Dylan
My mind kept cycling over her words, trying to make sense of her rejection, but everything within me kept returning to her heated kiss and the humming satisfaction I sensed from her wolf. I couldn’t fathom what had just happened. Why had she rejected me again?
My weary gaze fell upon the bar that had been set up out here on the balcony. Clearly, for celebratory drinks after my ascension ceremony, but it was a commiseration drink I needed now—a long one. I strode over to the table, picked up a bottle of red wine, and a sense of Deja-vu rippled over me. I thought of how familiar this chain of events seemed. Why did it feel as if my Luna was determined to destroy me when all I wanted to do was love her?
With a bitter toast to my mate, I raised the bottle and swigged. As the wine soured on my tongue, my thoughts darkened. The first act my pack had witnessed me try to accomplish, to claim my mate, had failed. But then, Cherry’s sincere voice haunted me: “The fact that you’re putting the pack first, Dylan, shows what an amazing Alpha you’ll be.”
Her words burned like the wine that hit the back of my throat. But I thought again of how my connection to the Moon God had deepened since ascending to the Alphahood and imagined telling Cherry again that the pack’s and my needs were the same: we needed her. And God damn it, I didn’t know how yet, but I was going to prove it to her.
But right now, I downed the bitter liquid, praying for a speedy deliverance into oblivion.
*******
Cherry
As I hurried inside from the balcony, my heart raced. But while I left Dylan behind physically, the look of anguish on his handsome face wouldn’t leave my bruised heart. I’d told him I couldn’t be his mate, and I’d meant it. I’d meant it seven years ago, and I meant it now. I hadn’t come back to Starsmoon for Dylan. I’d come here because pack rules had forced my hand.
Yet, the distress stamped across his strong features made me ache to go back and comfort him. But I couldn’t. I didn’t belong here. I had a whole life elsewhere. I had Fern.
The thought of my daughter finally had me quickening my pace across the reception room. I moved so quickly I barely noticed Lucy strutting towards me. But my wolf’s quick reflexes rose within me. I ducked out of the way of Lucy’s hand as she struck out at me—the long cream dress she wore and her wavy curls seemed to ripple with fury.
“You’re a conniving little bitch!” Lucy shrieked.
I gawped at her, my body churning with too much feeling. Still reeling from the shock of Dylan’s confession to me, I felt as if I was in a trance.
Lucy continued her tirade, her tall, slender form shaking. “I saw it yesterday. I knew you were back here just to seduce him, even though you rejected him.”
“Dylan’s Beta demanded I come back,” I argued. “I came here because pack rules forced me to. Otherwise,” I emphasized, “I’ve got nothing to do with Dylan.”
The same unrelenting suspicion marred Lucy’s face.
Exasperatedly, I exhaled and said, “In fact, I’m leaving. Right now.” Turning on my heel, it was with breath-taking relief that fresh air hit my face as I left my old Luna and Alpha’s home.
But the feeling was short-lived. The hubbub of gossip filled the gardens where the pack had emerged. A throng milled about the lawns under the marquees. I tried not to look, but I felt their eyes on me. I couldn’t help bristling that these people, my old pack and friends, had been pleased to see me only an hour ago. But now my skin prickled with unease as I sensed them regarding me with censure and judgment. Did they, like Lucy, blame me for disturbing the peace? Guilt churned through me as I thought of how I had kissed Dylan back only minutes ago. My lips tingled with the memory of his hot, hungry mouth. But I quashed the thought. My body had responded to his before I could think. I hadn’t meant to kiss him. It hadn’t meant anything.
With balled fists, I willed myself not to worry about them. I had come back because of pack law. What I’d said to Lucy was the truth. And with every step I took, I resolved to damn well prove what I’d said by never setting foot on the Starsmoon compound. Ever again.
Trudging down the dirt path, I had a pit stop at Bert’s house. Thankfully, he’d left the door unlocked. Even better was the fact he wasn’t in. I didn’t think I could take the same accusations from my oldest friend as Lucy. I was almost certain that he’d take my side, but feeling shaken, I had no intention of waiting around to find out.
Packing my trolley bag, within minutes, I trundled away from Starsmoon on foot. There were too many people about the place for me to contemplate waiting here while I called a taxi, so I phoned for one as I trekked down the road. I knew my dad would be somewhere amidst the gaggle of onlookers, likely searching for me, but I couldn’t face fighting my way through the crowd to find him. I was sure he’d head home when he couldn’t find me and meet me there.
The other worry that twisted my insides was that if I lingered, Dylan might try to talk to me again. The idea had me practically running. My pink satin heels became ruined by mud, and the bottom of my dress grew speckled with dirt, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was getting out of here.
At the end of the road, I climbed into the taxi waiting for me and finally felt like I could catch my breath. Yet, even as the cab carried me closer to Horizon View, I felt skittish and couldn’t help casting glances back out the rear of the car, worrying that I might still be pursued.
At my dad’s house, I removed fished out the hidden key in the plant pot and let myself in. Shakily, I brewed a pot of coffee, every moment hoping that my dad would return home soon. Perching on the sofa in the living room, I clutched my warming drink in an attempt to comfort myself. But the quiet of the house grated on me, and with my nerves on edge, I jumped at every noise. The clank of the neighbor’s bins and the cry of a cat had me leaping to my feet.