Too Fat for the Alpha, Perfect for His Brother

Chapter 4

Aurora's POV

Alpha Roman entered.

The whole atmosphere changed instantly.

It always did when he walked into it.

Conversation died. Heads turned. Even those who had been laughing moments earlier straightened instinctively as he made his way toward the ceremonial platform.

He wore navy blue, as he usually did, with the silver crest of Moonvale embroidered across his chest. His countenance was calm, commanding, and completely unmoved by the chaos around him.

He was the kind that made girls suddenly remember to fix their hair whenever he walked into a room.

There were plenty of things I could say about Alpha Roman, most of them better left unsaid, but no one could deny that the man was hot.

And I hated that my eyes followed him.

I hated even more that my heart still remembered what it had felt like when he had touched me.

I quickly looked away.

Don't.

Don't be stupid again.

The Elder began calling the unmated wolves forward.

One by one, they stepped onto the platform.

Some felt the bond, they found their mates.

Some didn't.

There were tears, laughter, nervous embraces and congratulations.

I watched from the side, trying to feel nothing.

Then Valentina appeared.

The room practically came alive.

She walked toward Roman with the confidence of someone who already knew how the story ended.

People smiled.

Someone whispered, "The future Luna."

Another voice answered, "It's only a formality."

I couldn't help looking at Roman.

His eyes were on Valentina.

She stopped in front of him, and the smile she gave him was almost shy.

Almost.

She had always known how to perform innocence when it suited her.

The Elder smiled.

"Valentina."

Valentina lifted her chin.

"Yes."

"Step forward."

She did.

Roman reached for her.

And then something happened to me.

I felt an instant sharp pain through my chest.

I gasped. Then my hand flew immediately to my heart.

It wasn't the kind of pain that came from being insulted. I had never experienced such pain before.

It was deeper, and extremely strange.

It felt as though something inside me had been caught between two hands and pulled in opposite directions.

I staggered, but no one noticed.

The ceremony continued.

Roman's fingers touched Valentina's neck.

The moment he lowered his head toward her, the pain returned.

Sharper this time.

I sucked in a breath.

What was happening to me?

My knees weakened.

I grabbed the edge of the table beside me before I could fall.

Maybe it was the herbs.

That had to be it.

Mara's herbs. That was the only strange thing I had taken.

Perhaps they were reacting badly with something in my body.

I looked toward the ceremonial platform.

Roman was marking Valentina.

Everyone was smiling, everyone was waiting.

But something was wrong.

I could feel it.

Not with Valentina.

With me.

A strange pull moved through my chest, stretching toward the Alpha as though some invisible thread had suddenly been tied between us.

I shook my head.

No.

That was impossible.

Roman couldn't be my mate.

He had already made it painfully clear what I meant to him.

The Elder looked at Roman.

Then at Valentina.

Her smile slowly disappeared.

"Something isn't right."

The room fell silent.

Valentina's countenance changed immediately.

"What?"

The Elder stepped closer to them.

"The bond hasn't answered."

The shocked crowd began to murmur.

Valentina stared at her as though she had just spoken nonsense.

"What are you talking about?"

"The Moon Goddess has not confirmed the bond."

Valentina's face hardened.

"That's impossible."

Everyone knew who she was.

Everyone knew what she had been raised to become.

Everyone knew she and Roman were supposed to be destined for each other.

"Perhaps the ceremony has been interrupted," someone suggested.

"No," the Elder said quietly. "Something is wrong."

Valentina's cheeks suddenly turned red with anger.

"Nothing is wrong with me."

Then she turned toward Roman.

"Tell her."

Roman couldn't even say anything. Almost like he knew what was happening.

The Elder looked around the hall.

"Your mate is here."

The whispers from the confused crowd only increased. While I stared at the floor.

My heart was beating too fast.

Then the pain returned again.

This time it was so sharp that a small sound flew out of my lips.

Everyone suddenly turned to my direction.

Then someone laughed.

"Of course."

Another voice followed.

"Her?"

I froze.

Valentina looked directly at me.

"You have got to be kidding."

I shook my head.

"I didn't—"

"Must you ruin everything?" she snapped.

The room continued in its whispers.

I wanted to disappear.

The Elder looked past Valentina and fixed her eyes on me as it widened in shock.

"There."

My heart stopped.

She pointed toward me.

"The mate bond."

I shook my head.

"No."

The Elder's expression remained firm.

"Alpha, the Moon Goddess has chosen."

Roman turned, then our eyes met.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then he laughed.

A short, disbelieving sound.

"No."

The Elder opened her mouth.

Roman turned back to me.

"Stop this."

I blinked.

"What?"

"This ridiculous act."

"I don't understand." I said, because I was clearly as confused as everyone. And I was the one in pain.

"You think because the Elder has made some mistake, I'm going to suddenly believe you're my mate?"

"I didn't say that."

"You don't have to, I can see it on your face."

I shook my head.

"I don't know what's happening."

"Neither do I."

He looked toward the Elder.

"She is not my mate."

The Elder opened her mouth.

Roman turned back to me.

"Even if you prayed for it every night, it would never happen."

My chest kept on hurting even more.

"I would never—"

"You will never be my Luna."

His words rang through the entire hall.

"Not today. Not tomorrow. Not in ten years. Not in another lifetime."

I stared at him, while he leaned closer.

"I reject you."

The room went silent.

"I reject you now."

His eyes hardened as he squeezed his fist.

"I reject you in the future."

Another step closer.

"And if the Moon Goddess herself stood here and told me otherwise, I would still reject you."

My tears finally fell.

"Why do you treat me like this?"

The question came out broken and out of nowhere. I was tired already.

Roman stared at me.

"What have I done to you?"

His expression didn't even change.

"What do you want from me, Alpha?"

I wiped my face with my shaking fingers.

"You don't want me. Fine."

My voice grew stronger despite the tears.

"Then send me away."

Several people gasped.

"Let me leave Moonvale. I'll become a rogue if I have to. I would rather live alone than stay here and be humiliated by you and everyone."

Roman laughed.

He leaned closer, lowering his voice so only I could hear.

"Leave? Who said I was finished with you?"

I stared at him.

"I still need you to warm my bed whenever I feel like indulging myself."

My stomach turned.

"You can't..."

"Can't what?"

"What if I say no?"

For the first time, his smile disappeared.

Then he looked at me slowly.

"Nobody wants you, Aurora."

His voice was quiet, cold, and so certain only he could own a fat looking girl like me anytime he was bored.

"Don't pretend you have choices."

Then he straightened.

"This is the best you can get."

Something inside me went very still.

Then a voice came from across the hall.

"I want her."

Nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

Roman's head turned.

Valentina's face went blank.

I slowly looked toward the voice.

A wheelchair was moving through the crowd.

People stepped aside without being asked.

And sitting in it was the man whose name had always been spoken in Moonvale with fear.

Alaric.

His eyes found mine, then he stopped.

"I said," he repeated, through the silence,

"I want her.”