Chapter 1
It was supposed to be my birthday.
But instead, I was standing there, covered in cake, humiliated in front of everyone.
That was the moment I looked Theo Marlowe–my Alpha mate–dead in the eye and said, “I want to
break the mate bond.”
Theo, who had been helping his childhood sweetheart Elena Wren serve whipped cream, mid–motion. His expression turned sharp with disapproval.
“Anya, seriously? You’re really going to ruin the mood for everyone?”
froze
I wiped the cream off my face, feeling utterly drained. My makeup was ruined. My hair–carefully styled for tonight—was a mess. The candles I’d waited all day to blow out were forgotten. And Theo… he was still standing beside her.
“I’m done, Theo,” I said calmly. “There’s no reason to keep this bond going anymore.
“It’s over.”
})
He followed after me, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back, his smile gone, jaw tight.
“Elena was just messing around! Do you really have to take it so seriously? You’re gonna throw away our bond over a stupid joke?”
I let out a hollow laugh.
“A joke?” I yanked my hand free. “I’m not joking.”
“I’m serious, Theo. I don’t want to be with you anymore.”
“Let’s break the mate bond.”
I turned to leave–I needed to get out of that suffocating house, away from those two faces–but I didn’t even make it to the door before Elena stepped in my way.
“Anya, I swear, it was just a joke,” she said, eyes wide and voice sugary sweet. “Theo and I have always been like this since we were kids. We’ve done cake smashes at every birthday party–we never thought it’d upset anyone. I thought we were friends. That’s the only reason I did it.”
Her words were laced with faux innocence, a neat little performance painting me as the uptight one. The overreactor. The one ruining the fun.
Chapter 1
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She even managed to twist it into me being the bad guy–like her little “joke” hadn’t just ruined i
night.
This was classic Elena.
Every time sho
But not tonight.
Not anymore.
pulled this guilt–tripping crap, everyone expected me to swallow it and smile.
As she stood there, waiting for me to let it go like always, I calmly scooped up a handful of cream from
lifted my hand and aimed it right at her flawless face.
my own ruined dress!
“Well then,” I said sweetly, “let’s all join in the fun.”
Before I could even reach her, Theo stepped in, blocking the blow. He shielded her with his body
like she was made on me with fury in his eyes.
I glass, turnin
“Anya, what the hell is wrong with you?!”
He snatched my wrist again–roughly this time and shoved me back.
my
I stumbled, hitting the wall hard enough for a dull thud to echo through the room. Pain bloomed at the back of my head as I clutched it, dizzy from the impact.
And over
all heard Theo’s voice, sharp and scolding.
“Elena came to apologize, and this is how you repay her? Seriously?”
“Is making a scene in front of the only way you know how to be happy?!‘
eve
I stared at him, rub
the sore spot on my head, and
atched as he stood there protectively in
front of Elena like she was some fragile little thing.
It was pathetic. And yet… it still hurt.
Even though I’d known for a long time that whatever Theo and I had was twisted and broken, his
favoritism still hit me like a
iconch
to the chest.
“Theo,” I said, my voice tight with everything I was h
I didn’t want to show how much it affected
problem, cracked something open inside.
Chapter 1
s holdin
back.
the way he looked at me, like I was the
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“Do you even hear yourself?”
“Today was my birthday. Mine. I didn’t ask for much. Just a moment to blow out my candles and make a wish. But instead, I got humiliated. Elena smashed a cake in my face and ruined everything. And you when you saw me upset–you didn’t even flinch. You just stood there and called it a
you–when joke.”
“If it was all in good fun, then why wasn’t I allowed to do the same back?”
“Because you know damn well Elena dressed up tonight to steal the spotlight. Because you know if I’d thrown cream at her, she would’ve cried. Because you know you wouldn’t be able to stand seeing her upset.”
“You protect her. You always do.”
“But what about me, Theo?”
“What about me?”
“Do I even matter to you at all?”
1
