Windsor's POV
The cream-colored envelope felt heavier than it should have in my trembling hands. Apex Vanguard Academy's crimson seal stared back at me, unbroken and pristine. I'd been waiting for this moment for months.
My heart hammered against my ribs as I slid my finger under the wax seal. The paper crinkled softly as I unfolded it, and there it was—the first line that would change everything.
Congratulations, Miss Wade. We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Apex Vanguard Academy. Furthermore, based on the exceptional merit of your application, you have been awarded a full academic scholarship covering all tuition and fees.
I couldn't read the rest through the tears blurring my vision. A laugh bubbled up from my chest, part disbelief, part pure joy. I'd done it. I'd actually done it.
Apex Vanguard Academy. The most prestigious institution in all of Valoria. And they wanted me.
I pressed the letter against my chest, feeling the expensive paper crinkle against my racing heart. After all the doubt, all the whispered conversations I wasn't supposed to hear, all the times my family made it clear they expected me to fail—I'd proven them wrong.
The memory of that awful dinner conversation flooded back. When I'd mentioned applying to Apex, the silence around our dining table had been deafening.
"Apex?" My mother, Kaylee, had set down her wine glass with a sharp clink. "Sweetheart, don't you think you should be more... realistic about your options?"
My father, Oliver, hadn't even looked up from his meal. "The Wade name carries weight, but not enough to get you into Apex without merit."
"Which she clearly lacks," my oldest brother Matteo had added, his voice dripping with condescension. "Apex accepts the best of the best. Not the family disappointment."
Miguel had been even crueler, laughing outright. "Can you imagine? Little Windsor at Apex? They'd eat her alive in the first week."
But they were wrong. They were all wrong.
I wiped my eyes and read the letter again, savoring every word. My grades, my test scores, my essay—it had all been enough. I was enough.
There was only one person I wanted to share this moment with. Someone who had always believed in me when my family didn't. Someone who would understand just how much this meant.
Weston.
My mate. My other half. The future Alpha of the West pack who had chosen me despite my family's constant criticism. He'd been the one constant source of support in my life, always encouraging me to reach higher, dream bigger.
I clutched the letter and practically ran through the packhouse corridors toward his room. My feet barely touched the ground. I felt like I could fly.
Tonight felt perfect for more than just sharing good news. I'd been waiting, saving myself for the right moment. What could be more perfect than celebrating my acceptance to Apex by finally giving myself completely to the man I loved?
My cheeks flushed at the thought. As a young adult, I was probably the only virgin left in our entire pack. Weston had been patient, never pushing, always saying we had time. But tonight felt different. Tonight felt like the beginning of our real future together.
I reached his door and paused, smoothing down my hair and adjusting my dress. My hand hovered over the doorknob for just a moment before I turned it, ready to surprise him with the best news of my life.
The door swung open silently.
And my world shattered.
Weston was there, all right. But he wasn't alone. And he definitely wasn't waiting for me.
He was buried deep inside someone else. Someone with familiar chocolate-brown hair spread across his pillow. Someone whose face I knew as well as my own reflection.
Evelyn.
My best friend for years. My sister in everything but blood. The girl who had painted my nails just yesterday and promised we'd always have each other's backs.
I stood frozen in the doorway, the acceptance letter crumpling in my white-knuckled grip. They were so lost in each other they hadn't even noticed me. Weston's muscular back flexed as he moved above her, and she was making sounds I'd never heard from her before—soft, breathy moans that cut through me like glass.
"God, you feel so good," Weston groaned, his voice rough with pleasure. "So much better than I imagined."
Evelyn's laugh was breathless and satisfied. "You mean better than your precious little mate?"
My stomach dropped.
"Please," Weston scoffed, his rhythm never faltering. "Windsor wouldn't know what to do with a real man if her life depended on it. Such a prude. I've been with you longer than I've been pretending to court her."
"Poor little virgin," Evelyn purred, her nails dragging down his back. "Still waiting for her perfect moment. If only she knew you've been mine for a while now."
For a while. They'd been doing this behind my back for a while.
The letter slipped from my numb fingers and fluttered to the floor.
The soft sound made them both freeze. Weston's head snapped toward the door, his dark eyes meeting mine across the room. For a split second, I saw something that might have been guilt flicker across his face.
Then it was gone, replaced by cold indifference.
"Windsor." He didn't even have the decency to stop what he was doing. "I didn't hear you knock."
Evelyn turned her head lazily, a smirk playing at her lips. She looked satisfied. Triumphant. Like she'd won some game I didn't even know we were playing.
"I—" My voice came out as barely a whisper. I cleared my throat and tried again. "I got accepted. To Apex."
Weston finally pulled away from Evelyn, but he didn't look embarrassed or ashamed. He looked annoyed. "Congratulations."
That was it. That was all he had to say.
"How long?" I managed to ask, though I already knew the answer.
"Does it matter?" Evelyn sat up, not bothering to cover herself. "You're so naive, Windsor. Did you really think someone like Weston would wait around forever for little miss perfect to grow up?"
"You're my best friend." The words tasted like ash in my mouth.
"Was," she corrected. "And honestly? This was always going to happen. Weston deserves someone who can actually satisfy him."
I felt something cracking inside my chest. Something fundamental and irreparable.
"You said you loved me," I whispered to Weston.
He shrugged, completely unbothered by my pain. "I thought I could make it work. But you're just too... innocent. Too boring. A real Alpha needs a real woman, not some sheltered little girl who jumps at her own shadow."
The cruelty in his voice was like a physical blow. This wasn't the man who had whispered sweet promises in my ear. This wasn't the man who had claimed I was his everything.
"All this time..." I could barely get the words out. "You were just using me."
"Using you?" Weston laughed, harsh and mocking. "For what? You never gave me anything. At least Evelyn knows how to please a man."
Evelyn preened at the praise, and I wanted to be sick.
"I was waiting for the right moment," I said weakly.
"The right moment?" Weston's eyes flashed with something cruel. "There never would have been a right moment, Windsor. You're not cut out for this. You're not cut out for me."
He stood up then, completely naked and completely shameless. Every inch of him that I'd dreamed about touching, that I'd saved myself for, had been Evelyn's all along.
"You know what?" His voice turned cold as winter. "This actually works out perfectly. I was getting tired of pretending anyway."
My heart stopped beating. I knew what was coming before he said it.
"I reject you, Windsor Wade, as my mate."
The words hit me like a physical blow, driving the air from my lungs. The mate bond, already damaged by his betrayal, began to shred completely. Pain lanced through my chest, sharp and devastating.
But he wasn't done.
"We were never a match anyway," he added with a smirk, watching me crumble with detached interest.
The bond snapped completely, and I doubled over as agony tore through every cell in my body. It felt like dying. Like being ripped apart from the inside out.
Through the haze of pain, I heard Evelyn laugh.