Chapter 1: Forgotten Mate (Ariana’s POV)
Chapter 1: Forgotten Mate (Ariana’s POV)
The full moon bathed everything in silver light, and I stood there, dressed in shimmering satin that clung to my every curve, feeling like the goddess of the evening. My heart raced with anticipation, waiting for Scott Stone, my Alpha and the man I thought would complete me.
The night of my mating ritual was supposed to be perfect–a moment I had envisioned for years but as the hours ticked by, anticipation turned into humiliation.
The pack members who are invited to witness the mating ritual started murmuring, their pity and judgment suffocating. I reached out to Scott through our mind link again and again, but all I met was silence. My mother, frail and barely clinging to life, was seated at the edge of the crowd, her face pale but hopeful. She had held on for this day, for so long. She
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won’t give up and missed to see my happiest moment.
When it became clear Scott wasn’t coming. I felt the world cave in. By the time the first rays of dawn broke the darkness, my mother was gone. Her fragile heart had given out, unable to bear the shame and heartbreak. The pack whispered about the cursed bond, and I stood there, now an orphan, and gossips about being a rejected Luna.
Later that day, my phone buzzed. A social media post from Winona Lei, Scott’s first love, showed the two of them together. “You‘ re always there for me,” the caption read, her face nestled against his.
I sent Scott the screenshot, my hands trembling with anger. “Is this why you missed our ceremony?” Hours passed before he replied, long after I’d laid my mother’s ashes to rest.
“We can get married any day, but Winona needs me. She can’t live without me.”
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Chapter 1 Forgotten Mate (Ariana’s POV)
The message broke something in me 1 didn’t even know could break. I felt my wolf howl in anguish, but there was no fight left in me. I severed the bond with one final message through the mind link:
“I’m breaking up with you. 1, Ariana Gold, reject you as my mate.”
Then, with trembling fingers, I blocked him in all communication tool he can use
to reach me.
Seven years of molding myself to fit his desires are now gone. I thought back to all
the times I tried to be what he wanted.
Cutting my hair when he said he preferred. it short. Skipping meals to fit into his ideal of beauty. Enduring painful trials alone, so he wouldn’t see me weak. But no matter
how much I gave, Winona was always there
between us.
“You‘ re strong, Ariana. You don’t need me like she does,” he’d say, using my strength as an excuse for his neglect.
The next day, I visited my mother’s grave,
SPAR
Chapter 1: Forgotten Mate (Ariana’s POV)
the air heavy with grief. I traced her name on the stone, my fingers numb against the cold granite.
As I turned to leave, Scott and Winona appeared, her hands clutching an urn.
“This place is near my,” she murmured. “If I bury my baby here, it’s like he never left.”
My jaw tightened. I wanted to avoid a confrontation, but Scott stepped into my path. “Are you following me?” he asked, his tone accusing.
“No,” I replied, my voice weary. “I m leaving.”
Winona s voice cut in. “My puppy died, and Scott stayed with me for the funeral. Don’t misunderstand,” she said, acting
like a victim.
“Good for you,” I muttered, brushing past her.
“Ariana!” Scott‘ s voice followed, laced with reprimand. “Can’t you be
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sympathetic? Winona is grieving.”
I stopped, turning to face him.
“Sympathetic?” I repeated, incredulous. “Do you even hear yourself?”
“She needed me,” he said defensively. “You‘ re strong. You can handle yourself.”
It was like a slap to the face, the final justification every time he had abandoned me. My wolf growled low in my chest, but I held her back.
“I guess you’ve never care listening to my call through the mind link. I rejected you as my mate. It’s over, Scott,” I said flatly, turning away.
“Don’t be like this!” he called after me, his voice tinged with desperation. “Your mother would‘ ve wanted us together. We can reschedule the ceremony. There‘ s always another mating season.
I froze, his words twisting the knife deeper. Slowly, I turned to him, meeting his gaze
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with all the pain and fury I’d been holding back. “You don‘ t get it, do you?” I said, my voice breaking.
“There’s no more us. Not now. Not
ever.
His eyes widened, and for a moment, I thought he might fight for me. But instead, he grabbed his phone, muttering about planning a new ceremony. As if this was something he could fix with a grand gesture.
I walked away, leaving him and his hollow promises behind. The air was cold, but for the first time in years, I felt free. No more waiting. No more sacrificing pieces of myself for someone who didn’t deserve them.
I glanced back one last time, not at Scott, but at my mother‘ s grave.
No more Scott in my life…
