Her Rejection's Revenge

CHAPTER THREE: SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH ME

“Of course there’s nothing wrong with you, sweetheart,” Beatrice Larson announced firmly on her doorstep like I had lost my mind. It was good to confide in her after I had avoided her for some days. After the Braxton fiasco, I hadn’t been in the mood to meet anyone. “What are you planning to do?”

“I don’t know. I have three options,” I started counting on my fingers. “One, I break things off with Braxton which is unfathomable right now. Alpha Finn would punish me for rejecting my mate irrespective of the latter’s mistake. Second, I confess to Alpha Finn about Brax’s infidelity and let him deal with his son. Third, I pretend like nothing has happened and move on.”

My best friend stared at me with a serious frown for a long time. Bee was five-foot nine-inch tall with a shock flaming red hair that was a reflection of her temper. Her green eyes were legendary, huge as saucers in an angular face which made her prettier than the normal average girl. But what was conspicuous about her was her body type – she had a hot body with the right curves everywhere. Her breasts were huge, and she liked to wear provocative décolleté to provoke the guys. Even her derriere was a perfect peach-faced which she liked to swing sexily with her gait.

All in all, Beatrice Larson was a connoisseur in men, unlike me. So, it was more than natural that I would run to her for advice.

When she took my hand in hers, I knew she was going to say something serious. It wasn’t like Bee to lose her air brained airs – she loved it when people underestimated her. Instead, she dragged me inside her apartment and sat me on her couch with her expression unchanged.

“Zel, you always wanted to be a Luna. And neither of the choices that you suggested would bring you to that path. Think of all the good that you can do once you become the Luna of our pack.”

My heart melted at her words. She was right – I was being a selfish pathetic child when I had to think of the greater good. What was my happiness worth in exchange of the pack’s wellbeing? I’ve always cared about everyone one in our circle, protecting and serving them in the advent of becoming their much beloved Luna one day.

I sighed, the weight being lifted off my chest. I somehow had the notion that talking to Bee would lift off my burden. I turned to her and gave her an impulsive hug which she returned somewhat with resigned tolerance. Bee was not big on PDAs.

“You are a life saver. I knew you would be able to give me another perspective. You’re right - I need to focus on being a good Luna for the people. If I leave him, I am sure Alpha Finn would tear me down, and Brax would make Anna the Luna.” My heart constricted at how helpless I felt.

“Once you become his Luna, things would change,” she asserted firmly, and I felt reassured. “You would be in a better power to negotiate. Then, you can tell him that you won’t tolerate his philandering ways.”

Tears swelled in my eyes as I found solace for the first time in the last three days. It was established that I was too much of a coward to leave him, but I liked the idea of being in a more powerful position after becoming his Luna. Bee was right as usual. Once it’s official, he wouldn’t dare humiliate me so publicly in front of the other pack members, or his father.

Any plea I would make to Alpha Finn would go directly in Braxton’s favor as they would all have more to lose going against Braxton than opposing me. But if my position as the Luna is secured, they would have to show me more respect.

I squeezed Bee’s hand gently at the perfect advice. “You’re right. It would be frowned upon if he’s betraying his Luna and mate.”

Bee nodded avidly. “Once he marks you, things will be different. Trust me. The mate bond between you will become unbreakable and you will be the one ruling him, not vice versa. You only have to be patient for two more days.”

I wrinkled my nose. “There’s something I need to do first though.”

She sat up, her green eyes sparkling with interest as she stared at me quizzically. “What is that going to be? Don’t tell me you’re going to Brax’s place to patch things up with him?”

“No,” I answered, my enthusiasm dampening at the pitiful picture she was painting of me. Was I that pathetic? Self-doubts plagued me, and I frowned down myself for a few seconds before plastering a fixed smile on my face to hide my turmoil. “Of course not! I was thinking of buying another dress for the crowning ceremony,” I confessed timidly.

After the conversation with Zendaya, I had taken a good look at the peachy orange dress that Braxton had opted for me. I had tried it on, and it did look unflattering on me, hugging my curves in a tight-fitting clinging way that made my flesh protrude.

Although I wasn’t fat, I wasn’t toned either like all the other girls in the pack. I hated the exercise, so I was very unfit and trained only when Braxton insisted. That dress was no longer an option now. I was going shopping with Bee to make me feel better about myself.

I hooked my arm with hers in a forceful gesture, motivating both of us with the gesture. “We are going shopping. Let’s go, Bee. This is the only way I will feel better about myself.”

My best friend trailed behind me reluctantly, shoving her phone in her bag and her car keys as we hit the streets of New York.

It was end of November, so the shopping malls were crammed with the New Yorkers busy with early Christmas shopping. I was surprised that Bee was not more eager to that idea than I was. I was super thrilled at the idea of a revenge dress to snub my cheating boyfriend.

“Bee, what’s with you?” I asked for the tenth time as my friend lagged behind like she wasn’t actually interested in my quest. Instead, she was typing furiously on her mobile and giving me distracted looks. After five shops, I was fed up with her attitude and decided to call her out on her behavior.

“I don’t think changing the dress at the last minute is a good idea. Braxton will be furious,” she said furtively, her eyes glancing at the door like she expected him to come at any time. Braxton didn’t intimidate only me, every girl of our pack was also afraid of his volatile temper.

“I know,” I replied pointedly. “That’s the point, did you forget? I doubt he will have anything to say to me after what he did with Anna. He’s not that much of an asshole. Besides, if he says anything to me about the dress, I will go to Alpha Finn. This is war,” I said with more bravado than anything.

Bee bit her lips worriedly. “But he loved the peach dress. He was the one who chose it for you, remember? You guys took hours to select the perfect dress. Listen, Zel. I understand that you’re p*ssed with him for cheating on you. But you know how he gets when things don’t go his way.”

Bee was right. Braxton would throw a fit when he would see that I bought a new dress, but he won’t be able to do anything about it.

“How about this one?” I asked eagerly, ignoring her previous question, and placing a black dress in front of me to check the length. I frowned when it ended a few inches below my thigh. Too short.

“Zel, are you sure you’re ready for this battle?” my concerned friend asked me as I put the dress back on the rack. I was about to retreat when my eyes fell on a red dress, and I was instantly in love with it. It was a short dress which ended a few inches above my knees, with straps to keep it in place and a back so deeply cut that I would be showing a lot of skin.

Perfect. That was exactly what I was hoping for.

“Can I try this?” I asked Bee in a hopeful voice, and her frown disappeared as she stared at the dress too. It was too tempting to resist. Without wasting more time, I removed the dress from the hanger and placed it in front of my front to check how it looked. The color was so vivid that my skin shone in contrast.

I pictured my red MAC ruby woo lipstick on my lips with minimal eye makeup and trembled with anticipation. This was what I wanted.

I knew there was something in my eyes when I glanced back at Bee with an almost pleading look. Red was definitely my color – I looked sizzling hot whenever that color was around.

“What do you think?” I asked Bee with pursed lips. Her opinion was important to me although I was very well aware that it was my battle. I had no intention on dragging her with my spat with Braxton. I just wanted her to boost my confidence.

“Oh, Zel!” she exclaimed with teary eyes, her hand flying to her mouth. “It’s perfect. Why don’t you try it on?”

I jumped at the request, and when the dress fitted my body flawlessly, I knew that it was what I was going to wear to the crowning ceremony. I lifted my hair in a messy bun and wished that I’d carried my MAC lipstick with me for a trial.

Eager to show the outcome to Bee, I stepped out of the changing room only to stop midway in shock. A pair of malevolent grey eyes stared back at me as my heart lurched in my chest. Anna Calhoun wearing the most maleficent expression as her the right corner of her lips formed a mocking snicker stood there.

What the hell was she doing there? What was the odds of Anna being there right when Zelda was trying on her revenge dress? One furtive look at Bee showed that Anna’s stooges had cornered her towards the wall.

“What we have here?” Anna snickered sarcastically, and I breathed in a long bout of air for composure. Getting into trouble with Anna Calhoun two days before the ceremony would not bode well for me, irrespective of what she’d done. Besides, she was accompanied by her three friends, and we were outnumbered.

“Anna,” I greeted with saccharine sweetness before turning back to the changing room.

“Not so fast,” Anna stopped me with a powerful grip on the garment accompanied by a ripping sound. I gasped in horror as the material tore apart leaving my bra exposed to my midriff. Anna held the ripped cloth in her hand, her eyes bulging with the same shocked expression shown in mine.

“What have you done?” I exclaimed furiously, stupid tears forming in my eyes as I stared desolately at the torn dress. Nothing was going on as planned in my life right and I wanted to howl in misery. I was really looking forward to making an impromptu appearance in my dashing red dress and dazzle everyone. It would have been great for my morale.

I blinked them back furiously, refusing to give Anna Calhoun the satisfaction of seeing me cry. With great difficulty, I swallowed the heavy feeling on my chest and turned to face her with red fiery eyes. “You little good for nothing. What do you think…?”

The words stuck in my throat when the familiar smell of pine teased my nostrils, and pain invaded my heart and lungs as shock filled them. Braxton was here! My eyes whirled in his direction in turn to see his fangs protruding in a ferocious and angry growl, his eyes flashing fire in my direction.

Itzel shrunk in fear at the potent fury that was displayed in his cold blue eyes, and my hands fell to my side defeatedly. He was Alpha and he was forcing me to retreat. Powerless to fight back, I took two steps back, despising myself for the weak submission that I was displaying in front of the whole shopping mall.