The night my life fell apart, no one warned me.
There was no sign. No slow change. No moment to prepare myself.
One second, I was standing beside the man I trusted more than anyone.
The next, I was being handed over like I meant nothing.
Like I had always meant nothing.
"You're not making this easy," Kael said, his voice low, almost annoyed, like I was the problem here.
For a moment, I just stared at him.
I waited.
I don't even know what I was waiting for. A smile. A sign. Anything that would tell me this was some kind of sick joke.
"You're joking," I said.
But my voice didn't sound convinced.
And neither did I.
"I'm not," he replied.
No hesitation.
No guilt.
That was the exact moment something inside me cracked.
It didn't shatter all at once. It split quietly, right down the middle, leaving something cold behind where warmth used to be.
The room felt strange after that.
Too quiet. Too still.
Like everyone else already knew what was happening and I was the only one left trying to understand it.
"You're giving me away?" I asked slowly.
Kael exhaled like he was tired of explaining something obvious.
"It's not like that."
I let out a small, empty laugh. "Then explain it in a way that doesn't sound exactly like that."
His jaw tightened for a second.
Then he said it.
"I'm making a deal."
The words hit harder than anything else.
A deal.
My chest tightened so suddenly it almost hurt.
"With me?" I asked.
"No," he said. "Because of you."
That hurt more.
Much more.
I nodded slowly, trying to process it, but nothing made sense.
"So I'm what? A payment?" I asked. "Something you hand over to make your life easier?"
"You're overreacting."
That snapped something in me.
"Overreacting?" I repeated, my voice rising before I could stop it. "You're trading me to another Alpha and I'm overreacting?"
No one moved.
No one stepped in.
No one even looked surprised.
I turned my head slightly, looking around the room, hoping someone would say something.
Anything.
Nothing came.
My stomach dropped.
"You knew," I said quietly. "All of you knew."
Still nothing.
The silence pressed in on me, heavy and suffocating.
I looked back at him.
"Why?" I asked.
This time my voice wasn't angry.
It was smaller.
That made it worse.
He hesitated.
Just for a second.
But I saw it.
"Because I have to," he said.
I shook my head immediately. "No. That's not enough. That's not a reason."
"It is for me."
Something about the way he said that made everything inside me go still.
This was already decided.
Nothing I said mattered.
Nothing I did would change it.
"And what happens to me?" I asked quietly. "After this?"
His eyes shifted away.
Just slightly.
That was enough.
"You don't even care," I said.
"That's not true."
"Then look at me and say that again."
He didn't.
He couldn't.
And that was all I needed to know.
My throat tightened, but I forced myself to stay standing, to stay steady, even as everything inside me felt like it was falling apart.
"Who is he?" I asked.
Kael didn't answer.
But someone else did.
"You don't need to know that."
The voice came from behind him.
Low. Calm. Controlled.
Different.
Every instinct in my body reacted instantly.
I turned slowly.
And then I saw him.
He wasn't loud. He wasn't trying to stand out.
But the room shifted around him anyway.
Like everything else adjusted without asking him first.
His eyes found mine immediately.
And stayed there.
Not curious.
Not surprised.
Just steady.
Like he had already made up his mind about me.
"So this is her," he said.
Kael nodded once. "She's part of the deal."
Hearing it again made something twist painfully in my chest.
His gaze didn't leave mine.
"Does she understand?" he asked.
"No."
"I thought so."
I took a step forward without thinking. "I understand enough. I'm not going anywhere with you."
For the first time, something changed in his expression.
Not much.
Just enough.
"Good," he said quietly. "Then this will be simple."
My stomach tightened. "Simple for who?"
He stepped closer.
Just one step.
But it was enough to make the space between us feel too small.
"Not for you," he said.
Something about that made my pulse spike.
"No," I said immediately. "I'm not going with you."
"You don't have a choice."
"I always have a choice."
"Not this time."
The certainty in his voice made my chest tighten.
I turned, ready to walk away, ready to leave all of this behind before it became real.
I didn't get far.
A hand closed around my wrist.
Firm.
Unmoving.
I froze.
Not because it hurt.
Because of how easily it stopped me.
"Let go," I said.
"No."
Simple. Direct.
Like he had already decided how this would go.
I pulled against his grip.
Nothing.
He didn't move.
If anything, his hold tightened just enough to make it clear I wasn't getting away.
"You don't get to touch me," I said, my voice sharper now.
His eyes dropped briefly to my hand, then back to my face.
"I already am."
The words hit harder than they should have.
I pushed against him, trying to force space between us.
For a second, I lost my balance.
He steadied me instantly.
And that made everything worse.
"Don't," I said quickly.
His hand dropped like he had caught himself.
Like he hadn't meant to do that.
For a brief second, something unreadable passed through his eyes.
Then it was gone.
"Take her," he said.
Two guards stepped forward.
I moved back immediately. "Don't touch me."
They didn't stop.
Hands grabbed my arms.
Held me in place.
I struggled, twisting, trying to break free.
"Kael," I said.
Not shouted.
Just said.
He didn't move.
Didn't look at me.
Didn't react.
That was it.
That was the moment everything inside me finally broke.
This wasn't a mistake.
He wasn't going to stop it.
He had already chosen.
And it wasn't me.
---
End
As they dragged me toward the door, I stopped fighting for just a second.
Not because I gave up.
Because I needed to see.
I looked back.
Not at Kael.
At him.
The Alpha.
He was already watching me.
Like he had been waiting.
Like this was exactly how it was supposed to happen.
Our eyes met.
And something in my chest twisted sharply.
Not pain.
Not fear.
Something else.
Something that didn't feel right.