"Tonight, we have with us," she roamed her eyes as if she is looking for someone. "A shining hidden diamond among us!"
Everyone started looking at each other in shock. The Moon Goddess shifted her gaze from her feet and began looking around. The murmurs grew louder as they are waiting for the Moon Goddess to reveal what she is talking about.
"Do you know what she is talking about?" said a familiar voice behind my back then stood next to me.
"Cindy? I thought you are with your friends?" I asked in wonder.
She took a sip from the wine glass she is holding. "I was quite bored in my area and the view of the hall is much better here. Seriously, I am wondering who is she referring to?"
I flinched, "I honestly can't say!"
"The one that will shine today is no other than," her eyes suddenly landed on me and she grinned. "Rhea!"
My head just turned around and looked at the Moon Goddess. A feeling of fear mixed with shock gripped me. She put a smile on her face. Damn! This is so awkward and I just wanted to vanish into thin air. I honestly don't want to cause unnecessary attention from the crowd.
"Did she just call your name?" Cindy asked.
"I think there is another girl with the name of Rhea!" I answered.
"But why she is staring at you?"
I dropped on sweat glistened on my forehead and I felt a frantic fear rising up inside of me.
The Moon Goddess come closer to me and held my hand. I looked at her in surprise. She placed her mouth next to my ear.
"Come up, dear!"
At the edge of my sight, I noticed that Cindy went missing again. Deep inside, I wanted someone to steal my attention from me. Having all of the people's eyes on me is pretty damn awkward. I adamantly ignored their scornful look and asked the Moon Goddess.
"Excuse me but I think you called the wrong person. I'm sure that someone here has that name as well!"
She gave me an assuring smile. "No! You are the diamond I am referring to. You are shining brightly in that gown and my eyes cannot make mistakes!"
I know for a fact that I'm not as valuable as diamonds nor as shining as diamonds as well. I have pulled away from my thoughts when the Moon Goddess speaks up again.
"Come on! You are fated to shine tonight!"
I don't want to embarrass the Moon Goddess so I decided to join her on the stage and I stood beside her.
"As the Moon Goddess," she gives me a quick glance. "I am now going to call the fated mate of Rhea!"
I felt a frantic bubble of fear rising in me. I held on to my pendant and closed my eyes as the most shining night of my life is about to happen!"
"Matthew Miranda!"
The crowd's murmurs irritate my ear so much. My gaze turned to Matthew in so much shock. Like me, he was also surprised to hear what the Moon Goddess has said. I felt the world rotates only to us when a very romantic violin is played. I never thought that my childhood friend turns out to be my fated mate.
The smile on his face suddenly shifted to sadness as he slowly came in front of the podium and the Moon Goddess gave the floor to him to speak.
"This night... is the worst night of my life! Out of all the Luna of royal families present today, how can I be fated with someone whose rank is far from mine? I am a privileged man with power and influence at a young age and I hereby rejected Rhea as my fated mate!"
His words cut through my heart deeper than any harsh words I've heard from others. I wanted to cry but I fought back my tears. I wanted to leave but my feet feel so heavy right now.
The entire area was enveloped with silence until an old man in a white robe entered inside. The attention of all shifted to him.
"Stop! I am glad I made it in time. What is going on here?" his intimidating voice resonated in the crown and resulted in an uproar.
The Moon Goddess tilted her mouth to speak. "This is the mating ball and your son has gotten a mate and she is standing next to me!"
He gave us a very intimidating look. "This is so damn ridiculous! How come, my son, is fated with a cursed Omega? She has a blood of a witch running through her veins. The last witch alive! They are our mortal enemy!"
I was left speechless. I have no idea that I have the blood of a witch running through my vein.
The Moon Goddess came into my defense. "I am aware that she has the blood of a witch running through her veins but I know for a fact that she is not like those witches who almost eradicate the existence of the wolves in the face of Earth. Besides, the rule of our pack is clear: We can only kill pure-blooded witches and not those who are half pure-blooded witches. I hope that is crystal clear to everyone!"
"No! The witch is evil even when they are not pure-blooded. And the fact that she is the fated mate of my son is beyond my comprehension! She deserves to be stoned to death!"
Everyone started throwing things at me and cursing me to die. Some even transformed into their wolf forms to attack me.
"I have enough of this already!" Matthew said with a commanding tone of voice.
Everyone calmed down and nobody dared to speak after him.
"I already rejected her as my fated mate because I simply can't ignore the fact that she's a low-ranking she-wolf but believe me, she is my childhood friend and I know that she's not as dangerous as the rest of the witch so leave her alone!"
In spite of what Matthew said, they still throw negative comments about me so Matthew held my hand and we rush to exit the hall.
My cheeks reddened in excitement when he grabbed my hand, "hold on a second, where are you going to bring me?""Isn't it obvious? You are not welcome here anymore so I need to bring you to a safer place!" he said, tightening his grip on me.He opened his car and gazed at me, "Please get in the car while my father is still inside! If he caught us together, it would be a total mess!"I went inside his fancy car and he got in the driver's seat. He started the engine of his car and we got off the mansion quickly. He turned his gaze to me and gave me an apologetic grimace."First of all, I would like to apologize because of what I said earlier! Truly I tell you, there was not a single day that I missed thinking of you. Ever since we got separated, I was all by myself alone in my room while thinking of our memories together!"His pleading eyes make me forget what he said to me earlier. However, curiosity filled my mind."Why did you leave me without saying goodbye?""My father forced me to
I turned around and I saw his father glaring at us.I watched Matthew's father rush towards us."Rhea, hide on my back, I am the only one who can confront my dad!"I hide on his back and he bravely confronted his father."How did you find us?" he asked his father."Do you really think I'm stupid not to trace your location? I know that you were sneaking into this place these past few days and that alone is enough for me to effortlessly find you!"All Matthew can do is let out a frustrated sigh."What do you think you are doing, Matthew?" Lorenzo said with a deep and serious voice."Please, I cannot simply let go of my fated mate. She is my childhood sweetheart and I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life!""Let her go! I cannot afford a cursed Omega to tarnish the reputation of our family!""You don't have any right to tell me what to do," Matthew exclaimed. "Haven't you heard what the Moon Goddess said? She is my fated mate and it won't change! If you separate us, it would be a
RHEA POV"I Matthew, the soon-to-be Alpha of the Shadow Pack," he began, and my heart pounds in my chest. When his eyes landed on mine, I have come to realize how serious he is, "Hereby rejects you Rhea as my mate. You are a cursed Omega who does not deserve mercy from me," he continued with a straight face. I felt like he stabbed my heart with a knife. The pain is damn unbearable, I could not even stop myself from crying in front of him. He strolled away from my side to stand next to his dad who applauded him after what he just did. Standing before them, I looked so pitiful, still hoping for Matthew to take back his words. I did not prepare for this night only to be rejected and humiliated. "Stop making that pitiful face, you piece of shit!" Matthew said, "Accept that nobody wants to be mated with a witch like you, Rhea."I gathered my strength and spoke bravely, "That ain't true! I, Rhea of the Light Pack do not accept your rejection!" I replied out of desperation, wanting him to
ATLAS POVThe forest was alive with the sounds of birds humming. They provided the calmness in me as I move to hunt in the middle of the forest. It was time to find a snack for tonight inside my own territory- to a place where I rule alone. I weaved through the forest effortlessly avoiding trees and acquiring over my carefully hidden traps. Anyone who dared to step inside my territory will find themselves in great danger. I'd been rummaging through my nose but couldn't find anything to eat. And this makes me realize that someone else could be hunting here beside me. The moment they fall into my traps, it would be too late for them. The river of Gilgamesh came into view as soon as I reached the forest's edge. Crossing it may lead me to another bald woodland where a tremendous fight occurred. I sniffed and roved my eyes till I traced the scent of fresh blood to the cliff, which was where I came from. I dashed towards the place, which led me to a girl who had been savagely beaten. S
ATLAS POVThe shattering of my cabin's door left me drenched in sweat. Three figures stormed into my cabin. Judging by the footsteps, these three unexpected visitors were my cousins coming after Rhea. It has been a long time since their last visit to my Cabin.We simply hated other werewolves to death because we are rogues who separated ourselves from the Crimson pack after the great war. However, I have never anticipated that they would smell her from their Cabin. And the fact that I brought Rhea here only means I am the only one who can defend her. Immediately, I sprang to my feet outside the Cabin. I saw my three cousins glaring at me. Then Jared- my closest cousin who is the same as my age blurted out hateful words. "How stupid are you to bring a werewolf?" he growled at me. "Believe it or not, I saved her out of pity. She ain't a dangerous she-wolf so why are you bothered anyway?""Have you forgotten what they did to you? My cousin replied, glaring at me. "I have not forgotte
"Come on, maybe I can help you with your problem," he insisted. I took a deep sigh as I looked him in the eyes and I saw his sincerity. "My mate rejected me and his father ordered his bodyguards to beat me and threw me to the cliff. He said that I might bring bad luck to his son if he accepted me as his mate," I said with sadness creeping up my face. That's all I can tell to him right now, it seems like he does not know who I am so for my own safety, I won't say to him that I have the blood of a witch running through my veins. "And care to name your mate who rejected you?" he asked again. "His name is Matthew, the forthcoming Alpha of his pack," I held on my pendant, "And this one wrapped around my neck is the only thing he left for me." Tears run down my face as I tell my horrible story to him. After saving my life, I think there is nothing wrong to pour out all my anger to him as I rushed toward him and hugged him tightly. He accepted my embrace and rubbed my back to com
RHEA POVI can really see the sincerity in Atlas's eyes. He is really determined to serve the other rogues for the rest of his life. As we were heading back toward his fortress, he started collapsing on the ground. I managed to catch his head though. He looked pale and weak, he was only relying on me. "What happened to you?" I asked in wonder. He gave me a wide smile even though his face was already twisted with pain, "Maybe I overused my strength in fighting my cousin. But rest assured that I'm okay.""Hold on a second, would you like me to get food for us?""No, I just wanted to rest my body," he answered with a weak voice. I wanted to panic right now. I felt so damn guilty that Atlas put his life on the line just to protect someone like me. "Altas, you are a great leader of your pack but it's unnecessary for you to engage in a trivial fight like this. I would rather leave this place than see them doing this to you.""Please do not blame yourself, Rhea, I chose to protect you wi
MATTHEW POVI'm inside my room, having an intimate dinner with Cindy who is soon-to-be my bride, along with my father. While I kept smiling at her every time our eyes met, it was the opposite of what I was feeling inside me. Until this very moment, I'm still concerned about what happened to Rhea. She is my fated mate, after all, the one whom I'm supposedly sharing my dinner with. Imagining her face, I could not help but grin slightly. I wonder if it were her I was gonna marry, it would surely be the best days of my life- and I would probably become the luckiest man alive. "It looks like you are smiling, is it because you are excited to tie the knot with your second mate?" Cindy asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. I stared at her coldly, making her feel that she did not matter to me at all- even this ridiculous wedding that my cunning evil father had set up. He is the only one in my damn family who will surely benefit from this bullshit. As per me, I would need to prepare myself b