Eva's POV
"I would like a glass of…"
The words died in my throat.
My world shattered in an instant. One moment I was pumping with excitement and had a wide smile on my face, and the next, I was standing frozen, watching the man I loved - my mate - choose someone else as his bride.
"Cassandra?" My voice was lost among the howls of excitement that poured around me. My mate was choosing my best-friend as his mate? My wolf whined as my heart felt as if someone was holding it and squeezing too tight.
What about us? What about me?
The glass which I had no idea I was carrying slipped from my fingers, shattering on the tiled floor and echoed against the crowded hall. It wasn't very loud but I knew every werewolf in the room had heard the sound and all eyes turned to me.
Including Alpha Trent's eyes. My mate.
He stared sharply at me; his fingers still entangled in Cassandra's. Slowly, I saw recognition flash in his eyes before his jaw tightened. I took a step forward, not caring that glass crunched beneath my feet, piercing through the soles of my sneakers and into my flesh.
Did he regret his announcement now? Will he take his words back now that he knew I was his mate and not Cassandra?
"I, You… I'm your mate, Alpha Trent." I stuttered, moving even closer to him. "You must have made a mistake."
"A mistake?" Cassandra sneered, untangling herself from Alpha Trent's grip. "How dare you refer to me as a mistake, Eva. You ungrateful bitch."
I recoiled from her, the woman who used to be my best friend. She lunged at me, but before she could move two steps, Alpha Trent pulled her into his body, embracing her in a way that made my heart clench.
"Alpha Trent " I began but I was cut off by a growl that sent waves of shivers tumbling down my spine. Did Alpha Trent just growl at me like I was a threat to them? She just attacked me! I wanted to scream.
"Leave!" he growled.
Nothing prepared me for the searing pain that burned through my heart, affecting both my wolf and I. my brain was still behind, so my body was struggling to understand what the hell was going on.
"Did you not hear me?" He growled again, causing me to flinch. "I said leave. You are not my mate. There is no way the moon goddess cursed me with a weak omega like you."
My heart shattered. He just referred to our bond as a curse. His words rang out in my ears for what felt like an eternity. Tears poured freely from my eyes, staining my cheeks and dropping on the floor, mixing with the blood from my injury.
"Pathetic," Cassandra spat, her voice dripping with disgust as she watched me struggle to back away. "I don't blame you for being so weak. It's that mother of yours. Your father tried all he could.'
My wolf flared up at the mention of my parents but I could do nothing. To me, Cassandra was my best friend, I couldn't hurt her even if I wanted to. Instead, I clawed at the bond, desperately longing for my mate to defend me but all I saw in his eyes was hatred and disgust.
"Enough, Sandy." Alpha Trent's voice boomed through the hall, hushing the murmurs that had risen around me. My wolf stirred, for one foolish, ridiculous second, I thought he was about to say something in my defense. To chastise Cassandra for bullying and humiliating me.
I glanced up at him, hope rising in my chest, but one look at his face extinguished that flame instantly.
"Alpha Trent, I…" The words died in my lips as he let go of Cassandra and took a step towards me. The small crowd in front of me parted and in a second, he was standing directly in front of me.
"Since you will not leave as I have asked you to," he said, reaching down to take my hand in his. "Then I have no choice but to do this."
My heart leapt, for a minute, I thought I saw his mask slip and I saw love in his eyes but his next words told me how horribly mistaken I was. "I, Trent Prescote, Alpha and leader of Moonstone pack, hereby reject you, Eva Garcia as my mate and Luna."
The pain that seared through me at the end of those words was nothing compared to what I felt before. My body felt as though it was being dipped in magma and my heart was as though it was being ripped apart.
My wolf howled in pain as the bond fell apart. Alpha Trent's stepped away, watching with satisfaction as my pain only grew.
I stumbled back, my chest heaving as if I just finished running a marathon. My wolf was quiet but my body still burned. Without wasting a glance at him, I spun on my heels and fled.
My feet led me to the bar that had been set up outside the event's center. I was of the right age to drink and I needed something strong to push away the pain that was throbbing in my gut.
I had turned eighteen last week, the same day I got my wolf, and I had expected today to be a happy day. The day I met my mate and got accepted by him. Things weren't supposed to go this way, I was not supposed to be humiliated and then rejected by the same man that was supposed to protect me.
The bar tender arrived with the first shot I did not know what it was, but the burning sensation that went down my throat after gulping down its content was satisfying.
Dumping the shot glass on the table with a dull thud, I asked for another shot, then another and another until I lost count of how many I had taken.
Time flew as I sat there drinking myself to stupor and soon the shots stopped coming, the crowd dispersed and I couldn't place one foot in front of the other or tell what direction my home was.
I wanted nothing more than to crawl into my bed and never wake up and if I did, let all of this be just one long nightmare. But even in my drunken state, the reality of my situation was quite jarring.
"Hey, are you okay?' a voice said before a hand caught me from falling face flat on the floor.
I grinned. Hiccup. "I'm fine." I slurred. "I'm going," hiccup. "Home."
"I don't think your father will be happy to see you in this state," the voice said, my blurred vision did not allow me to see his face, but in my drunken stupor, I was sure he was handsome and more well-mannered than my mate. "Come, I will bring you…"
I ignored the rest of his words, throwing myself into his arms.
He caught me like the gentle man that he was. The world blurred in and out of focus but the last thing I recalled was leaving with the kind stranger. My head was pressed against something hard , his back, his chest? and he smelt awfully familiar.