Abandoned By My Mate

The ceiling of the Dark Fang pack’s great hall shines with a thousand lights, illuminating the hall with warmth, the ambience ethereal, smelling and showing luxury with the perfect designs used in its decoration for the biggest event the pack has had in over a decade, the Alpha’s wedding.Clara, the Alpha’s bride stares at the a gigantic arch on the altar, decorated by her most favourite flowers and a trickle of tears run down her eyes, she smiles sadly, her heart clenching in pain as she turns her attention to the walls mounted full stretch by led TVs displaying beautiful pre-wedding pictures of her and Alpha Jace.She shifts her gaze upwards to stare at the blinding lights before staring back at her feet in a desolate manner as she stands on them, the many empty seats in front of her that teemed with smiling guests a few hours ago mirror exactly how she feels within.Empty.Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, if she got to marry the man she loved for a decade, not

There is a saying that love is blind but in Clara’s case, it ripped her eyes out, completely leaving her without the organ.As tears shimmer down her eyes and blood continues to stain her hands, she does not relent, sitting under the Great Oak tree at the back of the Pack’s hall, ripping her wedding dress apart with a razor.It is not a wedding dress she sees however as the razor slices, it is Jace’s face, it gives her a little satisfaction, having a fruitless vengeance on him for the pain he has inflicted on her.It was here she was sitting on the day of the mating ball, unable to attend, just watching others meet their mates with little to no anticipation in her heart to meet hers when Jace found her as his mate and here under this very tree, she gave herself to him.After getting that text from Luci, she couldn’t even bring herself to continue packing, she just brought the dress here, where it all started, with the intention to rip it to shreds and burn it.She leans her head again

Clara does not hide her displeasure at seeing Gabriel, a frown immediately contorting her face, knowing the reason why he is here.“Have you seen the video of you that’s trending?” Gabriel asks in a curt voice, his eyes cold, a nasty frown on his face, “have you seen what people are saying about the Alpha because of you?”“What video? What are they saying?” Fiona, Clara’s mother asks frantically, her fear filled eyes darting between Clara and Gabriel, clearly hearing from the tone of Gabriel’s voice that there might be trouble.“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Clara replies in a cold tone, crossing her arms against her chest, “if this is some—”“You may want to get off your high horse, woman. This is serious,” Gabriel cuts her off, takes out his phone and shoves it in her face.Clara freezes, staring at the video of her burning her wedding dress with shock in her eyes and her heart thuds.She had no idea there were cameras on her that day. A pang of guilt slices through her

The wind rustled gently through the trees, but Clara felt none of its coolness. Her heart thundered in her chest like a war drum, but she managed to keep her face steady and composed. Her eyes never left Jace’s as he delivered his words like knives, “Maybe it is better if you leave.”His voice was cold, deliberate, meant to wound.She didn’t flinch. She didn’t cry. Not here, not in front of him.She tightened her jaw, fire burning behind her eyes. “If that’s what you want,” she said quietly, each word laced with pain, but also with something harder, unbreakable.Jace hesitated, for just a second. But the storm in his own heart was buried beneath layers of pride and confusion. So he turned, his footsteps crunching against gravel, walking away without looking back.Clara stood in the backyard long after he was gone. Her legs felt like stone, her chest heavy with emotion, but she remained rooted there, as if the air will could keep her whole. Anger bloomed like a thorned vine inside her

Chapter 9: The Earned DateRoasted coffee beans and faint vanilla drifted from the small café by the roadside. Clara’s voice carried softly over the hum of the espresso machine as she handed a latte to a tired-looking customer.“Double shot, extra foam,” she said with a polite smile.The man nodded in thanks and shuffled off.Behind the counter, Clara wiped her hands on a towel, stealing a glance at the clock. Two hours left on her shift. It had been a quiet day, unusually slow for a Friday afternoon. The dullness gave her too much room to think, about her next training session, about her move, and most frustratingly, about the man she had tried so hard to forget.Jace.She sighed and bent down to retrieve another stack of clean mugs from the cabinet. When she straightened, her heart jumped.There he was.Standing just inside the café, not in Alpha armor or behind a desk of power, but in a plain charcoal shirt, dark jeans, and an expression she could not immediately read. He looked,