Rhiannon stood there, her eyes quaking with rampant emotions. Tears pooled in her eyes as she saw her best friend standing there, shoving spoonfuls of ice cream into her mouth without the fear of getting a brain freeze.
She could hardly believe her eyes. She had been so caught up in getting her revenge that she forgot Layla was still alive a year ago."Are you okay? You look kinda pale," Layla dropped the ice-cream, her brows creased in concern as she approached Rhia, "Are you sick?"
The emotions exploded, and Rhia sprang forward and threw her arms around Layla, crushing her in a tight hug. Tears streamed down her face, and she sobbed heavily against Layla's shoulders, "You're here! You're... really here,"
Layla was confused, "I've always been here," She murmured as she pulled away to stare at Rhia's face, "Are you alright?"
Rhiannon smiled, nodding, "I'm... just so happy to see you,"
Layla chuckled with a slight eye roll, "Likewise," She replied, "Now let's talk about what happened today over some ice-cream, I heard the Timberfangs were nowhere to be found!" ... . . . Rhiannon and Layla arrived together at the Downtown party. Earlier that afternoon, a few members of the Pack with Ethan and Killian leading them had caught a few deers in the woods, and now the Pack were having a huge barbecue party in celebration of the Victory they had over the Timberfangs' last night.
The venue was packed, and the aroma of freshly roasted meat wandered everywhere.
"What do you think of my dress?" Layla gently nudged Rhia with her elbow, gesturing at the red dress she was putting on.
Rhia sighed tiredly, "I've told you over and over again. You look absolutely stunning!"
It was a regular red dress, but it was tight and highlighted Layla's curves.
"Any Male would be a complete fool not to pick you tonight. And if your mate is revealed to you, he should count himself the luckiest man in the world to have you!" Rhia encouraged, admiration dripping from her tone.
Once again, Layla felt more confident in herself and a smile touched her face, "Thank you,"
As they joined the crowd, Rhia scanned the crowd for Eleanor and Ethan but she couldn't find them anywhere. Killian was present, and Ethan is usually found standing next to him as the Beta of the Pack.
In a few minutes, Rhia found what she was looking for. She slowly shook her head in amusement as she watched Ethan and Eleanor appear from behind a building, walking next to each other. Eleanor's dress was a bit crumpled, and Ethan's hair was dishevelled.
He was even wiping off a bit of make-up on his lips.
How could she have been so stupid all these months not to have noticed what her mate and sister were doing behind her back?!Once Ethan was close enough, the mate pull between them grew stronger and his eyes found hers. A fake smile touched his lips, and she returned it with one of her own.
Tonight, she was going to give him a little taste of his own medicine.
Without wasting time, she began walking up to him.
The crowd followed her movements, whispering among themselves.
'She's probably going to make a fool of herself again'
'Does Ethan even like her? It's so surprising the Moon Goddess made them mates' 'She's had a huge crush on him even before they found out they were mates. She's a complete sucker for him' 'She's gonna tell him how much she loves him again, and he's gonna push her away like he always does' 'She's the Alpha's daughter, is she that shameless? He obviously doesn't love her and is only drawn because of the mate bond'They were right - Rhiannon realised. But what they didn't know was, all that was about to change tonight. She would make sure of it.
Rhiannon stopped right in front of him, "Hey, I couldn't find you when I got here. Where were you?"
"Oh...I was helping someone with something," He lied so effortlessly, "Are you enjoying the Party?"
A faint smirk appeared and disappeared on her lips, "I'm about to,"
"Oh, what do you have planned to tell me this time? Is it how much you love me? You prepared another present to give me in front of everyone?"
This time, Rhiannon did not miss the mockery that laced his words.
"Let me guess again, you're gonna do anything I ask you to. Like jump into the lake to get back the one leg of the sock I tossed into it? Or dumping a bucket of dirty water all over yourself?"
A wave of fresh rage slammed into Rhia's chest, but she managed to keep her external features calm and sweet as always, "Even better," She reached out and took his hand into hers.
The moment their skin came into contact, Rhia's stomach churned with disgust and she felt like puking.
She was a bit taken aback, as this was not something that had happened before. Ever.
But even so, she gripped his hand tightly and led him to the middle of the crowd. As they moved, many eyes followed them and they were soon the centre of attention. A lot of spectators were eager to see how Rhia was going to embarrass herself this time.
"We are here," Rhia told him, quickly letting go of his hand.
"So, what's the surprise?" Ethan asked, seemingly eager.
Eleanor stood in the crowd, watching the show too. She couldn't wait to see her sister embarrass herself and become the gossip of the whole town once again.
"I'm going to have you guess it this time," Rhia said."I hate guessing," Ethan frowned a bit, "Now tell me what it is. I have to get back to what I was doing," He said a bit more firmly.
"Alright, Alright," Rhia pursed her lips, "It's not actually a gift, it's more like a favour," If only he would do her the favor of giving her a knife so she could slit his throat!
"What?"
"Would you please sing for me? I wanna hear your voice, I bet you'll sound so wonderful,"
His frown grew deeper, "Rhiannon, do I look like a fool to you?"
She almost nodded, but instead, she blinked innocently, "What? No, I just want my mate to sing for me. Is that too much to ask?"
A mischievous look came over Ethan's face, and he crossed his arms, appearing to be in control of the situation, "How about this? If you become everyone's personal butler for the rest of the next three hours, I'll do as you ask before the end of the night,"
Rhiannon's eyes slowly took in the faces of everyone around them. Most of them were trying to hold back their laughter, and her jaw worked on her face.
Everyone's personal butler? He wanted her to serve everyone here, running errands for the next three hours? She was the goddamn head strategist of this Pack, not a butler.
Ethan noticed the unease in her eyes and, daringly, leaned forward a bit. "You can't do it?" He mocked, "Well I guess you don't love me, and that means there's no singing too,"
"Ethan," She began softly, meeting his eyes with fake tears in her eyes, "Please I just wanted to hear your voice. You can't ask me to serve hundreds of people before I can get that from you. We are mates, aren't we?"
He shrugged indifferently, "No serving, no singing. I guess you're not that desperate to hear me sing,"
But this was exactly what Rhiannon wanted. She had deliberately created this situation where he would put her in a tricky and Foolish spot again in front of everyone.
Rhia's soft voice instantly transformed to a nonchalant tone, "And I guess you're that desperate to be cut off,"
Ethan paused, confused, "What?""If I have to serve hundreds just to get you to sing, imagine what I would have to do to get you to dance with me, or eat with me, or spend quality time with me," She paused for effect, the affection pouring from her eyes a moment ago vanishing into thin air, "You're an ass, Ethan Shaw,"
Everyone gasped, comments buzzing between them.
His eyes sparked with anger, "What did you say?"
"The Moon Goddess made a terrible decision setting me up with an ass like you," Rhiannon continued, "And I reject that decision as of this moment. I mean, who on earth wants to be mated to a complete ass?"
Another round of gasps tore through the crowd, and they began mumbling among each other again, but this time, Rhiannon was too busy clutching her aching chest to listen to what they had to say.
She could feel the mate bond snapping between them, the thread of fate slowly dissolving into nothing.
Ethan had the same strangled look on his face, a searing pain swarming through his chest, with his eyes wide with disbelief.
But, just before the deal could be sealed completely, Ethan's voice broke through the noise, "No, Rhiannon!" He said loudly, "I do not accept your Rejection. You are mine!!"
