My Cruel Mate

Caliana’s POV

I felt the mattress dip beside me, slow and deliberate, as if someone had carefully measured the weight of their body before committing it to the bed. For a hazy second, my mind refused to register danger. I hovered between sleep and waking, caught in that fragile place where dreams still cling to reality. I thought it was a nightmare, one of the many that had plagued me since my father died—visions of being watched, of hands reaching out from the dark.

Then warmth spread along my side.

Not the comforting warmth of a blanket or the lingering heat of sleep, but the unmistakable warmth of another body. A breath brushed against my shoulder. Fingers slid over fabric, too intentional, too aware.

My heart slammed violently against my ribs.

I bolted upright and slapped the lamp switch, flooding the room with harsh yellow light. My chest heaved as I scrambled backward, the sheets tangling around my legs. My eyes locked onto the figure standing beside my bed, and the dread that pooled in my stomach hardened into something cold and sickening.

Vince.

My stepbrother stood there, swaying slightly, his eyes glassy and unfocused. The sharp, acrid stench of alcohol clung to him so thickly it burned my nose. His shirt was half-buttoned, his hair disheveled, his mouth twisted into a lazy, predatory smirk.

He was drunk.

Again.

“Get out,” I growled, my voice shaking despite my effort to sound steady. Every muscle in my body tensed, ready to run or fight. “Get out of my room.”

Instead of listening, his smirk widened. He took a step closer, then another, as if my words had amused him rather than warned him. Panic surged through me, quick and suffocating.

Before I could move, his hand shot out and clamped around my waist. I gasped as he yanked me toward him, my bare feet sliding on the floor. His grip was bruising, possessive. I shivered violently when his mouth descended onto my neck, hot and wet, his breath sour with whiskey.

“Let go of me!” I struggled, clawing at his chest, my nails digging into his skin with desperate strength. My claws sliced through fabric and flesh, and I felt the resistance give, felt his skin tear beneath them.

But it wasn’t enough.

He was stronger. Always had been.

Vince snarled, anger flashing across his face, and in one brutal movement, his hand shot up to my throat. Air vanished from my lungs as he shoved me backward, throwing me onto the bed with ruthless force. The mattress bounced beneath me as pain exploded along my spine.

Before I could scream again, he was on top of me.

His weight crushed me into the bed, pinning my hips, his knees trapping my legs. He grabbed my wrists and slammed them above my head, holding them there with one hand while the other roamed freely. I kicked, thrashed, screamed until my throat burned, but the walls swallowed every sound.

No one came.

Tears flooded my eyes, blurring my vision as fear overwhelmed me. My chest felt like it was caving in, my breath coming in short, panicked gasps. The world narrowed to his weight, his smell, the suffocating helplessness.

And then something snapped.

A deep, ancient rage surged up from my core, hot and wild, tearing through the fear like lightning. My wolf, silent for so long, surged forward with a force I could no longer suppress. A powerful growl ripped from my chest—raw, feral, vibrating with authority.

The sound shook the room.

The walls rattled. The air seemed to tremble.

Vince froze.

His eyes widened in pure terror as he stared down at me, his grip loosening. He scrambled backward, practically tripping over himself as he fell off the bed. He staggered to his feet, backing away slowly as if I were a wild animal ready to tear him apart.

“You… you…” he stammered, his face drained of color. “I thought you had no… no wolf.”

I rose from the bed slowly, deliberately, my entire body trembling—not with fear now, but with barely restrained fury. My claws extended fully, gleaming under the light. My wolf’s presence roared inside me, demanding dominance.

“I always had a wolf,” I said coldly. “You just never deserved to know.”

They would have killed me if they’d known sooner. That was the truth. Ever since my father died three years ago, my stepmother and stepbrother had seized control of the pack. Power-hungry, paranoid, ruthless—they would not hesitate to eliminate a rival. Especially one with a wolf.

“Get out of my room, Vince,” I commanded, my voice layered with Alpha authority.

He didn’t hesitate. He bolted for the door like a frightened animal, nearly slamming it behind him as he fled. I collapsed onto the bed once he was gone, my body shaking violently as the adrenaline ebbed. Relief washed over me, but it was hollow, fragile.

I knew this wasn’t over.

By morning, they would have a plan. They always did. I was a risk now—a living threat to their stolen power.

The next confrontation came sooner than I expected.

“What do you mean you sold me to that cruel Alpha?” My voice cracked as I stared at my stepmother, disbelief ringing in every word.

Evelyn groaned, rubbing her temples as if I were the inconvenience in the room. “We need money to settle our debts,” she said dismissively. “And you are pretty.”

The words hit me harder than any blow.

After my father died, everything fell apart. Evelyn mismanaged the pack’s finances with reckless arrogance, bleeding resources to fund her lavish lifestyle—diamonds, gowns, parties. Partners withdrew. Allies vanished. The pack weakened, becoming a beacon for rogues.

Vince stood beside her now, arms crossed, his expression smug. No shame lingered in his eyes for what he’d tried to do the night before. Only contempt.

“I’m not doing it,” I said firmly, forcing strength into my voice.

“You don’t have a choice,” Vince hissed.

“The Queen’s law forbids this,” I argued desperately. “You can’t sell women anymore.”

“I don’t care about the law,” Evelyn snapped. “Are you really willing to let your father’s legacy crumble because you refuse Alpha Edward Chasia?”

Edward Chasia.

The Cruel Lycan Alpha.

A name whispered with fear across regions. A ruler said to be ruthless, merciless. Cousin to the Lycan King. A man who crushed weaker packs and ruled through terror.

“It’s simple,” she continued cruelly. “Satisfy his needs. If he likes you, maybe he’ll keep you. Maybe you’ll even become a Luna.”

“That’s how I got here,” she added proudly.

My stomach churned.

“We can find another way,” I pleaded. “Give me time—”

“How selfish can you be?” Vince cut in. “For once in your pathetic life, you’re useful.”

My wolf snarled inside me, but I swallowed the sound, the fury, the despair. Vince was Alpha now. I had no choice.

When they finished speaking, I fled to my room, locking the door behind me as sobs tore free. Hours passed in a blur of tears and shaking breaths.

When I could finally move again, I reached for my phone with trembling hands and texted the only person I trusted.

Levy.