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ELENA’S POV

The students’ shouts faded into the chaos of my pounding heart as I turned toward Jason. His eyes locked on mine, and Ria’s growl ripped through me again, louder this time, sharp and demanding.

“MATE!” she bellowed, claws twitching beneath my skin.

Jason’s face darkened, his gaze stripping me bare, as though he could see every flaw, every imperfection, every part of me I wanted to hide. My stomach twisted. My breath hitched. The world narrowed to just the two of us.

He took slow, measured steps toward me. Each stride made my heart hammer harder. His eyes raked me from head to toe, stopping a fraction too long on parts of me I hated myself for. He stopped just two feet away. The crowd around us gasped, and whispers floated through the air like sharp knives.

“You?” His voice was low, laced with something I couldn’t place. Disgust? Anger? Confusion? Bitter amusement?

“The Moon Goddess couldn’t pair me with anyone else but…You.” His words cut through me, slow, deliberate. My chest felt hollow as the realization hit— is this really happening

The crowds gasped and they realized.

“She’s his mate?” someone whispered.

“How can she be mated to him?” another questioned.

“Is the Moon Goddess playing some sick joke?”

“This… fatty with Jason?”

I felt the sting of every judgmental stare, every cruel murmur.

“You people are sick in the head,” Elena spat.

Jason’s hands grabbed mine violently, pain shooting through my wrists.

“Hey! Jason, let her go!” Elena yelled, trying to wrench my hands free. But his gaze was lethal, focused, unrelenting.

“Mind your damn business, Elena,” he snapped.

“What were you expecting?” His voice softened slightly, and for a moment, I thought I saw hesitation. “…Me running to you immediately when our eyes met? When my wolf screamed mate?”

“No,” I said calmly, keeping my voice steady enough for him to hear. My pulse raced, and Ria’s growl was a low, trembling vibration in my chest.

“You really think someone in their right mind would love… someone like you?” His laugh was bitter, cutting, venomous. The crowd joined in. My stomach twisted, humiliation coiling like a snake around my ribs. I clutched the hem of my gown, willing the floor to swallow me whole.

He jerked his hands from me, leaving me staggering.

“Touching you feels… like a disease,” he said, disgust dripping from every syllable.

“Bro, take this sanitizer. I don’t want you getting fat,” one of his friends added, offering him a bottle like this was a joke.

“The only disease we’re supposed to wipe away is you and your friends, Jason!” Elena snapped, stepping forward.

“Shut up, Lena. Aren’t you tired of trying to be friends with her? She’s just a clown,” Jason sneered.

I stared at Elena, panic threatening to overwhelm me. What if she’d had enough too? What if even my only anchor was tired of me? My hands trembled.

Elena’s fingers laced through mine, grounding me. “Friends support each other, Jason. I’m not tired of her,” she said calmly. Her thumb drew small circles over my knuckles.

“Besides who let you guys out?. Aren’t you guys supposed to be home drinking mommy’s nipple?”

Jacob lunged, but I stepped forward, placing myself between him and Elena.

“They’re protecting each other,” Jason laughed, sharp and hollow.

“That’s what friends do. But you wouldn’t understand,” I hissed.

Then he said it. The words that shattered me:

“Elena… fatty,” he spat, every syllable a knife. “I, Jason Almond, reject you Elena Roberts as my mate.”

The words echoed in my chest, in my skull, in the very core of me.

“I wouldn’t want to be mated to a fool like you anyway,” I whispered under my breath.

“I, Elena Roberts, accept your rejection Jason Almond.”

My hands clutched my chest, fingers trembling, knees weak. Ria’s cries tore through my body, sharp and raw, almost splitting me in two. A scream tore from my throat before I even realized it. His scent, once intoxicating, now twisted with sourness, sickly and wrong.

I could hear their mockery, their laughter. The crowd melted around us, leaving only him, me, and my throbbing, shattered heart.

Even Jason’s face betrayed him. I saw it—flinch, twitch, the subtle tightening of his jaw, the slight narrowing of his eyes. He had felt it too. The sting of mate recognition, the betrayal of instinct versus ego. Even as he left, I knew he carried pain inside that he couldn’t admit, even if he wanted to.

Minutes later, my vision cleared. Ria whimpered, collapsing inside me. Elena’s hands were steady on mine.

“Do you want to go home?” she asked gently. I shook my head.

“And give them the satisfaction that they broke me? Hell no!”

“Good answer. I’m proud of you. He’s not worth it.” Her words were soft but firm. “Now wipe your tears. Straighten your shoulders. Chin up. Don’t look them in the eyes.”

We left the scene, holding hands, each step a little firmer than the last.

☆☆☆☆

“He doesn’t deserve you, baby. You’re too good for him,” Mom said when I recounted everything.

“That’s what I told her, Mama. Besides, he’s a coward, a man-child,” Elena added, muffled while stuffing chocolates into her mouth.

“But… he’s my mate…”

“He was. Elena, I know the Moon Goddess has a plan. If he were truly yours, he wouldn’t have rejected you,” Mom said gently.

☆☆★★☆☆

The following days were unbearable. I stayed home, sulking like a broken fool. Even Elena and Mom tried dragging me out, but I couldn’t face him. I couldn’t endure seeing Jason smirk or hear the whispers, the laughter. I acted strong—but the moment I saw him, I knew I’d crumble.

My I*******m feed was hell. Photos of him, laughing, kissing, clubbing… all reminders of what could’ve been. That should’ve been me.

“Our ex-mate is a jerk,” Ria growled. I nodded silently.

My phone buzzed. Elena.

“Lena, guess what?”

“I can’t—just spill the beans.”

“You’re no fun. Anyway, the school gave us five months’ summer holidays!” she announced.

“Okayyy… and??”

“Bitch, we have to go on vacation. I say Hawaii,” she suggested.

“You have a wedding to attend,” I reminded her.

“Ha, yes. Carlus wedding. If I didn’t love him, I’d bail,” she groaned. I chuckled.

“He’d never talk to you again if you bailed,” I reminded her.

“You’re going with me, right?”

“I have plans with Mom… we’re going to Nana’s place,” I lied.

“Oh, fuck! I hate going out without you!” she groaned.

“Same here,” I admitted.

“Let’s talk later—Carlus’s calling,” she said, hanging up.

☆☆☆☆

Insecurity clawed at me. I didn’t want to go out looking like this.

“You’re just a fatty.”

“No one will love someone like you.”

Their words, their jests, everything… all crawled back into my head, sharp and piercing.

“Arghhhhhhh!” I screamed, letting everything pour out. Tears fell freely, but so did determination.

I wanted to be beautiful. I wanted gowns that fit. I wanted love.

I picked up my phone and dialed a number. Two rings later:

“Yess, Elena?”

“I need the helicopter. I’m going to Aunt Kate’s place.”