Chapter One – Shattered

Hazel’s POV

“Yes.” His jaws clenched as he turned away from me, but I wasn’t done with him. This was no rejection. I refused to accept his rejection without a valid cause. I ran after him, grabbing his arm to whirl him around to face me. The look on his face showed how shocked he was. I wasn’t violent at all, but he forced me tonight. He forced me to stand up for my rights as his mate. 

“You are my mate and nothing can change that. I refuse to accept your rejection, Stavros.” I released him and stormed away towards Hera’s room. Pain gripped my heart, and I repented my decision to come here. It wasn’t easy to fight my family and convince them. If Stavros didn’t accept me, I would have no option but to return to Alaska with a broken heart. 

It would surely kill me. I couldn’t go back without my mate. I would become a laughingstock at home. 

I trudged over to Hera’s room in defeat. What could have gone wrong? Had Stavros chosen someone else over me? But I was his fated mate! 

“Hazel? Hey! When did you arrive?” said a familiar voice and I turned to see Isaak’s younger sister, Princess Xenia approaching me. Three years younger than me, I had bonded well with her on my last visit. 

“Just! Where were you? I didn’t see you at lunch!” We hugged one another and I tried hard to ignore the pain in my heart and act normal. It was too personal to share with anyone except Hera. 

“I was at the Observatory with Damon and Desdemona. We had our lunch there. Do you want to check it out? It’ll be fun.” I remembered Aunt Daphne’s son, the flirtatious Prince Damon, and his older sibling, Princess Desdemona. A year older than me, he always tried to hit on me just to get Stavros worked up. It always worked, but maybe not this time. 

Stavros didn’t want me at all. 

“I’m tired today. Maybe some other time.” 

We walked towards Hera’s room, discussing what they did in the Observatory. I wasn’t interested, but she insisted on elaborating further. I listened half-heartedly, but my mind was far away, lost in Stavros’s rejection. 

Her phone buzzed with an incoming call from Damon, and she informed him about my arrival. In a few minutes, Damon sauntered into Hera’s room with a shit-eating grin on his face. It seemed nothing had changed here. 

“Hey, beautiful! I’m so glad to see you back. Are you staying here now?” asked Damon, sitting down beside me. 

“I haven’t decided yet.” I couldn’t tell him the truth. It was a secret between me and Hera. 

“Then decide fast. I’ll choose you as my mate since I haven’t met mine.” I looked away in despair. There cannot be another mate for me, other than Stavros. I might not be a mated wolf in the true sense of the term, but I had already surrendered my heart to him. 

“You know, I’ve met my mate two years ago. There cannot be another in my life, Damon.” He smiled and nodded. 

“I know. I’m just kidding. Relax Hazel.” 

“Yeah. Don’t let his teasing bother you. He hits on all females, young and old!” chuckled Xenia. 

“But Hazel is different. She lives in my heart! I’m serious about her!” exclaimed Damon, clutching his heart.

Hera and Xenia rolled their eyes at his melodrama. It was all in jest, and I smiled, too. 

“Damon! Come out right now!” Stavros’s voice growled from the doorstep. 

My eyes flew up to meet his glowing orbs for a split second before he stormed away in a fit of rage. When did he come up to the door? It was strange. I could hardly sense my mate’s presence. Did he purposely block me out? Then what did it matter to him who I was with? 

“Uh oh! It seems you’ve angered him again, bro,” muttered Xenia. 

“He’s crazy,” chuckled Damon while I glared at him. This was always the scene here whenever I was around. 

“Why do you do it, Damon?” scolded Hera. 

“Damon!” Stavros’s booming voice echoed around the corridors, and Damon and Xenia ran after him. 

“I’ll stop them from killing one another,” said Hera, walking out of her room and I followed her. I had to check what Stavros was up to when he didn’t care about me. 

I saw Stavros in the courtyard, pacing the ground as he waited for Damon. But where was he? Had he escaped? 

“Looks like Damon knows better than to face him,” said Hera, going back to her room. I sighed and followed her. “What happened to you? Has Stavros accepted you as his mate?” 

I shook my head and Hera looked surprised. 

“Maybe he has chosen someone else over me.” 

“No, that’s not possible. You’re his fated mate. He has to reject you before choosing someone else. I’m sure there’s some misunderstanding, Hazel. Stavros loves you very much.” I didn’t think so at all. He couldn’t do this to me if he loved me.

Before I could clear her misconception, Princess Xenia came rushing towards us. 

“Hera, please save Damon. Stavros is so mad at him, I’m sure he’ll kill him.” 

We rushed after her towards Damon’s room, where he had been hiding from Stavros. The sight of the two fighting in the corridor made me freeze. 

“Stay away from Hazel. I won’t let you near her,” yelled Stavros, hoisting him from the ground by his neck. Blood dripped from Damon’s busted lips as he struggled to breathe. Hera and Xenia gasped with horror as they rushed ahead to stop the duo.

“Why will I? You’ve rejected her, right?” gritted out Damon, all the jest gone from his features. In fact, I had never seen him this serious before. This was no teasing! What was going on?

I stayed behind the stone pillar, listening to them fighting over me. How did Damon know he rejected me? I hadn’t told a soul yet, apart from Hera. Did Hera give me away? 

“Still she’s mine. Stay away or die!” A shudder went down my spine and my head felt dizzy. His words were so contradictory, they had me confused. 

“She can’t be yours and you know it. Face it!” taunted Damon. It angered Stavros more, and he raised his arm to fling Damon against the stone walls. I clamped my mouth shut with my hands, horrified by my mate’s behavior. What was wrong with Stavros? Had he turned feral? 

“Stop, Stav! You’re killing my brother for no fault of his. Let him go right now!” yelled Hera, rushing forward to separate the two. 

“Don’t support him blindly, Hera. If you love him so much, tell him to stay away from Hazel.” He released Damon and strode away while I stood plastered against the pillar, forgetting to breathe. 

What was that?

Why did he want to reject me if he considered me his mate? 

My mind went into overdrive as I stood watching him go. Was something stopping him from accepting me? Why couldn’t he confide in me? Didn’t he know I could do anything for him? 

The others helped an injured Damon to his room while I trudged towards Hera’s room absent-mindedly. As I neared the corridor that led to Zephyrus’s room, I heard him scold Stavros, his best friend. 

“Don’t pick up a fight here, Stav. I’m indebted to Uncle Georgios for sheltering all of us. Don’t embarrass me unnecessarily. Why don’t you speak to Hazel instead of escaping her?” 

Stavros mumbled something and walked away towards his room. Now I was sure something was stopping my mate from claiming me. What could it be? I had to know. 

I waited for Zephyrus to go to his room. When he did, I tiptoed toward Stavros’s room. The only way to know what was going on was to confront him. 

My heart pounded against my ribcage as I pushed at the door. It gave way, and I peered into the room. I had been here many times two years ago, but now it seemed different. The room was dark and untidy, as if it has been trashed in fury recently. 

“Are you done flirting with all the males here? What brings you here now?” barked Stavros as he stood in front of the dresser tending to his wounds. I trembled a little at the sight of him. What has made him so angry with me? What had I done?

I sucked in a deep breath and held his fiery gaze. “You’re unnecessarily overreacting, Stavros. I have no wish to flirt around here. I came here only for you.” 

“Then go back to Alaska. I’ll never accept you as my mate.” His jaws clenched as he tended to his wounds. 

“Why not? What’s stopping you? You can tell me, Stavros. We can solve the problem together. But please don’t push me away.” I stood behind him with a pleading look in my eyes, waiting for him to confess. Our gazes locked through the mirror, his hard and unrelenting, while mine were filled with expectations and longing. 

“Nothing’s stopping me. I just don’t want you. Can’t you get it?” He gritted out, breaking the eye contact. 

I gaped at him, feeling totally confused. “Why? Have you found someone else?” 

“Do you get it now? So take it as my rejection and go back to Alaska.” Tears pooled in my eyes, but I blinked them away. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me break. I might not be a warrior like him, but my mental strength surpassed his physical endurance. 

“Whom have you chosen as your mate? A princess?” My heart shattered into a million pieces as everything fell into place. With so many beautiful princesses here, I should have expected it. I should have found out from Hera before arriving here suddenly. 

“It’s none of your business. Today is the day of the full moon. Meet me at the Garden of Secrets tonight when the moon is visible. I want to do this the right way!” He strode towards the washroom, dismissing me. I knew what this meant.

He wanted to sever the mate bond between us. He wanted to throw me out of his life forever. No amount of pleading would change his mind. So this was what my granny was warning me about. Rejection and betrayal. She knew I was in for one of those. I should have trusted her instincts. After all, she was a powerful witch in her youthful days. 

I whirled around and ran to Hera’s room as fast as my legs could carry me. My heart was shattered, but I refused to shed tears. I would pack up and leave forever after accepting Stavros’s rejection. He could be happy with his chosen mate.

I wouldn’t bother him again with my unrequited feelings. I would learn to live with a broken heart.