My Dismissive Fake-Love Marriage

Cassia Durant's POV

"Rylan, we've been mates for three years now. You've never touched me... I gave you and your first love my blessing. I'll accept your rejection... after tonight, you can go to her. Just this once, let me have something to hold on to. Please..."

I leaned in and kissed him, desperate, drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

I knew what I'd done-drugging Rylan Thorne, forcing my mate, going against Moon Goddess's will. It was wrong.

But I'd loved him for too long. I loved him too deeply.

All I wanted now was a shred of comfort. One night to remember.

"Cassia, don't you dare!" Rylan glared at me, fury blazing in his cold, sharp-featured face. "I'm not afraid of anything."

A tear slipped from the corner of my eye as my kisses grew frantic. My hands fumbled across his body.

I just wanted him. Just once. Completely.

Rylan burned with rage.

He tried to push me away. He was an Alpha-he should've had the strength. But his flushed skin told me otherwise. The aphrodisiac was working. He couldn't fight the bond pulling us together.

Instead of pushing me off, he grabbed my waist and slammed into me, rough and unrelenting.

I couldn't stop trembling.

So this was what it felt like... to have the man I loved, even if just for a moment. And now that I had it... it broke me.

I heard his ragged breaths and felt the heat of his body. Tears streamed down my face.

I stared up at Rylan-this man I had loved for three long years-trying to burn his face into my memory.

I knew this would be the first and last time I'd ever have him.

"Don't look at me like that. It's disgusting." Even caught in the grip of lust, hatred still burned in his eyes. Suddenly, he grabbed me hard and pinned me down. He snarled, "Cassia! Give it up. I will never accept a lowly Omega like you."

His movements turned brutal. I cried out from the pain.

But the ache in my body was nothing compared to the shattering in my heart. I was Cassia, Luna of the Shadow Pack. It had been three years since I'd formed a mate bond with Alpha Rylan.

To the outside world, I was the Luna of our pack-fated mate to the strongest Alpha. My life should've been perfect.

But only I knew the truth. These three years had been nothing but hell.

Rylan had never once touched me.

He hadn't even marked me, refusing Moon Goddess's guidance. For a wolf, it was the deepest humiliation.

I was weak. An omega. I hadn't even awakened my wolf yet. In our world, I was nothing.

For an Alpha like Rylan, having a wolf-less Omega for a mate was a disgrace.

If I hadn't happen to save his grandfather from Wolfsbane... if he hadn't needed to take over the pack with a Luna at his side... he would've rejected me without a second thought.

But in the end, I still got my wish. I became his mate. I was overjoyed.

I had loved him long before we ever knew we were fated mates.

I was born into a long line of wolf healers. But I'd been weak from birth. I'd never once sensed my wolf.

One night, while I was out, I ran into a pack of rogues. They circled me, sneering, bragging about how they'd take me-how they'd share me.

Without my wolf, there was no escape.

I knew I was about to die.

That's when Rylan appeared.

He didn't even have to lift a finger. Just the force of his Alpha aura had those wolves dropping to their knees. 

And in that moment, I fell in love with him. I envied the future mate who would one day stand by his side.

But now... now I regretted every choice I'd made. Because for the past three years, Rylan hadn't shown me a shred of love.

I worked tirelessly to keep the pack running, taking care of every little thing so he wouldn't have to. I knew his stomach was weak, so I climbed cliffs with my bare hands, desperate to find the herbs that might help him.

He ignored every gesture of care.

He would rather suffer in pain than mark me-because the one he loved had never been me. It had always been his first love, Ivy Kessler.

He'd told me to my face. "Only Ivy is worthy to be my mate. You're not even in the same league as her."

And tonight was no different. It was nearly midnight, and he still hadn't come home.

Three years. It had always been like this. He stayed out with Ivy as long as he pleased, then came home when he was done.

I was done living like this. I finally understood-Alpha Rylan's heart was something I could never reach, no matter how hard I tried.

So I let go. But before it ended, I wanted one thing. I wanted him. Just once. One memory to cling to after I walked away.

"Mmm..." Each thrust slammed into me, rougher than the last, driven by his hate.

My face was buried in the pillow as I took it all.

It's fine. Hate me all you want. I'll be gone from the Shadow Pack tomorrow. You'll never have to see me again.