Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Yasmin’s POV

The scream had not come from the ballroom itself, but from the corridor leading to the private mating rooms, the sacred chambers reserved for fated couples to privately complete their bonds.

A wave of movement swept through the crowd. Instinct took over, and within seconds, a stampede of pack members was rushing toward the sound. Ella grabbed my wrist, pulling me along with her as we followed the hurried footsteps.

When we reached the arched entrance of the hallway, the crowd abruptly stopped, forming a tight, suffocating semi-circle. I squeezed through the gap, my heart hammering against my ribs, and the sight before me made my world tilt completely on its axis.

The door to one of the mating rooms had been kicked wide open. Inside, illuminated by the harsh overhead lights, was Daniel. But he was not waiting for his fated mate.

He was actively engaged in a passionate, frantic embrace with another man on the velvet chaise lounge.

It was graphic, raw, and completely shameless. Daniel’s shirt was torn open, his hands gripping the other man’s hips as they ground together, their mouths locked in a wet, heavy exchange. The other man had his legs wrapped tightly around Daniel’s waist, his head thrown back with a loud, breathless moan as Daniel bit hard into his shoulder, marking him with a frantic, desperate hunger.

It was a scandal in itself, but as the crowd gasped, the true horror of the situation settled in. The man Daniel was holding, the one whose neck was covered in fresh bite marks, wore the distinct dark crest of the Silverfang pack, our sworn rivals.

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the corridor.

Within seconds, the silence was broken by the quiet, rapid clicks of phone cameras. Dozens of glowing screens rose into the air, recording every single second of the betrayal. Then, as if on cue, the crowd parted slightly, and all eyes turned directly to me.

My body began to shake violently. The baby-blue dress suddenly felt like a suffocating trap. I stared at Daniel, waiting for the shame, the apology, the explanation, but it never came.

Instead of pulling away or trying to cover himself, Daniel reached down and tightly gripped the rival wolf’s hand. He glared out at the crowd, his face twisted in a sneer of pure, ugly defiance.

"What the fuck is everyone looking at?" Daniel yelled, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. He looked directly at me, his eyes cold and completely devoid of the warmth he had shown in class. "I reject you, Yasmin, as my mate. What, am I the first gay man in this pack? All of you need to fuck off."

Tears blurred my vision, spilling hot and fast down my burning cheeks. I took a trembling step forward, my voice barely a whisper. "Why? Why would you do this to me, Daniel?"

My mind flashed back to the semester. I had trusted him. When the old scandals about my mother’s betrayal had trended on the school blogs, making me a social outcast, Daniel and Ella had been the only ones who did not mock or insult me. He had been so kind. I thought he was different. I thought he was safe.

Daniel let out a harsh, mocking laugh, stepping forward as his rival partner watched from the couch.

"Why?" Daniel sneered, looking me up and down with absolute disgust. "Because I could never take a pathetic, charity case like you as my mate. Look at your family, Yasmin. Your mother is a well-known, cheap slut who abandoned you, and your father is a useless, half-dead, bedridden soldier who can barely breathe without a machine. You are a absolute nobody. Did you actually think a high-ranking Beta family like mine would welcome a broken-down Delta's daughter?"

A collective gasp echoed through the crowd, but Daniel was not finished. He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing maliciously.

"You are a leech," he spat, his voice dripping with venom. "You and your dying father were just going to suck my family's bank accounts dry to pay for his useless treatments. I was never going to make that mistake. And just look at you tonight. You wear that tight, desperate dress, pushing those big boobs out for everyone to see. You are exactly like your slut of a mother, practically begging for someone to buy you. You are disgusting, Yasmin. A cheap, worthless gold-digger."

The humiliation turned into a sudden, white-hot fury. The insult to my mother was one thing, but speaking of my honorable, dying father as useless pushed me entirely over the edge.

A raw, primal rage took over. I lunged forward, raising my hand to deliver a stinging slap across his arrogant face.

But my hand never connected.

Before I could even swing, a blur of dark shadow cut through the air. A massive, heavily tattooed hand flew past my shoulder with the speed of a striking viper, landing a brutal, bone-shattering punch right across Daniel’s jaw.

The impact sounded like a cracking whip. Daniel was sent flying backward, his body crashing hard into his rival lover, and both of them collapsed onto the polished floor in a heap of tangled limbs, groaning and panting heavily for air.

I stumbled back in shock, my heart leaping into my throat.

Everyone turned around to see who it was.