CHAPTER THREE
723 Words
Dorian’s POV
Her voice was steady, but every word sliced with precision. My jaw clenched.
“You speak as if that bond entitles you to something,” I snapped.
“But don’t get carried away. I’ve had plenty of willing she-wolves at my feet! You saw that yourself. You? You’re just another mouth in this house. And barely that.”
Still, she didn’t cower.
In fact, she stepped back and folded her arms, unimpressed.
“I could allow you to stay,” I said coolly this time.
“Not as my Luna, of course. That’s a seat for someone worthy. But perhaps, if you behave, I’ll keep you close as a mistress.
You’d be well-fed, well-clothed. Better than your filthy servant quarters.”
Her brows lifted, and for a second, she looked amused.
“Like the four who just left?” she asked dryly.
“You want to add me to your collection of bed warmers?”
I smiled, though anger boiled beneath my skin.
“It’s better than what you have now, isn’t it?”
Then, she laughed. Not the kind of laugh I expected.
No nervous giggle or flattered blush.
It was mocking and unapologetic.
She tore her hand from mine.
“That will never happen,” she said, her voice firm.
“I may not have a title or fancy clothes, but I will never let you reduce me to that!”
I blinked.
“No?”
“No,” she repeated, eyes hard.
“You disgust me.”
My vision blurred with fury.
“You dare refuse me?”
“Gladly.”
I stepped forward, my body trembling with rage.
“You insolent little—”
“You’re a disgrace to the mate bond,” she hissed.
“And you’re not fit to rule.”
That was it.
I grabbed her by the arm and shoved her backward. She hit the wall, stumbled, but caught herself.
Still, she didn’t look scared, only defiant.
“You forget yourself, Celeste,” I snarled.
“You think that bond makes us equals? You’re a servant! The daughter of traitors! Don’t flatter yourself!”
“Then reject me,” she said simply, brushing off her sleeve.
My nostrils flared.
“I, Dorian Maddox, heir to the Shadow Hollow Pack, reject you, Celeste Arden, as my mate!”
The words came out bitter and venomous.
I expected her to fall apart. To cry and plead.
But instead, she nodded slowly.
“I, Celeste Arden, accept your rejection.”
And with that, she turned her back and walked out.
Just like that.
No tears. No breakdown. She left me standing there like I was the one who’d been discarded.
My fists clenched.
Something inside me snapped.
I turned and grabbed the vase from my table and hurled it at the wall.
The glass shattered into a thousand shards, echoing through the room like a curse.
“Alpha Dorian!” Kane, my advisor, burst into the room, wide-eyed.
“What happened? Why did she storm out like that?”
“She rejected me,” I growled, pacing the room.
“Ungrateful wretch!”
“You rejected her,” Kane pointed out. “You said it to her face.”
“Because she pushed me to it!” I snapped.
“She looked at me like I was filth. Like I wasn’t worthy of her.”
Kane ran a hand through his hair.
“Dorian, listen to yourself. She’s your mate. That bond was sacred.”
“Not anymore,” I bit out. “She thinks she’s untouchable. She’ll learn.”
He stared at me, uncertain.
“What are you planning?”
I moved to my table and pulled out the guest list.
“Is Jack Darwin attending tonight?”
Kane frowned. “I don’t think so. He wasn’t on the confirmed list.”
“Send him a special invitation. Make sure he’s here. Put guards at the gate if you have to. Escort him in if necessary.”
Kane froze.
“Wait. Jack Darwin? You’re serious?”
“Yes,” I said coolly.
Jack Darwin—the Alpha of the Daggerclaw Pack was known across the region for his cruelty. He liked his women young, untouched, and broken.
Any she-wolf that went in with him never survived.
“She’ll be perfect for him,” I muttered.
- Writer
