Chapter 1

[Elara’s POV]

Today was my boyfriend Brad’s coming-of-age party. As the starting quarterback for our school team, his gifts from admirers had already piled high. But mine would be the most memorable.

I spent three sleepless nights preparing, hiding inside a giant gift box in his room—one he thought was just a decoration. When the clock struck midnight, I would leap onto his bed dressed in a sexy bunny outfit. Yes, my gift was going to be my virginity.

Midnight chimed. I was about to push the box open when a glimpse through the cracks froze me in place.

Brad had brought a girl back. They tumbled onto the bed, tearing at each other’s clothes. Then he thrust into her.

She moaned, straddling him, lost in the act. “Mate…”

What did that mean? I shot upright, scattering gifts everywhere. The room shook, but neither of them noticed. The way they moved together felt less like humans and more like… animals.

“How could you… How dare you do this?!” My voice trembled as I rushed to pull them apart. They finally broke away from each other, audaciously annoyed.

Brad’s face showed a flicker of surprise mixed with guilt when he saw me, but it lasted only a second. He just dragged the sheet over their naked bodies, not even bothering to get dressed, as if I were an unwanted intruder.

The sting of his betrayal intensified, but a desperate part of me still clung to the hope of an explanation—until the girl who had her back to me turned.

My blood went cold. Because I finally recognized the girl.

Jasmine. My best friend.

What the fuck was going on?!! No!!

“What the actual hell is your problem?!” I hissed to Brad. Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes. “How could you treat me this way after all the time we spent together? How could you treat me this way?”

Jasmine was quicker. She stepped in front of Brad, all fake sympathy. “I'm so sorry, Elara. Please don't blame Brad—blame me.”

Brad cut her off. He hardly showed an ounce of remorse now. He just stood there completely naked and shrugged, as if it were nothing. “Look, Elara...This isn’t something that someone like you would understand. Jasmine and I, we’re fated.”

Someone like me??

I’d always felt like the odd one out at Fairmont University. A majority of the student body consistently used terms that I never understood and mainly kept to the tight-knit cliques that they formed. When I came to be in a relationship with Brad, I was willing to accommodate his extroverted lifestyle. And this was what I got in return.

His half-assed explanation only sent my anger spiraling even further. I couldn’t believe it.

"You were the one who pursued me first..."

"Yeah, well, it's over now."

The words slipped past my lips. “You’re such an asshole,” I cried. “Everything I did for you...”

"You did all that on your own. As you can see, I have things to do. Just go."

Brad gave me one last fleeting look as though I was nothing more than another stranger, dropping back into the mess of sheets, losing himself in Jasmine's moans. I stood there, frozen, feeling my heart being ripped out of my chest, going to fall out of my chest and hit the floor in a million pieces.

Next second, as if guided by some silent signal, the bedroom door burst open. Brad's friends, coming for the birthday party, swarmed in. They hauled me out into the living room as I struggled.

"Brad cheated on me! Why didn't you stop them? Let me back in!"

They just rolled their eyes and looked away. One of them even told me, with something sounding a lot like pity, “You should go. You don't belong here.”

What made it worse was that they were all cheering, as though it was something to celebrate. They all wore looks of prideful happiness and rowdy excitement for their friend.

“Thatta boy, Brad!”

“Good on you, man! You finally found her!”

“Mate! Mate! Mate!”

It was all wrong. Days ago, Brad was whispering how badly he wanted to take our relationship further. I planned this perfect birthday party for my boyfriend. Me. Now I was ready, and he publicly had sex with my best friend instead! How could they do this to me?!

Everyone was cheering for them like they were meant to be, while I—the actual girlfriend—ended up looking like the other woman.

Glancing around, through blurred vision, not a single one of Brad’s rude friends seemed to even notice me. I suddenly felt like the lone outsider once again. Without so much as a word, I grabbed my bag and left.

Why has every good thing in my life been taken away from me?

Upon returning to my dorm room, my roommate Ava was startled to see me return so early. She caught sight of my tears and immediately got up from her desk to comfort me with a much-needed hug.

I told her what happened with Brad and Jasmine. Ava didn’t seem all that surprised by what went down, which only made me feel more insecure.

“Honestly, I never trusted that girl, Jasmine," she said. "She barely even knows you, yet she's been clinging to you like a shadow. It always felt calculated, like she was just using you to get to Brad. Don't waste another thought on someone like that.”

Ava wrapped a supportive arm over my shoulder. “Look, Elara, you just haven’t found your fated one yet. But I know you will, one day.”

I cringed with irritation.

“Ugh! I’m so sick of hearing that damn phrase,” I groaned. “Why the hell does everyone at this damn university talk like that?”

I never really wanted to attend Fairmont University in the first place, but had reluctantly agreed on account of my father. Our relationship had always been strained.

Ava must have noticed my worsening state and stood up. “Well, I don’t think we should let tonight go to waste,” she stated. “We are going somewhere fun.”

I wasn’t really in the mood to go out, but at Ava's relentless insistence, I followed her out of our dorm to a hidden pub spot in town. The lighting was warmly dimmed, and my eyes were instantly drawn to all the tall, broad men who were hanging around the place.

Ava giggled. “Forget about Brad. Look around, why not try a mature man?”

“Ooo, that guy over there is looking at you,” she hummed.

She skillfully guided us through the crowd and up to the bar. My initial thought was to order a milder drink. But my frustration was still buzzing beneath my skin.

“Two shots, please.”

Maybe I can drown my sorrows instead.

Ava headed off to the restroom, leaving me to my own ugly devices. After the first two shots, I came upon another one...and then possibly another.

The growing buzz dulled some of the ache in my chest, but it wasn’t enough to make me forget about what took place.

I wanted to forget about Brad and the way he so easily threw me away.

After a few shots, I lost my balance and felt my knees go weak. Before I could catch myself, a large set of hands curled around my waist and me close against a hard, warm chest.

The dim, pulsing lights from the ceiling above made my eyes swim with a confused haziness. My head was already fuzzy from all the alcohol I’d ill-mindedly consumed. My personal pity party had surely come back to take its vengeance.

I squinted my eyes, trying to see through the blurry haze and visually make out the man who had caught me from hitting the floor.

My mind was racing with each physical feature I was able to take in. His sharp, sculpted jawline and cheekbones looked as though it was carved from marble. His strong, dark brows matched the wavy mess of hair that curled behind his ears.

...And those dark honeyed eyes...

He looked familiar, like my father's old friend, Killian Knox—the one who used to live next door. But surely that couldn’t be possible.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he commented roughly. His voice was undoubtedly much deeper than I remembered Killian’s ever being. Huh. Guess I truly had the wrong guy.

But the copious amount of alcohol was swirling through my system. His icy yet gentlemanly act of saving me caused a rush of heat to course through me.

His earlier dismal brought back the stinging pain of Brad’s betrayal. My mind was then filled with the suggestive words from my friend, Ava.

“Why not try a mature man?”

I was enchanted by the woodsy, natural scent of him. Unknowingly, my arms snaked past his shoulders and looped around his neck. My gaze dropped to his perfect, full lips, and I leaned in.