Lina's POV
I stepped into the Lockwood estate's grand ballroom, pulse racing. Tonight was Alpha Victor's birthday celebration—the entire manor ablaze with lights, packed with guests. But I barely registered the lavish decorations or the buzz of conversation swirling around me.
Then champagne splashed across my chest.
The cold, sticky liquid ran down my hair and dress. Susanna Laurent's amber wolf-eyes gleamed with malice as she offered a sweet apology, then added just loud enough for everyone nearby to hear:
"Though honestly, you shouldn't be here anyway."
The room froze for a single heartbeat.
Then came the laughter.
"A packless orphan at the victory celebration? Bold move."
"If the Lockwoods hadn't taken her in, she'd probably be dead in a ditch somewhere."
"She can't actually think she belongs here, can she?"
Their voices crashed over me like waves, each one poisonous.
I said nothing.
I just stared down at the spreading stain on my dress—the dress I'd worked two weeks to afford—and slowly curled my hands into fists until my nails bit into my palms. The pain kept me grounded.
But it still hurt less than their words.
I should have been used to it by now—from the day the Lockwood pack took me in, these whispers had never stopped. The girl whose parents were slaughtered by silver-blade hunters. The girl without a wolf.
These labels had defined me whether they spoke them aloud or not.
None of it should matter. I still had Jasper. I needed to find him. I needed to escape this suffocating atmosphere.
Tonight, Jasper promised to make us public.
Jasper is Alpha Victor's only son and heir to the Lockwood Pack. He's handsome, powerful, and gentle—the dream man of most she-wolves in the pack, but he has a secret.
He's been secretly dating me. Lila Ward, just a wolfless orphan.
Ever since Luna Elena adopted me, he's always been gentle and caring, telling me not to feel inferior because of my bloodline.
Three months ago, he accepted my confession and promised he would make our relationship public when the time was right.
For ninety days, we'd been sneaking around—stolen kisses in empty hallways, messages sent only when no one was watching. He told me we needed to wait for the perfect moment, that our bond required protection, that he didn't want me facing the pack's judgment. I believed him. I'd always believed him.
Tonight, that moment had finally arrived.
The ballroom had several exits. I slipped through one gratefully, searching the corridors. Maybe he was waiting in his room?
After a few minutes, I heard his familiar voice coming from behind a half-open door.
Then I heard it clearly.
Laughter. Moaning.
My world stopped spinning. No. This couldn't be happening...
My feet moved on their own, carrying me toward that room. Each step felt like walking to my execution.
"Oh god, Jasper... yes, just like that... harder..."
The door hung half-open, like a cruel invitation to witness my own destruction.
I saw them. Jasper's cock buried inside Sophie's pussy. Sophie moaning, drowning in pleasure.
No. No, no, no, no.
"Your cunt's dripping wet, Sophie," Jasper grunted.
Sophie Laurent. Heir to the Stoneheart Pack.
Sophie laughed. "Better than your pathetic little sister, I bet. Poor Lina probably doesn't even know how to satisfy a real man."
The air was ripped from my lungs. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think—only feel the agony tearing through my chest.
"Don't mention her," Jasper's voice rasped. "Not while we're doing this."
"Why not?" Sophie's fingers traced possessive circles down his spine, her tone lazy. "Soon enough she'll understand her place. An Omega like her could never satisfy you anyway."
Each word landed like a hammer blow. I stumbled backward, gasping. My shoulder hit the wall with a sound like a gunshot.
"What was that?" Sophie hissed.
My foot caught the door and it slammed against the wall with a bang.
"What the hell?"
They saw me,jerked apart. Jasper nearly tumbled off the couch, scrambling for his shirt. Sophie merely sat up, not even bothering to cover herself.
"Lina!" Jasper went pale. "I can explain—"
"Explain?" My voice shook. "Explain why you're fucking Sophie?"
"This isn't what it looks like—"