Raven
My eyes flutter open, and as I slowly sit up, a splitting headache claws at my temples. The pain is almost numbingly exquisite, a familiar torment. This isn't just a hangover; Gale is exacting revenge for my indulgence last night.
Well, screw you, Gale.
“Likewise, Raven,” she replies, her tone dripping with annoyance laced with a hint of anger.
I ignore her, fully seating myself and surveying my surroundings. My eyes widen in surprise. The room is surprisingly cozy, almost homey. It’s starkly minimalist in black, grey, and white, yet undeniably pleasant. A large-screen TV dominates one wall, a walk-in closet beckons, and a connecting bathroom—also in the same monochrome palette—is visible through a doorway. Two dark wood-framed glass doors lead to a balcony, separating the bedroom from the outside world. The longer I sit here, the more captivated I become, yet a creeping unease settles over me.
Memories of last night flood back, and all I can manage to choke out is, “Where the fuck am I?”
I mutter the question angrily, repeating it until the door bursts open. I jump, ready to strike at anything that moves, and find an infuriatingly handsome face staring back at me.
“That’s not an asshole, that’s our mate,” Gale comments, her tone laced with exasperation.
“As I said, an asshole.”
Cal looks around before his gaze settles on me, a smirk playing on his lips as he walks towards the bed.
“Hey,” he greets casually.
“Oh damn, he’s still gorgeous. His voice still sounds amazing as well,” Gale gushes, squealing like a schoolgirl. Wolves feel the mate bond far more intensely than we do, so her reaction is…normal, I suppose. But it grates on my nerves, especially considering how he shattered both our hearts.
“Shut up,” I snap, glaring at Cal with simmering resentment.
“There’s a headache pill and some water on the table next to you. Thought you might need it since you were completely drunk last night,” he says, gesturing to the nightstand.
I look at the pill and water with disgust, a wave of nausea rising in my throat. He thinks a simple gesture—a glass of water, a headache pill—will make me submit? That I’ll suddenly be grateful after he’d torn my heart to shreds? I think not. I fix him with a hostile glare, and his eyes widen slightly at the intensity. The headache throbs, but it’s manageable.
“I don’t need anything from you,” I spit out, standing up, “Why the fuck am I here?”
“Well, my pack needs a Luna—”
I cut him off, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. No humor laced within it. “I can’t believe your arrogance. You think I’ll just rush into your arms when you ask? I don’t think so. I’m leaving because you already have a perfect fucking Luna, you fucking fucktard.”
I continue to hurl angry, vulgarities—mostly containing the word ‘fuck’—at him as I head for the door until he grabs my wrist, yanking me back in front of him, halting my escape.
“Correction, I *did* have a perfect Luna. She found her mate and moved to his pack—”
“Oh, good for her. Now she’s free from your stuck-up ass.”
He glares at me before continuing, “Anyway, now I need a Luna, and that is now you. Congratulations.”
I scoff, rolling my eyes at his attempt to trivialize this mess. His sarcasm is infuriating.
“You’re sarcastic all the time,” Gale points out.
I mentally scoff at her observation. How Gale-ish.
“I know I’m sarcastic, but he can’t do that with me.”
“Seriously?”
“If I remember correctly,” I continue, “you rejected me as your Luna *and* as your mate. So technically, I’m not allowed to be Luna of your pack. Idiot.”
“Oh, you will soon be a Luna.”
He stares at me, then grasps my hand. I stare down at our joined hands, my broken heart fluttering—then dying—like a butterfly’s wings torn from its body. The sight of our hands together only fuels my anger. If he’d accepted me as his mate, this sight might have brought joy. Would I have climbed out of the darkness of my past? Would I finally have a reason to smile again?
I look up to meet Cal’s sharp grey eyes when he gives a curt cough, “I, Cal River, Alpha of the Climax Night pack, re-accept you, Raven Woods, as my pack’s Luna and as my mate.”
I glare at his re-acceptance and speak up in anger, “It’s too late for—Aaaaah!”
Softly, I scream as brilliant sparks erupt throughout my body when he touches my hand. I fall to my knees, our fingers firmly clasped together. The sparks don’t hurt, but they leave my body numb with delight.
What is happening to me?!
“It’s the mate bond. He’s reforming it. Okay, it’s official, I love you again, my glorious mate. Please love me, hold me, kiss me, pleasure me—” Gale gushes like a love-struck schoolgirl, and I cut off her rant before I vomit.
“Ewwwwwwwww! Gale, please stop! If you’ve forgotten, I hate Cal with my entire being.”
“Don’t hate me. I’m letting you have a mate, and I get a Luna,” Cal states, his voice monotone and unhelpful.
“Stay out of my head, asswipe!” I exclaim, ripping my hand from his grasp.
But the moment our fingers separate, a desperate need to be in his arms overwhelms me. I want him to hold me close, to feel the blissful sparks flow through my body while I listen to the rhythmic beat of his heart. Why do I long for these feelings? Is this what the bond of mates feels like?
His words suddenly replay in my head, and I look up at him in confusion, “What do you mean by ‘You get a Luna and I get a mate’? Don’t you want a mate?”
“Of course I want a mate, but not you.”
Of course, I’m a filthy rogue—the scum of the werewolf world. Why would he love me?
“Besides, I’m using you as a scapegoat so my father doesn’t try and hook me up with some unmated female. It was quite annoying with the first one, and I want the first one to be the last,” he replies bluntly.
So, I’m nothing more than a trophy mate, a pawn. Not someone worthy of affection or attention.
“Nothing has changed.”
My words weren’t directed at him, but if he heard them, I don’t care. Either way, he hasn’t changed his mind about me in the two years since he rejected me. I turn my back on him and furiously sit on the bed, out of reach.
Why would anything change, though? Time marches on relentlessly. It doesn’t stop for anyone, not even for a sad, pathetic person like me. Time doesn’t speed up or slow down; it doesn’t suddenly transport us ten years into the future or allow us to rewrite the past. I wish I could change the past, but that’s not how this works.
A tear of sorrow slides down my cheek as a horrid memory surfaces.
***
Frankie smiles at me, his bleached white teeth shining in the summer sun.
“Hey, Raven. Can we go for a run?” he asks sweetly.
I’m about to object, exhausted as I am, when he gives me a pleading gaze, pouting his lips. His green eyes hold me captive, and he knows he has me cornered.
This boy has me wrapped around his little finger, and he knows it. I hate him for toying with me, but I still smile like a fool at his adorable face.
“How could I say no to that cute face?” I giggle, watching his face twist into annoyance.
“I’m not cute!”
I laugh loudly at his objection, and he soon joins me. How could I deny him anything?
***
Yes, sadly, time marches on relentlessly, indifferent to my pain.
Cal
Once she turns her back on me, I struggle to restrain myself from tearing her limb from limb. No one turns their back on me.
“What did you expect? Did you expect her to just run into your arms and be okay with what you want her to do?” Clyde questions.
I consider his words, and a sudden weight settles on my shoulders.
“I don’t really know what I expected. Yes, I knew she wouldn’t react calmly, but I didn’t expect such stubbornness!”
“You may be smart most of the time, but you’re a real dumbass,” Clyde comments, weighing my shoulders down even more.
I’m not sure what this feeling is, but I know it has something to do with Raven. And I don’t like it. This is annoying. I’m just going to drag her out. I don’t care if she doesn’t like it.
“If you dare to try that, I’ll make sure you suffer. She didn’t do anything to you, and you treat her like scum. She deserves respect.”
I roll my eyes at Clyde’s cheesy words. How corny can he get?
“She can get respect from the pack. Now shut up.”
“Whatever. Just know that what you’re doing to her is complete bullshit!”
After his outburst, Clyde shuts me out. I roll my eyes in irritation, but my shoulders feel heavier. I shake off the feeling—although it doesn’t do much good—and open my mouth to speak to her. Hopefully, she won’t be so stubborn anymore.
Oh, how wrong I was…