Chapter 1
Angela
Grinning widely, I took in the scent of my mate who had just walked into our apartment. His presence always comes with comfort and tranquility which is almost unbelievable. No matter how agitated I got, once he was near, all my troubles were thrown out of the window.
I organized some of the clothes in the closet and walked into the bedroom to find him leaning against the door, smiling back at me.
“Hey,” I whispered. Thanks to our werewolf sharp hearing genetics, I was one hundred percent sure he could hear me.
“Hey, baby. You smell so fucking good,” he wrapped his hands around my waist and placed his head in the crooks of my neck to inhale my scent.
My man! My Darius! I can’t believe I can be in love like this with someone after such a short period.
Darius and I found each other about three weeks ago. He was twenty-two and I had just turned eighteen. We were each other’s long awaited love and we didn’t wait to soak in the joy of our mating. The only thing stopping him from marking me was the Marking Ceremony usually organized by the pack and the next one would happen in a few days.
Immediately after we found each other, I moved in with him despite my parents’ pleas not to. They told me I would regret it because of Darius’s bad reputation but I wished I could tell it to their faces now that I didn’t.
I leaned back into his strong body and murmured his name again. Darius stands at 6 feet 2 inches while I was 5″5. He was a giant compared to my height. His handsome face was adorned by a chiseled jawline, piercing eyes, his nose, perfect, and a captivating smile. I knew I hit a jackpot with Darius. All the girls in the pack were probably jealous that Darius was my mate.
“I need to prepare dinner, Darius,” I whispered. He was staring at me, his eyes piercing into mine, passing a message of desire and want.
“I need you, Angel. If I don’t have you, I could drop dead,” he called me Angel. His Angel! He said I came into his life when he needed a light and I came with that light.
As I laughed at his words, his lips met with mine and he began kissing me passionately. I wrapped my hands around his neck and kissed him back. His tongue touching mine, sucking every word, we’ve laughter every out of my lips.
Gently, he lifted me into his hands and walked us to the bed. Darius never had sex anywhere other than the bedroom. He believed it was ‘dirty’ to have sex anywhere else.
Dropping me on the bed, I quickly untangled my hands from around his neck so I could tear that shirt off his perfect body. I did and he lifted my gown over my head. Thank goodness I was naked underneath that cloth.
“Fuck,” he murmured. He didn’t waste any time before he plastered my face with kisses. “I missed you, my Angel p>
“You saw me this morning p>
I threw my head back and gasped when he suddenly sucked on my nipples. He placed his hard cock at my entrance, my breath pausing for a minute.
“I want you to fuck me hard today, Darius,” he stared at me. “Please,” I pout. He placed his middle finger on my lips, stopping me from begging any further. “I told you already, I would only make love to you, taste your body inch by inch, worship you till you’re breathless and tonight won’t be a difference p>
He slid into me and I moaned against his lips.
“Eyes on me, Angel,” he commanded and I obeyed him.
“Good girl p>
With our fingers interlocked and eyes locked, he devoured me with gentle thrusts. Every touch, every kiss, every caress was logged in my brain for a long time.
The next day, by afternoon, my little perfect world crumbled right in front of me and I realized I’d been living in a fantasy world that I created all by myself.
Darius was leaving me! For good.
I’d lived in lies, deceit, and everything, everyone I sacrificed for my mate yielded nothing. I left my family to be with the same man who’s the Alpha’s bastard son, and now, he stood there to tell me he wouldn’t mark me because his mother wanted him in her pack and had already arranged a bride for him. An arranged bride that had existed for the past fifteen years and whose identity Darius kept from me.
I wanted to laugh in his face but I couldn’t even find the inner strength to laugh.
“You’re telling me that… you’re standing there to tell me it’s over between us,” I asked, my voice shaking as I forced myself to not cry.
“You need to understand, Angel, my p>
I shushed him by raising a finger. “Call me Angela p>
“Angel,” he tried touching me but I moved away.
“Fuck you, Darius. Fuck you p>
He pulled me into his body but I struggled to wiggle away because I didn’t like how my body was reacting to him.
“A great responsibility lies ahead of me, Angela. I can’t say no to it p>
“What responsibility is that?” I asked again the same way I’d been asking him for the past two hours.
“You can’t understand, Angel,” he shook his head as if he had said the wrong thing. “I can’t tell you, I’m sorry p>
I nodded, taking in his words, and his decisions. “Fine, when are you leaving?” “Once the Alpha approves my departure,” he answered. His father was the Alpha and even though he was a bastard son of his, that man wouldn’t hesitate to give him what he wanted.
“Good! Then, I guess this is our final goodbye p>
I barged into the bedroom without waiting for him to say a word. Even though it’s been a short while we’ve been together, I didn’t want to believe that we were over. It’s almost like a nightmare to me.
“What are you doing p>
He asked as he watched me stuff his clothes into a bag.
“I’m helping you pack p>
“I’m not leaving right now p>
I stood straight and stared at him. I’m sure the Alpha already approved his departure. He said, “I’ll probably be leaving tonight p>
Darius walked across the bed aisle and came to me. He gathered me in his arms as the tears that I’d tried to stop rushed down my face.
“Shush, it’s okay, Angel,” he assured me, but was it really okay?
His eyes lingered on my lips before he kissed me, slowly, a toe-curling kiss.
I moved away from him before it could get out of hand. Picking up two of our picture frames, I flung them into the waste bin. I took hold of the bracelet he had given me and pulled it, breaking it into pieces, leaving on the ground, the shattered crystals that once had our initials.
“I know it’s your house but you should leave p>
“I could talk to your parents before I leave. You can’t stay alone, Angel. I know how scared you get when it’s dark or when it’s raining and their thunder,” he said with a playful smirk on his face.
“So, are you rejecting me or not?” I asked, ignoring his comments. My hands stiffened beside me as I held my breath.
“We shouldn’t have to do this, Angel p>
I shrugged. What else are we supposed to do? He’s going to marry another woman, bring her back into this pack and I’ll probably just wait around for him.
Impossible!
“I, Angela Johnson, reject you Darius Darkwood…” I paused as tears gushed out of my eyes and I became breathless. “As my fated mate. May our bounds be severed p>
He stared at me and for more than a second, I saw fear in Darius’ eyes. In the days we spent together, I’d never seen him so scared and I almost regretted my action.
“I accept the rejection,” he whispered and the winds carried his words. With one last look around the room, Darius walked out, leaving behind the memories of the times we’d spent together.
I crumbled to the floor as I cried for those memories as well. The love of my life was gone. It hurts so much, the rejection, the fake promises, and the lies.