Chapter 4
But a small, annoying part of me was already wondering what wouldn't felt like to say yes.
Isla
Coming back to the Greywood mansion always felt like walking into a place where I wasn't wanted but couldn't escape.
It wasn't home. Not really.
It was too cold, too grand, too polished. Everything looked perfect on the outside, but inside, the air always felt tight, like you had to shrink yourself just to fit in.
I'd thought someone, anyone would ask where I'd been these past few hours but I'd been dead wrong.
No one, not a single soul, not even step-grandmother that I busted my ass for running over, asked where I was last night. No one even noticed I hadn't come home.
I walked through the gleaming marble hallway, the heels of my heels clicking softly. The chandeliers above sparkled like they were mocking me. The maids barely glanced in my direction. They never did. Unless they had to.
"You're back," one muttered when I passed. Not a question. Not even a shred of concern on her face. Just sheer observation or what I'd call "eye service"
I didn't respond. Didn't have the energy to.
My room was in the farthest corner of the house, the smallest of the guest suites that used to belong to storage. Viviana, my stepsister had the biggest room with a walk-in closet that looked like it belonged to royalty. My father had said she needed space to grow into her future.
What about me?
Apparently, I was done growing.
I sank into the edge of my narrow bed, the silence pressing in from all sides. My head was still a mess from last night . I couldn't stop replaying the way I'd run out of Tristan's room like my life depended on it. The memory of his gaze, calm, almost regretful, was burned into my brain.
Then came into knock.
"Isla," the housekeeper called, like I was a guest in my own life. "You're to get ready for the Alpha's ball. Your gown had been laid out. Don't be late."
I didn't bother asking why. I already knew better.
As I stood and walked towards the vanity, I caught voices floating up from the main hall, my step-grandmother's voice sharp and cloying.
"She's here, isn't she? Let Isla go in Viviana's place. We can't keep the Alpha King waiting."
My heart skipped.
Viviana had escaped again. Probably half across the pack territory by now with on eof her boyfriends. And now, they were throwing me to the wolves. Literally.
Father's voice was gruff. "Isla won't protest. She knows her peace."
That part stung.
I did know my place. At the bottom. Behind Viviana. Behind everyone.
So I got dressed. Like a good girl.
The gown was Viviana's — a pale blue satin with silver embroidery at the hem. Too elegant for me, but I wore it anyway. I painted on some light makeup, brushed my hair until it stopped looking sad and stepped into the car with them as if I belonged.
The mansion behind me faded. But the weight of it stayed.
When we arrived at the Alpha's estate, my breath caught.
The place looked like something out of a fantasy novel. Gold lights shimmered across the tall pillars, classical music floated through the air and Alpha's and Luna's in expensive suits and dressed danced like they didn't rule the world.
I walked inside like I belonged even though I knew I didn't.
The scent hit me first — leather and something dangerously familiar.
My chest tightened.
You have got to be kidding me.
It couldn't be.
My heart pounded as I scanned the crowd. My eyes found him before I was even ready.
Tristan.
Standing at the center of the ballroom, towering in his black tailored suit, effortlessly confident like he owned the entire moonlit sky.
And the worst part?
He was HIM. The Tristan from Hotel Del Belles . The one night stand I thought I'd left behind.
His stormy-grey eyes met my blues ones across the room and I wanted to run.
He smirked.
Blood drained from my face as I took a step back.
I tried to look away. I tried to pretend. But I couldn't.
He smirked like the universe was playing a cruel joke and he was in on it.
My hands trembled as I clutched the side of my gown.
Run, Isla. I screamed at myself.
But I couldn't.
Not when I was here to take Viviana's place. And now I knew exactly who I was being offered to :
The man who'd already seen me naked. The man who had touched me and lit my skin on fire. The man I had fled from.
He was Alpha King Tristan.
And I had just walked straight into his world.
Can this day not get any worse?