~ NOVA ~
I feel my heart racing wildly as I stare into those silver orbs. Each beat thunders in my chest like a war drum.
I feel everyone diverting their gaze to us now... this is a joke, right? Someone tell me this is a joke... or this is fate... this... is... whatever this is... this is goddess ordained...
I blink once. Twice... to see if it's a dream... but fuck no... I see it clearly, the red invisible thread-like material winding around us both.
I have a mate. I have a mate. Despite being wolfless. I have a mate.
I can't say a word, I possibly can't... that scent... fuck, he smells so nice... so fucking intoxicating and it feels like I should spend the day resting on his chest... feeling his heartbeat.
"Kieran Blackwood," he says, extending his hand. I blink, coming out of my dazed state.
"Nova Sinclair," I manage, but then his name registers fully in my head. Did I just hear correctly?
"Kieran Blackwood... Alpha of the Shadowmere Pack? The most feared pack in the region?" I ask, my voice barely a whisper. He nods, and something cold settles in my stomach.
Oh fuck me sideways.
I take a step backward. Hell yeah, he's the fucking murderer of my parents. He killed them. Goddess, this can't be happening right now... how on earth would I be mated to my parents' killer? Fate must have really looked at me and said, "Hey girl, we have this special treat coming for you. Getting rejected only to be claimed by a fucking murderer?"
Hell no... I can't... I won't...
I take another step back, and before I know it, I'm turning to run.
But his hand shoots out, wrapping around my wrist with surprising gentleness for someone I know could break me in half without breaking a sweat.
"Don't run from me, little mate..." His voice has an edge that makes every nerve in my body light up. Eyes are on us... everyone is staring at us.
And fuck... he should fucking leave me because I'm holding back the urge to scream in his face and yell "murderer." I'm trying everything I can to not create a scene.
"Alpha Kieran..." I hear that familiar voice that makes my heart clench. Damien walks toward us with that diplomatic smile I've seen him use at pack meetings.
"It's nice having you here, Alpha Kieran... thanks for honoring our invitation..."
The words hit me like a slap to the face. An invitation? An invitation? They actually invited Kieran Blackwood after the attack he orchestrated that cost my parents their lives?
"It's a pleasure, Damien. I mean, if I'd rejected... it would have cost me the honor of meeting my mate... but now that I've met her... that would make discussing our alliance very easy..."
Alliance. The word makes my blood turn to ice.
"You invited him," I say, my voice barely above a whisper as I turn to face Damien. I shoot him a look that says: 'You actually invited the man whose pack killed my parents to your wedding.'
Damien's expression changes, diplomatic mask slipping to reveal guilt underneath. "Nova, it's complicated. The political situation..."
"Yeah. Exactly what I thought. The political situation. It's always an excuse or another."
"Fuck you... fuck you all..." The words tear from my throat without restraint. I'm fucking done playing pretense... I'm done... trying to fit into a place where the only thing that's left are the broken pieces they made of me.
I need to leave. Leave this bloody pack... leave every fucking thing behind and get a new life. A new start.
"You need to calm down... Nova... I understand this is taking a toll on you... and I need you to understand that I'm on your side..." Damien tries explaining, but fuck... the words, the tears are fresh...
"What the fuck do you want to explain, Damien? How you rejected me after promising me forever right in front of the pack, gave me hope just to destroy it... and then invite my parents' murderer to celebrate your happiness?"
The crowd is getting thicker now, more pack members drawn by the commotion. I can see phones being pulled out, probably recording my complete mental breakdown for pack gossip later.
Perfect. Just fucking perfect.
"Nova, please..." Damien reaches toward me, but Kieran's growl stops him cold.
"Leave us." Two words, delivered with such absolute authority that even the future Alpha of Silvercrest bows his head and steps back.
I watch in stunned silence as Damien actually retreats.
Within moments, it's just me and him in this little bubble of space, the wedding celebration continuing around us like we're in the eye of a hurricane.
"We need to talk," he says quietly.
"No, we don't." I wipe angrily at my eyes, hating that he's seeing me like this. Broken and pathetic. "We need to pretend this never happened and go back to our separate lives."
"That's not how mate bonds work, and you know it."
"I don't give a shit how mate bonds work!" The words explode from me. "I don't want a mate bond! I don't want any of this supernatural bullshit controlling my life anymore!"
He steps closer, and I catch that intoxicating scent again.
"Follow me..." Two words, so controlling... and I find myself feet crawling after him.
We reach outside of the event, away from the celebration, just us, me and my parents' murderer.
"You should reject me, Alpha Kieran... I'm no use to you... because I'm wolfless... so go ahead and do it..." I say, because I know no one would want to get mated to a wolfless freak.
He shakes his head, his tall height towers over me, mocking my 5'8... I hadn't considered myself short until this very moment.
"You want me to reject you?" His voice is dangerously low, and something primal flickers in those silver eyes.
"Yes," I whisper, but even as I say it, my body is betraying me, leaning toward his warmth. "Just get it over with. I can't... I can't handle another public humiliation tonight."
"Look at me, Nova." His hand comes up to cup my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. "Really look at me."
I do, and what I see there steals my breath. Hunger and p ossession so wild and desperate that makes my knees weak.
"I've been searching for you for over a decade," he says quietly. "Thirty years I've walked this earth alone, waiting. Do you really think I'd throw away my mate because she hasn't shifted yet?"
"Yet?" The word slips out before I can stop it.
"I can smell your wolf, Nova." His thumb brushes across my lower lip, and I swear I feel sparks. "She's not gone, she's sleeping. But she's there."
"You're lying." But my voice lacks conviction now.
"I've never lied to anyone in my life. Why would I start with the most important person in my world?"
The most important person in his world. The words hit me like a physical blow, and suddenly all my insecurities come flooding back.
Even if I wanted to, I can't marry my parents' murderer. As tempting as it is to get my revenge, I fucking can't risk it with this man standing right in front of me.
"I, Nova Sinclair, reject you, Alpha Kieran Blackwood of the Spring Pack, as my mate."
The words leave my mouth, and I feel the thread twist violently inside me.
"I, Alpha Kieran Blackwood, reject your rejection. You're mine," he says coldly. "I'll give you just enough time to pack your things and say your farewells. Don't try to be smart. Don't try to run. I will find you before you even think you've escaped."
