Chapter 1 My Mate's Wedding

• Layla's pov.
• I'm the fool, just like everyone calls me, the outcast, the one who isn't good enough to attend any special functions except today there's an exception and I'm here serving wine and food and also cleaning up after Sofia my cousin.
• The music was playing in the background song, so far I had made five trips back to the kitchen, two loads of slaps from Sofia and her mother.
• It's Sofia's wedding day to no other person but my mate, my own mate. What other thing is worst then heartbreak than this.
• “Come here,” Clarrissa, my aunt dragged me to the corner behind the kitchen and there was Sofia, pacing, her eyes filled with hatred for me.
• “You will abort that thing in your womb.” She snarled.
• “No,” I said in a small voice.
• “I can't have you ruin my marriage you twerp.” She said and slapped me.
• “Drake is my mate.” I sobbed, tears falling from my eyes.
• “He is mine now and I don't want anyone to find out that you are pregnant for him.” She said through gritted teeth.
• I shook my head slowly, my tears staining my cheeks.
• “You…you…”
• “Look here you cheap slut,” Clarrissa yelled, turning my head to face her and digging her talon like nails into my cheeks almost drawing out blood. “ You will do as my daughter said.”
• “This is my pup….my first child. I can't do this.” I begged.
• She came closer and her voice lessen to a conspiratorial whisper. “ And that's why you have to do it sweetheart, who says you can't have any child….” She smiled and looked at her daughter. “... With any man you so desires, you are good in opening your legs.”
• I gasped and look up at her.
• “ You said after the marriage I'll —”
• “And I'm saying Plan B is in motion. Things have changed child. You will take the child out a pill will do it. Clean and fast.”
• My heart was thumbing in my chest.
• Aunt Clarissa had said I get to keep the baby and tell Drake later after the marriage. I had found out I was pregnant three weeks ago and this marriage….this marriage was supposed to be mine but I had been labeled a thief two nights ago and Drake had chosen Sofia because she had seduced him and slept with him.
• “And oh, I forgot to tell you, I and Drake had been having sex for a long time and I'm expecting his twins.” She said as if reading my thoughts and rubbing her stomach.
• The door opened and Doctor Every walked in and I gasped. I should have known. She told them about my pregnancy.
• “Take this and flush that thing from your stomach.” Clarrissa said taking the small bottle and squeezed it into my palms. “Even a drop will flush it and you get to attend the marriage ceremony.”
• I stared at the small bottle shaking in my palm. The bitter taste of fear filled my mouth even before I drank it. Tears kept falling freely, burning my cheeks. I wanted to say no, I wanted to fight, but Aunt Clarissa’s cold voice froze me.
• “You have no choice, Layla. Take this, and this nightmare will end. Refuse, and we will let everyone know what a liar you are.”
• Her words dug into me like sharp knives. “What do you mean?” I asked, voice trembling.
• Clarissa’s eyes darkened with hatred. “We will say you slept with Drake’s stepbrother when he visited. We will say you are a liar, a cheat. And if that’s not enough, that you killed Drake’s grandfather.” She spat the last words like poison.
• I gasped. My heart pounded like a drum in my chest. I never did any of those things! But to them... to everyone else, who would believe me? I was just Layla — the fool, the outcast. No one would stand by me.
• Sofia and her mother laughed softly, their smiles cruel and full of victory. “You see, Layla,” Sofia said, her voice ice cold, “this is how the world sees you. They’ll believe us before they believe the likes of you.”
• I shook my head, desperate, tears blurring my vision. “I’m not lying. I’m pregnant with Drake’s child… please, don’t make me do this.”
• Clarissa stepped closer, her nails digging lightly into my cheeks again, making me flinch. “You think you can keep that baby? You’re just a mistake, Layla. A shame in our family.”
• “But it’s my child,” I whispered, clinging to whatever courage I had left.
• She smiled cruelly. “Plan B is better. Clean and fast. A pill, and you no longer ruin Sofia’s perfect day.” She dropped the empty threat in my palm again—the small bottle.
• My hands trembled uncontrollably as I held it. My head spun, mind desperate for a way out.
• And just then, the door slammed open.
• Two guards stepped inside, their faces stern and unreadable. One held a folded piece of paper. The air around me instantly changed—hope and fear battling inside.
• “Layla,” one guard began, reading the order aloud, “by order of the Alpha, you are under arrest. You must come with us now.”
• Arrest? My breath caught in my throat. “For what?” I whispered, voice nearly broken.
• The guards exchanged glances but said nothing more.
• Behind me, Sofia’s face was lit with a victorious smile. Clarissa’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction like they’d just won a game. They said nothing, but their cruel expressions spoke volumes. It wasn’t about the truth. It was about making me suffer.
• I looked down at the bottle still in my hand, then back at the guards. I was caught, trapped in their web of lies and cruelty. My sobs sounded hollow, like echoes in a cage.
• They reached for my arms, firm but not cruel. I let them lead me out, heart heavy and mind numb.
• As the door closed behind me, I heard Sofia’s soft laugh and Clarissa’s proud whisper