My eyes widen as the warmth seeps from my face. “Wh-what?” I murmur in a nondescript tone. “I thought…” I pause to gulp, blinking in confusion. “I thought last night meant something…”
Dominic’s eyes soften for a split second before they turn into forbidding depths of dark disdain. “What did you think it meant?”
I stare back with an incredulous frown, gulping hard to swallow my disbelief. He was the one who led me outside, showed me to his special place under the tree where we could still see through the hanging branches to the stars that glittered in the sky last night.
“I—I thought we would be mates now…” I murmur hesitantly, startled when Dominic throws his head back and laughs sadistically.
“You thought wrong, Cecelia.” He draws his head forward and meets my eyes, a sinister glint flashing in those depths that I’d lost myself in last night. “I was drunk last night, high on wolfsbane. I didn’t know what I was doing. You and I could never be mates. I’m about to leave for black ops, and when I come back, I plan on becoming the alpha. You don’t fit into any of that.”
“B-but—” My lips quiver with a sob that’s now lodged in my throat, my vision blurring with tears I refuse to shed. I’d lost my virginity to this wolf, and he’s acting as if it meant nothing tohim. My hesitation to speak or show him any sign of my pathetic weakness has him leaning in, his face a mere inch away, but not in a tempting manner like it was last night.
“You and I could never be mated, Cecelia Morales. This is an official rejection.”
With that, he turns and marches off toward the town, leaving me in a sobbing heap on the forest floor, my heart breaking into a million pieces and scattering on the ground where we’d made passionate love the night before.
What I thought was love quickly turns into hatred. There is no difference between everyone else in the pack and Dominic Rivera. While I pick up the pieces and try to mend them before returning to town, I decide that I will never allow this to happen to me again.
My hatred for Dominic will become my ultimate protection, and my consolation is that he’s leaving Nightmist.
Thank Goddess, or I might have plotted to ruin his life.
***
As the anger and bitter resentment resurface in the wake of Dominic’s return, I remember what it felt like to have my heart broken and what it felt like to want to destroy him for what he’d done. Apart from him leaving, I met up with my best friend later that day and realized I couldn’t jeopardize the only true friendship I’d known for the sake of a man who broke my heart.
Luckily for him, he’s been gone for three years. The residual hatred I felt when he snatched my virtue and rejected me is what prevents me from staring too long and being fooled by his effortless charm that naturally radiates off him. I might have been heartbroken then, but it made me stronger, and I waseven able to face the cynical remarks and snide attacks from this pack.
The only reason I put up with it is for my father’s sake. One day, I’ll be able to clear his name and prove that he wasn’t responsible for the humans’ attack on Lunaris. The Lunaris Pack will know that they were wrong for the way they treated us, and I’ll live a better life here in Nightmist.
On the other hand, there’s Donna, who’s the closest thing to a sister I’ll ever know, and she reminds me of this as she slides her arm through mine and rests her cheek on my shoulder just as Alpha Sirius takes the stand.
The meeting is a routine check-in with the pack to update us about the current state of affairs, who our allies are, and how secure our borders are from external attacks. We’re also told that the radar shows that no humans are aware of the existence of the werewolf race in modern society, which comes as a relief to me.
While I don’t yet have proof that my father was innocent, I’m the only half-breed in the pack who will be accused of crimes I haven’t committed if it’s found that humans know about us. The meeting drags on until Alpha Sirius gestures to the front row in the hall.
“Respected members of the Lunaris Pack,” he continues, nodding at the row where Dominic is seated. “It brings me great pleasure to announce my retirement, only because those who will participate in the ranking trials to determine the next generation of leaders of this pack are highly skilled males. I do not doubt their capabilities, and they will be ranked through tests that have been set up by the elders.”
A round of applause goes off in the hall, and Alpha Sirius asks the pack to settle down so he can announce the names of the contenders.
“Dominic Rivera, who has just returned from serving in the black ops werewolf army of New England,” he says with a short nod at Dominic.
A shiver slithers down my spine at the mention of his name in an honorable way.
There’s nothing honorable about the werewolf who took my virginity and left me coldly.
Donna shimmies in her seat excitedly, a broad grin on her face as she taps my arm. “It’s happening,” she whispers eagerly, and I throw her a smile to give her my support.
She’s the only one worthy of it, even if she’s excited for the man I hate.
“Those are our six contenders in this year’s ranking trials,” Alpha Sirius continues, and nods to allow the pack to applaud. He clears his throat into the mic, and the crowd instantly falls silent again.
“Now, because none of our participants are mated, and the trials require them to have partners to complete the tests set out by the council, it was decided that each of our male contenders will be partnered up with a female wolf who hasn’t been mated yet. Beta Paul…” Alpha Sirius steps aside to allow his beta to take the stand in this surprising turn of events.
It’s so surprising that even Donna frowns as she glances at me.
“The she-wolves who will be partnered with our ranking trial contenders are as follows,” Beta Paul begins. “For Simon Barker, we have Amanda Sinclair.”
My jaw drops when the blonde-haired she-wolf instantly springs to her feet. She waves at the pack, then blows a kiss toward Simon as if she just won the ultimate prize.
