Chapter 47 Forty seven
Chapter 47 Forty seven
Celeste
I stood outside Zander’s penthouse door with my heart beating so hard I could feel it in my throat.
The black dress hugged every curve I owned. My makeup was flawless and my smile was already practiced in the elevator mirror. I was here to remind him who he belonged to. Who the future Mrs. Ashveil was and who had been chosen by both our fathers to stand at his side and build something unbreakable.
I knocked once.
The door opened and my world tilted.
Zander stood there shirtless, sweat still glistening on his chest, hair a wrecked mess. His grey eyes were dark, pupils blown wide. Behind him, halfway across the open living room, was her.
Iris.
Barefoot. Dress torn open down the front, barely held together by one strap. Her lips were swollen. Her throat carried fresh red marks. Her thighs glistened with something wet that definitely wasn’t sweat. The entire penthouse smelled like sex, filthy, unmistakable. Like he had just finished fucking her raw against every surface he could reach.
My stomach dropped.
Then rage flooded in so fast my vision went red.
“What the fuck is this?” I said, my voice low and venomous.
Zander’s jaw tightened. “Celeste, what the fuck are you doing...”
“Save it.” I stepped inside without being invited, eyes locked on her. “You really couldn’t wait, could you? Couldn’t even pretend for one goddamn night that you respect the woman you’re supposed to marry.”
Iris didn’t react. She just lifted her chin, amber eyes flashing with something dark and satisfied. “He didn’t invite me to pretend, Celeste. He invited me to fuck.”
The word hit me like a slap.
I laughed once, bitter and ugly. “Of course he did. The little whore finally got what she wanted. Spread your legs in his house and now you think you own him? Pathetic.”
Zander stepped between us. “Enough.”
“No,” I snapped, shoving past him. “Let her speak. I want to hear how she justifies crawling here the morning after my father and yours watched her squirm like a cornered rat.”
Iris smiled dangerously. “I don’t justify anything to you. I came here because I wanted him. Inside me. Deep and hard. Until I couldn’t think straight and he gave it to me. Multiple times. You should try it sometime. Might loosen that stick up your ass.”
My wolf moved forward so fast my skin rippled.
“You think you’re special?” I hissed, stepping closer until we were almost nose to nose. “You’re nothing but a temporary itch. A cheap thrill, he will fuck you, get bored, and come back to me like he always does. Because I am the one who was chosen. I am the one who fits. You are just the dirty little secret he’ll be ashamed of tomorrow.”
Iris’s eyes narrowed. “Chosen? You mean bought and paid for by your daddy and his. Tell me, Celeste does it burn knowing the only reason he touches you is obligation? That the second he smells me he forgets your name?”
That was it.
I shifted first.
Bones cracked, fur exploded across my skin. My wolf was smaller, sleeker, but I had years of controlled rage behind her. I lunged.
Iris shifted half a second later.
Her wolf was bigger than I expected. Darker and meaner. Amber eyes glowing with pure fury as we crashed together in the middle of the living room.
We tore into each other.
Snarls and growls filled the penthouse. Claws slashed, teeth snapped. I went for her throat. She twisted and raked her claws down my side, drawing blood. Pain flared hot and bright. I bit down on her shoulder. She slammed me into the coffee table, wood splintering beneath us.
Zander was shouting something “Stop! Both of you, stop!” but neither of us listened.
I pinned her for a second, jaws closing around her scruff. She bucked hard, rolled, and suddenly she was on top. Her teeth sank into my flank. I yelped. She shook me like a rag doll and threw me across the room. I hit the wall hard, breath knocked out of me.
When I looked up she was already shifting back to human form, standing over me naked, blood streaking her side from where I’d bitten her. Her eyes were pure fire.
She dropped to one knee beside me while I was still half-shifted, still trying to get up.
Zander was moving toward us, but she held up a hand without looking at him. He stopped.
Iris leaned in close, lips brushing my ear so only I could hear.
Her voice was low, cold, and deadly.
“The omega beats the princess every single time.”
She stood up, wiped blood from her lip with the back of her hand, and looked straight at Zander.
“I’m done here,” she said calmly.
Then she turned, grabbed what was left of her torn dress, and walked out the door without another word.
Naked, bleeding and victorious.
The door clicked shut behind her.
I lay on the floor, chest heaving, blood pooling under me, my wolf whining in defeat.
Zander stood frozen in the middle of the wrecked room, staring at the door like she had taken something vital with her when she left.
For the first time in my life, I understood exactly how much I had just lost.
The princess had been beaten and the omega had walked away like she already owned the crown.