Masuk~Soren~The words pulled the ceremony down like a tsunami. From every side, there are gasps, Rebecca covers her mouth and Felix stiffens.“That’s impossible,” Alpha Donovan mutter, but his voice seems to empty. Now he’s looking at me, really looking at me like he is just seeing me and I can see him thinking. The pieces clicking together in his head."It's true," calls out one more voice. An elder from Rebecca's pack. “I know people in her father’s pack. The registration is clear. Omega designation, suppressed presentation, but omega nonetheless."Lie, I'm sure he doesn't know my father. "No," says Georgina, standing up, her voice is shrill. "That's - she's beta, like me. Impossible!""She's omega," the first elder insists. “Her father was omega. The bloodline is documented.The amphitheatre explodes. All talking at once, some on their feet, some shrinking back in their seats as if they might catch whatever I’ve got by proximity.Rebecca turns to me her face is pale. “Soren? Is it
~Soren~Two days.Two days of Felix dodging me. Two days of him and Rebecca, smiling for pictures, nodding to the venue arrangements, playing the perfect future Alpha.Two days of slowly rotting to death at my core.At last, he came to my room this morning.I was getting dressed—or trying to. My hands were shaking so much I couldn't zip up the ceremonial gown they'd given me, Lunar Witness white. Pure and innocent and mockingly virginal."Soren." His voice was hollow. "We need to talk."I never looked back. I couldn't stand to look at him."I tried everything," he said. "I went to my father. Told him I needed to delay. He threatened to disown me. I thought of reaching out to other Alphas about breaking the pact. It would be an act of war against Rebecca's pack,” he said. His voice cracked. “I don’t see any way out for me that’s not going to cost everybody everything.”"So you're going through with it.""I have to." Two words. They were small and devastating."Get out.""Soren, pleas
~Soren~I fix my makeup as well as I can. The puffiness around my eyes will never go down completely, but at least I don’t look like I just had my soul ripped out, this time by my mother.Although I did.I make my way back to the dining room, and everyone is already sat down. Rebecca is laughing at something Felix’s father said and I feel like jumping into a hole.I sit down heavily at the end of the table. Away from Felix, away from Rebecca, away from everyone.Margot serves the first course, and as she places my plate, she whispers: “I’m so sorry, Miss Soren.”Great. The staff pity me now.Dinner is torture, course after course of expensive food I can’t taste, conversation I can’t follow. Rebecca keeps touching Felix’s arm, and he lets her. He doesn’t pull away, doesn’t even flinch.Maybe Georgina was right.Maybe I am nothing.“Soren?” Alpha Marcus speaks to me, and everyone turns to look. “Rebecca tells me you played a large role in arranging the ceremony. Very gracious of you no
~Soren~ I stay the rest of the morning in my room, crying until my eyes are puffy. At noon, Margot knocks on the door lightly. “Miss Soren? The Presentation dinner is in two hours. Your mother insists you wear something appropriate ” I pull myself to the shower, letting the hot water wash away the tear stains. When I’m done, I face my closet and look at my stash of hoodies and jeans. Nothing worthy here. A know comes through. “Soren?” It’s Indie's voice. “May we come in?” I open the door. Indie, Jazz, and Kyle are there, with makeup, a garment bag, and guilty expressions. “We just heard about the Presentation dinner,” Jazz says cautiously. “Thought you might need backup.” "I don't want to go." "I know, babe. But you have to. " Indie pushes past me gently. “So let’s at least make you look gorgeous while you’re suffering through it.” They work on me like I’m a doll, concealer to cover up the crying, hair styled in soft waves. “Now the dress,” Jazz says, unz
~Soren~ 2:00 AM. My feet are already moving before my brain processes it. The garage is looming ahead, a single light shining through. He is there, straddling his bike, his helmet in his hand, clad completely in black. When he spots me, a wave of relief so complete that it almost cracks me washes over his face. "Thank God," he breathes as he steps off it. "I thought —" He halts, looking into my face. "What's wrong?" I exhale. "I'm scared, do you think we are doing the right thing? Maybe it's just ....." “Just what? Just biology? Just chemistry?” His laugh is bitter, broken. “So, is that what you think this is?” “I don’t know what to think anymore!” He’s already closed the distance between us in two strides when his hands cup my face, compelling me to look up at him. “I love you,” he says, his voice raw. “Not because of the mate bond. Not because of some cosmic joke. I love you ‘cause you're courageous and broken and breathtaking,” he says. “Because you make me w
~Soren~ I shouldn't be here, I tell myself. It’s 11:00 A.M and I’m standing in Felix's door in nothing but his t-shirt, which I stole, and panties which are already wet with sweat just from walking down the hall. The bond is taunting me, tormenting me, shattering me and I can no longer fight it. I knock once and the door opens. Felix is shirtless, sweatpants sagging painfully low, liquid gold in his eyes and his wolf is right there at the surface. “Soren.” he whispers, checking the hallway. “What are you—” I don’t let him finish. I cup his face and kiss him, hard and desperate. He makes a sound -- surprised, hungry -- and then his hands are on me, dragging me inside, slamming the door. He tears the t-shirt off mine in one swift motion, the cotton ripping. Then his mouth was on my breast, hot and wet, sucking at my nipple so hard I was crying out. His teeth skims the sensitive peak before sucking again, harder this time, his hand is massaging my other breast harshly. H







