Bound by Fate, Claimed by Love

"Do you, Nova, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband and mate? Do you swear, in front of the Moon Goddess and the whole pack, that you will be the best possible mate your husband could ever ask for?"

My smile was angelic as I nodded. "Yes", I said, my voice breathy. "I do."

The Priest turned to Sean who. looked as handsome as he always did in his dark suit.

"And do you, Beta Sean, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife and mate? Do you swear, in front of the Moon Goddess and the whole pack, that you will protect her and be the best possible mate she could ever wish for?"

I smiled at Sean excitedly, already itching for the ceremony to be over so that he could lift my veil and kiss me.

I could almost hear the mutters of jealousy from the pack females. Who would have thought the pack omega would be mated with someone from the Alpha's family? In addition to being extremely handsome, Sean was also charming and charismatic. No one in the pack didn't adore him. And he was mine.

Sean looked at me and looked at me. It was then I realized he hadn't answered the Priest's question.

My excited expression turned quizzical.

The Priest cleared his throat loudly.

"Beta Sean?", he prompted. "Do you?"

Sean looked at me one last time before he turned to the priest.

"No."

*What?*

Shocked gasps rose from the crowd.

"No, I don't."

The pack members began to murmur.

From the corner of my eye, I saw my dad stand up angrily.

"Just what do you mean by that?", he yelled.

Sean ignored him, keeping his gaze firmly on the priest. He didn't even look at me.

My heart clenched painfully and I fought the urge to break down in confused tears.

"I will not marry Nova", Sean said loudly.

I finally found my voice.

"What...what do you mean by that, Sean?" My voice quivered.

Sean shot me a derisive glance and I flinched back. I had never seen such venom on his face before.

"Exactly what you heard, Nova", he sneered. "You believed I would want an omega like you? What a joke. Wake up."

I took a hurt step backward, my heart already screaming at me to get out of there and preserve what shred of dignity I had left.

"What do you mean by that, Sean?" Tears had welled up in my eyes and I was on the verge of bawling openly. "You're leaving me just because I'm an omega?"

"Bingo", Sean said, winking at me.

A blur of motion rushed past and my dad delivered a solid blow to Sean's jaw.

Sean staggered backwards and rubbed at his lower lip which was already getting slowly. He pointed at my dad menacingly.

"Come close to me again, and I'll forget you used to be my mentor."

Dad stood, dumbfounded as Sean turned to the priest, who still stood there, looking lost for words. By now, the murmurs of the congregation had grown so loud, it was difficult to even hear my thoughts.

Already, people were shooting me with looks of pity, while some sneered, looking smug. I guess they hadn't wanted an omega as their beta female.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I stared at Sean's stoic form. What had I done to

deserve this treatment from him?

"If you were going to do this,” I murmured, sobbing, "why wait until now? Why didn't you reject me a long time ago?"

Sean tossed me a disgusted glance, and turned back to the priest, not even bothering to speak to me.

"I said I will not be marrying the omega", he said, "but I didn't say a wedding wouldn't take place."

The murmurs of the crowd died down.

"Beta Sean, I..."

Sean held up a hand to stop the befuddled priest, then turned to the congregation and held out his hand to someone.

A slim hand took him, and a petite woman stood shyly, letting him lead her to the altar.

All my breath left me in a rush. That was Anya. The woman Sean had been with before he found out we were mates.

She was dressed in a pretty knee-length ivory dress and my heart bottomed out, knowing they had planned this.

The church was silent as Sean presented Anya to them.

"This is the woman I will be marrying today", he told the priest. "Do the rites."

"Beta Sean, you can't..." the priest started to say.

I heard a pained, savage scream that I didn't know came from me as I lunged for Sean, my nails elongated into tiny claws as I scratched at him.

"You bastard!" I screamed. "You're cheating, foul bastard!"

Sean grabbed hold of my flying hands easily and shoved me backward. A hand caught me and I looked down to see the Alpha's mother staring at me sympathetically.

I looked wildly back at Sean and Anya.

"Over my dead body,” I hissed. "Over my dead body will you marry her on my wedding day? You can't!"

Sean raised a bored eyebrow. "You don't get to decide that."

Another hand landed on my shoulder and pulled me to a sturdy body. I knew it was my dad.

“Beta Sean,” the priest finally said, "I cannot marry you and..." He gestured to Anya who still hadn't said anything. "...the other woman. You are still mated to Nova, so the Moon Goddess won't honor such a union."

"Yeah?" Sean scoffed callously. "Well, I have news for you and the Moon Goddess. Anya is pregnant."

"What?!" I screeched.

The pack members were eating this up, gasping and looking scandalized. Some sniggered. I wanted to kill them all. It was my life they were laughing at…

Sean nodded, looking smug. "And I intend to do right by her and our child", he said righteously. "So if you could just marry us, we'll be on our way."

The Priest shook his head vehemently. "I will not!"

Sean glared at the man. "Very well."

He turned towards me, still holding Anya's hand in his.

"Nova,” he said. "I, Beta Sean, reject you as my mate and denounce our bonds given by the Moon Goddess. I no longer have any obligation to you."

Every shred of hope and control I had left disappeared as my knees buckled and I slid to the floor, crying. My dad went for Sean again, and the church burst into commotion as men struggled to stop the fight.

The Alpha's mother slowly coerced me up, murmuring soothing words as she tried to lead me away. As I raised my eyes, they fell on Anya who had been staring at me.

Through all this, she had maintained an innocent facade, but I knew she enjoyed watching me suffer. To prove my point, she let a small smile grace her lips before turning away.

The Alpha's mother led me through a side door, shielding me from crying eyes as we silently went up to my room in the pack house.

In the irony of the situation, my dress was still a pristine white and my veil had somehow managed to stay in place. That didn't say much about the state of my heart though...it was irreparably broken.

And there was only one answer to this kind of pain.