Chapter 4

_Dahlia’s POV_

I staggered back as the pain hit me over and over again but I continued staring. He didn't break eye contact either. If anything, his lips curled in a smirk as his eyes lit with pure fascination. His scent mixed with the pheromones was too intoxicating for my body to handle.

The girls hadn't noticed me yet because they were too lost in the world of pleasure but this man, he stared at like he was feeling like the duvet was non-existent.

My body was heating up at a rapid rate. I wanted to leave. I knew I had to but I… I couldn't. My legs wouldn't cooperate. It was like I was stuck in a trance.

He gestured at me to come closer and I found my legs moving on their own. Like I was actually heading towards him. I stopped a few metres away from him. My wolf was whimpering now.

'Make him stop…’

Hell if I could! I couldn't even make my own body listen to me.

He signalled me to come closer. I took a shaky step forward.

“Closer.” The richness of that velvety tone made me want to melt. I took another step forward. “Take it off.”

“Huh?” I blinked, snapping out my daze immediately.

“The duvet.”

I immediately jumped backwards like he'd burned me. “What are you saying, you pervert?!” I screamed and that finally got the attention of his partners. They turned to me with surprise then annoyance like I was interrupting their fun.

“Pervert?” A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. Goddess, even his laughter was beautiful. “You're the one eagerly watching three people fuck.”

My cheeks stained red. “That's not…”

“Even now, I don't see you looking away,” he smirked and I immediately whipped around.

“That's not what happened. Stop twisting the narrative, you jerk!” I raised my voice then cursed myself for sounding so defensive. I could imagine the amusement dancing in those eyes.

I was already feeling hot and sweaty underneath the duvet. I couldn't deal with anymore of him.

“I only came here because I…” I gulped her. Shouldn't he know that already though? He wasn't acting anything like it.

“Because?” He pushed.

“Because you're my…”

“Fuck, baby. You feel so good,” he suddenly cursed and my face went bright red.

“You know what, forget it. I hope we never see each other again.” I said quickly and dashed out of the suite. I shut the door behind me and rested against the door, heart pounding heavily in my chest.

That fucking asshole. Sleeping with two women in the presence of your mate? How shameless could he be?

I headed back to the room Annabelle took me into. That was when I finally found Taylor.

My feet froze.

Taylor’s hands were in Annabelle’s hair, his mouth deep on hers like I didn’t even exist. Her back arched against the wall, and his hand was on her hip, where mine were supposed to be.

“Taylor…” My voice was small, pathetic even to my own ears.

He pulled away slowly, his eyes narrowing with annoyance as if I had interrupted something important. “Well? Are you here to cause more drama, or are you done for the night?”

“I just… after everything out there…” my voice cracked as I tried to speak.

“‘After everything,’” he repeated mockingly, a humorless smile on his face. “You mean after you decided to put yourself and me on display with that pathetic stunt?”

“It wasn’t… Annabelle…” I tried to explain but he cut me short.

“Enough!” His voice cut through me. “You could’ve said no. You could’ve acted like someone with fucking brains. But you didn’t. And now? People are looking at me like I’m an idiot for dating you.”

My nails dug into the duvet. “I wasn't trying to embarrass you. I just wanted to make you happy.”

“That’s the thing, Dahlia.” He stepped closer, lowering his tone like he was letting me in on a secret. “You say you want to make me happy, but then you make choices like tonight. You don’t think about how it affects me, my image, my reputation. That’s just selfish.”

“I’m not selfish…”

“You are. You want me to ‘show you off,’ but you haven’t earned that yet. Being with me comes with expectations. People watch me. They judge me. And right now?” He let his eyes drag over me in the duvet, his lips curling in disdain. “You’re not exactly giving them a reason to envy you.”

The heat in my chest tightened into panic. “I can fix it…”

His eyes remained cold as he stared at me. “You want to fix it? You really think you can?”

“Yes,” I answered desperately.

“Then prove it. Remind me why I bother with you. Remind me why I should keep defending you when people ask me what the hell I’m doing with an omega like you.”

My voice shook. “I will. I’ll… I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“Well I don't believe you,” he said plainly. “Until you prove that you're worth it, I don't want you to ever show your face in front of me again, got it? Now get out and reflect on what you've done.”

I swallowed hard, fighting my tears. “Taylor please… you have to trust me. I can…”

He turned his back to me and returned to kissing Annabelle. My heart shattered into several pieces.

“Leave, Dahlia. As you can see, I'm busy,” he snapped and I immediately got off the floor.

I noticed the triumphant smirk that formed on Annabelle’s face the moment I turned around. I knew deep down that she had a thing for Taylor, but covered it up with the best friend act. She wanted to separate us, and it’s becoming hard to fix things.

I hurried to the door to leave when Taylor spoke again, “Don't forget my pocket money tomorrow. And oh, I need a change of wardrobe too so spend your weekend wisely, okay?”

“Okay.”

*****************

I headed home for the weekend because I honestly couldn't stand the gossip in school. Everyone made fun of me and laughed at my desperation.

Honestly, I was starting to feel a little stupid too. The more I read the comments on the school blog, the more I wanted to disappear. Meanwhile, Taylor's page were flooded with pictures of him and Annabelle doing a lot of couple stuff.

Stuff he had never even done with me. They were going on dates, kissing at every opportunity, playing games together. Even the way he smiled at her was different and the comments, they were all mocking and cursing me out and Taylor liked every single one of them.

I couldn't even blame him. He was probably still mad at me.

Atlas was having some friends over and he wanted to introduce me to them and one of them attended Blackridge. I felt as scared because I knew if Atlas got a whiff of the gossip, he would punish me and even send me abroad.

So I decided I was going to call in sick and avoid them as much as possible. I was safe as long as I remained mysterious and didn't go near the guest wing.

But apparently, the goddess had other plans. During lunch, I heard my brother was in the garden with his friends so I snuck out of my room to grab my food from the table.

I succeeded, or so I thought until it was time to return to my room. I was so busy glancing back that I didn't look where I was going until I bumped into someone. Someone that smelled like a huge garden of roses.

Books and sheets went flying along with my bowl of soup and I hit the ground with a thud. My butt screamed in pain but when I saw the soup splattered all over the books and sheets, colour drained out of my face.

Oh goddess!

“I'm so so sorry…” I immediately began apologizing. “I didn't mean to…” my eyes unconsciously trailed to the white shirt and I gasped.

Most of the soup had poured on him and it was a very ugly stain. How was he not screaming at me yet? Yet in all this, my wolf was excited for no reason. Maybe she thought ruining someone's shirt and books with soup was fun.

I looked up shakily, only to be instantly smitten by the curly-haired beautiful human with glasses.

I instantly recognized him as Knox Rivers. My brother's best friend and Alpha to-be of WhiteLake. He was quiet, always had his nose buried in a book and yes, avoided me like a plague.

I could never tell what his eyes looked like because he always avoided my gaze but he had beautiful curly lashes.

“Knox…” my voice came out as a whisper. To think my first interaction with him with him would be a disaster.

'Mate! Mate!’ Mena, my wolf leaped in joy. I paled out immediately realizing that the reason he hadn't reacted to the soup or his books was because the mate bond was even more shocking.

“This has to be a mistake…” was the first set of words I ever heard directly from him.

And it came with an inexplicable amount of hurt.