1 - Rejected at My Wedding
THALIA.
“You are shaking,” my father commented and I caught myself doing just that when I looked down at our entwined hands.
“ It will turn out well, right?” I asked after he gave my hand a little squeeze.
“Of course.” The look on my father’s face told me that he could not believe that I was asking such a question. “Today is your day. Your wedding day. Why would anything go wrong?”
A deep exhale left my chest and I felt lighter. A smile formed on my lips and the little smudge of worry quickly disappeared.
“I must be silly, Dad,” I whispered to him. “I am getting married to the love of my life, of course, everything will be fine.”
A few seconds later, I was walking down the aisle with my father, my mind now trained on meeting my husband-to-be.
But, suddenly, while I tried to keep my soul calm, a collective gasp erupted from the guests. It was a concerning gasp, so I looked to my side.
My legs wobbled, I crashed into my father’s arms and watched with shock as my best friend, Paterica Stark, walked down the aisle, dressed in a blue bridal attire similar to mine. I watched with a pierced heart as my friend walked up to my husband-to-be, received his hand and stood in front of him as his bride.
Confused, I briefly looked up at my father who was still holding me firmly, he also looked surprised, so I became certain that I was not seeing things.
But, why?
Why is my best friend standing there? Why is my mate looking at her with so much love in his eyes?
“Octavius!” I screamed my mate’s name without holding back. My soul was begging for an answer and I would make sure to get it. “Octavius!” I separated myself from my father’s grip and ran towards the altar. “Paterica! Explain this right now and-!”
Someone pulled from behind. “I have to stop you here, Miss Thalia Zahara.”
I looked away from the people who were pretending not to hear me while they focused on getting married. I glared at the fool who dared to stop me. It was the Chief Guard of our beloved Night Stream Pack.
“Get your hands off me,” I growled. “Get out of my way.”
The man refused to let go of me. “The Lycan King is getting married right now. If you take a step closer, you’ll be considered a threat.”
A scoff dropped from my lips while my mind continued to fail to fully comprehend what was going on. “A threat? Listen, I am supposed to be standing there!” I pointed at the altar. “I am meant to be getting married to Octavius.” I knitted my brows with seriousness. “You know this, Chief. Everyone here knows it. He is my mate! We are supposed to be getting married!”
I screamed with all my might at the end of my words, because the more I spoke, the more the pain of seeing my mate and best friend abounded in my heart.
“Miss Thalia, please let this ceremony remain peaceful.”
“Peaceful?” I laughed like I was about to lose my mind. “Did you just say peaceful?” I laughed again, my head slightly tilted as I did that. Through my bitter laughter, I caught a glimpse of the beautiful evening sky. “Chief,” I locked eyes with the man once again, “if you keep stopping me, blood will flow. You are aware that my wolf is weak, but do you know? I am a vicious woman. I will draw blood when I need to.”
“Miss Thalia,” the man remained solid, “please, stop.”
A loud sound pierced the air. The murmuring from the crowd died down, everyone turned their attention to the altar and we all watched as the Lycan King and my best friend shared a kiss as though they were passionate lovers.
The minute they were pronounced husband and wife for all to hear, my hands began to shiver and soon, a strange type of fear wrapped my soul.
“Octavius…” My mate’s name dropped from my lips but it wasn’t loud enough. “Octavius…” Why can’t he hear me? “Octavius…”
Octavius and Paterica began to walk down the aisle, so I gathered myself and rushed to my mate.
“Octavius,” I almost cried when I met his darksome eyes. Those eyes looked at me with love yesterday but now, I see hatred in them.
“If you have something to say, say it. I don’t have all day.”
My brows jerked and I begged my soul to allow a brief control of my raging emotions. “Is that all you have to say, Octavius Storm?”
“I am your King. The Lycan King. Show some respect.”
I managed a painful smile. “And I am supposed to be your Queen. The Lycan Queen.” I moved closer and successfully ignored Paterica. “Are you trying to tell me that I am now useless? Is… Is our mate bond a joke to you?”
“What do you expect me to do?” His hands flung into mid-air. “What do you want me to say? Do you want me to confess that your friend Paterica is a better companion for me? Do you want me to say that I started to hate our mate bond way before the wedding? Do you want me to disrespect you in such a way?”
“How dare you say those stupid things?!”
“They are true.”
“Oh, right.” I laughed bitterly. “You must be elated to break my heart then. You must be very happy that you have gotten rid of me just so you can hook up with my stupid best friend!”
“Thalia, you-,” Paterica attempted speaking.
But Octavius interrupted her.
His teeth gritted with an anger I had never seen before. His feet inched closer and he warned, “This woman is now my wife. She is my mate and I will deal with you if you disrespect her.”
No matter how much I try to analyze Octavius’s reactions, I am unable to comprehend him.
My head danced from left to right and I gently asked, “Are you under some sort of spell?”
“Thalia,” he sighed, “I am trying to respect you by not saying anything.”
“Respect?”
“I don’t want to put you through the pain of breaking our mate bond. I don’t want to reject you because I am aware that it will make you weaker than you already are.”
“You think you are doing me a favor?” I scoffed and my willingness to keep my emotions in check dissolved instantly. “Octavius.” I held his hands but he jerked my touch away after a few seconds. “You just married another woman in my presence, on my wedding day. Are you respecting me by doing that? That’s even worse than a fucked up rejection! You took my best friend’s hand in my presence and got married to her!”
I didn’t hold back anymore. As I raised my voice and lost my marbles, I slapped his chest without mercy.
“You fucking rat! You should have just killed me! How do you expect me to live now?! I lived five years for you! I gave up on my desires for you! I trained to become your stupid Queen! I endured days of shitty training because of our love for each other! But what? You chose to respect me by getting married to Paterica? You fucking fucktard, man. You are a fucking coward!”
Octavius held my hand at some point to stop me from hitting him. Once I was done letting out only a fraction of what I wished to say, he said, “Beta Thalia Zahara.” That first statement turned my rage into fear. My eyes widened and he continued, “I, Lycan King Octavius Storm, reject you. As of today, we are no longer mates and we are no longer destined for each other.”
“Octavius…” His name dropped from my lips and I could sense a thick quivering in my voice.
“Accept it, Thalia. Let’s end things here.”
This time, I could not fight the tears. I ducked my head as though it would be enough to hide the pain on my face. But I was able to endure and after seconds of hiding the tears itching my eyes, I looked up at Octavius Storm and said, “I accept it. I accept your rejection, Lycan Octavius Storm.”
“I hope to never set my eyes on you,” Octavius said. And after, he used a finger to push me to the ground, the strange hatred he had for me never fading.
So, as he walked away with my best friend, I managed a smile and whispered to myself, “I accept your rejection. But watch out Octavius,” my smile widened while I wiped my wet nose, “I won’t let you get away with this. You will pay for this disrespect. You will pay for breaking my heart and wasting my time. I swear on my parents. And I swear with the goddess’s name.”
At the end of my silent declaration, my desire to fight disappeared. The shock of the confusion, betrayal, pain and sorrow that emanated from that unexpected scene gripped me hard, so I remained on the ground while my eyes slowly closed to welcome darkness.