004: Reject your rejection

~ CASSANDRA ~

The cool air whips through my hair as I race deeper into the woods.

"It suddenly feels like we're nineteen again," Lyra, my wolf, says, and I fully agree with her.

The last time we ran down this trail, I was barely nineteen, about to marry Rhett. We were in love after being college school sweethearts. Daisy had been our coursemate too—his betrothed—but he had always paid her no attention. He chose me instead and married me.

Even after I struggled a year without getting pregnant, he stood by me. He comforted me, telling me it was fine, encouraging me not to lose hope.

Oh, well... it wasn't. It fucking wasn't.

Because all that time, he'd been sneaking around and sleeping with his betrothed behind my back while I remained completely oblivious. I was too deeply in love to ever notice.

"Let's do this..." I strip off my clothes, hanging them safe on the tree, my bones snap as Lyra starts shifting.

I'm on all fours, taking deep breaths as Lyra shrugs off the last traces of restraint.

Finally, Lyra breathes, stretching as she flexes through our shared limbs. Time to run.

We tear through the underbrush, passing between ancient trunks, leaping over roots that jut from the earth like gnarled fingers.

I feel free, without thinking about the fact that I just got divorced, have no plans for my future, discovered the son I thought I gave birth to isn't mine, or that my ex-husband had been cheating on me for a long time.

"Faster," Lyra urges, as she keeps.runnjnf deeper, deeper into the woods, past the old stream where we used to drink as pups, past the ridge where Dad first taught me to hunt.

"Careful," Lyra warns suddenly, her senses catching something mine haven't yet. "The road..."

It's too late.

We break through the treeline at a full sprint, and the roar of an approaching car reaches my ears a second too late. Before I can react, we're hurled into the air as the car's tires screech to a halt.

Pain detonates through my entire body.

The world spins violently, the impact sending me hurtling sideways before we crash down hard onto the shoulder of the road.

Fuck. My rib feels like it's been broken in half. My vision blurs, as a pathetic little whimper escapes me.

"What kind of lunatic drives that fast through the woods? Are they trying to collect bodies, or are they just stupid?"

The words die in my throat as another wave of pain tears through me. I writhe on the ground, my sides heaving. Blood mats the fur along my hip where the bumper caught me.

Rage burns through me.

Oh, whoever the hell is behind that wheel is about to have the worst day of their life. I don't care that I'm in wolf form. They're getting an earful... right after I make sure they know exactly where they can shove their driver's license.

The car door opens, as a brown shoes steps out... I lift my head to snarl a warning in the direction of the sound, ready to curse out whatever reckless, careless...

An enticing scent knocks every curse right out of my head. Lyra begins pacing excitedly beneath my skin as I feel a thin red thread connects me to whoever the reckless driver is.

Mate, she whispers excitedly. Mate. Mate. Mate.

My heart slams against my ribs, once, twice, painfully hard, drowning out even the ache from the accident.

The shadow steps fully into view, tall and broad-shouldered. The moment his face comes into focus, my entire body goes cold.

Alpha Cassian.

No. No. No. This can't be.

Rhett's greatest enemy. The man my stepsister is set to marry. The Alpha I have personally humiliated across a dozen negotiating tables, whose deals I have gutted, whose territorial claims I have fought tooth and nail to deny, all in service of a husband who called me a rented womb not twelve hours ago.

Memories flash through me like rapid fire as I recall every summit where I had stood by Rhett's side and dismantled Cassian's proposals, piece by piece. The smirk I gave him afterward, knowing my reputation was built on being the woman who could beat Alpha Cassian at his own game.

"Absolutely not," I think furiously, scrambling to gather my aching limbs beneath me. If I can just get up, just get back into the treeline, I can run and pretend this never...

Lyra whines in protest, refusing to cooperate, our body trembling with the effort of trying to move against her will. Pain lances up through our hip, and I collapse back down with a frustrated snarl.

Cassian crouches before me, his dark brown eyes narrowing as they meet Lyra's. A smirk tugs at the corner of his lips. He's mocking me undoubtedly.

"You ran straight into the road. That's very careless... you could have been killed."

I try to find the sincerity in his words, but fuck no. With the laughter lines in his eyes and the smirk tugging at his lips, he only infuriates me more.

I let out a loud growl, baring my teeth at him.

His mouth curves, just slightly, at the sound, as though he finds my hostility entertaining rather than threatening.

"I'd apologize," he continues, "but I think you'll agree the collision worked out rather well for both of us."

I have no idea what he means until he reaches up and unclasps his coat, shrugging it off his shoulders in one smooth motion.

"Shift back," he ordered with his Alpha tome.

The order slams into me, and my body responds before my mind can object. The instinctual part of me bows to the command even though I'm fully raging against it. My bones crack and reshape, fur turning into bare skin until I'm crouched, naked and shaking, on the gravel shoulder of the road, pain shooting through me from my bruised hip.

He looks away, and with no other choice, I grab the coat he gave me and wrap it around myself, his intoxicating scent permeating my senses.

"Can you smell that? It smells so nice," Lyra whines.

I clutch the coat tighter around myself before turning to face him.

"You should apologize. You were driving above the speed limit."

He takes a step closer, a mischievous glint dancing in his eyes, the smirk still tugging at his lips. It makes me want to fucking slap him.

"Cassandra," he says, and fuck me, the sound of my name on his lips does something traitorous to my pulse. "What a beautiful thing fate can do, don't you think? If I wasn't driving above the speed limit, I wouldn't have..." He shrugs, clearly referring to the red thread still connecting us.

"Don't," I bite out, my voice hoarse. "Don't you dare say it."

"Say what, mate?"

His gaze drops to my finger. "Where's your ring? Oh, yeah... divorced. Rhett sent me a wedding invitation."

My teeth clench. It's not even been twenty-four hours since I signed the divorce papers, and he's already sending out wedding invitations?

"It's none of your business," I grit out.

"The fucker doesn't deserve you after all."

I scoff at his words, my eyes narrowing as I meet his.

"I, Cassandra McCarthy, reject you, Alpha Cassian, as my fated mate," I say, taking a step back, my hip throbbing with the movement.

His jaw tightens. His eyes narrow just slightly, sweeping over me as though he's recalculating an equation that has refused to balance the way he expected.

"I reject your rejection," he says.

Before I can back away, he closes the distance between us. One moment I'm about to retreat, the next, he scoops me into his arms.

"Put me down!" I squeal, struggling against his chest, but he doesn't budge.