Chapter 2

~Valerie~

I watched as he walked to the restroom, my heart pounding in my chest. I wondered what it was that he needed to show me in the restroom. I counted twenty seconds off my fingers and stood, took my purse, and headed to meet him.

I opened the door and found him patiently waiting for me with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

“Cordy, what was it that you couldn’t show me out there? Are you trying to murder…”

Before the sentence could roll off my tongue, I found myself banged up against a wall with Cordy’s tongue invading my mouth. It made me breathless and giddy. But damn, it was the hottest kiss I’ve ever gotten from him. I went on a tip-toe, wrapped my hands around his neck, and opened my mouth more, giving him unlimited access. But then he pulled back, warranting a groan of non-appreciation from me.

“What was it that you said again? About me not affecting you hm?” he whispered in my ear while his hands assaulted my body.

I moaned and arched towards him, wanting him to stop the onslaught of desire that threatened to rip my insides apart.

“I’m going to need more than just sounds, love” he continued, his hands moving up to my inner thighs.

“Nothing. I-said-nothing” I moaned almost too shamelessly. The gnawing hunger for each other has been a thing between us ever since we became close. It became even worse when we found out that we were mates. Right now, all I want is for that hunger to be removed.

“That’s what I thought,” he said and captured my lips in a possessive kiss. I took his hands and guided them from my inner thighs to my lady core, willing him to play me like a guitar.

“Valerie”, he breathed harshly and rested his forehead on mine.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked, not knowing what the problem was.

“No, it’s not you” he raised his head to look at me. I could see his pupils alternating between grey and black. His wolf was threatening to break free and he was trying to rein him back in. He was fighting for control. The lust in his eyes was as clear as day and I saw that he was holding himself back from shredding my v-necked skimpy red gown from my body and claiming me right there on the wall of the restroom.

“Cordy…” I whispered. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them. His eyes had returned to normal. He took his hands away from my skin and helped to rearrange my gown on me again. I whimpered at the loss of warmth that his hands had provided.

He cupped my chin and tilted my face gently to his. “We agreed to wait until we’re properly married, remember?”

What? No! I wasn’t in my right senses when I agreed to that. It was those eyes. They make me agree to things that I’m not even sure of, just like I’m nodding to his question now.

“Yes, we did. But aren’t we allowed to indulge even a little? We can wait for the main thing after our marriage”

He smiled slowly and his gentle eyes swept all over my face before resting on my lips. I licked them nervously and swallowed hard.

“Do you know how hard it is to keep myself from doing to you all the things that I’ve fantasized about? But all the feelings and rush will make it special on the night of our marriage. We can let it all out then”. 

He leaned closer to my ear, nibbled on it, and whispered. “I promise you, you will not be able to walk properly after I’m done with you”

I sighed in defeat and gave a little nod. Besides the fact that I am a horny werewolf, keeping the bed pure until marriage might earn me some points with the Luna so why not? I looked at my phone and saw that it was past eight already.

“Oh my god. I need to get home soon. My father will be worried”

I made to leave but Cordy pinned me back to the wall. Confused, I searched his eyes for a clue but found nothing.

“You’re forgetting something,” he said and gave one of his lazy smiles.

“Am I?” I replied teasingly. “Shouldn’t we keep the bed undefiled?”

“We should, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t mark you right now”

My heart leaped in anticipation. If he puts his mark on me, then I’m as good as married to him, technically. But still, that is a very big step. I wanted that but my father’s voice kept ringing in my head. What if I was making a huge mistake? Should I just wait it out and see what happens? 

“Is there a problem? You suddenly went stiff” Cordy asked, his eyes mirroring the concerns that he felt. No. There is no way on earth that this person will hurt or betray me. He loves me too much to do that. 

I smiled and placed a quick kiss on his lips. “No baby. There’s no problem. I’m ready”

He found my lips again and kissed them passionately. I could feel the longing and the love in them. He left my lips and placed kisses from my neck down to my shoulder. He stopped just at the cleft of my shoulder and nibbled on it. It was going to happen. Everyone is going to know that we are mates. 

He stopped.

I saw indecision and then skepticism on his face. “ No. I can’t do this”

“You can’t do what?” I asked, visibly confused.

“We cannot be mates, Valerie. I can’t make you my partner. You cannot become my Luna”

Fear engulfed me once again. I felt like I was about to witness my greatest nightmare. 

“What are you talking about Cordy?” I grabbed his hands in a desperate attempt to figure out what was going on. 

“My father doesn’t approve of you and although I may want you for myself, I have to think about the future of the pack. A promiscuous woman cannot be my Luna”

Promiscuous? Where did that come from?

“We are mates. You can’t just abandon me. Our fates have been sealed together by the moon goddess”

“Not if I reject you” he responded coldly. 

Too cold for the man who promised me a beautiful life together.

My hands dropped and I took a staggering step backward. What? Does he want to reject me? How did we go from being all over each other to this?

He took a long breath and looked me straight in the eye, all emotions drained from them. “I, Cordy Lockwood, Alpha of Silverhowl Pack reject you, Valerie Meyer, as my mate”

He tried to hide it but I could see the pain that accompanied those words. I heard him groan and when he opened his eyes, they were as black as night. I knew that his wolf had taken control.

I gasped for air; it felt like my lungs were tightening so badly that I needed to do extra to get some air in them. A pain so excruciating that made me whimper for minutes. 

He left me right there on the floor of the restroom, broken and in despair.

***

I got home to find the gate of our mansion wide open which was quite unusual. I called out to the security men but I was greeted with absolute silence.

“Father, did you know that the gates are wide open? I couldn’t even find one security man outside” I complained when I got into the main building. 

“Cordy just rejected me and I don’t even know why. I feel so hurt and confused”.

Silence again.

Did everyone just decide to go MIA? I turned on the lights to get a better view. I gasped as I took in the view before me. There were pieces of broken glass on the floor and my mother’s favourite figurine had also been smashed. My breath almost stopped when I saw something that looked like blood on some pieces of the glasses. Did we get attacked by rogue wolves?

“Father, mother, where are you!” I panicked and ran into their rooms to search for them. Just before I got to their room, in the hallway was my father, with his heart right there on the floor beside him. He was dead, murdered like some classless werewolf. I was petrified for a second before I fell on my knees beside him. A sob escaped my mouth as I shook him.

“Father! Father, please! Please wake up! I’m sorry for not listening to you. I promise not to be so stubborn again but please just wake up. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. Father!”

He wasn’t moving. He isn’t waking up. People don’t just die like that, right? I must be hallucinating. Maybe the drinks are playing a number on me. I pinched myself hard enough for a mark to be left on my skin but when I opened my eyes, my father was still lying lifeless before me.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a little movement and turned towards it. It was my mother trying to get to me. She had deep claw marks all over her body. Blood flowed from a deep knife wound by the side of her belly. I crawled towards her and took her in my arms.

“Mother… who did this to you!” I cried, tears threatening to blind me.

She lifted her left hand with so much effort and touched my face. “My baby,” she said, tears brimming in her eyes “I am so sorry to leave this way”

“No mother, you’re going nowhere. Please. You can’t leave me too”

“You should trust nobody, sweetheart.” She whispered weakly. “I promise to always watch over you from the other side”

“No Mother, please no! Don’t leave me” I wailed as life slowly seeped out of her and her hand fell from my face.