I looked up through blurred vision at the man who was supposed to be my fated mate. Rowan stood in the glaring spotlight, his broad shoulders puffed out in a cheap display of arrogance.
His eyes, which I once thought held warmth, were twisted into a hideous squint of pure, unfiltered disgust.
"Her scarred face and her weak, pathetic Omega genetics are an insult to my new standing as Gamma," Rowan spat into the microphone, making sure every single guest heard him.
He didn't just want to sever our bond; he wanted to destroy me.
I instinctively raised my trembling fingers to trace the jagged, raised flesh on my left cheek. The scar ran from my brow down to my jawline.
Years ago, he had promised that the moment he gained power and wealth, his first act would be to hire the best Healer to remove it. Instead, he used his new rank to throw me away like a piece of rotting garbage.
Beside me in the suffocating shadows, my half-sister Nora let out a sharp, malicious laugh. She stepped on the hem of my thin dress with her sharp heel, forcing me to stay on my knees.
"Did you really think a powerful man like Rowan would want a hideous monster like you? Learn your place, sister."
Gasps and cruel snickers rippled through the sea of silk gowns and tailored tuxedos. Hundreds of pointed fingers and mocking eyes pinned me to the floor.
I felt stripped naked, my skin burning under the weight of their collective humiliation. I couldn't breathe. I scrambled to my feet, tearing my dress from Nora's heel, and stumbled blindly out of the ballroom.
The heavy oak doors slammed shut behind me, sealing my disgrace. I barely made it to the front steps of the estate before a heavy hand grabbed my shoulder. I looked up, desperately hoping to see a shred of pity in my father's eyes.
Instead, Alpha Warren Bennett stared down at me with absolute contempt.
"You have disgraced the Bennett family," my father snarled, kicking my broken champagne glass aside. He pointed toward the wrought-iron gates. "As of this moment, you are no longer a member of the Silver Moon Pack."
Two burly guards grabbed me by the arms. They dragged me down the driveway, my knees scraping against the rough gravel, and threw me out into the street.
The skies opened up, and freezing rain instantly soaked through my torn, thin dress. I walked aimlessly through the downpour, the chill of the rain nothing compared to the hollow, bleeding crater in my chest.
I had lost everything. My mate, my pack, my family. Hours later, my frozen, bleeding feet stopped in front of a heavy, unmarked door in the city's underbelly.
A neon sign buzzed above it: The Obsidian Den. It was a notorious private club where the most powerful, dangerous wolves came to indulge in anonymity.
A reckless, self-destructive urge clawed at my throat. I wanted to drown. I wanted to feel something other than the excruciating pain of rejection. I pushed the heavy oak door open.
The air inside was thick with cigar smoke and the heavy, intoxicating musk of mixed pheromones. I shivered, walking stiffly to the dimly lit bar, and ordered the strongest whiskey they had.
"Drinking alone, little wolf?" a deep, gravelly voice rumbled right beside my ear.
I turned my head. A massive shadow of a man sat on the stool next to me. The lighting obscured his features, but the sheer, suffocating weight of his Alpha aura made the air around us crackle.
Then, it hit me. A scent-a rich, intoxicating blend of sandalwood and petrichor-flooded my senses. It bypassed my brain and struck straight at my soul. My heart rate skyrocketed, hammering against my ribs.
A violent shiver racked my body, goosebumps erupting across my wet skin. The gaping, bleeding wound Rowan had left in my spirit suddenly felt... stitched together.
A profound, overwhelming sense of peace washed over the agony. Deep inside me, my weak, suppressed Omega wolf let out a desperate, needy whimper.
He didn't ask my name. He just stared at my face. He looked at the ugly, jagged scar, but there was no disgust in his dark eyes. Only a bottomless, consuming hunger.
"I just want one night where I am not judged by this scar," I choked out, the whiskey burning my throat and blurring my senses.
He was silent for a heavy second. Then, he reached out. His large, warm fingers gently brushed against my unscarred cheek. The moment his skin touched mine, a violent jolt of electricity shot through my veins.
It wasn't just a spark; it was a primal, magnetic pull. I felt something dark and heavy inside of him-a crushing burden of Alpha pressure-and instinctively, my weak Omega body wanted to draw it out, to soothe him.
He gasped softly, his dark eyes widening as if he had just tasted pure oxygen for the first time in his life.
"One night," he murmured, his voice a dark, rough promise, vibrating with an undeniable primal need. "No names. No tomorrow."
I nodded, utterly mesmerized. He pulled me up, wrapping his heavy coat around my shivering shoulders, and led me into the dark of the night.
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