Chapter 2
The tears wouldn’t stop. They just kept falling, hot and heavy, streaking down my face and mixing with the sticky mess of whipped cream smeared across my skin.
I probably looked like hell–like a clown at a funeral–but I couldn’t bring myself to care. My emotions had snapped loose. My mate, the one I had loved for five whole years–the one who fell for me at the pairing banquet, who swore he’d give me forever–was now standing there protecting another girl.
Right when we were about to enter the final stage of our Mating Ceremony…
Elena showed up.
Childhood friend. Pack darling. And apparently, the only woman who mattered now.
She shoved me right out of my own place in his life, reducing me to a footnote.
And for what?
કરવામાં
What had I done wrong?
મને તે સીધા ઈનું અને અ
I was sobbing so hard I could barely breathe, demanding answers from Theo, begging him to at least admit it was it my fault for loving him? Was I just born to be humiliated like this? To be
tossed aside?
My wolf growled inside me, restless and furious, echoing the betrayal that burned in
my chest.
For a second, something flickered in his eyes. A flash of guilt. Of something that almost looked like
regret.
But before he could say a word, Elena stepped forward.
Of course she did.
Her eyes were glassy, voice trembling just the right amount.
“Anya… I didn’t know you hated me so much.‘
“}
“I never saw you as an enemy. I always wanted to
do break the mate bond someday, I’d still like to be
be friends.
ser along with
you. Even if… even i
if you
and Theo
She hovered a few steps away, playing the part of the wounded lamb, hesitating like she was scared
to get too close. And when she finally did start walking
toward
Chapter 2
this pathe
there was look of
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noble self–sacrifice on her face–like she was about to martyr herself on the altar of my bad mood.
“If you really need to take it out on someone,” she said softly, “then go ahead. Smash cake on my face. I won’t get mad. I’ll do anything if it’ll make you feel better.‘
She reached out, trying to grab my wrist so I could wipe the cream across her perfectly done–up
face.
The second her fingers brushed mine, I recoiled like I’d touched fire and snapped.
“Get your hands off me!”
My voice echoed, sharp and raw.
That one reflexive slap–away was all it took.
Theo stormed forward, catching Elena before she could fall, his face darkening like a storm cloud.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Anya?! Are you out of your damn mind?!”
He barked the words like an Alpha issuing a command, eyes full of rage.
“I’m telling you right now–apologize to Elena. Immediately. Or I swear, I’ll never forgive you.
I stared at him.
Then at Elena, trembling in his arms like some fragile little fawn.
And I laughed.
Laughed until the pain bubbled back up and boiled over.
“You want me to apologize?”
I raised my hand, still dripping with cream–and slapped it right across Theo’s smug,
self–righteous face.
“Apologize to whom? You think you deserve that?”
I didn’t wait for a reaction.
I turned and walked away without a second glance. Let them cry. Let them yell. I was done.
But the world, apparently, wasn’t done with me.
Chapter 2
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By the time I got back to the pack house, I was sticky, exhausted, and on the edge of completely
falling apart and guess what?
–
The water was out.
Of course it was.
That was it. The final straw.
I collapsed onto the couch and broke down, sobbing so hard I couldn’t even hear my own voice
anymore.
And then, through the haze of my meltdown, my phone lit up with a video call.
It was Faye–my best friend.
The moment I saw her face, I cracked wide open. All my hurt came rushing out in one big, ugly
wave.
Within minutes, she was in her car, driving like a woman on a mission.
By the time she picked me up, she was swearing louder than I was crying. She dragged me into her car, drove like a bat out of hell, and when we got to her place, she yanked off my cream–soaked clothes and tossed them straight into the trash.
Then she turned to me, fire in her eyes.
“Anya,” she said, fierce and unwavering, “your life starts right now. Got it?”
I stood there in her oversized pajamas, staring at her flushed, furious face, and for the first time all night, something inside me… softened.
We looked at each other for a moment–two girls in the aftermath of betrayal.
Then we burst out laughing.
And in that moment, I promised myself: Anya, this is it. You’re done with Theo. Really, truly done.
Chapter 2
