Chapter 1: The Mating Ceremony

~VALERIE~

“What the hell?!”

Everyone gasped.

I stood at the center of Raven’s Peak with hands clasped tightly in front of me and my palms damp. The torches flickered with the night wind as rain clouds hung low above us like they were waiting for something terrible to happen.

The murmurs came next.

“An Omega?”

“Why is she even here?”

“This must be a mistake.”

I swallowed.. of course it was about me.

I was the only Omega in Raven Pack. The only one without a wolf and the only one who couldn’t shift. I had almost begged not to be included in the mating ceremony but my stepmother Lady Vivianne had smiled that sharp smile of hers and said, “Don’t embarrass us at least stand there and let the Goddess see you.”

So I stood there.

The Alpha raised his hand and the crowd slowly quieted but my heart was beating so hard I was sure everyone could hear it.

“Tonight,” the Alpha announced, “the Goddess reveals the bonds meant to be.”

I tried not to flinch as I told myself not to hope. Hope had a way of hurting me the most.

Names were called one after the other and cheers followed with laughter, tears of joy, arms wrapping around mates and wolves howling in celebration. Then the Alpha looked down at the parchment again.

“Valerie.”

The murmurs returned instantly and I lifted my head slowly with heat rushing to my face. I felt small and exposed.

“And your mate is...”

The Alpha paused and the silence stretched.

“Chris. Son of the Beta, Gareth.”

The world stopped momentarily and then it exploded.

“What?!”

“No way!”

“The Beta’s son?”

I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

Chris?

My Chris?

I turned to him with my heart racing and for the first time that night, I smiled brightly and widely and full of hope I didn’t even know I still had.

This was it. This had to be it!!

Chris was among the few people who had ever been kind to me. He smiled at me when others sneered and he spoke to me like I mattered. Once, years ago, he almost fought a group of boys to leave me alone when they laughed at my chore-stained dress.

I felt something stir inside me softly and weak but there. It was my wolf!

She shifted just a little like she was waking up after a long sleep and I sucked in a shaky breath. Maybe I wasn’t cursed after all.

I took a step toward Chris with my hands trembling.

“Chris,” I whispered with my voice breaking. “Do you feel it too?”

He didn’t smile back and he didn’t even look surprised. He looked… angry, his jaw was tight and his eyes were cold.

My smile faltered.

“Chris?” I said again. “It’s us. The bond...”

“I feel it,” he snapped.

The joy drained out of me.

“But don’t look so happy,” he added loud enough for people to hear. “This isn’t something to celebrate.”

A few people laughed and my chest tightened.

“What do you mean?”

He stepped back like my presence disgusted him.

“I mean I don’t want you, Valerie.”

The words immediately stabbed a hole through my heart.

“I... I don’t understand,” I said quickly. “The Goddess chose...”

“The Goddess made a mistake,” he cut in. “You’re an Omega and you can’t even shift. What am I supposed to do with you?”

More laughter and my ears rang.

“I can learn,” I said desperately. “I can try harder. I swear I’ll...”

“Try harder?” Chris scoffed. “You’ve been trying your whole life. Look where it got you.”

My throat burned.

“Chris, please,” I whispered. “You’re all I ever...”

He leaned closer with his voice dropping.

“Don’t say that. It’s embarrassing.”

I felt something crack inside me.

“And let’s be honest,” he continued, straightening. “You smell wrong, you look weak and everyone knows you’re cursed.”

I heard someone clap, someone else whistled and my vision blurred with tears then Chris did the thing that shattered me completely.

He turned away from me and wrapped his arm around Sonia’s waist.

My stepsister gasped dramatically with one hand flying to her chest.

“Chris…”

“It’s you I love,” he said with his voice suddenly warm. “It’s always been you.”

Sonia smiled sweetly and then glanced at me. Her eyes were cruel.

“I accept,” she said softly.

The Alpha cleared his throat.

“Chris, do you reject Valerie as your mate?”

Chris didn’t hesitate.

“I reject her!”

That really hurt..!

All eyes turned to me as my knees shook and my chest hurt so badly I thought I might collapse.

“I…” My voice trembled. “I accept the rejection.”

The pain was instant. It wasn’t just emotional. It was physical like something inside my chest was being torn apart and I cried out, clutching my heart and gasping.

The crowd watched. Some smiled and some whispered but no one stopped it. I turned and ran.

Rain poured from the sky, soaking my hair and dress in seconds and my feet slipped on the stone path as I fled Raven’s Peak.

Laughter chased me but I didn’t stop. I ran until my lungs burned and my legs ached…until my thoughts tangled into one painful mess.

This was my life. My mother died when I was young. My father brought Lady Vivianne into our home with her cold eyes and her cruel words.

“Useless Omega.”

“Waste of space.”

Those were names she called me.

Then my father died too and I was left alone with her and with Sonia.

The pack never saw me as someone with feelings and never cared. I scrubbed floors, carried water, bowed my head and took every insult and tonight? Tonight was proof I would never be anything more!

I slowed near the edge of town with rain dripping from my lashes. Maybe… maybe it was time to stop trying.

A dark thought crept in.. maybe I should end it!

The rain soaked into my bones as I stood there, shaking and then something inside me rebelled.

No!

If I was going to die, I wouldn’t do it as the weak Omega they laughed at.

I laughed softly in a broken sound.

“You know what?” I muttered to myself. “I’ve never even been to a bar.”

A strange pull tugged at my chest warmly and insistently. I didn't know why I had picked a bar but I strangely felt drawn to it. I frowned.

“What now?”

The pull grew stronger, guiding my feet.

“Fine,” I said. “One drink. Then… we’ll see.”

I must have looked terrible, soaked and shaking because the bartender frowned at me.

“You okay, honey?”

“I want a drink,” I said.

She eyed me.

“You look like you need a blanket, not liquor.”

“I’m eighteen,” I snapped. “I’m allowed.”

She sighed.

“You’re soaked. Go home.”

“I don’t have a home,” I muttered.

She hesitated but then a chair scraped beside me and a deep voice spoke calmly.

“She’s with me.”

A hand slapped money onto the counter…