Chapter 1

Aurora POV

“I found the lipstick stain on your shirt, Jackson. Are you going to deny it?”

He looked at me coldly. “Yes, I have another woman. But in truth, the ‘other woman’ is you, Aurora—because I’m engaged. I’m marrying someone else.”

Jackson is my fated mate. I always believed betrayal was impossible between us, but clearly, I was a fool.

“I thought you, as my mate, accepted that I’m human.”

A sharp pain pierced my chest, but then something else took over—anger.

Jackson shrugged like it didn’t bother him. “My family would never accept a useless human like you as my mate, Aurora. My fiancée is titled and has status. She’s Alpha Thorne’s sister and can help me climb to Gamma, while you’d only hold me back.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. After all this time together, how did I miss all the lies? He’d been deceiving me from the start, and I fell for it.

“I’m so disappointed in you. I thought what we had could rise above the human-wolf divide,” I said, stepping back as his cold glare pinned me in place.

Jackson sneered. “Aurora, since we’ve been together, you’ve never had to pay rent. You share every meal with me, and I’ve never complained about how selfish you’ve been. Meanwhile, I’ve had to deal with a gold-digging human girl. I already sent your things back.”

I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to say that. Jackson made me his assistant, paying me only the bare minimum salary. But for the sake of our future, I turned down better offers just to support his work. Outside the job, I handled all the house chores and cooked every single meal for him. I was constantly running between work and these endless tasks, with no time left for myself.

All the effort on my part was nothing to him.

In his eyes, not only was it worthless, but he felt like I owed him something. I nearly choke on the anger filling me.

I snapped. Trying to follow the werewolf rules, I attempted to reject the mate bond, “I, Aurora, want to end the mate bond with Jackson.”

I wait for something to happen, but when nothing changes, Jackson laughs.

He laughs, like this is funny.

He taps a finger under my chin with a chuckle, "You must state your full name and pack name, as well as your mate’s full name. I don’t believe you really want to reject us.”

His words churn my stomach, making me so angry I feel like I could throw up, because he’s treating this like it is a game.

I pull back from his touch as he asks,“Is this just one of those pathetic human tricks to get me back? If you want to be my mistress after the wedding, I might consider…”

Before he can finish, I interrupt, “I, Aurora Roberts, reject you, Jackson Hall of the Darkwood Pack.”

This time, it worked.

He narrows his eyes and grits his teeth, but I can’t feel sorry for any pain I may cause him. His heartless nature has been revealed because he would rather break things off with me than endure any pain by doing exactly what I’d just done.

Spinning on my heel, I run back to my car, climb in, and drive away as quickly as I can.

A burning sensation pricks at my eyes as tears well up and then slowly roll down my cheeks. I shouldn’t cry, but I can’t stop the tears. I thought he loved me. I thought our future would be happy.

I guess the joke is on me because I should have known better. I’ve been discriminated against, for being human, ever since I moved to the pack borders when I was ten. My human mother and werewolf father were also looked down on when they mated. To those around us, I was just another disappointment he brought into the pack when he returned.

Falling in love was something I’ve always dreamed about, but I’m not like the other girls in the pack, so I thought it was just a dream. Until I met Jackson. He came along and told me I was his mate, giving me the security and love I always craved.

I thought we were heading for marriage.

Too late, I realize how naive I am.

It doesn’t take me long to pull off the road into the nearest parking lot. When I look up, I realize I’m at a bar. Honestly, I don’t usually drink, but alcohol could be a good distraction right now. I get out of my car and make my way into the bar.

There are a lot of people inside, so I push my way to the bar and order the strongest drink they have. The bartender looks me up and down, probably seeing the unshed tears in my eyes and then comes back a minute later.

“Bad night?” She asks. “What happened? ”

“My mate cheated on me.” I look up at the woman as she leans in.

She studies me then freezes.”I’m sorry, but a human and a werewolf mate? That’s pretty rare. Did…” she pauses again, “Did you feel it?”

“Feel what?”

She stares at me for a minute before answering, “When a werewolf cheats on their mate, usually the mate feels pain. Depending on the love between the two, it can be dull or excruciating.”

There was a day about three months ago that I had sharp chest pains. I thought it was nothing because my doctor said I was healthy, but now…

“Bring me three more shots,” I order, wanting to wash away the entire night. I wish I could wash away every memory and feeling I wasted on someone like Jackson.

With each drink, my senses become more dulled and fuzzy. The room spins, and people turn into faceless blobs unless I focus hard.

“I think you’ve had enough,” the female bartender says when I order another shot. I turn to her, but instead of looking at her, my eyes catch on a man walking across the room. Everyone around him stands up and bows as he passes, meaning he has an extremely high status.

I squint through my drunken haze.

That’s when I notice he’s looking directly at me. What’s more surprising is when his eyes darken the moment his gaze lands on me.

My heart jolts like it’s been shocked and begins beating wildly. My mind whirls, and even though I want to keep looking, I know I shouldn’t have anything to do with him. He’s clearly different from me, and I already know how a relationship with a werewolf will end. I don’t want to put myself in that situation again.

As I stand up, still a bit drunk, I almost fall, but he’s suddenly at my side, steadying me with a firm hand. Heat blooms in the spot he touches.

“Your silver hair is special,” he rumbles lowly, making my body react in a funny way. His voice is soft, yet rough and full of power. Tingles zip through my body, heat pools in my core, and a pleasurable haze falls over me.

This sharp sting feels a lot like the one I felt when I first touched Jackson. And just thinking of Jackson’s betrayal makes my chest tighten with heaviness.

I lift my eyes to the man’s face and whisper, “Thank you.” Without thinking, my hand finds its way to his firm chest as I add, “Anything you want, sir, I’ll let you have.”