in his life. The only person who could stand by his side was Kaia. He never refused her touch, never hesitated to show her off in front of the pack. To everyone else, they were the real mates, the true pair, while I was nothing more than a shadow, a title without meaning.

If it hadn’t been for my mother’s final days and my desperate pleas, there never would have been that sham of a wedding.

I looked at Aziel now, the man I had loved for nearly a decade, and felt the sharp sting of disillusionment. How had I been so blind?

Kaia, ever the manipulator, whimpered as she touched her bleeding cheek. “Aziel, please check my cheek. It stings. She’s so vicious!”

Aziel’s gaze immediately snapped back to her, his expression softened into worry.

Afterward, his expression darkened, and he roared at me, “Brielle, apologize!” His voice carried the weight of an Alpha’s command, but it only fueled the fire inside me.

I met his eyes with defiance, my voice unwavering. “What if I don’t?”

Brielle’s POV

I lifted my head, defiance blazing in my eyes. The days of cowering before Aziel were over.

Aziel’s voice was a low growl as he struggled to keep his anger in check. “Brielle, don’t push me.”

For as long as I could remember, I had feared Aziel. The slightest frown from him was enough to make me fold, shrink back, and apologize, even when I wasn’t at fault. But that was when I still cared—when his approval meant everything to me.

But now? I felt nothing but a hollow emptiness where that fear once lived.

Kaia, however, wasn’t satisfied with the silence that hung between us. She clung to Aziel, her voice sickly sweet yet dripping with malice. “Aziel, I don’t want her to apologize. I want her to taste her own medicine.”

Aziel’s gaze flickered to me, clearly expecting me to submit, to do as I had always done and yield. But I refused to back down, staring back at him with unyielding resolve.

My defiance only fueled his anger. Aziel’s eyes glowed red, and with a single look, two wolves suddenly emerged from the shadows. They pounced on me, pinning me to the ground. Their grip was ironclad, but I didn’t fight back, not even try. The fight had gone out of me, leaving only resignation.

Kaia sauntered over, her lips curving into a cruel smile. She raised her hand and slapped me, once, twice—until I tasted blood on my lips. But I stayed silent, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing me break. I sat there, disheveled and bleeding, but my spirit remained unbowed.

Aziel loomed over me, his voice cold and commanding. “You owe Kaia this. Apologize to her now, and I’ll forget this ever happened.”

A laugh bubbled up from deep within me, bitter and hollow. “You wish!”

Aziel’s eyes narrowed, frustration and disbelief mixing in his gaze. “Brielle, if you just obey me, I can give you everything you want—even the marriage you’ve been begging for. Are you really willing to throw that all away?”

The irony of his words cut deeper than any physical blow. He had denied me everything when I begged for it, but now, when I no longer wanted any part of it, he thought he could control me with empty promises and threats. But it was too late—too late for the promises, too late for the marriage, too late for everything.

Ignoring the pain searing through my face, I met his gaze, my voice icy. “Aziel, I made up my mind to reject you as my mate. I don’t need your fucking marriage anymore!”

Aziel stared at me as if trying to comprehend the words coming out of my mouth. Maybe he couldn’t believe that I, the one who had once loved him so blindly, could actually walk away. Especially when he dangled the one thing I had always dreamed of—his promise of marriage.

A sneer twisted his lips. “What’s this? Don’t you want to fulfill your mother’s dying wish?”

There was a sneer in his tone, a coldness that made my blood boil.

But before I could retort, Kaia jumped in, her eyes alight with malicious glee. “See, Aziel? I told you she was lying. If her mother was really dying, she wouldn’t be acting like this. Can’t you see she’s just manipulating you?”

That was the last straw. My fury exploded. “Shut up, Kaia! You have no right to talk about my mother!”

My continued defiance pushed Aziel over the edge. His face twisted with rage, and he let out a low, dangerous growl. “You’ll regret this, Brielle.”

He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. When his beta, Kaiden Porter, answered, Aziel deliberately put the call on speaker, his gaze locked on mine, ensuring I heard every word. “Kaiden,” Aziel’s voice was laced with cold command, “tell the healers to stop tending to Romina Ellis.”

Aziel watched me intently, expecting me to break, to beg him to reconsider. He was so sure this would be the final blow, that I would crumble at his feet.

But I didn’t flinch. I just stared back, empty and unresponsive, my heart already numb to the pain.

There was a brief pause on the other end before Kaiden’s hesitant voice came through. “Alpha,” he began slowly, “Romina Ellis… she passed away three days ago, on the day of your wedding.”