Rejected by the Alpha of Fire

Chased

Cindra’s POV

“You look more like yourself covered in filth,” Meri said, still cackling. The cruelty of it, the disdain in their stares, and the fact that no one even looked like they were considering helping me up, was too much. My heart raced, my head filled with her echoing laughter and that thought.

I shouldn’t be here.

Not even sure how I managed to get off the floor, I took flight, escaping the way I should have ages ago, shoving through the crowd.

I needed air.

I needed out.

I needed to be anywhere but here.

The nearest glass door led into the garden, and I was almost there. As I stumbled away from the chaos, I sucked in breath after breath, pushing down the embarrassment and shame. I pushed through the glass, smearing cream on the reflective surface, and ran until I was covered in shadow. Once I was away from Meri and the crowd, I sank down, crouching in the shadow of a hedge and struggling to breathe around the tension in my chest.

I sat there for several minutes, drawing in deep breaths, trying to regain control of myself. In the darkness, it was difficult to see the mess, but I felt liquid dripping from my hair and brushed it out the best I could. The dress had to be ruined, and therefore, so were my plans of returning it to its rightful place without being discovered.

“You said this would work.”

I startled, going still as I heard the voice of a man hissing behind me, somewhere in the darkness of the hedges. “You said—”

“I did,” another man replied, softer and a bit strained. “And I meant it. I’m not sure what happened.”

“Not sure what happened?” the first one growled. “You said you could get her what she wanted. How do you explain this?”

“I don’t know.”

I took a deep breath and held it, hoping they didn’t know I was here. Whoever they were, this sounded important. I didn’t want to be caught eavesdropping.

“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” the first one said. “Don’t feed me that crap. You just remember—”

“Don’t threaten me,” the second man snarled. I shuddered, quietly pushing myself to my feet and continuing to silently make my way through the darkness and foliage until I reached a clear section of the garden. I couldn’t risk them thinking I was trying to listen in on whatever they were talking about.

The conversation out of my mind, I sank down onto a bench and wrapped my arms around myself. My eyes burned with tears, but I held them back, or maybe I had cried so much over the course of my life that I had no tears left.

My lips twitched at the thought as I looked up at the fading silvery, full moon. The cool night air washed over me carrying the waning sound of laughter and music as the quiet of the castle’s gardens settled around me. I wiped more gravy or whatever it was from my forehead and grimaced as I felt something sticky in my hair. Probably honey or something. Honeyed roast was a delicacy of Ember Moon. Bridget definitely would’ve been sure to serve it. I almost groaned at the thought of her. Goddess, on top of everything else, I’d have to hear about how I ruined the Ball when it was her turn to have a go at me.

If she didn’t just lock me in my room for a week.

I sniffled as my hands started to shake. Maybe it would be longer. Bridget usually took every chance she could to be cruel to me, and I had gotten myself into enough trouble even before knocking over the buffet table for a lifetime.

I looked down at the stained and messy skirt of the dress and sighed. Why had I borrowed my dead mother’s dress? Because it was my only option. Now it was ruined.

For several moments, I sat there, wondering what the chances were that the stains would come out, but my mind kept going back to Knox.

Were we really mates? If we were, then what? The Erupting Eclipse Pack was far away. Ember Moon and Erupting Eclipse weren’t exactly enemies, but we weren’t allies either. We got along well enough, mostly because King Seb didn’t play games, and my uncle was smart enough to only pick fights with people he thought he could defeat.

Ember Moon would likely never forget the last time we went to war against Erupting Eclipse. I shuddered at the thought. Though I always dreamed of one day being free of Ember Moon, I had never imagined going so far away. Would my uncle let me? Would the other pack even want me?

I worried my lip and shook my head.

“Who am I kidding?”

The look on Knox’s face told me everything I needed to know. He didn’t want me. He’d never even consider giving us a chance—Moon Goddess blessed or not.

Holding myself tighter, I got another look at my ghastly shoes poking out from under my stained skirt. What had I expected coming here? A happily ever after? I knew better than anyone that fairytales didn’t exist and that happily ever after was a dream. And really, what was all the hype for, anyway? If being mates was so great, why could we reject them? Why would anyone reject their mate? I bet commoners didn’t have these problems.

Not for the first time, my thoughts went to my father. Who was he? All I knew was that he was soldier of some sort who had died in a war before I was born. Had he ever even known I existed? Did he care? Had he and my mother been mates? How different might my life be if I’d been raised by them instead of my aunt and uncle? I pushed to my feet and brushed more food and debris from my skirt. I’d deal with Knox, fate, and ridicule tomorrow. For now, all I wanted was to sleep away my shame and loneliness.

“Oh look, it’s the unwanted entertainment…” A familiar voice came from behind me.

I let my head fall back, letting go of a deep sigh, wondering when tonight was going to end. I turned my head and looked at Conley and Brenton as they grew closer. Conley’s caramel brown hair looked almost black in the darkness, and his green eyes were narrowed at me. He was a year younger than me, and his brother, Brenton, was my age with dark hair and the same eyes as his brother.

“You should probably go back to the drawing board,” Conley said, laughing. “I think you could have done another flip.”

“You missed the rolls at the end of the table… And the duck.”

They laughed. My lips twitched into something that probably mocked a smile, though I wanted to be anywhere but here at the moment. Long ago, I’d learned it was best not to argue with them, to just go along with it. They’d bore quicker than if I gave them what they wanted, which was a reaction. Tears. Anger. Anything of the sort only spurred them on.

I started to retreat further into the garden, thinking maybe I’d find another entrance into the castle so I could disappear into my room as fast as possible.

Neither of them were as vicious as Helio, but they weren’t nice, either. I’d rather not deal with any more heckling tonight if I could help it.

They moved closer, leaving me little choice but to respond. “I would have thought you two were busy looking for your mates.”

“And miss the show?” Brenton asked, coming closer and grinning. “Now, why would we do that? You went through all the trouble to show up. How about an encore?”

They laughed again. I did my best not to cringe or run.

Then, a deep voice cut through the air.

“Don’t you assholes have something better to do than torment a member of your own pack?”