Chapter One

Nora Pov

I tip the Tequila bottle back, chugging the liquid despite the burn in my throat. taring at Hazel’s new Porsche SUV to celebrate her and Dillon’s new pup. Stupid bitch. She gets celebrated for getting mated, marked, and knocked up by my boyfriend of three years.

As I walk around the car, sipping on my bottle, I hear the cheers and chatter of the celebration in the packhouse. Stopping at the driver's side, I can’t help but notice it’s unlocked, the keys sitting in the cupholder. Without giving it much thought, I chug the rest of the bottle and toss it to the side with a satisfying crash.

Pulling open the door, I slide into the brand new leather seat, enjoying the comforting . I settle in, buckle, and push the start button, enjoying the purr of the engine as it roars to life.

Blasting the radio, I open the sunroof and windows, enjoying the cool evening air. Like an indie driver, I push the car into gear, flooring it out of the driveway with a screech.

The car soars with a quickness down the street, music blaring through the speakers. Memories of Hazel’s treachery flash at the forefront of my mind like a nightmare I cannot wake up from.

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FLASHBACK - THREE MONTHS AGO

Dillon’s arms wrap around me as we sit inside our favorite booth at Mary’s dinner in Geneva, right outside of Northern Lakes territory. Pulling me into his chest while his nose tickles my neck, causing schoolgirl giggles to leave my lips. “Stop it,” I whisper, my cheeks flaming red with embarrassment at being in public, “there are people watching.” I glance around at the other guests. 

“We have been dating for three years, Nora,” he complains, and I have a feeling we are about to have the same regurgitated conversation. “When are you going to get over that? Don’t you love me?” 

“You know I do,” I explain, again, “but I am not ready-” My words cut off once again by the buzz of his phone. Who keeps calling him? “Are you sure you don’t want to get that? Someone clearly needs to get a hold of you.” 

“It’s fine,” he snaps, pulling away from me, his face darkening with an expression that has become a recurring theme. “It’s probably a telemarketer, ignore it.” His voice softens before pulling me to his chest for a kiss on the forehead.

“Here you go, dearies,” the server says as she slides a large stack of French toast toward me before placing pancakes in front of Dillon. “Can I get you anything else?” She asks as Hazel, my best friend, tries to push a mindlink through, while Dillon answers for us. 

‘Happy birthday!’ I squeal, opening the link to her, ‘I have been trying to get a hold of you all morning!’

‘Sorry, babe,’ she sighs, ‘I was busy looking for someone with no luck and I wanted to put all of my energy into that. ’

‘Of course you were!’ I reply, cutting into my French toast, groaning in pleasure when the sweet syrup hits my tongue. ‘It’d be shocking if you weren’t. It’s your eighteenth birthday! Let’s find your mate!’

‘Where are you right now?’ She asks eagerly, ‘I’ll come meet you so you can help me find my mate.’

‘At the diner,’ I reply as I munch on a crispy piece of bacon, ‘come join me, I’ll treat you to a birthday breakfast!’

‘Are you with anyone else?” She asks, her voice a little more eager than I was expecting, but I try not to think of the nagging questions it creates. 

‘Dillon’s here,’ I respond, her excitement so magnanimous it’s oozing through the link, ‘join us, we will treat you to breakfast.’ 

‘Perfect,’ her once sad voice turns chipper, a confidence underlying her words that sets my nerves on edge. ‘I’ll see you in five!’ She exclaims, before cutting the conversation and closing the link. 

‘Who were you talking to?’ Dillon asks, leaning into me, a darkness in his eyes trying to peer into my soul. 

‘Hazel,’ I respond, taking another bite of French toast, while his body stiffens, and a cough leaves his throat. ‘It’s her birthday. We should treat her to a birthday breakfast.” 

“Uhhh… you know…” he stutters, the color draining from his face, his heart racing as sweat pours from his face. “Maybe I should leave and let you have a girls’ day. You know it’s her birthday and all…” He rambles, his stare landing on anything else in the room but me. 

“What’s going on with you?” I question, my stomach turning into an unreasonable storm for reasons I can’t comprehend. Or maybe I do and I don’t want to admit it to myself? “We hang out with Hazel all the time! Are you two having a fight or…? You have been acting weird lately… what?” 

Dillon doesn’t respond, instead gathering his stuff off of the table in a rush like a robber on the run. “Where are you going?” I demand, looking at his barely touched food as he tries to untangle himself from me and the table. “Hazel will be here any second! You can’t just leave!”

“Shit,” Dillon says, scrambling from the booth tripping over his two feet, his heart hammering at a rate I think it might explode. “Fuck, okay… Nora, baby, remember that whatever Hazel says… I… fuck, this is hard…” He paces back and forth, tugging his hair forcefully, his eyes huge with panic while the other guests watch with interest and worry. 

His actions have a storm roaring in my chest as he tries to find the words to explain what the hell is going on. A nagging feeling gives me the creeping suspicion I already know. “Baby, I swear, I love you,” he cries, gripping my face between his hands, trying to pull me in for a kiss, but I resist. “Whatever Hazel says is a lie. She’s psychotic…”

“Did you-” The ring of the front door opening causes his entire body to stiffen, with his nose in the air, as his eyes go wild and his wolf attempts to take control. I don’t need to ask, as the air around us circulates with an electricity that strangles every breath from my lungs. 

Turning to the door, I find Hazel, her entire attention solely on Dillon, and her eyes as pitch black as his. I know what’s happening, what’s destined to come out of their mouths. I know I should look away. It’s like watching a car crash. No matter how hard I try, I can’t. I need to watch the destruction.

“Mate,” erupts from their lips, before a glass shattering squeal echoes through the space. Hazel launches herself into Dillon’s arms, her legs clinging around him like plastic wrap. They’re so engrossed in sucking face, they don’t even realize I have been sitting in the booth watching this real-life horror scene play out.

Finally pulling away from Dillon for air, Hazel’s voice sounds like silk as she says, “I told you it would happen, baby! We can finally speak our truth. No more hiding.” Her squeals shattering my heart into pieces as the meaning behind her words register. Her lips suction to his once more, my stomach churning as the contents within threaten to come up. 

Finding the courage, I slide from the booth, finding the strength to stand on wobbly legs while I attempt to sneak to the exit before my breakfast makes it grand entrance. Making it out the front door without screaming or letting the tears fall, I practically crawl to the alleyway. 

As soon as I round the corner, every ounce of willpower depletes like a balloon as my knees come crash to the ground. Bruises are forming while the pebbles in the pavement cut my skin. Finding air for my lungs seems impossible as sobs shake my entire body, pushing my palms into the pebbles so I can focus on anything more other than this unbelievable pain. 

As I try to regain my strength two shadows fall over me, a coldness prickles my skin despite the warmth of the day. “Nora,” Dillon tries to comfort me while a possessive growl comes from Hazel’s throat from his attempts. 

Stepping back with palms raised upwards, he shows his neck to his new mate while she bends within eye level, a sneer of derision as she takes in my broken appearance. “I won,” she cackles, pinching my chin between her fingers, forcing me to meet her gaze. “I finally won, and it’s such vindication watching you lose. Goddess, for years I had to grin and bear watching your relationship with Dillon, talking about how you’re perfect and mates… Bleh.” 

I look behind Hazel for a split second, only to find Dillon standing there with his back turned and his hands in his pockets, the shame rolling from him stinks more than the trash I am surrounded by. I thought he would at least have the decency to watch his mate rip out my heart in a dirty alleyway. 

“Why?” I ask through the sobs, as snot and tears stain my face. “Why would you do this?” I plead for answers, looking between them for answers. How could the two people I love most in this world do this to me? 

“Because you decided Dillon was yours,” Hazels screams, her jealousy leaving a bitter taste on my tongue her while face transforms into a person I no longer recognize. “You didn’t care that I was in love with him. You only cared about what you wanted. Now I have my vindication. Not only did he come crawling to me when you refused to sleep with him on his eighteenth birthday, but the Goddess saw fit to pair us. I win.”

“We were best friends,” I whisper through sniffles as I watch Dillon cringe from the corner of my eyes. 

“We were,” Hazel snaps, “but then you forced me to watch you date what’s mine for three years. We haven’t been friends for a long time. You were too stupid to see it. What makes you truly pathetic, though, is your idiotic older brothers figured it out, and you never did. Consider this the termination of your and Dillon’s relationship.”  

With a victorious smile lighting up her face, Hazel stands, throwing one last look of apathetic pity before skipping off to Dillon. Grabbing his shoulders, she shocks us both by sinking her canines into his marking spot without warning while her hand covers his mouth to keep him from screaming. Who the fuck does that? 

Once Dillon is done convulsing, she removes her teeth licking the spot before kissing his cheek, while dazed confusion remains on his face. “Let’s finish this at home, darling,” Hazel coos, giving me one last of victory before dragging her mate along with her. 

Before he rounds the corner, he meets my gaze one last time, looking nearly as broken as me, while he mouths, “I’m sorry.” Then he disappears, leaving me to sob in the middle of an alleyway and no way to get home without walking the seven miles back to the territory. 

FLASHBACK ENDS

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Pushing the speed even higher, I twist and wind around the pack roads like a banshee fresh out of hell. Singing freely to the radio, without a care in the world.

“I wonder how well you take turns?” I ask the car as we approach a deadly curve in the road that has claimed more than a few lives. Without relenting the speed, I whip the wheel to the side as I go around the bend. The unexpectedness has the car tumbling through the air like a gold metal gymnast.

The car finally rolls to a stop, the shattered glass piercing my skin like it’s paper, but I remain unphased. The alcohol coursing through my veins encourages my devil may care attitude.

Hanging upside down, I bang my fist against the window, breaking away from the rest of the glass. Undoing the buckle, I brace my hands against the ceiling as I wiggle myself out of the car.

My skin breaking open against the rough road littered with debris. Gathering my strength, I stand on two shaky legs looking at my masterpiece, as the light drips of leaking fluids grab my attention.

An idea sprouts sliding my hand into my back pocket I grab the zippo lighter I started keeping there lately. Flicking the light on, I stare at the flame with fascination, before tossing where the leak starts.

Watching the flames with vindication, that bitch ruined my trust. What’s a car in the face of that?

“NORA LYNN JONES,” my older brother, Marcus, roars from behind me. His Alpha aura circulating in the surrounding space. “WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?”

Ooops.