Page 12 of Wolf Traded
JARA
It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything is fine.
I repeat the mantra in my head as I pace in what will soon be my bedroom in the pack house. The dress isn’t perfect, but Isabelle did an amazing job in fixing it in the short time she had before the ceremony. I grind my teeth together thinking about all the trouble some spiteful female went through to try and ruin this for me.
They tried to break me. They tried to get me to postpone the ceremony but I refuse to back down. I’m not weak. They can’t break me.
“Jara, you must be calm. Everything is okay. You look gorgeous and the flowers are all in place. The food will be ready in time for the celebration after the ceremony. Breathe.”
“Are we sure this is how it’s supposed to be? Have the fates just been fucking with me my whole life?” I chew my lip. This has got to be just nerves right? I mean we were fated at birth. The fates don’t get it wrong. Do they?
“What is this? You aren’t actually thinking the fates got it wrong, Jara. It’s just nerves, darling.” My mother wraps her arms around my shoulders in a comforting embrace which calms my nerves a bit.
I’m being ridiculous of course we are fated and the fates didn’t make a mistake. My wolf growls her agreement. She doesn’t get it. My human brain is sometimes a weakness to her. Any kind of doubt doesn’t even register to her baser instincts which is how she operates.
A knock sounds at the door startling me and I turn just as my father peeks into the room. “It’s almost sundown, peanut.” He grins and I shake my head at the silly nickname even though it warms me a little.
“Hi, Dad. I’m almost ready.” I grin at him as he hugs me tight.
“You look absolutely stunning, angel.” He kisses my cheek. “I’ve only seen one other person look so beautiful on their mating day.” His eyes twinkle as he looks at my mother. That is what a true mate bond looks like.
My parents have been together forever. The fates don’t get these things wrong. I breathe a sigh as I remember that just by looking at them and how in love they still are. That’s what I’m going to have with Grayson. I have to believe that.
I laugh as my dad plants a sloppy kiss on her lips and she swats him away. “You’re going to ruin my lipstick,” she says sternly. I giggle lightly feeling better now with the display. Today is the first day of the rest of my life and nothing will ever be the same.
“Okay, I’m going to escort your mother to her seat. See you soon, peanut.” He kisses my cheek again his eyes swirling with some emotion I can’t quite process before he sweeps her from the room.
Leaving me alone with my thoughts probably isn’t the best idea in the world. Questions still swirl in my mind causing my wolf to growl in my head. She doesn’t understand my hesitation. She only knows that Grayson is her mate. Everything in my life is about to change forever and I know that as soon as the ceremony is over I will have one challenge after another. I will take no pride in beating the females in my pack in those challenges.
It's time, I can feel it in my bones and my wolf yips with excitement as I square my shoulders and reach for the doorknob with a sweaty palm. Blowing out a breath I open the door to a sneering Crystal.
She looks me up and down scoffing lightly then turns her back on me and walks away. My wolf growls at the insult but I hush her quickly. I don’t care about the blatant insult from the redhead. She means little to me.
The color of the tight wrap dress she’s wearing isn’t lost on me and I roll my eyes. She’s wearing black as if mourning the loss of something that was never hers to begin with.
Closing the door behind me, I make my way down the hall marveling at the fact that this will be my home in just a few short hours. It’s a beautiful home with tiled marble floors and pictures of all the past alphas and their families lining the walls, but I’m not really looking at that as I make my way to the double doors that lead to the back garden.
As I stand in front of the large oak doors, I can hear the quiet chatter of the guests outside waiting for me to make my entrance. I shouldn’t keep them waiting. With a brilliant smile, I open the door stepping outside into the pinks and oranges of the setting sun.
Pink and purple wildflowers dot the space and the white gazebo is covered with them. Purple tule is swirled around the beams decorating it perfectly. I’ll have to remember to thank my cousins for all their help at the celebration later.
I can feel the eyes of the guests on me but I don’t look at them. Every chair is filled with pack members and the alphas of all the regional packs. My eyes are glued to Grayson. He looks handsome in his black suit with a purple tie but as my eyes meet his I nearly stumble. He is smiling at me with a smile he has never pointed my way. It’s almost cruel and his eyes are cold. My wolf whimpers in my head confused by the look on his face as much as I am.
I continue to walk slowly down the aisle frowning at Grayson but continuing to hold my head up high. What could have happened in such a short time for him to look at me like this? Is he angry with me about something? The closer I get the bigger and more sinister his smile becomes and I am unsettled.
When I make my way to his side, he takes a step back and puts up a hand motioning for me to stop. My whole body freezes as I wait for what can’t possibly be happening. He can’t be rejecting me. He can’t. There’s never been a fated mate rejected before.
“Jara, I reject our mating.”
My vision goes hazy and something in my chest feels like it explodes. Pain wracks my body and I think I hear people shouting but it’s far away and garbled. Everything is fuzzy. My wolf howls a low mournful sound that’s heartbreaking in it’s intensity and I nearly drop to my knees. I manage to hold myself up, barely.
Tears fill my eyes and splash down my cheeks. The utter heartbreak fills me and the need to run overwhelms me. I need to get away. Away from the prying eyes and the gleeful smiles I’m sure the women of the pack have on their faces at my complete and total humiliation.
He could have done this in any way. He could have told me in private. The fact that he did this in front of the entire pack proves how much he must despise me. I can’t hold myself back anymore and before I even give it conscious thought my feet are moving toward the forest that backs up the pack house. I think my mother yells my name but I can’t stop. Don’t turn back. That isn’t my home anymore, it can’t be.
I make it one hundred feet into the forest before my wolf howls in my head again thrashing inside dying to get out, to run.
I drop to my knees with a sob. I don’t even take off the mating dress before the shift takes over shredding it. Good. I don’t want anything to remind me of this day. The day of my destruction.
