#Chapter 1 – My Ex-Boyfriend

Erin’s POV

“Oh, you are so wet,” Gavin’s hand slipped between my thighs, tugging at the underlining of my panties.

I was pressed against a bathroom stall, with Gavin in front of me, his scent intoxicating. I forgot how good he smelled. It’s been over a decade since I’ve smelled him; over a decade since I walked away from him, ultimately breaking his heart. And my own.

His eyes darkened as he played with my core, shoving his fingers inside of me. At that moment, I couldn’t deny how badly I wanted him. How badly I missed him.

It was only moments ago that I was waiting tables and hearing the snickering of some girls I went to high school with at their booths.

“Excuse me! Waitress?!” One of them sneered. “You forgot the tomatoes on my salad. I refuse to eat this.”

I didn’t forget the tomatoes; I watched her eat them.

“My apologizes,” I say to her anyways.

I took her plate and turned toward the kitchen. However, before I could walk away, I felt a cold liquid going down the back of my shirt. My entire body froze.  

“Oops…” the same girl said with a fake innocent tone. “My bad. My hand slipped.”

Her friends started laughing. I turned around to face them, wanting to say something, anything, in my defense.

“Awe, is the little waitress going to cry now?” She asked, pouting her bottom lip, and batting her long lashes. “I guess it’s karma from how bitchy you were in high school.”

“Funny how you dumped your boyfriend for being poor and now here you are… working in a beatdown restaurant,” her friend said from behind her.

“If only he could see how pathetic you are now,” the first girl said with a chuckle.

I could feel the eyes of some of the customers around the restaurant. Murmurs began as they took in my appearance. I lowered my gaze to the ground, listening to the chuckling and gossiping around me.

At that moment, I wanted to be anywhere but here.

“What’s going on, dear?” I heard a voice of a male coming from across the restaurant.

My heart thudded violently in my chest as this handsome and well-dressed man approached.

"Are you ladies bothering my girlfriend?"

"Gavin?" One of the girls responded, her voice suddenly diminishing to a mere whisper.

Gavin Pierce.

The Alpha of the Darkmoon Pack. He's reputed to be one of the cruelest and toughest Alphas in our universe.

Interestingly, he also happens to be my ex-boyfriend. The very one I left back in high school.

Gavin draped an arm around my shoulders, ignoring my drenched shirt completely. The girl and her friends stared at us, their mouths agape, unsure of what to say in that unexpected moment.

"You got back together?" She managed to ask, her voice almost a hollow echo. "I had no idea."

"My personal affairs aren't your concern, Cassondra," he replied to her, sounding disinterested and aloof.

I glanced in the direction he had come from and noticed his friends sitting at a table, watching the unfolding drama. Their eyebrows were raised, their expressions reflecting surprise at Gavin's intervention.

"Of course, not…" Cassondra stammered. She bowed her head to us. "I’m very sorry."

“It’s okay,” I said, stepping out of Gavin’s embrace. “I’ll get you a new salad.”

Before I could walk away, Gavin took the plate out of my grasp and handed it back to Cassondra.

“This salad will do just fine,” Gavin said, eyeing Cassondra carefully.

She nodded, taking the plate.

“Yes; I can eat this one,” she agreed, nervously. She stared between the two of us for a moment longer before going back to her friends.

Gavin turned to look at me, raising his brows, with a smirk appearing on his full lips. His eyes were dark and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

He was so handsome; he was also dressed incredibly well, too well for this type of restaurant. And then here I was, wearing an old pair of jeans, a soaked and stained t-shirt, and shoes that I could poke my toes out of.

I stared down at my shoes, wiggling my toes and seeing my socks clear as day. Gavin followed my gaze down to my shoes as well and then he frowned.

My entire face grew warm.

“I need to clean up,” I murmur, brushing past him.

I took in a steady breath as soon as I was in the closed capacity of the bathroom. I stripped off my shirt; it was stained with red wine. There was no way it was going to come out.

I ran it under the water anyways, hoping that it would lessen some of the redness. I couldn’t believe Gavin Pierce was standing in the place I work. I hadn’t seen him since high school; however, I’d heard rumors about him throughout the kingdom. I would have to live under a rock if I didn’t know what he was up to.

He’s a very popular, and very fierce, Alpha. He’s also one of the most good-looking. Those who find out that I used to date him think I’ve gone completely mad for breaking up with him. But they don’t know the entire story.

“Why are we hiding from him?” The familiar and calming voice of my wolf asked. “He’s all you’ve thought about since high school, and now he’s finally here…”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just an ordinary person now,” I remind my wolf. “I’m not worthy to—”  

“He’s our mate,” my wolf said, stopping my words.

“I rejected him years ago.”

“Just because you rejected him, doesn’t make that bond go away. Until you are both marked by another, your mate bond remains.”

I knew she was right, but I didn’t want to admit it.

“Not to mention you are a total badass. That’s far from ordinary,” my wolf added.

“Those days are behind me. Now, I work in a restaurant, just trying to get by…”

The door of the bathroom swung open, and a familiar presence invaded my senses. I completely froze as I heard the footsteps approaching.

I stared at Gavin through the mirror as a small smirk appeared on his lips; there was a playfulness in his eyes that sent my heart plummeting into my stomach.

“Seems I caught you at a good time.” His words fell off his tongue smoothly and it was at that moment I remembered I was shirtless.

I attempted to cover my body with my shirt, but he grabbed it with force, whipping it to the ground. I flinched at the quick motion, causing a grin to appear on his lips. He ran his tongue across his white and deadly sharp teeth like he was getting ready for a hunt, and I was his prey.

“Gavin… I—”

Before I could get any more words out of my mouth, he grabbed my arm and turned me to face him, pressing me hard against the sink. I winced in pain as the metal sink dug into my back. He looked me over with a hunger lingering in his gaze.

He frowns as he reaches my stomach; at first, I thought he was staring at my stomach because it was bloated. But then, his fingers traced the long scar that trailed across my belly button and toward my backside.

“What happened here?” He asked, his tone almost husky and darkening with each word spoken.

“An accident,” I lied. I couldn’t tell him how I truly got that scar. He probably wouldn’t believe me anyways.

He didn’t look like he bought it, but before he could ask further, I could hear talking outside the bathroom door.

“I can’t believe that bitch got back with Gavin Pierce.” Cassondra hissed.

“Right? Did you see her? She looked like a complete mess,” her friend agreed.

“She can’t even afford actual shoes,” her other friend laughed.

I felt the color draining from my features as Gavin grabbed a hold of my wrist and pulled me into a nearby stall. Before I could protest, the stall door was sealed, and his body was pressed firmly against mine. He brought his fingers to my lips, keeping me silent as Cassondra and her friends came into the restroom.

They continued their complaining as they washed their hands and fixed their makeup.  

Once they left, I felt I could finally breathe, except Gavin wouldn’t move. I could smell the whisky on his breath as his forehead was pressed firmly into mine and his fingers trailed across my bare belly and down my legs.

“You owe me for saving you out there,” he said in a deep and threatening tone.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat, staring into his gorgeous eyes.

“What is it you want?” I asked, my tone low and breathless.

“Don’t you remember the last time we were in a bathroom together?” He asked, that smirk appearing on his lips again. “It was in a stall… just… like… this.”