Chapter 2

~CAMILLE~

My mind went blank. I stared into his eyes. They were different—not the usual eyes that portrayed the bitterness and inexplicable hatred engraved in his heart for me. The glint was something different. Hunger? Lust? Love?

Nah! There was no way that could be love. Even if he wasn’t in control of his mind because of the situation, there was no way the emotion in his eyes was affection. He hated me to the core, and I honestly detested him just as much.

“Mate!” He repeated the word, and Lyra growled at it. Goosebumps shrouded my skin, and an enjoyable cold gripped me.

I didn’t know how to react. What a twist! Of all the men who were in the pack hall tonight, how could it be Cassius Slade? Could the moon goddess be any crueler? First, I was given a difficult life, and now I would be a rejected mate, because there was no way on earth Cassius would acknowledge me as his mate and future Luna.

I wasn’t anticipating that either. There was no way I would strive to be the Luna of a man who gave me a scar—a scar that would never fade.

Seconds passed, then minutes, until it turned into an hour. We stood there, glancing into each other’s eyes unblinkingly as though we were both rummaging for something in them. My body was getting hotter, and Lyra was becoming fiercer. She wanted to hear the acceptance words from her mate. She couldn’t wait to be bound to him—his wolf.

As for me, I was patiently waiting for those rejection words. I had seen Cinderella once, but I had never visualized that it was real. There was no way Cassius would accept me as his mate. So, it was better that I didn’t get my hopes high—not for a second.

At this point, everyone in the hall had either been accepted or rejected. The sound of sobs mixed with excited squeals glided into my ears. That was the way it had always been. Tonight, some would cry themselves to sleep, while some wouldn’t be able to sleep because of overblown joy.

Unfortunately, I would be doing the first—crying myself to bed—but I doubted I would be able to feel a thing because of his declaration. Cassius had done worse to me. Having him reject me would be the least, and I doubted it would hurt.

“What a twist! She’s getting a slap in the face tonight,” I heard a voice rip through the air from the right side. I didn’t bother to look at who it was. That was predictable. The only son of the Alpha was in front of me. Anyone would be angry. A common Omega and a lowly maid got mated to the future Alpha? No way those girls with perfect families and rich backgrounds would accept that.

“The moon goddess can be funny sometimes. How can a pig be mated to a prince?” another said, and a few of them laughed.

Strangely, I wasn’t offended. Their outrage was justified. There was no way I deserved anything good. I had no identity until I got to the Silverfang Pack, where I was sold as a maid. My mistress gave me the name “Camille,” and I could say that was the only good thing the witch had done—giving me an identity.

The moon goddess didn’t halt her savagery there. She went further by not bestowing on me the standard looks and stature of the pack. I was different from other girls—chubby, with a fatty face, short hair, and maybe unappealing.

“Cassius loathes her guts to the core. I guess we are about to witness the biggest rejection in history,” Kendra’s voice echoed, menacing and cold. I could feel her eyes on my skin, prodding me like a needle.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Lyra grunted inwardly and tried to dominate my human form, but I held her back. I couldn’t allow my unreasonable wolf to humiliate me in front of everyone. It would be disastrous if Lyra forced me to plead with Cassius to accept me and not reject me.

She pulled at my stomach and shook my body aggressively, trying to take charge, but I dug my nails into my skin, suppressing the urge to grant her access.

“I… Reject me already, Master Cassius,” I mumbled, my voice croaky and low due to the wave swirling within me. “I understand that you hate me and wouldn’t want a woman like me by mistake. You don’t need to hesitate. I’m certain the moon goddess made a grave mistake this time.”

“Thank goddess she knows her place already. She knows that she is beneath and should remain there forever. A lowly Omega like her shouldn’t covet our Cassius,” a voice shouted from the crowd.

If it were the previous day, I would have allowed the tears dancing in my eyelids to stream out, but it was different this time. Something was holding them back, and I didn’t think they would fall even if I pushed them. Maybe because I had accepted the impossibility before it even happened. My mind was clear. I just wanted to get the rejection from him and leave this gathering.

I knew I didn’t belong here, but protocols needed to be observed.

After an eternity of silence, he blinked and flashed a radiant smile at me. Trust me, that was definitely a dream. No—it was real. He probably just smiled at my misfortune and the twist of events. He definitely was as shocked as I was, which was the reason for his smile.

“Why should I do that, Camille?” he asked. This would be the first time I had heard Cassius speak softly. He took my hands and stared into my eyes. My body froze when his hands touched mine. Different things were happening at the same time, and it was difficult to assimilate or comprehend anything. Did Cassius hit his head on a rod before coming here, and was it just starting to have a bad effect on him?

Gasps spread among everyone when he held me. They were just as dumbfounded as I was.

“Why should I ruin the moon goddess’s plan, Camille? She made you mine for a reason,” he uttered. Another round of gasps emanated from everybody; some shielded their mouths with their hands to stop the screams.

To crown it all, he made the most appalling statement:

“I, Cassius Slade, accept you, Camille Mullen, as my mate and future Luna.”