Chapter 002

TALIA

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Tessa’s voice sliced through the air, yanking me back to reality.

I stumbled back, biting my bottom lip so hard I tasted blood. But it was too late. I had said the word. She had heard it.

“Tessa…” I gasped, my mind spinning.

How could I explain this? How could I tell her that I hadn’t meant for this to happen?

But she knew. We all did. No one chose their mate, it was fate, something beyond our control.

And yet, she wasn’t hearing any of that.

“You just fucking tried to claim my boyfriend?” she spat, fists clenching at her sides.

Her shrill voice echoed down the hallway and conversations halted. A heavy silence settled over the crowd as students turned to stare. Those too far away to hear moved closer, drawn in by her reaction.

My hands shook and I clenched them into fists, trying to calm the tremors, but it was useless. It felt like my insides had been hollowed out.

How was this even possible? What cruel twist of fate had made my sister’s boyfriend my mate?

Maybe this wasn’t real. Maybe it was just another dream, one of those vivid nightmares that left me gasping for breath. Any moment now, I would wake up in my bed, safe in the knowledge that none of this had happened.

“Calm down, babe.”

Ethan’s voice as he tried to calm Tessa shattered my illusion. This was real. This was happening.

Tessa’s chest heaved with sobs, her perfect act unfolding as always. She had a talent for summoning tears the instant things didn’t go her way and she was doing it well now.

Ethan pulled her into his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder and his hand smoothed over her hair.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “There’s no need to cry. Just calm down.”

But Tessa wasn’t done. She jerked her head back, eyes flashing at Ethan.

“Calm down?” She cried. “How can you say that, Ethan? Can’t you see what’s happening here? You heard what she just said! She’s trying to come between us!”

Ethan laughed and the look he gave me made something inside me wither and die. There was nothing but hatred and contempt in his eyes.

“You mean her?” He pointed at me like I was something foul. “Why would you ever think for even a second that I’d choose that thing over you? Tessa, I thought you knew me better than that.”

That thing.

I felt my stomach drop.

To Ethan, I was nothing.

I had always wondered if the Moon Goddess had forsaken me, but now I knew. She must have hated me from birth. Why else would she have fated me to him?

I wanted to run before he humiliated me more, but my feet felt glued to the floor.

Tessa sniffled. “So you’re not going to accept her?”

Ethan cupped her face, wiping away nonexistent tears. “Of course not. Even if someone held a dagger to my throat, I’d still reject her.” He leaned closer, his voice soft and adoring. “You’re beautiful, Tessa. Perfect. Everything I’ve ever wanted. Why would I need her when I have you?”

Tessa’s lips curled into a smug smile. She glanced around, making sure everyone was watching. “That’s true,” she murmured, as if confirming it for the crowd.

“She’s your sister, sure,” Ethan added, “But let’s be real. She’s pathetic. She hasn’t even shifted yet, and she’s eighteen. Meanwhile, you, my love, shifted two months before your sixteenth birthday.”

Gasps and whispers spread through the gathered students at his words.

Ethan smirked. “So tell me, love, why would an Alpha’s son want a freak for a mate?” He asked, and immediately, laughter exploded around me. Each sound was like a knife to my heart.

They won’t see me cry. They can’t see me cry. I repeated the words in my head, over and over, but the lump in my throat was getting harder to swallow.

I forced my lips to move. “Ethan,” I whispered, “please… Can we go somewhere to talk?”

I already knew his answer, but I wanted or needed this rejection to happen in private.

In response, Tessa’s eyes flashed at me. She wrenched herself out of Ethan’s arms, her fury rising.

How dare you?” she barked. “You want to take him somewhere so you can put your filthy hands on him?”

“No, I—”

“I knew you were jealous of me, Talia,” she sneered. “But I didn’t think you’d go this far.”

“Tessa, please stop,” I begged, suddenly aware of the dozens of phones pointed in my direction.

People were recording, snapping pictures, pressing in closer for better angles. I turned my face away, but they were everywhere.

“I just want to talk to him for a minute,” I said, forcing the words out.

Tessa wiped her tears with the back of her hand, smearing mascara across her cheekbones. She elbowed Ethan aside and stepped closer.

“Why don’t you tell all of us what you need to talk to him about?” she taunted. When I didn’t respond, she added. “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or are you just dumb, deaf, or both?”

I flinched.

“Tessa,” I whispered, barely able to move my lips. My eyes pleaded with her. Please, just understand.

But she didn’t.

“He’s my mate,” I said softly. “I just wanted—”

“Your mate?” she shrieked, veins bulging from her neck. I shouldn’t have said that because now, she wouldn’t have any mercy on me.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder as she stepped closer. “Didn’t you hear him? He can never be yours. You’re not fit to be Ethan’s mate. You’re not even fit to be his maid.”

The laughter grew louder and I felt the first tear slip down my cheek, then another. I couldn’t stop them.

Tessa wasn’t going to stop, not until she had completely torn me apart. And I was standing there, letting her. Humiliating myself by begging.

Not anymore.

Somehow, I found the strength to turn away.

I took a step. Then another and it got easier.

The crowd parted for me, their cameras still clicking, still capturing my shame.

The double doors leading out of the school had never seemed so far away. The closer I got, the further they retreated.

Half-blind with tears, I kept walking.

“Wait.” I heard Ethan’s voice call out to me. My heart slammed against my ribs and slowly, I turned.

He was glaring at me, his lips curling in disgust as if he smelt something bad. Tessa clung to his arm in a possessive grip, her eyes shooting daggers at me.

“Come back here,” he said, crooking a finger at me.

I had no choice but to obey.

“You wanted to talk, right? Well, since you’re too much of a spineless coward to speak your mind, I’ll speak mine.” He said.

“Ethan, please—”

“You are not my mate.” He stated. “You must be completely delusional to think that for even a second I would ever accept you.”

He dragged a hand through his curly brown hair, his muscles flexing beneath his tight T-shirt.

“The Moon Goddess must have made a mistake,” he went on. “She meant to fate me to Tessa. But some mistake, probably because you two had the misfortune of sharing the same womb must have screwed things up and linked me to you instead.”

He exhaled sharply, like the very thought sickened him.

“Now let’s get this shit over with.”

Tessa loosened her grip as Ethan stepped forward.

He towered over me, his broad frame making it impossible to see my sister, though I knew she was either smirking or barely containing her laughter.

I bit down on my lip, bracing myself for the inevitable because I knew what was coming next.

“I, Ethan Fletcher, reject you, Talia Westwood, as my mate.” He declared.