Chapter 1 Shattered Vows

“This is so beautiful,” Nora said, grinning from ear to ear, as she admired the ring she'd be wearing on her wedding day. The joy and excitement of a bride to be was evident on Nora, as her wedding day approached, her emotions had been a mix of anticipation, happiness, and sometimes a touch of anxiety. “I might be wolfless, but I'm grateful that I found someone who loves me for who I am,” she giggled. The Cinderella story, where a maiden meets her prince charming, had been sold to her, and she couldn't wait to start this new chapter of her life with her prince charming. Nora is deeply grateful to the moon goddess for Ryder, her husband to be. Knowing that he is committed to spending forever with her, she feels loved, and cherished. It's three days to their wedding, and she wanted to rehearse her vows with Ryder, she couldn't imagine the embarrassment she'd feel if she ever forgets her vow. She picks up her phone to call Ryder. “Hi, this is Ryder, I am unavailable at the moment, you can leave a message for me, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.” “Not again,” Nora lets out a loud hiss as the call went straight to voicemail, she had been trying his phone number since she woke up in the morning, and now it's late in the evening, only to keep getting to his voicemail. “Could something terrible have happened to him? Is he sick?” she wondered, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. She decides to call Mira, her foster sister and bestfriend, to tell her that she'd be spending the night at Ryder’s place, but couldn't get through to her. Nora, who was worried sick about her husband-to-be, hastily headed over to his house which was just ten minutes walk from her place of work. She finally gets to Ryder's house, she pressed the doorbell but got no response, her heart began to thump hard against her chest, beads of sweat trickled down her face, she had the spare key, and so she quickly opened the door. Her heels clicked on the marble floor as she approached Ryder's bedroom door. She had meant to rehearse her vows with him, but is now more worried about not being able to reach him. As she got close to the door, she heard sounds coming from inside the bedroom, she decided to pay rapt attention to the sound, but couldn't make sense of what she was hearing, and so she pushed open the door. The scene that unfolded before her eyes shattered her heart into a million pieces, Ryder, her husband to be, lay naked in bed, entwined with Mira, her best friend and foster sister. Nora's eyes widened in shock as she tried hard to come to terms with what she had just seen. The room's atmosphere was thick with sex and betrayal, while Ryder, and Mira slowly opened their eyes to meet Nora's menacing gaze. "How...how could you?" Nora's voice trembled with hurt and disappointment. "Have you ever heard of the word, "privacy"? I guess not, 'cause why would you even come to my house without calling me first?" Ryder brows furrowed. Instead of remorse, Ryder, and Mira exchanged a lazy, guilty smile. Mira stretched lazily while Ryder rubbed the sleep from his eyes, his expression not remorseful. “You were so busy, and blinded with the wedding preparations, and Ryder here, needed someone to keep him company, in which I obliged,” Mira’s smile faded into a smirk, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Tears streamed down Nora's face, her world had crumbled around her, the only person she had loved with the whole of her being had betrayed her. She felt like she had been punched in her gut, unable to catch her breath, she felt suffocated by the pain of the heartbreak. “This doesn't change anything though,” Mira snickered, still playing with her hair, “You can still go on with the wedding plans, just see this as a favor from me,” she added with a dismissive shrug. Nora wanted to talk, but couldn't, it was all too much for her, Ryder was supposed to be hers, and hers alone, she couldn't bear the thought of sharing her ‘supposed’ prince charming with another woman, talk more of her best friend and foster sister. “I'll… I'll report you to Dad,” Nora stuttered, her threat barely above a whisper. “You mean my Dad?” Mira paused, and lets out a hysterical laugh before continuing, “How could you be so delusional, to think my father, who found you abandoned by the riverside, would choose to side with you over me— his flesh and blood? How?” she taunted, her voice dripping with malice. Nora felt a sharp stab of anger within her gut, her anger boiled over and she stormed towards Mira, and gave her a resounding slap— the one that was able to reset her brain. The force of the slap sent Mira’s head jerking to the side. Mira’s eyes flashed with rage, as she launched herself at Nora, they both clashed, and began to struggle. Ryder watched them as they both exchanged slaps and blows, and when he saw that they were not ready to stop fighting, he rushed towards them and pries them apart with a firm grip. “Enough!” Ryder barked, his voice firm. “Both of you should go home, we'll talk about this tomorrow.” “If there is anyone that's supposed to leave, it should be her,” Mira's chest heaved with ragged breaths, as she points at Nora. Ryder turned towards Nora, “You know how stubborn Mira can be, I think you should go first, she'll meet you at home.” “This is the last day you'll ever set your eyes on me. The wedding is off, you insolent bastard!” With a final venomous glance at Ryder, Nora spun around and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. As Nora left Ryder’s house, the thought of suicide crept into her mind, facing the Pack to tell them that the wedding was off seemed like an impossible task to accomplish. Darkness crept in, and her mind swirled, the weight of her shattered dreams crushing her, she continued walking, and walking till she got to an old bridge just at the outskirt of the Pack. “This will put an end to my misery,” she climbed onto the railing with a sense of hopelessness. The wind swooshed past her face, and she closed her eyes, ready to let go. But just as she was about to take a leap, she heard a voice in her head, “what do you think you are trying to do?” The voice was familiar, one she had heard lots of times, the voice of hope and resilience. Nora opened her eyes, “There's nothing left for me in this world,” “Get it together!” This time, the voice showed no mercy, “Do you think someone will bat an eye if you die? Don't be ridiculous. In this world, people that are more miserable than you die every day,” “There are tons of people everywhere who are far more unfortunate than you. I'll say this again, your death won't change a thing. Don't seek a way out of your misery with a meaningless death. Try to stay alive until the very end. Do you understand?” With this, Nora's eyes snapped open, and she slowly climbed down the rails, and she was determined to stand up for herself If anything came up, after she announced the cancellation of the wedding. Reminiscing on the lovely moments she had with Ryder, did nothing but break her heart the most, and brought tears to her eyes. She was so deep in thought as she walked down the road that she didn't notice the speeding vehicle that sped towards her until he slammed into her with a great force, and her head hitting the pavement very hard. “Help me,” she muttered weakly, with tears streaming down her face, but the driver didn't stop, and she watched as the car sped off, leaving her bleeding. “Moon Goddess, I beg you to please save me,” her voice trailed off as she closed her eyes, and darkness enveloped her, with her body giving in to the pain.