Caught In Between The Lycan Heirs

Riya's POV My phone rang from the countertop where I had kept it and I immediately abandoned my sewing machine to attend to it. My face fell as I unlocked my phone to see that it was a text message from a customer and not from Casper; my boyfriend. I sighed and slumped to a chair, frustrated. I had not heard from Casper since yesterday and it bothered me greatly. Casper had never gone a day without calling or texting to check up on me. But things had been quite off since last night. I had messaged and called him repeatedly but he had not returned any of it since. Worst of all, he read my messages but never attended to them. He had never done something like that throughout the seven years of our relationship. Because of that, I had not been able to concentrate all day. Throughout the day, I had sat close to my phone, waiting for him to message or call me back. But he never did. The door of my dress shop swung open and three teenage girls walked in. They had their phones in their hands and it seemed their attention was completely stolen by whatever they were viewing from their phones. Ninety nine percent of the time, whenever girls were glued to their phones like this, they were reading a post from the famous and anonymous ‘Everything Crescent Pack’ blog. A blogger notorious for her blunt pen and wreaking havoc in the pack. Good thing she was anonymous, else, she would have been dead meat by now. "Hello, welcome to Riya's Glam and Garments. How may I help you?" I rose from my seat to attend to them, a fake smile planted on my lips as I tried to push the thoughts of Casper behind me while I attended to my customers. "Hi." The blonde-haired girl who seemed to be their leader waved at me. She pursed her lips as though in deep thoughts. "Our high school prom is two days away and we want to shop for the best dresses that would be unbeatable. We want to stand out and look impeccable." I maintained my fake smile. "Whatever style you want, we have it. Maybe you want a princessy vibe or perhaps a sexier, more daring…" I was cut off by one of the girls who gasped excitedly at something she saw on her phone, a hand flying to her mouth. She looked impressed by whatever she was reading on her phone. "No f*****g way! The Alpha's son and his beta's daughter are the perfect couple ever! And their mating ceremony is the best the pack has ever witnessed. Even Everything Crescent Pack said so herself!" "No freaking way she said so!" The blonde gasped in disbelief and rushed to join the girl on her phone. They shrieked in excitement as they glued their eyes to the phone. A frown crossed my face and I was lost in my thoughts. What did they mean by the 'Alpha's son' having a mating ceremony? There was no way in the world that could be possible. Maybe I misheard things or maybe they were talking about some other Alpha's son. But even as I doubted, my curiosity got the better of me and I opened my phone to log in to Everything Crescent Pack. The first image that flooded my vision as soon as the site loaded was the image of the Alpha's son and a girl having their kiss at a mating ceremony while everyone else clapped in jubilation. I blinked my eyes fast and cleared my vision with my hand. Maybe I wasn't seeing things correctly. But when I opened my eyes again and looked harder, the image was still there with a bold title written overhead; ALPHA ORION'S SON; PRINCE CASPER TIES THE KNOT WITH HIS MATE; LAURIE SPENCER; DAUGHTER OF BETA SPENCER. My stomach churned and my heart burned. This cannot be true. This cannot be real. There was no way Casper would be getting mated to another girl who wasn't me. My fingers shook as I clicked the messaging app and checked our chats. He still hadn't replied to me yet. With shaky thumbs, I texted him again; Casper! Where the f**k are you????? I waited for a minute and he did not reply. Again, the message ticked blue which meant he had read it but refused to reply to it. My eyes grew teary and my lips quivered. It felt as though I was in a nightmare. Casper would never do this to me. He would never leave me for another girl. And yet, the news of his mating with another girl had gone wide. It was on Everything Crescent Pack and the images were as real as my scared, flustered heart. There was only one way to find out. To storm the venue of the mating ceremony and confirm by myself if truly this was true or if they were just baseless rumors. I picked the keys of my motorbike and my helmet, hurrying out of the shop. The girls stared at me like I had gone insane. "Hey! Where are you going? What about the dresses?" The blonde flayed her hands in dismay as she spoke. "Just take your time to look around and select the ones you like. I won't stay long. I'll be right back." I informed them and started my bike on motion before they could protest. I got to the venue of the supposed mating ceremony in a few minutes and alighted from my bike, parking it among a row of exquisite cars. I removed my helmet and hung it on my bike before hurrying towards the entrance of the venue. Unfortunately, I was stopped by two heavily bodied men who wore dark, expensive suits and who guarded the entrance. They held their hands in front of me to stop me from going any further. “Where are you going, young lady?” One of the men questioned me and I bit my bottom lips impatiently as I waited. “Is your name on the guest list?” The second man asked me, eyeing me from my head to the soles of my feet. He grimaced at my old, worn out cropped top and big baggy sweatpants. “Yes.” I lied and furiously blinked back the tears that had welded up in my eyes at the sight of the big wedding banner of Casper and his supposed mate. “This cannot be true. This cannot be real. None of this is true.” I repeated the words in my head over and over again. “Your name, miss?” The first man demanded as he lifted the guest list. “Riya Warren.” I told them, sniffing back tears. The man glided his fingers down the long list of names and shook his head a few seconds later. “We’re sorry, miss. Your name is on the list. I’m gonna have to ask you to leave now.” “No.” I shook my head at them objectively, almost in tears now. “I…I can’t leave. I need to see Casper. I have to see him now.” “Please, take your leave now, miss or we would be forced to kick you out forcibly.” He insisted, strong on his words. Luck shone on me when a guest joined the queue behind me, capturing the attention of the men. As soon as their attention was off me for a second, I pushed past them and hurried into the venue. The men yelled after me. “Hey! Stop right there! Hey!” I did not listen to them. I ran into the venue and shuffled to a stop as a mass of guests were seated under a canopy in the outdoor wedding gathering. In the front of the gathering, on the altar, was Casper and the girl standing as they were being ordained by the wolf witch; Hannah. Trepidation hung in my throat and my heart broke in a million pieces as I watched the scene in front of me. Everything Crescent Pack never told a lie. Casper was getting mated to another girl.