Chapter Two: I Do Not Want Him Ruining My Night

Derek’s POV

For a moment after he said her name I thought I had heard wrong, like my ears had filled with rainwater and twisted the sound, and I stood there blinking with my mouth slightly open, waiting for him to laugh and say my name instead, waiting for the room to turn into the joke it had to be, because this was our night and this was the place he chose and I had suffered too much just to be standing there soaked and shaking for it to end like this.

People started clapping and laughing softly and Ophelia moved through the crowd like she belonged there, like the floor knew her feet, and I took a few steps forward without really deciding to, my legs moving on their own, my shoes making wet sounds on the clean floor, and that was when I noticed the looks, the way eyes slid over me and stopped, the way mouths curved, the way whispers followed me like flies.

“Look at him.”

“Did he fall into a gutter.”

“Is he lost.”

I felt every word hit my skin even though no one touched me yet, and I kept walking until I reached the foot of the podium, my hands clenched tight, my chest burning, my eyes fixed only on Theo because if I looked anywhere else I knew I would break.

Theo did not look at me.

Ophelia reached him and immediately pressed herself into his side, her hand sliding over his chest like it had every right to be there, and she smiled down at the crowd before looking at me, really looking at me, with something sharp and pleased in her eyes.

I swallowed hard and lifted my head.

“Theo,” I said, and my voice sounded wrong to my own ears, thin and shaky, “what is happening.”

He cleared his throat and adjusted the microphone, still not meeting my eyes.

“Derek,” he said, like my name was something awkward he had stepped on, “this is not the time.”

I shook my head, rain dripping from my hair onto the floor.

“What do you mean it is not the time,” I asked, my words tumbling over each other, “you said tonight was for us, you said you were ready, you told me to come here.”

Some people laughed openly now and one of them said something about me smelling like wet dog and another said omegas should not be allowed in places like this, and I tried to ignore them, I tried to keep my eyes on Theo because if I lost him in the crowd I felt like I would disappear too.

“Is this a prank,” I asked, my voice breaking despite my effort, “Theo please tell me this is a prank.”

Ophelia laughed softly and wrapped both arms around his neck, her body pressed fully against his, and before I could even understand what was happening she kissed him, slow and deep, right there in front of me and everyone else.

The room spun.

My knees almost gave out and I grabbed the edge of the podium to steady myself, my fingers numb from the cold and from the pain spreading in my chest like something tearing open.

Theo kissed her back.

He kissed her like he meant it, like it was natural, like it was not destroying me piece by piece, and I made a sound then that I did not recognize, something small and broken that came from deep inside my throat.

I climbed the steps without thinking, my legs shaking so badly I almost slipped, my wet clothes clinging to me, my teeth chattering now that I was closer to the lights and everyone could see me clearly.

“Please,” I said as I reached them, my hands reaching out before I could stop them, “please do not do this to me.”

Theo finally looked at me then and his eyes were cold, so cold that it scared me more than the laughter.

“You promised me,” I said, tears spilling over now because I could not hold them back anymore, “you promised you loved me, you promised we were mates, you said we would face them together.”

Ophelia’s grip tightened on him and she leaned her head against his shoulder, her fingers digging in like she was claiming something she had already won.

“I know I am weak,” I said quickly, words rushing out of me in panic, “I know I am just an omega and they hate me for it, I know I am not what they want, but you said it did not matter, you said you loved me the way I am.”

My whole body was shaking now, from the rain, from the cold, from the fear settling in my bones, and I hugged my arms around myself for a second before dropping them again because I needed him to see me, really see me.

“I will accept it,” I said, my voice cracking hard, “I will accept never being accepted, I just do not want you to leave me too.”

Theo laughed, a short sharp sound that felt like a slap.

“Look at you,” he said, gesturing to me like I was a mess he wanted to wipe away, “standing here dripping all over the floor and embarrassing yourself.”

I shook my head again and again.

“We are in love,” I said, desperate now, “you cannot just erase that, you cannot say it meant nothing.”

He leaned closer to the microphone so everyone could hear him clearly.

“Nobody could love you,” he said plainly, “not like this.”

The words hit harder than any blow ever had.

“You are an omega,” he continued, his voice calm and cruel, “and you are gay, and that stench follows you everywhere, did you really think I would ruin my life for that.”

I felt something inside me crack open and my wolf whimpered in my chest, confused and hurting, pulling at the bond that had always been there, that warm steady pull that told me I was not alone.

“You never loved me,” Theo said, shaking his head slowly, “I was just bored.”

The crowd reacted instantly, voices rising, insults flying, hands grabbing at my arms and shoulders, pulling me back, dragging me down the steps while I cried out his name, my nails scraping uselessly against the podium.

“Get him out of here.”

“Disgusting omega.”

“Know your place.”

I hit the floor hard and someone shoved me again, my cheek pressed against the cold tile, my vision blurry with tears, but even then I could still see them.

Theo and Ophelia.

They were kissing again, hands everywhere, her laughter loud in my ears, and something in my chest finally snapped.

The bond burned.

It tore through me like fire, my wolf screaming in pain, clawing at the inside of my skin, and I screamed too because it hurt too much to hold in, because it felt like dying and being torn apart at the same time.

I curled in on myself as the pain took everything from me, my breath coming in sharp broken gasps, my body convulsing as the last thread between us shattered, and just before the darkness took me completely I heard Theo’s voice above the noise saying,

“Take him outside, I do not want him ruining my night.”