The Lycan s Princess

~Rielle 

"She is pregnant, Rielle. At least be more sensitive." He said, in an exasperated tone that only made my stomach sink lower. 

I was still clad in my wedding gown. The pearls around my neck were suddenly too tight, it felt like a noose. This was not how it was supposed to be. 

I turned my gaze to Gloria, the woman who was pregnant with my groom's child. It was all so bizarre. 

"You were sleeping with her?" My voice was shaky. It did not sound like me. "Months to our wedding?" My voice rose. 

Jameson fixed me with a stare that I could not read. It was as though I was speaking to a stranger. "Yes, Rielle. It was a one time thing. It happened after that fight we had." He was explaining but I could not hear a single hint of remorse in his voice. 

"Do you not realise the enormity of what you have done to me?" My voice grew even louder. 

Gloria cringed as if my voice could burst her very sensitive eardrums. 

"Rielle, be civil." Lucinda, my-would-be-mother-in-law said where she sat. "We are not animals here." She took a dismissive sip of her tea. She did not look me in the eye. It was as though I was an afterthought. 

Why were they so calm? Why was I the only one panicking at this news. Unless...

I turned to Lucinda. I could not even conjure up rage, I was just hurt. "You knew..." 

She cast her disinterested gaze on me. "So?" She raised a brow. "What did you expect me to do? Turn the mother of my grandchild away?" 

The foundation of trust, painstakingly built over time, crumbled beneath the weight of betrayal, leaving me standing amidst emotional rubble.

I saw these people as my family. We had so many memories together. I convinced my father to invest in the pack because I could not watch them go down in ruin. I watched the pack grow with my father's assistance. They were there for me when my father died. 

Lucinda was the mother I never had and Jameson was the love of my life. It was hard to think, to breathe. Every breath felt like I was being torn on the inside with blades. 

"What about me?" I asked as I finally allowed my tears to fall. "After everything, I did for you. After everything my father..." 

Jameson's expression went from detached to irritated in less than a second as though he had been anticipating me bringing up the elephant in the room. "There you go again. Everything I have done. Everything my father did for you." He mimicked and I could have sworn I heard Gloria chuckle. 

"You hold that shit over me all the fucking time. Like I should be indebted to you and kiss your feet." He had never in all our years together spoken to me like this. "You were always nothing but a reminder that I had a debt to pay to that old geezer." 

Finally, I saw red. "Don't you fucking speak of my father in that way." 

A scornful grin made its way to his mouth. "Or what? He is dead, is he not?" 

"Jameson..." I cracked. 

He looked like he was fighting back the urge to roll his eyes. "Look Rielle..." His voice softened and my heart soared at the prospect that it had all been a joke. A prank. A sick, twisted one but a prank nonetheless. Everything would be alright. Jameson still loved...