The Halloween Party

Alexandra POV

“You have nothing to be nervous about. It’s just a Halloween party,” my best friend Emmie said.

Easy for her to say she hasn’t been banned from every gathering since she arrived here for being a half-human.   

“It’s my first one,” I sighed. “Besides, there’s a full moon tonight.”

“And?”

“Everyone’s going to be hypersensitive and strong.”

“You’re overreacting,” she said, flipping her jet black hair over her shoulder.

“Maybe you’re right. I’ll just stick close to Xavier.”

Emmie grinned. “He is your boyfriend.”

My boyfriend and the Alpha of the Iron Claw pack. Everything in the stars said he was mine because we were fated mates. He’s the one who got me permission to attend the party. Wolfless members of the pack aren’t allowed to attend events on campus. I happen to be the only half-human wolfless in the shifter region. I wasn’t wolfless, though. My wolf would come… eventually.

“Earth to Alexandra? We have a party to get to!”

I offered her a smile. “You’re right.”

The University was loud when we got there. The dark courtyards and classrooms had been lit up with scary pumpkin lanterns, and raised tombstones littered the front lawn.

“This place is wild!” I commented.

Someone had already egged the Dean’s office window. Jaxson University was the only university in the shifter region.

“You haven’t seen anything yet!” Emmie laughed.

“I wonder where Xavier is. He isn’t picking up my calls.” I asked.

Emmie shrugged. “He’s your mate, you should be able to find him.”

Sure, but the mate bond doesn’t work that way because my wolf hasn’t awoken yet. 

Eyes followed us, or specifically me, in my sexy pink panther romper costume and torn tights. We walked into a classroom where a group was playing beer pong, and hungry eyes were on me in an instant. I felt like a medium-rare steak served up on a plate.

“Let’s play, Alex!” Emmie said.

“Uhh… I’m going to look for Xavier.”

“Check in Professor Rufus’ office,” a guy in a robot costume said.

Another dude elbowed him, but said nothing.

“Thanks,” I said before exiting.

Professor Rufus’ office was on the second level of the campus building. The level was empty, which made me wonder why Xavier would be up here all alone. This better not be a stupid joke by those guys.

That’s when a strong scent penetrated the air. It was almost electric. Scent and sound joined forces as I got closer to the professor’s office.

 “Yes, yes!” A woman moaned.

I froze. “You like that? Damn, you’re so good.”

The woman laughed. “You have no idea how good I am.”

No, it can’t be. There’s no way it’s him.

My blood ran cold, and simultaneously, heat rushed to my cheeks. I had to know for sure, because my heart pounded in my ears and my vision blurred for a split second.

I wrapped a hand around the door and pushed the door inwards.

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. My mate had another woman bent over the professor’s table. His pants were around his ankles, and the woman’s bunny costume lay discarded on the floor.

“Alexandra!” He barked.

“Get out, bitch!” Faye yelled. “Can’t you see we’re busy?”

Faye was my mortal enemy. She wolf hated me from the second she learned I was wolfless, unlike the many others who had an opinion she lived to make my life hell.

“Busy?” My voice cracked.

Xavier pushed Faye to the side and marched towards me. I thought he would beg and plead for forgiveness and tell me it wasn’t what it looked like. Instead, he wrapped his fingers around my neck and backed me into the wall.

“What are you doing here, babe?” He asked, amusement in his tone.

“How can you still call me babe?”

He chuckled. “Don’t be like that, Alex.”

“Get off me.”

He released me, but didn’t step back.

“How could you hurt me like this, Xavier? Doesn’t the mate bond mean anything?”

“I know you’re not one of us, Alexandra, so you don’t know our ways. I’m a wolf who has needs that can’t be satisfied by just one woman.”

Faye chuckled. “Poor little human. Are you going to cry?”

“Stop it,” I mumbled.

I turned back to my mate. “I gave you everything.”

“You weren’t supposed to find out this way. Now, you have to deal with it. I’m the Alpha of the Iron Claw pack!”

Xavier and I found out we were fated mates three months ago. It was confirmed by his pack’s seer. I didn’t have a wolf, so it was difficult for me to sense him as my mate.

Xavier curled his fingers around my jaw. “Look at me!”  He shouted

I did, and met his cool blue eyes with unshed tears in my own.

“It won’t be so bad. You’re still my mate, and that should count for so much more. I’m honouring the moon goddess and doing you a favour. You’re just a wolfless, and you’ll never be anything in this pack without me.”

I was stunned as I listened to him speak.

He brushed my bottom lip with his thumb. “Don’t be stupid about this.”

He leaned in and kissed me full on the lips. My eyes widened in alarm.

“Stop!”

I pushed him. Xavier shook his head. “Don’t make a fucking scene!”

“You shouldn’t have cheated on me. I’m not worthless because I don’t have a wolf yet.”

Faye laughed. “You still have hope that you’ll get a wolf? You’re nothing but a pathetic human.”

I wish she’d just disappear.

“Reject me and get this over with, Xavier,” I snapped.

He blinked and laughed. “There’s no turning back, Alexandra. You lose everything!”

I sniffled but refused to cry in front of him. “It can’t be worse than this.”

He growled. “Fine! It’s your loss! I won’t lose a damn thing. I, Alpha heir Xavier Nightscar, reject you, Alexandra Westwood, as my fated mate.”

The rejection had been put into motion. The process of destroying the destiny-crafted mate bond was excruciating. I panted and battled the urge to scream. He didn’t deserve my tears, even though I wanted to cry so badly. His eyes burned holes into my body, waiting for those sacred words to be uttered.

“I, Alexandra Westwood, accept your rejection.”

The mate bond shattered. The connection between Xavier and me was gone. I didn’t know one could feel this hollow. Yet, he didn’t even seem fazed. He stood tall and menacing, and that shattered me further.

“Good,” Xavier spat. “Give me back the celestial ring I gave you,” he demanded.

I eyed the ring he gave me with a golden band, a deep, dark blue diamond.

“What?” It was a gift. He gave it to me when we started dating.

“It belongs to my pack. Now that you’re no longer my mate, you have nothing to do with the Iron Claw pack. You don’t have my protection anymore!”

I pulled the ring off my finger and handed it back to him.

“I hope you know what this means, Alexandra,” Xavier said.

“Yes, our relationship is over, and we have nothing to do with each other.”

“You’re back to being a half-human in a shifter world that doesn’t want you around.”