Becoming The War Baddie

They say that there are always signals if he's cheating. But what happens if there are no signals, yet he chooses someone else as his mate? I listened closely, waiting for that moment. The special moment when I would hear “presenting your alpha human mate, Abigail Cross.” My alpha had already promised me I would be his mate the night before as we lay in bed. Now my rib cage pounds in my chest while I struggle to stop my hands from shaking. I hold the table in the conference room. That is the only way I could control the nervousness in my chest. I hold my breath now. “Presenting your Alpha's human mate… Sara Morgan.” I stand up although somewhere in my brain keeps on telling me it's not my name. “Sara Morgan.” The name is called again. The unknown lady, Sara, stands up and walks to the stage taking her place beside my supposed mate, Derek. The feeling of rejection rippling through my veins forces me to sit. It got worse because I had been his girlfriend for a year. My Derek would not pick someone else over me, maybe there's a glitch or something. He would not leave me for any reason. The light flickers, changing to different colors as the surrounding wolves cheered. Although some of my werewolf friends are kind. They sympathize and offer their apologies, but I don't need them. “Derek will explain himself later and life will continue like before,” I thought to myself. I watched him rise up and give the speech I had prepared earlier, smiling and holding his stage prop. Stumping my feet while standing up to leave, I almost hit a man serving drinks. I make my way outside the hall watching the moon alone in the dark skies without the stars. I forced myself to believe that Derek wouldn't leave me, but deep within, dread and fear run through my veins. Ever since the old civilization ended, wolves have been in charge. Humans were not just slaves, since wolves could only mate with humans, we became breeders. Nothing more. Smoke fills the air as I walk back home in the darkness, still confused and not knowing what to believe. I waited for Derek at his house, part of me praying he would tell me everything that happened was just a sham, and I'd still be his mate. When the door opens and Derek walks in, I banish the sleep off my eyes. He doesn't shut the door immediately, until she walks in. Sara again. “What is she doing here?” I ask, folding my arms. “We need to talk, Abby,” he says as he loosens the tie I had fixed earlier. Yes, we do, and you owe me an explanation, what happened out there? Who's she? I am your mate, not her…” The tears welled up in my eyes as I yelled at him, hoping he would say the usual: You're mine, Abby, and I belong to you. He sits down and looks into my eyes, his shoulders sunken. “It gives me no joy to say that Sara is my mate now,” he looks away, “but you don't have to be afraid because I will make sure you're taken care of.” “Why would you choose her over me? What does she have that I don't ? Make me understand Derek,” I asked out of confusion . He doesn't look at me, he looks at the floor. The man who whispered forever into my skin twenty-four hours ago is now looking at his watch like a man waiting for a taxi, not a man ending a soul. “Why?” The word is small, like a piece of glass caught in my throat. “I did everything for you, Derek. I wrote your speeches, nursed you when you were ill, I lived for the moment you’d come home and tell me I was yours. Was it all a lie? Every single word?” “It wasn’t a lie, Abby. It was… a season.” He finally looks up, but his eyes are flat, the warmth I used to love replaced by something else I can't recognize. “But the seasons change. The pack needs a Luna with the right connections and Sara brings stability. She brings a future I need. Sorry to say this, but I can’t build with a girl who only knows how to hide in my shadow.” Sara moves then, stepping deeper into the living room. My living room. She runs a hand over the back of the velvet sofa. “You don't have a choice, Abigail,” she says, her voice soft, lacking any of the malice I want to hate her for. “In this world, we have roles to play. You played yours well, but Derek has a pack to lead. You should be grateful he’s settled your future at all.” I ignored her, my gaze locked on Derek. “My future? What future is there without you? You promised me, Derek! On your life, you promised!” “And I’m honoring that by ensuring you aren't left with nothing,” he says, his voice hardening, losing the last trace of the man I knew. He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a black folder. “Outside this pack you can get a good job anywhere once they know you're sponsored by me.” “I'm not ready to leave, I'll stay invisible. No one would even now I'm here,” I plead. “I understand you're afraid of wolves because of what happened to your father, but I saved you by bringing you here. Let me save you one last time,” he drinks the glass of water on the table. “You don't need to bring my father into this, he worked for werewolves and had nothing to show for it. Like father like daughter, I guess,” I reply. He turns toward the door, already done with the conversation. “Pack your things. You have twenty minutes before the envoy arrives.” I tear the black folder to pieces banging it on the table. “If I get the chance to hurt you back for this I'll grab it. Remember that Derek,” The tears fall now, like they had been waiting for this moment. But as my eyes blur with tears, they land on the desk in table beside his flash drive. He recently told me it contained information about his security development I tuck it in my pocket with the little things I can pack. For so long the wolves had treated humans like they didn't matter and all I had done was be closer to the highest wolf in the chain. My little way of survival. But not anymore. I walk outside and make my way slowly to the boundary deciding not to wait for his envoy. I leave not knowing where to go but determined to use the flash drive to ruin Derek.