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ELODIE

Tonight, my father was stepping down from his position as the Nightstalker pack’s Alpha and handing it over to my elder brother. As the only daughter of the family, this could be a spouse finding event for me and I was supposed to be moving around, putting my face out there but I haven’t moved from my seat since we’ve been here.

I just sat there, my hand clenched around the white-wine glass until my knuckles turned white.

Although music was banging all around me, everywhere still seemed deadly quiet to me. So suffocating that I could feel nausea rising up in my throat.

I knew this part existed but I never wanted it to come true. I never wanted to be discarded off to some influential rich man for a business alliance, but it seemed there was no escaping it after all.

To the world, my father, Dante Dawson, might only seem interested in my brother’s coronation but it was all just for tonight. Within the family, we all knew I wasn’t going to be spared if my net, so wide and spread out tonight, failed to catch a fish despite hours of being at the river.

But what if I just didn’t want to? Yes, my father wouldn’t let me off the hook If I was to tell him that, matter of factly, he would only be more enraged by my flimsy excuse but I couldn’t see myself betraying my mate either.

Zane and I promised to stick together no matter what. It might have only been six months we’ve been together but my love for him ran so deep I didn’t think I was capable of leaving him anymore.

I was determined to introduce him to my father but for some reason, every time I thought I was ready to let the bombshell out, I got the distinct impression that I don’t own myself and only my father was ordained to choose for me.

The thought of it alone tightened my hold on the glass, nearly to the point of breaking it when the air around me suddenly shifted. My breath hitched as I caught sight of a new face walking into the crowd.

As he passed my table, I realized he wasn’t just handsome, every feature looked perfectly carved, with a powerful aura that didn’t belong to ordinary men.

Soon, he was almost out of sight, and I forced myself out of the trance. But as I quickly looked away, my pulse skipped a beat as I met my father’s death glare.

“Go after him!” He mind-linked me, yelling in my mind in his strict baritone voice.

I stared back at him with a mix of curiosity and confusion. When I realized why, I let out a small gasp and turned my head to see if the man was still in the distance. He was gone.

Shit.

I cursed under my breath because I already knew what was coming. As my father stomped towards me, radiating with fury, I felt a sudden pang of dread swell inside me.

I didn’t need to be told. Without hesitation, I jerked up from my seat and immediately shoved myself into the sea of people before he could get closer.

I knew what he wanted.

It was for me to go and introduce myself to the man. My father wanted me to catch his eyes. Make him so interested he seeks my father later on to ask for my hand in marriage. And as much as I didn’t want to do this, I didn’t want to cause chaos here by disobeying him either.

My father doesn’t care that I’m his only daughter. Defying him has never earned me mercy. He’s just as cruel to me as he is to anyone else, maybe even worse. That was why I couldn’t afford to mess this coronation up after all the months that went into it.

I might be walking into this, but as long as he wasn’t marrying me off today, there had to be another way. I only needed time. As long as I was still alive, I could find a way for Zane and me to be together.

I told myself as I continued trudging through. As I desperately tried to make out his form in the crowd, a familiar chuckle cut through the pounding music, pulling my gaze elsewhere.

Avery was the first person I saw, before my eyes locked on Zane. I instantly stopped walking as it dawned on me. Wait. Zane?!

For a moment, everyone else disappeared.

All I could see now was the both of them.

Avery was my best friend. My number one support system. The one who has always known what goes in and out of my head. Today was one of the days I needed her. I could understand why she was here, but no, not Zane. He shouldn’t be here. There would be an issue if he approached me, and my father saw him. But the thing is, he doesn’t seem like he was here for me.

I retreated and started to move towards them. The closer I got, my wolf’s whimper increased, “Mate!”

The thought of our mate being here made my wolf stir with happiness, but somehow, this didn’t feel like the moment for it, causing me to shove her voice to the back of my mind without hesitation.

I didn’t know why it felt that way but I could feel the bond between Zane and I burning out, weakening, as if something that wasn’t supposed to happen already was.

My chest knotted, but I braced myself as I stopped a few feet from them, only to watch my world collapse.

“I don’t care. You have to get out of here, Zane. For fucks sake, Elodie mustn’t see you.” Avery tried to push Zane away, her voice laced with genuine concern and at the same time panic.

But Zane remained unyielding. He shrugged his shoulders indifferently, like he couldn’t care less if I did. “I already told you I’m not here because of your friend. You might think I’m under the influence of alcohol, but my confession is true. I love you, Avery. It’s always been you, not her. So please…”

He tried to hold her hand and I might have not been able to do something about that but my ears tuned out the rest of his words, tears threatening to roll out of my eyes.

This couldn’t be real. Zane barely cast Avery a look whenever she accompanied me to his place. He had always been focused on me. Like a pocket pet, he was always attached to me so what does he mean by he loves her? This had to be some sort of prank right?

“Look, even if you’re not drunk, to me you’re still talking shits. You’re my best friend’s mate and it’s totally unheard of that you have feelings for me,” Avery finally responded, gently lowering his hand from her arm as if in hope to get some sense into him. “Once again, please leave. You’re making me uncomfortable, Zane.” She added, practically cutting off his attempt to have a word.

And my breath caught in my throat.

That was all it took to confirm this wasn't some silly daydream like I had thought, and hoped. Causing hurt and confusion to grip me at the same time.

Something, heck, everything was wrong here.

Neither Zane nor my best friend would ever betray me like this. I’d stake my life on it.

So what was this?

My mind scrambled for an answer, but I forced myself not to jump to conclusions. Not yet. I refused to let doubt poison my mind against the two people I trusted with my whole heart.

After all, some werewolves possess the rare ability to cast hallucinations. To bend what you see. To twist reality.

This could be one of them.

And if I allowed myself to believe otherwise, if I let suspicion take root, I wouldn’t just be tearing myself apart… I’d be accusing Zane of something unforgivable.

And that would hurt him more than anything. So I pressed my shaking hands against my sides, steadying them the best I could, and kept watching.

“No, I’m not leaving,” Zane’s hand shot out, firmly grabbing Avery’s wrist before she could turn away. “You know about my feelings, you’ve always been aware. Fuck the moon goddess’ pairing, it’s not Elodie, it’s you I desire, Avery. I’m going to do literally everything on this earth for you.” Zane muttered, wrapping his hands around her waist and pulling her flush against his chest.

“I told you to stop this—” Avery tried to say, sounding a bit uneasy but Zane cut her off.

Staring at her affectionately, “To show you I really mean my words, I’m willing to cut my ties with your friend as soon as possible and be with you.” He proclaimed, his voice think with desperation and before I could so much as breathe, his head lowered fully and he pressed his lips against hers.

And Avery? She didn’t make the tiniest effort to resist. Instead, she leaned in, kissing him back.

That was it. It was as if claws had sprouted out of nowhere, shredding me and tearing me apart from the inside.

My mate. My mate just made a love confession to my best friend right under the same roof as me.

Rendered frozen, I couldn’t breathe properly. It felt like I was in a chokehold. Fighting, struggling to not crumble.

I had defied my father and secretly got in a relationship with him. I was ordained for an arranged marriage but my mind was still dead set on him. And yet he didn’t think about all my sacrifices just for us to work. Didn’t care.

All he wanted was Avery.

Without caring I could be near, he was promising her he would break up with me. Just so he could be with her.

He was discarding many months of relationship, like it never happened. And of all women, it was my closest friend he chose to shatter me for.

Humiliation crashed over me like a storm and I realized I couldn’t keep the tears at bay anymore. There was nothing left to fight for here. Completely broken, all I wanted now was to be out of here, away from these eyesore.

Wiping the tears from my face with the back of my hand, I weaved fast through the crowd, my head low to avoid being seen. I had already lost everything that mattered to me, I couldn’t afford my father catching wind of this and losing my shelter too.

“That doucebag is not our mate anymore.” As I stumbled off, my wolf snarled inside, consumed by fury and for once, I couldn’t disagree. He might not have rejected me, yet, but the bond between us was already snapping.

“Guards!” I was barely out of the hall when my father’s voice suddenly exploded from inside. “Find my daughter. Now.”

I flinched at the order, my face drained of colors. Shit, no. I couldn’t get caught.

I stopped walking and shaking my head frantically, I ran. Like my life depended on it. In which truly, it did.