ONE
SKYLA POV
"Ah," I mumbled. I tried to hide my discomfort as the pain in my chest increased terribly. It was the third time this week, and each pain was worse than the previous one.
"Are you okay?" one of the female students seated in the massive hall asked.
"Yeah" I'm fine," I lied.
The hall was occupied with first-year students excitedly waiting for my speech. Giving a speech wasn't new to me. As the head of the student body, I was accustomed to this practice, but unfortunately, this felt more draining than the others. My heartburn decided to strike again today of all days.
"Skyla!!! I heard my best friend Nora scream, followed by a loud gasp as I slowly lost consciousness, and soon after, everywhere became pitch black.
***
"Skyla, please wake up," I heard Nora's voice faintly.
I struggled to push my eyelids open and took in my surroundings. I was in the restroom near the hall where I was previously. Nora was beside me, gently patting my back and urging me to wake up.
"I think I should visit the pack healer again," I tell Nora. My right hand was gripping my chest tightly, hoping that the pain would go away.
"Are you sure? You are probably just stressed from all your classes and extracurricular activities. Or maybe your upcoming wedding might be the reason for it," Nora replied confidently.
"No, I'm sure of it. It has to be something serious. It's been going on for three weeks now! Nora, I'm serious. Why don't you take me seriously?"
"I do- it's just it might bring up rumors that something is up with your health if you are seen going to the pack healer for treatment just a few days before your wedding. "
“Huh?” I asked in shock, hurt that she would care more about the rumors than my health.
"People would talk, Skyla! You do not want that type of attention. Otherwise, you don't mind being stripped of your position as the future Luna." Nora warned.
"Richard won't let that happen, "I replied, my voice strained from the pain. "oh, Skyla..." Nora shook her head.
"Look, just wait there. I'm going to get you something to eat," Nora said and dashed out of the bathroom.
I signed tiredly as I washed the door jam close. I looked back at the mirror and took in my pale appearance. My usually slightly tanned skin looked dead due to how pale I looked today. My green eyes held questions I had no answers to.
Was all this really just because of stress? Richard had said the same thing when I told him about my frequent heartburns. The pack doctor also said the same thing the first time I went there. Deep down, I knew it wasn't just that…
‘I think Richard is betraying us; I feel so much pain,’ my wolf groaned, her voice strained.
‘No! Richard would never do that to us; he loves us,’ I retorted. I loved Richard wholeheartedly, and I doubt he’d do anything to hurt me. That was unlike him.
‘Skyla, it has to be that. This burn might be caused by Richard cheating on us!’ Kyi, my wolf, warned.
‘Stop!’ I yelled, annoyed that she would accuse Richard of something like that. My yelling must have pissed her off since she immediately blocked me off, but I could still feel her pain.
I was completely fed up with everything. I grabbed my car keys littered on the sink and shoved them inside my pants. I pulled my short pink hair into a bun and tiredly walked out of the bathroom straight to the school exit door.
I quickly spotted my car at the far end of the parking lot and skipped towards it. My thoughts of Nora coming back were long forgotten. I didn't feel like dealing with her anyway. Her energy has been off for the past three weeks. Richard wasn't any different, but I tried to push all negative thoughts away, determined not to overthink it.
I sped through the surprisingly empty street and headed straight to the pack house. Maybe Richard would understand I was in severe pain if he saw me this way. Within a few minutes, I had already arrived at the pack house.
The maids present at the pack house had looks of shock when they saw me storming inside at this early hour. I should be in school, but I couldn't care less about that. Maybe I actually needed rest, just as Nora had suggested.
"Ma’am, you can't go inside now! Alpha Richard has instructed that he should not be disturbed,” one of the maids said gently, trying to stop me from going upstairs.
"Richard is my mate," I gritted. How dare she stop from seeing him?
I saw panic flash through her eyes, and the rest of the maids present looked like they were scared, also. What was their issue?
Deciding to pay no mind to them, I brushed past the maid who had dared to stand in my way and hurried upstairs. I desperately craved Richard's touch, and I knew he wouldn't hesitate to pull me into his famous tight hug once he saw me. Maybe that would calm my wolf...
"mph... Oh God, Richard! You f**k so good. I heard an oddly familiar voice moan on reaching Richard’s bedroom door.
What the heck? I felt a lump form in my throat and whimpered as the pain in my chest increased drastically. My hand rested on the door noob, but I hesitated. I didn’t want to believe what was happening, but I could hear them loud and clear.
"We are good partners, Carolyn. Skyla can never make me feel this good. She is far too uptight,” Richard snicked.
From the sounds of their skin hitting against each other, it wasn't hard to figure out what they were doing. But I needed confirmation; I pushed the door open in anger, and the sight of Richard f*****g his supposed ‘cousin’ Carolyn burned my eyes.
I should have known… Precisely three weeks ago, Richard had introduced Carolyn to me as his distant cousin who would be staying at the pack house for a couple of days, which turned into weeks. I didn’t mind, though, since she was ‘family.’
How naive I had been… they were f*****g right under my nose, and I couldn’t notice a thing. That explains my frequent heartburn and the weird behavior from the maids when they saw me at this hour.
“How could you?” I whimpered.
Carolyn and Richard both turned to look at me in shock, just noticing my presence.
“Skyla-“ Richard muttered and pushed Carolyn, who was previously riding his d**k. He had always been good with words, but how on earth did he intend to explain this?
“HOW DARE YOU!” I screamed, my eyes already blurred with tears. I was shaking with anger, and my wolf was screaming at me to take over. She wanted to handle things herself, but I knew how she would behave.
“Skyla, you have to understand; I just had to,” Richard replied unapologetically.
“You know, if you had been more good in bed, he wouldn’t have needed to bring me here as his cousin so his needs would be met,” Carolyn replied smugly.
“f*****g b***h!” I yelled and slapped her on the face, watching in satisfaction as her naked body dropped to the floor. Both Carolyn and Richard shared a look of shock, surprised by my strength.
My heart clenched as Richard rushed to Carolyn’s side to make sure she wasn’t hurt. How shameless could he be?
“DON’T YOU DARE LAY YOU HANDS ON HER AGAIN!” Richard warned angrily, making me flinch.
“Richard…” I whispered. My tears were falling uncontrollably, and his words felt like pins stabbing into my heart violently.
How did my sweet and loving mate turn into this monster?