Princess Betrayed by Rogue

Antonella:

"Jerk! You spineless sheep!" How dare he insult me like that? I did everything he ever asked of me because I loved him deeply. I was ready to give him my all, yet he dismissed my sacrifices and used such degrading words to describe me. My heart was ablaze with anger. Jaziel's sharp claws were ripping into it, leaving wounds that bled slowly, transforming into tears that silently rolled down my cheeks. The quiet sobs left me feeling cold and alone.

Once I managed to calm down, I turned back into my human form, feeling the chill on my skin. I hugged myself, my nails digging into my arms. Sweet memories surfaced, wrapped in delicate bubbles, one by one in my mind.

After my father, Mateo, agreed to let us date, I had cooked a candlelit dinner, despite barely knowing how to cook. I burned my hand on the boiling water, and Jaziel was there instantly, gently touching the blister. "Does it hurt? Silly girl, you should have left it to me!" he said.

Another time, when I was unwell, he held me close and sprinted to the estate’s medical wing, staying by my side for days and nights, his eyes red from exhaustion. I brushed his chin with concern, and he chuckled, "It's okay. We'll be home soon."

He kissed the old scar on my wrist, tenderness obvious in his eyes, and under the moonlight, he promised, "I, Jaziel Lynch, will never let Antonella Mitchell face any hardship in this life!"

The moonlight was so enchanting that night; it tricked me into believing he truly loved me.

"Are you sure that by tomorrow, you'll have just as much as the heiress?" Oscar asked hesitantly.

"She's crazy about me," Jaziel replied, shifting into a more comfortable position. "Once I have her inheritance, I don’t need her anymore."

"Wow, that’s harsh. How can you treat someone who's been nothing but genuine with you like that?"

Jaziel laughed heartily, "Genuine? Sincerity doesn't pay the bills. We’ve endured enough hunger, scorn, and insults as loners. I won’t go through that again."

"Aren’t you worried Antonella will uncover your plot?"

"With her smarts, she won’t catch on."

Jaziel downed his glass of whiskey, as if with absolute resolve. Their conversation dragged me back to harsh reality. Jaziel saying to Oscar, "Once I have her inheritance, I don’t need her anymore," felt like icy needles stabbing into my aching temples.

I pressed my fingers against my temples, trying to clear my mind. I was nothing but a means to wealth for him. I was the fool who thought I'd found a lifelong partner when in reality, I was just a golden ticket wrapped in warmth to him.

Tears fell again, carrying my broken heart with them to the cold ground, as if it had suddenly dropped. I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand, but the more I wiped, the wetter my face became, my vision blurring.

My inner wolf roared, "If that’s the case, then get rid of him!"

The colorful bubbles in my mind shattered into dust with that roar. I dared not listen further, fearing my heart would also turn to dust. Yet I feared confronting Jaziel, afraid of succumbing to his verbal assaults.

My legs felt weighted down, unable to move. I stood there, biting my lip hard enough that my teeth pierced the skin, using the pain to suppress the lump in my throat.

"About the engagement party cake, you should find a way to lace it with wolfsbane," Jaziel’s wolf-like eyes narrowed, hatching an even darker scheme.

"Wolfsbane?" My pupils widened in shock.

"You wouldn’t...come on, man, I think you should reconsider. Wolfsbane is dangerous for us," Oscar warned.

"A little won’t do any harm. After she signs over the inheritance, we’ll celebrate with a toast and cake. The wolfsbane will strip her of the ability to awaken her inner wolf. Imagine, the heiress of the Red Ridge Wolves unable to shift! Hahaha…" Jaziel laughed maniacally. "Just the thought excites me!"

"Antonella, he…he wants to kill us…no, he wants to kill me!" My wolf howled in despair.

Jaziel's words felt like icy spikes driving into my bones, scraping away the last bit of warmth from my heart. This time, the tears didn’t fall. I just felt cold, from my fingertips to my core, as if plunged into a winter lake.

The person I bared my soul to wanted to render me powerless, leaving me an heiress without a wolf—a cruel joke indeed.

Any hope I had about love or a shared future had frozen and shattered into pieces. Oscar sighed helplessly, "Only you could come up with something so devious."

"It's merely stripping her of her title, nothing more. It won't kill her," Jaziel said, his face twisted into a sinister expression I had never seen before. "An heiress without her wolf is worthless. By then, I can break it off, be single again, and keep her wealth."

"You’re the most despicable wolf I’ve ever seen," Oscar said, shifting into his wolf form. "Leave it to me," he said, heading for the back door. "If you change your mind, call me. Wolfsbane is hard to come by…"

"Not unless pigs fly," Jaziel replied casually.

"Antonella, it seems he’s set on killing me!"

"Kill you? Who would dare?"

My inner wolf howled, and my whole body trembled. If he is so heartless, then I shall be ruthless.