The Mark That Wasn’t Mine Chapter 02
The lights in the pack hospital emergency room were blinding, and the smell of disinfectant filled the hallway.
The red light in the operating room was on, and the door was shut tight.
I slid down the cold wall and sat on the floor, hugging my knees and burying my face in my arms.
As I scrolled through my grandmother’s phone, I saw those pictures.
Turquoise waters, blue skies, and white sandy beaches. Emily is in the bikini I bought her, her body pressed against Alex’s tanned chest. In another photo, they’re kissing on the yacht’s sofa, with Alex’s hand running through her fiery red hair. In yet another, she’s giving the camera a thumbs-up, a diamond ring glistening on her finger.
The photo was posted ten minutes before my grandmother fainted.
“……Oh my God, no.”
Grandma is my only family; she raised me and gave everything she had for this pack. She was also the only council elder who believed Alex could become Alpha.
Yet she nearly died because of my foolish choice in love.
Tears blurred my vision.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway, and a shadow fell over the room.
“Are you okay, Sarah? Grandma… she’ll pull through.” A sleek black card appeared before my eyes. “Here. This should cover her bills. All of them. And… it’s enough to pay back what Emily owes you, too. Let’s not talk about this anymore, okay? She just cried herself into a faint. She’s very sensitive.”
“Get lost!” I swatted his hand away. The card spun through the air and clattered to the floor.
“Sarah!” he gritted his teeth. “Don’t push it!”
“I’m pushing it?!” My voice trembled. “She’s a parasite! A bloodsucker who begs me for tuition! Where was all that so-called sensitivity when she spread her legs on the beach?”
“Why are you humiliating me like this?” Emily gasped in anguish. “I’ll pay you back! Every last penny—I swear!”
Alex pulled her behind him and glared at me with utter contempt. “You’re completely unreasonable. Do you really think having money gives you the right to boss people around? Just because you have money, you think you can boss people around? You’re so cruel and arrogant… Yes, that’s exactly why! That’s why I fell in love with her!”
I stared straight at him. “You said… you love her?”
“Yes! I love her!” He took a step closer. “Remember that investor dinner the pack hosted? You drank yourself into a bloody vomit for the pack and called me from the pack hospital. I didn’t answer. I was with her at the time. While you were pumping your stomach, I was in bed with her.”
I remember the next morning, when he appeared in my pack hospital room smelling fresh from the shower, gently kissed my forehead, and said, “I’m sorry I was late. I love you.”
All lies.
A hoarse roar burst from my throat, and I lunged at him. “You liar! You scumbag!”
Emily screamed and jumped between us. “Stop it! Don’t touch him!”
I shoved her hard: “Get lost, you bitch!”
She let out a scream and stumbled backward; her heel twisting, and she fell heavily to the ground, clutching her ankle and groaning.
“Sarah! Are you out of your mind?!” Alex roared, shoving me hard against the wall. My back slammed into a fire extinguisher, and a sharp pain shot through me.
He didn’t even look at me. He knelt down beside Emily, incredibly gentle. “Are you okay? Does your stomach hurt?”
He gently pulled the girl into his arms, then turned to look at me with eyes as cold as winter. “It seems I need to reconsider whether you’re still worthy of Luna’s position.”
He scooped her up in his arms and strode down the hallway.
I leaned against the wall and took deep breaths.
The next moment, the door to the intensive care unit swung open with a whoosh.
A healer in green scrub suit walked out, looking grave.
My heart froze instantly.
“Ms. Walker?” he said. “Her condition is currently stable… but she is not out of the woods yet. The bleeding in her brain has been contained, but she is experiencing severe secondary edema. We will continue to monitor her closely.”
Thank you, Goddess.
I slumped onto the bench, completely drained, my back soaked with cold sweat.
I’m sorry, Grandma, for putting you through all this. Once you’re better, I’ll take you away. We’ll leave together. Somewhere no Alex, no Emily, and no betrayal. Just the two of us.
