Get Out. Do Not Touch Me!

Corrine's POV

A deadly silence swallowed the corner of the hall. The only thing cutting through it was the loud, thumping music. Mason Carter had his arm wrapped tightly around my waist. With a smug, annoying confidence, he leaned down and claimed my lips. He kissed me deeply, right there in front of everyone.

I froze. My eyes went wide with shock. My body was exhausted from my heat cycle and I couldn't fight him off immediately. My breath came in short, ragged gasps until my chest actually started to hurt. Mason’s kiss felt like a total violation. It was a loud, vulgar statement made for the whole world to see.

On the other side of the room, I saw Lumi. She let out a soft, poisonous laugh behind her hand. She whispered to the people around her. "Look at the half-breed. She actually thinks the Alpha’s son will marry her. She doesn't know she’s just a one-night toy. He’ll throw her away like trash."

But her laugh died in her throat. A muffled explosion echoed through the room. It was the sound of Glacier’s fist smashing against the edge of a nearby table. He turned his massive body around. His aura had turned into a terrifying darkness.

His gray eyes burned with a fire that could have leveled the entire building. Without saying a single word, he pushed through the crowd. The sound of the hall door slamming behind him was enough to shake the very walls.

"Glacier! Wait!" Lumi screamed. She ran after him, tripping over her tight dress.

She caught up to him at the car. From a distance, I saw Glacier behind the steering wheel. His hands gripped the wheel so hard that the veins in his tattooed arms popped out like snakes. Lumi climbed in beside him. She put on a fake, sweet act and tried to put her hand on his shoulder. She leaned into his face to kiss him and calm him down. "Honey, don't worry about that piece of trash," she said. "She isn't worth your anger."

In one fast and violent move, Glacier shoved her away. She hit the car door hard. "Get out of my way, Lumi! Don't touch me!" He roared so loudly that the car windows shook.

Lumi looked at him with pure terror.

In that moment, Lumi remembered the truth she was hiding from everyone. She remembered the day, three months ago, when Glacier told her she was his mate. His wolf had been in a state of total chaos back then. She knew for a fact that her own wolf didn't feel any bond with him. But she used the situation anyway. she wanted to be the Luna. Glacier himself had lost all sexual interest in her after just a few days. It was like he sensed something was wrong, but he stayed with her because he felt it was his responsibility.

"I am your mate! How can you treat me like this?" she screamed, trying to save her pride.

"Get out!" His command was final. It sounded like it came from the depths of hell.

Lumi got out, her whole body shaking.

A few minutes later, she realized she had left her purse inside the mansion. That was exactly where Glacier was heading back to in a blind rage.

I ran away from the party. I didn't care about the looks of pity or the mean laughs following me. I ran toward the mansion. Tears burned my pale cheeks. I needed to explain things to him. I had to tell him that I didn't want that kiss. I had to tell him I wasn't the slut Lumi said I was.

When I got to his suite, the door was cracked open. I walked in trembling. He was standing there with his back to me. The muscles in his broad shoulders were pulled tight.

"Glacier..." I whispered his name. My voice was so weak it felt like it would break before it even reached him.

He turned around so fast I took a step back. His eyes were dark. The usual coldness was gone. Instead, they were burning with a scary, primal hunger. Before I could say a word, he was on me. He pinned me between his hard body and the wall.

He didn't speak. He lunged at my lips. It wasn't a sweet kiss. It was a war. It was a struggle between his pride as an Alpha and his desperate, starving need for me. The kiss tasted like jealousy and possession. He buried his hands in my hair and forced my head back. My heart hammered in my throat. I didn't know if I wanted to push him away or hold onto him forever.

"You are mine." He growled in a thick, raspy voice. He buried his face in my neck and sniffed my skin like a madman.

"I don't care about Mason. I don't care about the pack laws. Your scent is destroying my mind, Corrine. Your smell... your blood... it was always you."

While this was happening, Lumi came back to the suite to get her things. She froze at the door. She gasped. In that second, a memory hit her like lightning. Months ago, when she was bullying me at school, I had bitten her arm in a moment of desperation. That evening, when Glacier bandaged her wound, my blood was still on her skin. It mixed with her scent. Glacier’s wolf had been tricked. He thought Lumi was the one.

I was lost. I was drowning in a sea of confusing feelings until I heard a small sound at the door. My body went stiff. Glacier noticed the shadow behind the door. He pulled away from me suddenly. That cold, mean look returned to his face. He left me there, gasping for air and trying to pull myself together. He walked out of the room to catch whoever was there. I stayed behind alone, touching my shaking lips.

What just happened? Did he just admit there was a bond? How am I supposed to leave in two months when he is holding me with this kind of madness?

Lumi pulled out her phone with shaking hands. She tried to take a picture of us to ruin my reputation forever. But before she could press the button, a giant shadow moved over her. The phone crushed in her hand like a cracker. Glacier stood over her. His eyes showed no mercy.

"You thought you could play games with an Alpha?" Glacier said in a low, quiet voice.

"I will tell everyone! I’ll tell them you’re cheating on your mate with your friend’s daughter!" Lumi screamed in panic.

Glacier finally spoke. "You won't tell anyone about Corrine. You will do exactly what I tell you to do. You will keep playing the role of the mate in front of the pack. And you will stay away from Corrine. If you do that, I will give you the rich life you want. But if you touch a single hair on her head, I will make sure history forgets a wolf named Lumi ever existed."

Lumi swallowed hard. She realized she was trapped by a ruthless Alpha. Glacier turned toward the door and gave a sharp command. "Now. Go get Corrine. Tell her I am waiting for her in the office. Right now."

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

I expected it to be Glacier. But it was Lumi standing there. She didn't look like herself. There was no mean smile. No look of victory. She was pale. Her eyes looked broken in a way I had never seen before.

"What do you want, Lumi?" I asked sharply. I tried to wipe the marks of the kiss off my face.

Lumi stared at me for a long time. It was like she was seeing me for the first time. Then she spoke in a voice that had no emotion at all. "The Alpha is waiting for you in his office. Now."

"Why?"

"Don't ask me questions." Her voice was stiff. Her hands shook as she held the doorknob. "Just go. He has something to tell you."

I walked behind her down the long hallway. The silence between us was heavy. I felt like the rules of the game had changed. Lumi, the girl who bullied me and kept me away from him, was now the one leading me to him.

We stopped at the office. Lumi stepped aside and opened the door without looking up. I walked in. Glacier was sitting behind his desk. He pointed to a chair. Lumi stood in the corner like an obedient guard. It made me feel very uneasy.

"Corrine." He said my name softly. A shiver ran down my spine. "We need to talk about your ceremony... and your future in this pack."

I lifted my chin, trying to be brave even though I was scared. "I told you before. I’m leaving after the shift."

He didn't blink. He leaned his elbows on the desk. He looked at me with those piercing gray eyes. "That choice is no longer yours to make. Lumi will oversee your special training from now on. You will be under my direct watch every single minute."

I looked at Lumi in shock. Then I looked back at him. "Training? Watch? Glacier, I’m not a prisoner!"

"You are my fated mate, chosen by the Moon Goddess." He said it suddenly. Out loud. Right in front of Lumi, who didn't even move. The words hit me like a physical blow.

"What did you say?"

"You are my true mate." He repeated it even colder than before.

"There are reasons why I can't announce this right now. Reasons involving your safety and your father. Lumi will act as a cover until the time is right. If you want to stay alive, you will do what I say."

The room started spinning. Lumi, my worst enemy, was going to be my cover? And Glacier, the man I thought hated me, was claiming I was his mate while refusing to acknowledge me in public?

"You're asking me to live a lie." I whispered bitterly.