Chapter Four
Rayven’s POV.
Snapping my eyes up when I was assailed with the most potent scent of my life, which was a mixture of sandalwood and timber. Whoa, where had that come from? And why did it make me lick my lips? I was trying to figure out what it could mean when my eyes centered on the man who came to stand before me.
“Rayven!,” the growl came.
Matel, echoed in my mind.
I was shocked to the very core of my being when it dawned on me what was happening right now. The knowledge of the monumental moment that’d taken place, a day I feared would never come. The wolf inside of me had finally awoken and had staked her claim on the man destined to be my mate. And despite what I’d always imagined would be the outcome, I was stunned speechless at the one she’d chosen.
“Larken, I gasped aloud.
“No,” he vehemently denied. Then without giving the idea another thought Larken spun around on his heels and stalked off into the trees.
Despite my head hadn’t cleared since I’d come outside, I pushed myself to my feet and chased after him. I needed to talk to him. I had just found out that Larken, one of my best friends in the world, was supposed to be my mate. All of these years I’d secretly hoped and dreamed he’d be the one the goddess chose for my life partner. The only male in town—available anyway—that I’d be open to spending the rest of my life with.
Shouldn’t he be happy too? This was the day he’d anxiously waited the last four years for, to find the mate he was meant to be with. So why was he running away from me? Why had he said no? I didn’t know what was going on inside of his head right now, but I was determined to find out.
I finally caught up to him. “Larken talk to me.”
“I said no,” he roared angrily.
I was taken aback. Never, in all the years of our friendship, had Larken ever raised his voice at me. Only now he was roaring in such rage I couldn’t help feeling the sting of it, wincing in obvious pain. “Are you angry?”
“Damn straight I am,” Larken stopped stomping off into the trees, only to spin around to stare at the girl behind him. “I am angry that the goddess would dare curse me to a weak, insipid, pitiful she–wolf like you. It’s a disgrace for anyone, let alone a man of my stature, to be cursed to a weak
mate.”
I couldn’t help the involuntary flinch of pain at the cruel words he was flinging at me, hurting me deeper than he realized. Or maybe he didn’t care. It hurt to know that all these years he’d befriended me, only to be capable of saying such cruel things to me. “I thought you’d be happy. We’ve been friends for years.”
“Friends?” He burst out laughing at that. “Oh man, what a joke. We aren’t friends Rayven, we’ve never been friends. I was forced to like you.”
My head snapped back. “What?”
His lips twisted into a cruel and nasty smile, a mean streak I’d never imagined him to be capable of. “That’s right. I never liked you. My stupid sister befriended the weakest creature in the pack, never caring how embarrassing it was. We are alphas, royalty, yet she picked you. My father made me be nice, made me be friends despite how disgusted I was to be near you.”
Standing there I watched him start to walk away into the trees again and I had no intentions of stopping him this time. My heart was broken into a thousand different pieces and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to recover from the damage. To know all of these years, as I idealized and appreciated this man, he’d never wanted to be near me. His father had made him be nice to me, to offer the friendship he’d never dared offer on his ownL
Although I’d suspected that his friendship might have been forced. I’d never dared ask him what he thought. This was why. The crushing agony that took over my heart was the worst pain I’d ever imagined. It was worse than the avoidance of the other cubs, worse than the disappointment I was to my parents. It was a crushing blow I may never recover from.
But if Larken Black thought I was a weakling that’d crumble to pieces, he had another thing coming. I’d show him. Id show them all. Hours later dressed in regular clothes I stalked through the distance of the tree, towards the party being held there tonight. When I left the house I’d come there for a purpose and nothing would stand in the way of what I’d come to do.
I’d show who was really weak.
Maneuvering my way through the cluster of people who’d come out for the festivities, I made them no mind. Although all of them were curious what the disgrace was doing there, I failed to care what they thought. I headed towards the north side of the cliff, his scent leading me straight to where he could be found. I wasn’t steered wrong. A couple of minutes later I found my way towards his souped–up Mustang, where he was in the midst of a liplock with some girl. Bianca Tyler, I realized.
Seeing him like this, in the arms of another woman only hours after our bond was discovered, was a real eye–opener. Right there in this place, I realized that this man was never gonna be my mate, he wasn’t worth the time. “Do it?”
He jerked up. “Do what?”
“Reject me.” I told him. It’s why I’d come here tonight. Having decided that if he didn’t want me for a mate, then I would give him exactly what he wanted. Freedom from me and our bond. “Since it’s obvious you don’t want me.”
“Of course he doesn’t.” Bianca made a point of jumping into the conversation, the same evil glint glowed in her eyes. “Why would he ever want someone like you, when he can have someone like me?”
1/21
Setting
Chapter Four
“SHUT UP!” The growl came out of me before I even knew what I was doing, but I wasn’t disapproving of my actions. “This is between us. Now
Larken, do what you couldn’t or wouldn’t earlier. Reject me as your mate.”
“No,” he denied.
“What?” we both gasped.
Larken snarled nastily at me. “No I do not reject you nor will I. A wolf, especially an alpha of my caliber, needs his fated mate to attain his height of power. Now that I’ve found you I can’t actually release you, as it’d only leave my wolf weakened. I can’t let that happen if I’m to be the strongest
alpha.”
Oh damn, the man had some balls. To stand there openly admitting he didn’t want me but would keep me so he could become more powerful. If he thought that would stop me, he had another thing coming. I grinned. “Boy, you are dumb. All these years of knowing me and you didn’t learn a damned thing.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” he challenged.
Laughing as I shook my head, I stepped towards him, looking him directly in the eyes as I spoke. My voice was loud, authoritative, commanding. “I will not allow you to use me for your own personal gain, while whoring around with every slut in town. I reject you, Larken Black.”
Gasping in shock, Larken was thrown backwoods by a powerful force that slammed directly into his chest. As the sensation grew stronger he collapsed to his knees before me, his hands pressed to his chest. “What’s happening?”
Snickering at the disbelief written on his face I took a step towards him, experiencing none of the pain he felt. “I, Rayven Vonyah Stanhope Carlisle, reject you Larken Nathaniel Black as my mate, my friend, even as my Alpha. From this day forward you are nothing to me, just a blight that I condemn to the darkness of my memory. Lost and forgotten.” He collapsed to the ground in a cry of pain as I spoke those words, weakened beyond measure. “You claim that I am the one weak, but it is you who are weak Larken, too weak to trust, to believe, to love. You would’ve been lucky to have someone like me, but you dared to throw that gift into the gutter. The goddess does not look kindly on that.”
“Impossible,” he roared, “I didn’t accept.”
Crouching down low on the ground before the man I gripped a hold of his chin, adding painful pressure. I whispered in his ear, “That’s the beauty of our connection Larken, I don’t need your permission or acceptance. I told the goddess what I wanted and she listened. You don’t deserve me, don’t deserve a mate and from this day forward you won’t have one.” I climbed back to my feet. “Remember this day Larken Black, the day you lost me. The night you lost everything. It will haunt you for the rest of your life, what’s left of it anyways.”
Then without a backward glance, I walked away from him curled up on the ground, too agonized to move or breath. As I disappeared into the darkness of the trees I didn’t return to the house I shared with my parents. I didn’t seek out the companionship of my friend. I ran. Plagued by pain I only now allowed free I used that to fuel my movements as I ran through the trees. I didn’t know where I was going or what I planned on doing, all I could think about was getting away from Larken.
I ran until my legs hurt and my chest felt like it was on fire, but still, the pain didn’t stop me. It was nothing compared to the agony inside of my heart, the shattered remains due to the actions of cold–hearted bastards. Pushing myself to keep moving, the scenery whipped by me in a blur, taking me further away from Larken. From the pain. From the horrible humiliation my life had become, the agony I’d known from the moment of my birth.
I sensed the presence of the wolves that were in the trees, but I failed to care about their presence there tonight. What did it matter? My heart was broken, my spirit shattered, I felt like crumbling like the pieces inside my chest, but couldn’t. By morning everyone would know what a horrible disgrace I was, that even my so–called friend had rejected me. It was too much. I needed to get away, to have some time to myself, where I could think about what my life had become.
I sensed the moment I reached the border of our territory and felt the resistance trying to hold me back. A protective barrier was placed around the entire land, to keep all the unwolfed cubs from leaving the safety of the pack. Not today, I thought. Ignoring all the orders I was given to stay in town I stubbornly charged onward, fighting against the barrier. I experienced only a momentary surprise when it finally relented, allowing me to pass the border. As the darkness of the Dark Lands enveloped me I vanished into the shadows, putting behind all the years of pain I’d endured.
I was never seen again.
This was the day that Rayven Carlisle died.
Something, somebody else, took my place.
14.39
