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1088 Words
Evanora led me all the way to the center, but instead of starting the spell right away, something cruel shone in her eyes. “You’re lucky that a half-breed mongrel like you is able to shift at all, let alone hope for a mate."
I stared at her, shocked and disappointed she'd be so rude and hateful too, but what else would I expect at this point? I lifted my chin and met her gaze. "I guess we'll see what the gods have planned for me."
"The gods?" She threw her head back and laughed. "Not even they can save you from what's coming."
While I wondered what the f**k that meant, she began chanting the spell, with the other witches joining in after a beat. My stomach twisted as the gold dust fell upon me and melted into my skin, the magic tugging at something deep inside me. For a second nothing happened, and I thought it hadn't worked and I would go home without a mate after all. Then my gut twisted and wrenched, like something was being yanked out of me, and I was filled with an overwhelming need. It drew me forward, my mind blank except for the irresistible pull toward my mate. I stumbled toward the males, my eyes locking onto Jordan. No, I thought, panic rising in my throat. I turned back to look at Evanora, but her face remained cold and impassive. How was this possible? I knew that the gods chose the mates, but why would they pair me with such an incompatible match? They knew that the Leo and Cancer packs hated each other. Was this some sort of punishment for me?
I dug my heels in, trying to avoid the pull, but my feet kept taking me forward anyway. I couldn't resist the urge to go to my mate, even if my mind screamed that this wasn't what I wanted at all.
Jordan stumbled toward me too, with the same shocked and horrified expression on his face that was probably on mine. He broke my gaze, glancing back at his father with a grimace like he was physically pained by what was happening. He tried to resist the pull as much as I did, but the call was too strong. We took longer to get to each other than any other mated pair had, both fighting every single step. Even with the resistance, we stood before each other in a matter of moments. Only inches away, both of us breathing heavily, our eyes locked together.
That's when the pull changed to desire. Hunger. Need. I suddenly had to have this male, or every atom inside my body would be torn apart. He was mine, and I was his, and nothing could ever keep us apart from this day forward.
The rest of the world faded away. All I could see was how gorgeous Jordan was, all muscled and shades of gold, and I had the strongest urge to kiss him. Or tackle him to the ground and tear off his clothes with my new claws.
I wasn’t the only one affected. As Jordan took me in, I saw his pupils dilate, and his eyes caught on my mouth and lingered as if he was thinking about kissing me too. As we each took a step closer, it felt as if something had slotted into place, something I’d been missing. With a Leo? my brain screamed at me, but I pushed it aside. The mating ritual had bound us together, despite our packs’ animosity. If the gods wanted us to be together, how could we refuse?
Dad stepped forward, and when I managed to tear my gaze away from Jordan, I realized my father was smiling. I’d seen him smile before, of course, but it was always directed toward Jackie or Wesley, never me. But now he was giving me that same look, almost as if he was proud of me.
Hope swelled in my chest, a strange and new feeling I almost didn't recognize, and at that moment I saw a different path ahead of me. I could bridge the gap between the Cancer pack and the Leo pack, finally ending the years-long hatred that led us to squabble uselessly. That was my destiny.
Dad stepped so that he was standing directly next to me, while Dixon, the Leo alpha, took his spot beside Jordan. Dixon looked on edge as if he was still expecting my father to try something here at the Convergence. I had a lot of work ahead of me, I could tell.
“I give you my daughter, Ayla,” Dad said, nodding his head to Dixon. My daughter. I don’t think I’d ever heard him say those words without it being an insult. “The Cancer pack offers her to you and cuts all pack ties with her. She is one of yours now.”
Dixon didn’t say anything, and I watched as a muscle twitched in his jaw. He held Dad's gaze for a long moment, before turning toward his son. Evanora brought the ribbon, and I held my hand out so she could wrap it around our hands. Jordan was breathing heavily, staring at the ground and anywhere but me. When he did look up, it was toward his father, who shook his head with the slightest motion.
That was my first hint that something wasn't right.
Jordan yanked his hand away, breaking the ribbon binding us together. He stepped back, and my instinct was to follow, to take a step forward to replace the one he put between us, but I held myself back through sheer force of will. This time when Jordan met my eyes, it wasn’t lust in his them anymore, but anger. And worse—hatred.
“A half-breed Cancer wolf is no match for the son of the Leo alpha,” Jordan snarled, low and intense. “I reject you as my mate.”
He shoved me away from him, hard. I fell to my knees, as the bond between us was torn asunder, like a piece of paper being ripped in half. Pain seared across my vision as his words sank in. The agony was somehow worse than the forced shift had been, like someone was reaching into my chest and ripping my heart out. I let out a wheeze, unable to scream, unable to do anything but feel the pain coursing through me. I couldn’t have held myself up, even if I wanted to.
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