Chapter 1

• ALICIA POV
• My eyes felt like they were on fire, stinging and swollen from all the crying. The rain was coming down in sheets, drenching my clothes and hair, but I didn't even care. Each step I took splashed cold water, a fitting end to what was supposed to be a special day. Today was my twentieth birthday and it had started off rough with bad news. I had hoped for a better day as it went. Instead, it was the worst one yet. The guy I thought was my soulmate, my mate, had just ripped my heart out to shreds.
• I couldn't believe it.
• He was bisexual?
• All this time? It hit me like a punch to the gut. Just an hour ago, I'd caught him cheating on me, right there in his apartment, with a guy. The same guy he'd introduced to me as his "cousin" a few months back. I should have known something was off.
• For the past three weeks, Steven had ghosted me. My fiancé and supposed mate hadn't picked up my calls, hadn't replied to a single one of my countless messages. I'd tried to tell myself it didn't hurt, that I was strong, but deep down, it did. And now, it was clear: I was the only one truly invested in our relationship. He acted like he didn't care at all.
• I remembered finding his apartment door unlocked, pushing it open, and walking into the living room. The sounds that came from his bedroom… I almost turned and ran. But something made me push the door open. And there he was, Steven, with another man. It was like a scene from a movie, but it was my life.
• I just stood there, frozen, until they noticed me. Steven’s eyes went wide with shock, and the other guy quickly pulled away.
• "Alicia? What are you doing here?" Steven blurted out, his voice hoarse.
• I couldn't speak, my throat tight. My eyes were locked on the ‘cousin.’ He looked embarrassed, pulling the sheet higher.
• "I j…juuust w….wanted to s ... .ee you," I finally managed to croak, my voice shaking. "Y…you haven't answered my calls."
• Steven swung his legs out of bed, grabbing some boxers from the floor. "Look, Alicia, I was going to tell you."
• "T…tell me…me what, S…Steven?" My voice started to rise, cracking with each word. "Tell me you're banging your 'cousin'?" I gestled with my hands, making air quotes around 'cousin'.
• He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's not that simple."
• "O….ohh ,I…I… i…think…it looks pretty S…simple to me!" I yelled, tears finally overflowing and streaming down my face. "You introduce me to him as your family, and then I find you like this on my birthday? My twentieth birthday, Steven!"
• He flinched. "I know, I know it's your birthday. And I'm sorry. I really am." He paused, looking at the floor, then back at me. "The truth is… I've been avoiding you because I couldn't bring myself to tell you this to your face. I… I've chosen a man over you."
• "And it's not just that," he continued, avoiding my gaze. "I can't accept you as my mate, Alicia. Not anymore. Ever since that night… the night we had sex… there's just no connection for me!”
• He paused again, and I held my breath, dreading what would come next.
• And to be honest," he stammered, "whenever you stuttered during sex… it really turned me off. Like, it just broke the moment for me. You're… you're better off mute."
• The words instantly got stuck in the air, sharper than any knife. My stutter had always been something I was self-conscious about, and for him to throw it in my face like that… It was beyond cruel. It felt like he was twisting the knife, enjoying my pain.
• I just stared at him, my mouth agape. The other guy in the bed looked uncomfortable, shifting under the covers.
• "You're a monster, Steven," I whispered, the words barely audible.
• "A complete monster."
• I turned and walked out, not waiting for a reply, not caring if he called my name. I just needed to get out of there. To be honest, watching him earlier, the way he moved, the sounds he made… I had never seen him moan and lose himself like that with me. It was like a switch had been flipped. Not looking back, I really think Steven was a full-on gay wolf, but he just wasn't ready to accept it, not yet. And I was caught in the middle of his struggle.
• The rain poured down, washing the streets clean, but it couldn't wash away the anger still churning inside me. Every step closer to home felt heavier than the last. Steven. The name itself made my blood boil. I still couldn't believe what had happened. He'd never, not once, given any hint that he was into men.
• We'd been close, or at least I thought we were. He was the one person who could get me to talk, really talk, even with my muteness. I was always self-conscious, always quiet, but he pushed me, gently, to use my voice. And now this. He had shamed me, made fun of my silence.
• "I accept your fu...fuvking rejection, Steven small dick!" I screamed into the downpour, my voice hoarse from the anger, as I finally stopped in front of the gate of our new place. My fist clenched, knuckles white. The rain plastered my hair to my face, and I didn't care.
• I pushed open the gate and walked into the house. It was pitch black. Not a single light was on. My brother, Carmen, should be home by now. He usually was. But maybe he was still at work, caught in the heavy rain.
• Things had been tough for us, especially after our parents died in that accident when I was four and he was twelve. I barely remembered them, just a fuzzy feeling of loss. After they were gone, everything went downhill. But Carmen and Mrs Emily Honk stood by me, they were my rock until we moved out of Mrs Emily Honk place to start our own life. He took care of me, made sure I had the best he could give.
• Last month, our rent ran out. We were about to be out on the street. Then, out of nowhere, Carmen's friend offered us this place, this huge, amazing house. I'd never met this friend, never even heard his voice. Carmen just said he'd found out about our situation and wanted to help. It seemed too good to be true. I kept asking Carmen about him, about how he knew someone so rich, but he just shrugged it off. It was all so mysterious.
• I fumbled around in the dark, trying to find the light switch. "Carmen? Y…you h…h…home?" My voice echoed in the silent house. My hand brushed against something cold, then something else, and suddenly I tripped, falling hard onto the floor with a thud.
• At that exact moment, the lights flickered on, flooding the room with a sudden, blinding brightness. My eyes, still adjusting, landed on a man standing in the middle of the living room. He was wearing sweatpants, and around him, on the floor, were… things. Items that looked very much like something out of a BDSM store.
• My heart hammered against my ribs.
• I wanted to scream. I wanted to yell, "Get out of my house before I do something you would regret!" But the words wouldn't come. My throat felt tight, my tongue heavy.
• I had instantly gone mute. Again.
• And then I understood why. This man, standing there, was the most incredibly built, attractive man I had ever seen. His muscles rippled even under the loose fabric of his sweatpants. Just looking at him, a sudden heat spread through me, and to my utter mortification, my entire pants became clammy.
• My anger at Steven was completely gone which was absurd, it was replaced by a different kind of shock, a different kind of heat that I just couldn’t explain right now.
• He didn’t feel like a stranger anymore, and this feeling was something entirely new, entirely unexpected. And I was completely speechless.