Lahat ng Kabanata ng Fading Wolf, Forgotten Mate: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

I took a deep breath and walked to the door.The moment I opened it, seven years melted away.Roric stood there. Taller, broader, and more powerful than I remembered. Those golden eyes were still captivating.But now, they were ice-cold.A beautiful woman was on his arm.Cressida. Perfect face, perfect body, and the blinding confidence that radiated from a powerful, healthy she-wolf."I can't believe you still live in a place like this," Roric said, his eyes scanning my shabby apartment with a mocking smirk."I'm doing just fine," I said flatly. "What do you want?""We were hoping you could help us with something," Cressida said, her voice sickly sweet, dripping with superiority. "Roric and I are having our Mating Ceremony soon, and we're not familiar with the latest gown styles from the South."She paused, a flash of triumph in her eyes."I heard you sketched hundreds of designs for your ceremony with Roric. That you dreamed of being a designer?"Her words were a blade twisting in my

The car stopped in front of an elegant white building."Moonlight Couture."I had dreamed a thousand times of walking out of this shop, wearing the dress I had designed myself.Now, I was finally here.To watch another woman wear it.Roric got out and walked around to my side, opening the door.As I tried to stand, my legs, weakened by my dying wolf, gave out. I pitched forward.He instinctively caught me.For a split second, I was wrapped in his familiar scent of pine.The first time in seven years.His warmth seeped through his coat, so familiar, so real.My heart hammered in my chest.But just as quickly, he dropped me.I watched, frozen, as he strode to a nearby trash can, pulled a sanitizing wipe from his pocket, and methodically scrubbed the hand that had touched me.Every finger. Every space between them.As if my very skin was poison."Roric doesn't touch other she-wolves," Cressida said, walking up beside me. Her tone was apologetic, but her eyes were triumphant. "He's very pa

Roric’s POVDead girl.The words exploded in my mind."What did you say?" I grabbed Maya’s arm, my voice trembling. "Who's dead?"Maya ripped her arm from my grasp, her eyes filled with tears and hatred."Ayla.""No," I staggered back, my mind blank. "Impossible. She was just a little hurt—""You killed her," Maya's voice was a razor's edge. "All for this damned Mating Ceremony dress."She turned to leave."Wait!" I lunged in front of her. "That's not possible. My mother said her mate picked her up—""Mate?" Maya laughed, a cold, bitter sound. "What mate? She hasn't even looked at another male in seven years!"My world shattered."Mom!" I spun around and rushed toward my mother, my voice hoarse. "Is Ayla dead? You said her mate picked her up!"The color drained from my mother’s face."Roric—" Cressida started, grabbing my arm. "The ceremony just ended. Don't make a scene in front of our allies—""Get off me!" I shoved her away.I shifted into my wolf form and tore after Maya's car, blo

Roric’s POVMy revenge was complete, but it brought me no peace. Only a deeper circle of hell.I cancelled all ceremonies, dissolved my Alpha coronation, and sent away anyone who tried to comfort me.I just wanted to be alone. In the place where she used to live.I had to force Briony to give me the key to Ayla's apartment.She hated me, but she feared me more. All the wolves in North America feared me now.I pushed open the door. Her scent still lingered in the air.Faint. So faint. But it was enough to make my heart stop.I sat on her couch, touched the cup she used, flipped through the books she read.Everything was a reminder that she had lived here. And now she was gone.Killed by me.In her bedroom, tucked away in the deepest corner under her bed, I found a small box.Inside was a crudely carved wooden wolf.My first gift to her.I hadn't known how to carve back then. The ears were uneven, the tail was crooked.But she had called it the most beautiful gift she had ever received.