Chapter 1 Shattered Illusions
The traffic stretched endlessly, a serpent of red brake lights coiling beneath the gray evening sky. Aria drummed her fingers against the steering wheel, trying not to curse out loud as horns blared ahead and behind.
On her lap rested a book, its cover worn from nights of rereading, The Alpha’s Daughter. A werewolf novel she had stumbled on in her university days, one she had sworn she hated yet never seemed able to put down.
With one hand steadying the wheel, she flipped the page again, eyes scanning the scene where the Alpha’s only daughter lay weeping, poisoned and pitiful, waiting for death.
Aria scoffed, lips curling. “Useless girl. Always crying, always waiting for someone to save you. If it were me, I’d have burned down the whole pack before letting anyone pity me.”
The sharp honk of a horn jolted her. She glanced in the rearview mirror, an impatient driver gesturing wildly. Heat flushed her cheeks.
“Alright, alright!” she muttered, snapping the book shut and tossing it onto the passenger seat. The car lurched forward as the line inched ahead.
Still, her words lingered in the air like a vow. If it were me…
Aria’s lips softened into a smile as she thought of where she was headed. Her fiancé’s house. Her heart warmed at the thought of him, of the way his eyes lit up when he called her name, the promises he whispered of tomorrow’s wedding.
Tomorrow.
Her stomach fluttered with nerves and joy. Their families had planned everything to perfection. Her best friend, her sister in all but blood, had been at her side every step of the way. Aria could already picture her walking down the aisle, veil trailing, the man she loved waiting at the altar.
She had even bought him a gift, something small yet meaningful, tucked carefully into her bag. Tonight, she would surprise him. Tonight, she would remind him how much he meant to her.
Traffic finally broke, and she sped down familiar streets, her heart racing with anticipation.
By the time she reached his apartment, rain had begun to drizzle, cool drops kissing her skin as she hurried up the steps. Her heels clicked softly, her lips curved in a tender smile.
She didn’t bother knocking. They had long passed that stage.
“Love?” she called, pushing the door open.
Her voice carried into the living room, and froze.
The world tilted.
Her fiancé was there. So was her best friend.
Entwined.
Her mind refused to understand what her eyes saw. Her fiancé’s hand tangled in her friend’s hair, his lips devouring hers with a hunger he had never shown Aria. Her best friend’s soft gasp, her body arching into him, the sound of betrayal louder than any scream.
The gift slipped from Aria’s fingers, landing with a hollow thud on the floor.
“Wha…” The word choked her. Her throat closed, her chest collapsing inward.
They broke apart, faces pale, lips swollen, guilt and fear painting their features.
“Aria, wait…” her fiancé stammered, reaching for her.
Her best friend’s eyes darted wide with panic. “It’s not what you think…”
Not what she thought?
The room spun. Her heart cracked open, jagged edges slicing her from within. Every laugh, every promise, every night she had dimmed her brilliance, hiding her dreams just to fit beside him, it all crashed down like glass shattering.
She staggered back, her hands trembling. “How could you?” Her voice trembled, raw, alien in her own ears. “Both of you?”
Tears blurred her vision, but she forced them back. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing her break.
Her fiancé stepped closer, desperation in his eyes. “I…I still love you, Aria. It was a mistake…”
A mistake.
Her laugh was hollow, jagged. “A mistake you kissed her for. A mistake you touched her with.”
Her best friend’s lips parted, no words coming out. For once, the girl who always had an answer stood silent, caught in her own shame.
Aria’s chest heaved. She couldn’t breathe here. She couldn’t stand another second in this room tainted with betrayal.
Without another word, she turned and fled.
---
Rain lashed against her windshield as she sped into the night. Her hands shook on the wheel, tears finally spilling hot down her cheeks.
Every sacrifice replayed in her mind. Nights she had stayed up helping him study while ignoring her own passions. Opportunities she had let pass, believing love was worth more than ambition. The way she had trusted her best friend with secrets, with dreams, with her whole heart.
And for what?
For this?
Her chest caved under the weight of betrayal. She pressed a hand to her heart as though she could hold the shattered pieces together.
Headlights flared in front of her.
A horn screamed.
Her car skidded, tires screeching on wet asphalt. She wrenched the wheel, but too late. Metal collided with bone-jarring force.
The world spun.
Glass exploded.
Pain seared white-hot through her body.
Her scream tore free, cut short as darkness swallowed her whole.
---
Silence.
She floated in endless black, weightless, untethered. Her tears still burned though her body felt gone.
In the void, a voice whispered.
“Daughter of time. Betrayed, yet unbroken.”
Her breath caught, though she had none.
“You mocked weakness. You cursed the Alpha’s daughter. Now you will live her fate. But your fire… will decide if you burn or rise.”
Her heart pounded though it had stopped. The memory of the book on her passenger seat flashed before her, the Alpha’s daughter, poisoned, pitied, forgotten.
Her lips trembled. “No… no, that can’t…”
The darkness split.
She fell.
