Chapter 1

Cecilia's pov "I only mated with her because of the stupid mark. She is nothing to me, just an entitled brat bearing a coveted mark." Those were the words that brought me back to my senses. Liar! Something inside me wanted to rip open. How could he do this to me? My own best friend and the man who had sworn his undying love to me. I took a step back trying to not make a move but a small whimper escaped my lips. "Who is there?" That was the last thing I heard before I ran, but I hadn't gone far when I heard a loud growl behind me. What can I do? I could not shift. "Where do you think you are going?" If only he knew that I had come bearing news about my pregnancy, but he had no idea, I stood there, trying to look away from the wolf that was now shifting into his human form in front of me to turn into the man I had just married. "I just needed air, that's all." I could feel the uncertainty in my own voice, and even I would know anyone who talked to me like that was lying, but I did not care if he knew that I was lying. I just want to get away as far away as possible. I have a feeling my life is now in more danger than it has ever been, and the fact that I am now carrying a little one makes it even more scary. "Then why did you run?" "I am sorry, I cannot run in my own pack again?" He suddenly bursted out laughing. He was mocking me, and I knew it was because I was not capable of leading the exact pack I called mine. I even stopped believing in myself. "Your own pack? In case you have forgotten, I now own the pack because your dead father named me Alpha as soon as I married you." My heart sank at the disrespect of the way he mentioned my Dad. Jackson had been the sweetest mate anyone had asked for before my Dad died, and he started to turn to a stranger, but none of that bothered me as long as he took care of the pack and didn't give me unnecessary issues. He tilted my chin up slowly as he looked at me with contemot, I heard a female snickered from the rear and I knew immediately whom it was, Vivian, the whore he was cheating with. I knew all along, but I had ignored it. She used to be a friend, but now, I can barely see signs that we even knew each other. "You think she heard something." She was looking at me with so much disdain that I am sure if she had a chance to hurt me right there, she would, but they still needed me. After all, I bear the mark of the chosen one. She had first come to me at the time my parents were discussing my marriage. We became fast friends because she seemed to be so knowledgeable about a lot of things that I didn't know. And all of a sudden, I saw her starting to withdraw, and when I asked her about it, she told me she needed a break from our friendship, and the next time I saw her, she was kissing the man I was supposed to marry on the night of our mating ceremony. "What did you hear?" "Just let me go, I don't want trouble." I tried to walk past him, but he would not let me go. I was starting to feel very weak. Sometimes I blame myself for not being able to shift, even though I had the mark of the chosen one, and I am the rightful Alpha to the throne. Even my own father did not trust that I could lead the pack on my own because I had no wolf. He had had so much faith in me at the start until I turned sixteen and was supposed to shift, but I could not. "Come on, you know I won't let you go unless you tel..." "What do you want to hear?" I suddenly lashed out at him angrily as I pushed him. He moved backward a little because he was not expecting it. The look on his face was one of shock because I had never lashed out like that, even when he treated me worse. "Don't talk to me like that, bitch!" That made me even angrier, and I cannot even understand why their words bother me so much, because it has never bothered me like that before, but this time around, it was as if there was something inside me that was struggling to get out. If only that were my wolf. "You want to hear that I know you have been cheating on me with your whore for so long and that you are only with me because of what you could gain from our marriage? I heard that loud and clear. Have a nice time with your whore!" A loud slap landed on my left cheek as Vivian came from behind me and pushed me to the ground. "You can call me anything but a whore. I saw him first." It was actually funny that she would argue with me about who saw whom first, but something is wrong with me, and I can feel it. I have felt like this all day, and that was why I went to the pack healer earlier today, and there, I found out I was carrying his baby. He has everything to lay a claim to my birthright now, after all, he is the father of my unborn child. I am ready or willing to dispute that with her or with anyone because my eyes were getting heavier. I think the pregnancy is taking a toll on me. I tried to get up but found myself falling again, and then their voices began to become a blur until the last words I could hear were my name. "Cecilia."