Chapter 1

The Anniversary Gift

Rowan's POV

I watched the gift box slip from my hands the moment I heard my brother moan my mate's name. I stood outside Damon's bedroom door for a minute, and convinced myself I had heard wrong. I had to be wrong.

 Tonight would be our third bonding anniversary. Damon had sent me a message earlier, telling me to meet him at the pack house after sunset. He'd even sounded excited. I smiled the entire day like an idiot.

Now I stood outside his room with tears burning my eyes as I watched them. My heart pounding against my ribs, holding the gift box in my shaken hands.

 I heard another moan through the door, then a sound laughter. My fucking brother's laughter. My blood completely stopped moving.

"No..." I whispered. My fingers shook as I pushed the door open. I stood dead, watching Damon in bed naked. And beside him was my brother, Ryan. Neither of them looked surprised to see me. That hurt more than a thunder strike.  The sheets covered little.

Ryan's hand rested possessively on Damon's chest. And Damon didn't rush to explain himself. He didn't jump up or look guilty of his evin act. He just looked annoyed. Like I was an intruder interrupting something.

The watch slipped from my hand and shattered in pieces on the marble floor.

The sound hit the whole room. Yet, they didn't move. 

I stared at Ryan, my own brother. The one person who was supposed to be family. "Rowan..." Ryan called, as if surprised.

"Don't." I said. My voice cracked.

 His wet mouth snapped shut. I looked at Damon, my mate, my fated mate. The man who promised I would never be alone again. "Tell me this isn't real." I said.

 A sharp pain all over my body. I felt the mate bond between us. I waited for him to deny it. To tell me there was some explanation or anything. Instead, Damon sighed, he actually sighed.

"You're making this harder than it needs to be." Those words hit harder than a slap.

I stared at him. What...can you please explain this madness, Damon?” I cried.

"We weren't planning for you to find out like this." Damon said.

 So much pain tore through my chest.

Find out?

Find out what? I asked.

Ryan climbed out of the bed and reached for me. "Rowan, please listen to me—" I stepped away. 

"Don't touch me." I said. 

His face fell. For years, my family treated me like a burden. I was the weak Omega, the unwanted son and a disappointment.

Ryan had always been their favorite. The beautiful one and the talented one. The one everyone loved.

But Damon?

Damon was supposed to be mine. The Moon Goddess herself had chosen him.

Or so I thought.

 “But how long?" I asked. Neither answered. My stomach twisted from their silence

.

"How long?" I asked again. Ryan lowered his eyes, and I believe that was answer enough. 

My knees nearly gave out. Not days, not even weeks but months or maybe longer. I looked at Damon.

"How long have you been sleeping with my brother?" I asked. But his silence felt like a knife.

 Almost a year." Ryan whispered.

A year? My entire world shattered. I laughed. 

The sound came out broken. A year, while Damon kissed me, held me and marked me?

He was fucking sleeping with my brother for a year.

 "But why?"

But Ryan started crying. I didn't care, not anymore. Damon finally stood, his face was detached. The same look he used during pack meetings.

"Because I love him." The bond between us cracked. I actually felt it, a pain shot through my chest. I staggered backward.

"No." I yelled. Damon's eyes hardened.

"I never wanted an Omega mate." Damon said.

I couldn't breathe. 

"What?" I asked.

"For years I tried to make it work." Every word he said cut deeper into my heart. "But Ryan understands me." My hands finally trembled. 

"So our bond means nothing to you?" His silence was all the answer I seek. 

I felt something break inside me. Ryan stepped closer to me again.

"Rowan, please—"

"Shut the hell up?" I yelled.

Rowan yelled back at me, telling me to shut up, even before I could plead?

I screamed loud and it exploded through the room, both of them froze. Tears blurring my vision. "You knew he was my mate, didn't you?" I asked.

Ryan shamelessly looked away.

 "You knew right!" I asked.

 "I didn't mean for this to happen."

 I laughed bitterly, the sound from my mouth was ugly and cruel.

"Of course you didn't." I cut him off. The bedroom door opened and behind me, standing at the doorway were several pack members, the elders, a few warriors and servants. They looked uncomfortable and ashamed.

Not shocked, not even surprised but ashamed. My stomach twisted to my throat. No. I looked from one face to another. No one was bold enough to meet my eyes.

 The realization hit me like a physical blow. They all knew. All of them. Every single one of them.

The affair wasn't a secret. I was the only fucking fool who didn't know. Humiliation burned through my body, hot. One of the elders cleared his throat.

 "Alpha Damon." As if all this had been planned. Fear crawled up my spine.

 "What are you doing?" No one answered.

The crowd now parted. More pack members entered the hallway, dozens of them. Watching. Ryan moved to Damon's side, and Damon held his waist. My heart completely stopped.

"No." I yelled. The elder moved and said: "Tonight, Alpha Damon has an announcement." 

The room blurred. I couldn't hear my own heartbeat. My breathing stopped completely, and I couldn't think straight.

Damon looked directly at me, without remorse, without showing any sign of regret and without love.

 The mate bond between us trembled badly. Then I heard the words that destroyed everything I owned.

"Rowan Nightshade. I reject you as my mate." The world went silent, my vision blurred. A loud scream built inside my chest. The bond shattered.

And darkness swallowed me whole