Chapter Six- Masks & Claws
433 Words
The path back to the packhouse felt longer than it ever had.
Melina walked beside Tara, shoulders squared, steps measured—every inch the warrior she’d trained to be. But inside, her wolf Aris prowled, restless and sharp-toothed.
Mate. Too close. Touching.
The moment they entered the main hall, Melina saw them.
Karlie was practically draped over Titus.
Her laugh rang too loud, her hand resting far too comfortably on his arm as she leaned into his space, lashes so thick they looked ready to take flight. Titus threw his head back, laughing at something she said—something painfully unfunny, if Karlie’s exaggerated delivery was anything to go by.
Melina’s vision narrowed.
Aris snarled viciously. She touches what is ours. I will rip out her throat.
Melina’s fingers twitched, nails biting into her palms.
“Tara,” she breathed, voice tight.
“I see it,” Tara muttered, immediately stepping closer and gripping Melina’s wrist. “Do not kill the Alpha’s favorite groupie. Yet.”
Karlie leaned in, lips brushing dangerously close to Titus’ ear as she whispered something that made his smile linger. Then she pulled away, hips swaying as she sashayed back to her gaggle of followers—each one dressed and painted like a cheaper imitation of her, all glossy lips and vacant stares.
Slutty clowns, the lot of them.
Melina’s chest ached.
He didn’t push her away.
Didn’t step back.
Didn’t correct her.
Every second felt like another quiet rejection layered on top of the first.
He chooses her, Aris whispered, wounded and furious. Over us.
“No,” Melina thought fiercely, lifting her chin. I choose myself.
She straightened her spine, rolled her shoulders back, and smoothed every trace of emotion from her face until it became a blank, unbreakable mask. She was a warrior wolf. She had survived blood, bone, and battle.
She would survive this too.
Her gaze flicked briefly around the hall, and a small, guilty relief settled in her chest.
Her mother Iris wasn’t here.
Her father Rory hadn’t returned yet.
Her brother Garth was on patrol.
They didn’t have to see her like this—unraveling over a mate who couldn’t even claim her.
“Good,” she murmured under her breath.
Tara squeezed her hand once, a silent promise of loyalty.
Melina lifted her head and walked forward, past the Alpha who wouldn’t look at her, past the she-wolf who dared touch what fate had promised her.
If Titus wanted to pretend nothing had happened—
Then Melina would show him just how dangerous it was to underestimate a rejected wolf.
- Writer
