chapter 4

**Author's POV**

"Can someone tell me what is going on here?" Mrs. Collins demanded, her voice trembling with a mix of confusion and shock. Her face was a mask of bewilderment, her wide eyes darting around the room as if searching for answers. Beneath the confusion, a glint of anger simmered just below the surface, like a volcano ready to erupt.

"What are you? Where is Amanda?" She bombarded Isabella with questions, each one sharper and more frantic than the last. Her words were like daggers, piercing through the heavy silence that filled the room. Isabella felt a surge of panic rising within her, her heart pounding in her chest. Every question made Isabella want to vanish into thin air. She wished desperately for the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

"I'm Isabella William," Isabella muttered slowly, each word trembling on her lips. "Amanda's sister." She was careful not to say anything that might anger Mrs. Collins further or hasten her own destruction.

"She is my daughter!" Mrs. Williams' voice cut through the tension, stopping Isabella from saying anything more. "Isabella is Amanda's elder sister," she added, her eyes wide with fear. The terror in her gaze was unmistakable as she spoke.

"Amanda, my daughter, is missing," Mrs. Williams broke down, crying bitterly. "We have searched everywhere for her. All the strongest wolves in the pack have combed the streets and the forest looking for her, but they couldn't find her," she continued, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Oh my God! A runaway bride?" Mrs. Collins shouted, her face contorted in shock. "So the bride-to-be is nowhere to be found, she ran away from her own wedding, and you all didn't bother to inform us? Instead, you decided to betray us?"

"You replaced her with her sister!" Mrs. Collins said angrily, her voice rising. "How dare you betray us? You deceived us. We are the most powerful pack in the realm, but you dared to double-cross us. Every pack in the wolf realm will think twice before coming against us, but the White Lotus pack dared to betray us."

"We didn't deceive you," Mrs. Williams said, her eyes pleading. "It wasn't our intention to create or cause any problems. We know that the consequences of a runaway bride would ruin the reputation of both our families, which is why Isabella had to replace her sister at the altar."

"Really?" Derek Collins, Damian's stepbrother, said mockingly as he entered the hall. He had stayed in a corner, watching the entire drama unfold after the guests had left.

"Derek! Where have you been?" Mrs. Collins questioned him. He had been absent during the entire wedding and had missed his own brother's ceremony.

"I am sorry, Mother. I had to attend to some urgent work," he said confidently. "Besides, I informed Brother about it before I left."

He went straight to Alpha Damian, who had been seated quietly on a chair, watching all the drama unfold. The chair seemed like a throne, meant for kings and people of great importance throughout history.

"Brother, I am very sorry I couldn't attend your wedding," Derek said, his eyes filled with tenderness. He seemed to be the only one who truly understood Damian's feelings.

"But I don't regret it either," he continued, his tone shifting to one of annoyance and irritation. "I can't believe these people could be so deceitful. I'm glad I wasn't around to watch such a union, whose foundation began with betrayal."

"The bride-to-be is missing, so a strange lady replaced her at the altar," Derek said mockingly, smirking as he walked over to Isabella.

"Isabella Williams, right?" Derek said, looking at Isabella with disgust, as if she were a beggar invading the house to scavenge for scraps.

"Yes," Isabella replied, avoiding his gaze and looking towards her mother for assistance.

"I had a personal investigation done on the Williams family, but you were nowhere to be found in it," Derek said.

"So how did Isabella Williams come about? Because, as far as I know, Amanda Williams is an only child. Not only were we betrayed, we were also lied to," Derek said scornfully.

Upon hearing Derek's words, Damian's eyes began to flare. His initial ocean-blue eyes transformed into a fiery red, and his inner wolf started to surface, making the room feel ominously tense.

Isabella caught a glimpse of the changes in Damian and was engulfed in fear. Her heart raced at the terrifying sight. She was scared of what might happen to her and her mother if he transformed fully right now.

"Isabella is my stepdaughter," Mrs. Williams said, rushing to her daughter's aid. "Please, she is really my daughter. Her father, my late husband, Mr. Collins, passed away when she was three years old. Before his passing, I promised to take care of Isabella."

"Please, my daughter had nothing to do with all this," Mrs. Williams cried, begging. "In fact, she initially refused to replace her sister at the wedding altar. It was me who forced her to come and take her sister's place," Mrs. Williams said, her eyes filled with tears.

"Really? So you are the root of this entire conspiracy, or is it your other missing daughter?" Derek said scornfully. "Is she really missing, or did she run away with her lover?" Derek said angrily.

This revelation was the final straw for Damian. He stood up, his hands forming fists, and the veins on his arms bulging visibly.

"No, my daughter could never make such a mistake," Mrs. Williams said, her eyes wide with shock at Derek's words.

"Enough!" Damian roared.

The sound of his voice was like thunder, reverberating through the grand hall with an intensity that made the very walls seem to tremble. Damian's transformation was a terrifying sight to behold. His once calm and collected demeanor had been replaced by something feral and untamed. His eyes, which had been a serene ocean blue, now blazed with a fiery red, reflecting his inner turmoil and fury.

His transformation was incomplete, yet he exuded an aura of raw power and menace. His sharp claws, as long and deadly as daggers, protruded from his fingertips. They glinted menacingly under the dim light of the chandeliers, promising destruction to anything they touched. His skin, which had been smooth and human, was now covered in patches of coarse, dark hair, indicating the beast within struggling to break free.

The room fell Into a stunned silence. The assembled guests and family members stood frozen, their eyes wide with fear and shock. The tension in the air was palpable, as if the atmosphere itself had thickened with the threat of violence. No one dared to move or speak, afraid that any sudden motion or sound might provoke Damian further.

Isabella was especially stricken by the sight. Her face went pale, and her breathing became shallow and rapid. She clutched her mother's arm with a desperate grip, her fingers digging into Mrs. Williams' flesh. The fear in her eyes was unmistakable, a primal response to the dangerous predator that Damian had become. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, each beat a reminder of her vulnerability.

Mrs. Williams, though frightened herself, tried to remain composed for her daughter's sake. She wrapped her arm around Isabella, attempting to provide a semblance of comfort and protection. But the terror in her eyes betrayed her own fear. She could barely fathom the danger they were in, standing so close to an enraged Alpha on the verge of a complete transformation.

Derek, who had initially been so confident and scornful, took a cautious step back. Even his bravado faltered in the face of Damian's wrath. He could see the deadly intent in Damian's fiery gaze, and he knew that one wrong word or action could trigger an uncontrollable outburst.

The tension reached a crescendo as Damian's growl echoed through the hall. It was a low, guttural sound, filled with barely restrained rage. The hair on the back of everyone's neck stood on end. The assembled pack members, though powerful in their own right, hesitated to intervene. They knew that an Alpha's fury was not something to be trifled with.

Isabella's mind raced with thoughts of escape. She felt trapped, like a prey cornered by a predator. Her eyes darted around the room, searching for any possible exit. But there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide from the wrath of an Alpha. She could only hope that reason would prevail, and that Damian would regain control before it was too late.

The scene was one of unbearable suspense. Every second stretched into an eternity as they waited to see what Damian would do next. The balance of power in the room had shifted dramatically, and everyone knew that the next few moments would determine their fate.