REBORN

Scarlett’s POV 

I jerked forward suddenly, making a whole lot of people sitting around me turn to stare at me with a look of both shock… and pity?

Seemingly confused, I quickly looked around my surroundings to discover that I was at a funeral and that Annabel was sitting right beside me, with her hands firmly clasped in mine.

The fucking bitch!

I was about to forcefully pull my hands out of her grip when the ritualist’s voice rang through the crowd, quickly snapping me out of my reverie.

“We are gathered here today to pay our solemn tributes to this lovely family, the family of Alpha and Luna Cardel Blackstone…” I quickly snapped my head in the ritualist’s direction, realizing that this was my parent’s funeral. 

But how’s this possible? My parents died two years ago!

I quickly looked towards the pyre that had been created up front and discovered that a lot of my parents' pictures had been scattered on it, as a means of showing condolences.

“We would be less than honest if we said that our hearts are not aching over this unfortunate situ…” My mind Immediately trailed off as I stared intensely at the two caskets on the floor which laid side by side on the podium. 

I couldn’t breathe. I felt suffocated. I felt like I was reliving this moment and it wasn’t exactly a nice thing to do.

Everything seemed the same as I remembered… and not even a single thing changed, aside from me.

I blinked back tears as I struggled to listen to the ritualist whose loud voice resonated around the large open space. 

“…that we have come here today trusting that our creator would minister to our hearts, and strengthen us, and that we may find…” My mind trailed off again when suddenly I felt something squeeze my hand, almost reassuringly.

In confusion, I looked up to find Annabel, who had a sullen look plastered across her face. She had red swollen eyes that she had tried shielding by wearing really large black designer sunglasses, I sighed, squeezing back.

Just quit with the pretense mo’fucker!

“You don’t have to pretend to be fine.” She whispered but I didn’t say a word to her; couldn’t even bring myself to. I knew that as soon as I opened my mouth, I would say something really bad and scary that would even make my dead parents resurrect from its gravity.

“I am fine.” I answered grimly.

“Scarl—” She started, but was immediately cut off by the priest’s loud voice.

“Receive blessings, children,” the royalist said suddenly, snapping me out of my reverie. “may He bless you and watch over you, and may He look kindly over you and give you peace; in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

“Amen.” The crowd responded in unison. I looked around to discover that the caskets were being gently laid into the ground while a group of boys stood with scary looking equipment, waiting for the order to start burying.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Luke strutt into the open field almost stealthily. Now that I thought about it, this was where we had first met.

Annabel had introduced me to him as one of her very few cousins, who had wanted to come see life from another perspective and who was also a huge fan of mine, and I had been gullible to believe her lies.

I also remembered how we had talked about almost everything and that I had unnecessarily whined about how we had clicked at first glance.

Right now, as I saw Annabel walking over to me with Luke following quite closely behind her, I couldn’t help but think that this was how it had all begun.

How she had initiated the whole operation; “take my throne” saga.

I could smell Luke from this distance, could smell the mate bond emanating from his body; but whenever I looked into those dark orbs of his, the only thing I saw was how he had stared at me with a look of pure loathing in his eyes,

…and how he had ruggedly stabbed me without remorse.

“Hey Scarl, wait up!” Annabel yelled, waving her hands in my direction, and I did. I waited.

I watched them run through the crowd of mourners, swerving and ducking at intervals because the entire place was chaotic; and when they finally got to where I was, waiting, they were panting like two stray dogs.

“Scarl… sorry I wasted a whole bunch of your time, I went over to pick my cousin from the garage.” She rushed out.

I internally gasped at her statement because that was the exact same thing she had said to me two years ago when she had gone to pick him from wherever she did.

Dear Moon goddess, what’re you trying to do with me?

“Ohh..” I trailed off, looking between both traitors. “Nice to meet you…?” I cocked my brows, signifying that he provided his name, and just as expected, he did.

“Luke.”

“Luke…”

I cocked my head to the side to notice Annabel staring between us with an evil grin on her face and I smiled at her; the motherfucker smiled back!

“And you are?” Luke asked, staring intently at me.

“I am Scarlett.” I said quickly.

From the points where our skins were held in a handshake, I could feel jolts of electricity run up from there but I paid no attention to it.

“My cousin said y’all are mates!” Annabel exclaimed excitedly; and I immediately felt the urge to smack her hard across the face.

“Yea, I just felt it.” I replied dryly. I could see the confused lions they shared between each other but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t interested in being their puppet for a second time.

“Scarlett you used to go crazy at the thought of wanting a ma—”

“I used to… I no longer want a mate.” I deadpanned. I noticed how Annabel’s jaw dropped at my statement but I paid no attention to her. In fact, I loved the look of utter 

dismay across her face.

“Okayy, but at least y’all should get to know each other a lil—”

“I don’t want to.” I muttered dryly, walking away from them. I heard her shrill voice call my my name continually after that but I was too occupied with not wanting to be around them that I didn’t know when I bumped into something,

…or someone.

I quickly looked up to apologize only to discover that it was the Beta’s son, Atlas. I vividly remembered how I had bumped into him on this same day two years ago and how I had spoken rudely to him, and how my rudeness had cost us our friendship.

But this time around, instead of snapping like I did two years ago, I beamed a bright smile at him; and surprisingly he smiled back.

I don’t know why it happened, but as soon as he smiled at me, I felt a sudden leap in my chest. It felt like I had run a marathon when I had just only stood at a point.