Groaning, I roll my eyes as Donna leans in to whisper, “You’d think she just won a date with a celebrity…”
I chuckle as we continue to listen to the rest of the beta’s announcement. One by one, he calls the names of the contenders and adds the name of a she-wolf to each one.
Dominic’s name is called out last, and Beta Paul appears uncomfortable when he tugs on his collar and clears his throat.
“...Cecelia Morales.”
I stare at the pack’s current beta blankly, my heart dropping to the soles of my feet as my soul is crushed under the announcement of my name. I can feel every pair of eyes boring into my face, but I'm too numb to move.
This must be a terrible mistake.
I must have imagined hearing my name.
But the tug on my arm snaps me out of my horrified daze, and Donna’s voice enters the empty abyss of my mind like an echo that pulls me back to reality.
“Cece…Cecelia…they just called your name…”
Donna sounds as shocked as I am, prompting me to turn my face slowly toward her and see how wide her eyes are. With a gentle nudge, she urges me to stand up with the other she-wolves who’ve been partnered up with the trial’s contenders.
It’s as if my lifeforce is drained from every fiber in my body as I robotically rise to my feet, barely taking note of what’s going on around me as I continue staring blankly ahead. For a brief moment, I meet Dominic’s eyes, but I’m too dissociated to care about his response.
I lift my eyes to the stage, where the alpha addresses the pack. He must have told the she-wolves to sit back down,but I don’t even hear his voice. It’s Donna’s tug on the hem of my sweater that pulls me down again, momentarily snapping me back to the present to hear Alpha Sirius inform us that the werewolves chosen for the trials will leave for Mount Desert Campgrounds first thing tomorrow morning.
The meeting is dismissed, and all the Lunaris wolves stand up to make their way out of the hall. I’m too stunned to even move, and Donna remains seated beside me.
“She’s gonna make Dominic fail,” someone voices their concern as they pass us.
“What a fucking joke,” an older woman snickers. “The half-breed mutt is gonna make a fool of that poor boy.”
“What a shame…”
“How disappointing…”
The taunts of those who walk by are nothing compared to what I’m feeling. Apart from this, looking bad for Dominic, I’m the one who now has to join him in the trials and face him every day until it’s completed.
How am I supposed to live with myself?
I can’t be anywhere near my worst enemy.
This is a nightmare.
“Cece…I’m as shocked as you are,” Donna says as she places her hands on my shoulders and gently turns me to face her. She cradles my cheeks in both of her delicate hands, staring into my eyes with sincere distress in hers.
“I can only imagine how scared you must be,” she wails.
“You have no idea,” I chuckle dryly, still dissociating and out of touch. But my words hold so much truth in them—I’mafraid of being anywhere near Dominic Rivera because of how much he hurt me in the past.
Donna gulps as she nods fervently. “This isn’t a bad thing, Ce. You’re smart. You can help Dominic win.”
“H-help Dominic w-win?” I scoff at the thought. Why would I ever help the man who broke my heart?
“Please,” Donna pleads, her bottom lip trembling with worry. “My brother has wanted this his whole life. He needs to win. I have faith in you to get him through the trials successfully. I know you can do this.”
As much as I want to believe that Donna is only encouraging me because she wants me to help her brother win, I don’t have any reason to doubt her words. Neither am I able to doubt her when she sincerely pleads with me, but it only puts me between a rock and a hard place.
How am I supposed to please my best friend while working with my biggest enemy?
As Donna stares at me expectantly, I gulp hard and slowly begin to nod my head.
