~Vivianne~
They say grief feels like dying…
But rejection is a different kind of death. A slower death…the kind that keeps you breathing while it rots you from the inside until even your wolf goes quiet.
Mine had been silent for hours since Lucas walked out.
I lay still on the hospital bed, staring at the pale wash of sunrise seeping through the blinds.
I realized then that sex meant nothing. My love meant nothing. To Lucas, I was nothing.
The door creaked open and the doctor stepped in, his voice calm.
"You're fine to go," he said after checking my vitals. "Just be sure to keep up with your medications."
I pick up the wrapped medication from the table, slip into the plain dress I came in with, and shove the pills into my backpack.
Outside, the wind is messing with my hair, tugging strands loose as dark clouds appear in the sky.
Rain is coming.
My steps falter when I see someone leaning against a car who looks like Lucas. My breath catches…
Never mind. Not him.
I tug my backpack tighter against my shoulder. I'll probably skip school today. The whole pack has likely heard by now…Lucas rejected me after fucking me. My humiliation, their entertainment.
Mirabel will not even hesitate to tell everyone that I tried to steal her man.
I don't even have money for a taxi, so I start the long walk home.
"Vivianne!"
The sound of my name slams into my back. I turn, my gut sinking.
Mirabelle's lapdogs. They almost never use my name. Unless it's to mark me for something terrible to me.
A white McLaren glides up beside me, roof down.
Lila's at the wheel, her glossy black hair framing an angry face, and Tessa lounges in the passenger seat, wearing an evil smirk.
Today, it's just the two of them.
"Need a ride home, little puppy?" Tessa sneers, her voice loud enough to cut through the wind.
"We might've considered it if you didn't reek of desperation."
She spits out saliva. "Disgusting," she sneers.
My lips twist. "What happened to the other lapdogs? Did they get infected with scabies?"
The smile drains off Tessa's face, but Lila just laughs.
She jerks the car forward, cutting me off on the path, the McLaren's tires spitting gravel.
Then she's out of the car, boots slamming like war drums.
That eerie smile is still plastered across her face as she grips my throat and slams me against the wall. My legs are hanging and kicking in the air.
I'm choking, trapped.
My eyes widen in horror. They had promised to kill me when next they caught me anywhere around Lucas.
Maybe today is that day.
The funny thing? No one will ever question them. No one would care if they left my body bleeding in the gutters.
Lila Greystorm. She is the daughter of a ruthless alpha and somehow she inherited all of his cruelty.
And right now, every ounce of it is focused on me.
I choke, clawing at her grip as my lungs burn. My nails scrape at her wrist, useless.
Tessa doesn't lift a finger, she just stands there, laughing, phone held high, snapping pictures like this is her private show.
I can already imagine them spreading through the class group, my humiliation sealed in pixels.
"Stop…let me go…" The words rasp out of me, shredded by tears. My vision blurs with tears, my wolf howls weakly inside.
Then…
A brutal hands clamp over Lila's wrist.
Her grip rips off my throat, and I collapse to the ground, coughing, gravel biting into my knees.
I look up through my tears.
It's him.
Prince Cardan.
Lila bares her teeth, her eyes glowing with that dangerous red haze. She's going to be Alpha soon. Her strength is undeniable…except it shatters against his.
She's panting now.
Fury trembling through her chest, but his presence eclipses hers entirely.
Prince Cardan doesn't have to snarl or posture. The amount of aura he exudes is marveling.
His scent, musky lavender, wraps around me, seeping into my lungs until the hair on my neck stands.
My heart slows, steadying into a deep, rhythmic beat, as though my body itself recognizes him, even if my mind is still reeling.
"What the fuck is going on here?" He questions.
Lila thrashes against his grip, her braveness faltering.
"Who the hell are you supposed to b…" Her words splinter into a gasp, her wrist is hurting from the grip.
Tessa doesn't wait. "Let's get out of here," she mutters, scrambling back into the McLaren.
And then, like she's nothing, he releases Lila. She crashes to the ground with a graceless thud, humiliated, scrambling to her feet.
No one has ever dismissed her like that before.
The engine roars. Tires screech the asphalt.
They drive away, but not before Tessa twists in her seat to glance back, eyes wide at the stranger who dared to intervene.
And then he turns to me.
Prince Cardan. Towering, shadow-heavy, too close.
"What do you want with m…argh!" Pain slices through me, from the just patched wound at my side.
I clutch it instinctively.
"Don't move too much." His voice softens, it wraps around me, protective. "Can you stand?"
"Yes… I think." My voice cracks.
He extends his hand. I hesitate, then slip mine into his. The moment our skin touches, a surge shoots through me, alive. My breath catches.
My wolf stirs weakly, but I feel her lean into the spark.
He pulls me up with effortless strength.
My knees wobble, but his steadiness anchors me.
"My car is down there," he says. "Let's get to it."
I wince again at the pain as we move further.
"What do those girls have against you anyway?" he asks, slinging my arm over his shoulder like I weigh nothing, lifting me clean off the ground.
Because somehow he knows I can't really walk properly.
He grabs my backpack in the same motion, effortless.
My head finds his chest before I can stop it. His scent is maddening. There's something so soothing about this man.
"They've never needed a reason," I murmur. "They just do what they do."
I didn't feel like explaining the truth. I had had enough humiliation. Explaining my mate's rejection to a total stranger would make it even worse.
He clicks his tongue in disgust, muttering, "Typical."
Then, steady as ever, "We need to get you to a doctor. Make sure nothing's broken."
"No," I croak. "I just came from there. I'm headed home."
"Where's home?"
We reach his car, a sleek, black machine that looks like it would belong to someone like him. He opens the passenger door and lays me inside carefully. No one has ever handled me like that.
"Err… the gamma's house," I admit, refusing to meet his eyes.
His mouth curves, slow. "What a coincidence."
I frown. "Yeah? Why?"
It's starting to rain heavily. He starts his car.
"That's where I'm headed."