Page 5 of Bond To The Alpha (Fated Bond #1)

LIANA

These past few days with Kane have been like something out of a dream. That feeling when you wake up from a dream and for a split second, you think you're still asleep. It’s like standing on the edge of a cliff, heart racing, knowing you're about to jump, but instead of falling, you're flying.

Ever since I opened up my heart and self completely to him, I wake up every morning with a bubbly sensation in my chest that I can't help feeling. It's like my insides have turned into a champagne fountain that’s all fizzy and light and I catch myself grinning at random moments, probably looking like a total idiot, but I'm too happy to care. And don't even get me started on how Kane parades me around town like he's got a neon sign over my head screaming "MINE!" to anyone who dares look my way.

Of course, our relationship is now the talk of the town. I still see the side-eyes and hear the not-so-subtle comments about how I'm not good enough. The only difference between then and now is that people used to say this shit to my face, but now they wouldn't dare; not with Kane around me.

I’m fumbling with the strap of my bag as I strut out of class when out of nowhere, something gets shoved into my palm. I look up to catch a brief glimpse of the person’s back as they quickly disappear into the crowd of students flooding the hallway, before glancing down at the paper in my hand.

I unfold the note right there in the middle of the hallway.

My heart does a little somersault when I see Kane's handwriting:

"Meet me in Room 67."

The words are accompanied by a doodle of a smiley face with little hearts for eyes and a rose sketched next to it, and the grin that spreads past my face nearly split it in two. I refold the paper and tuck it into my pocket, now changing my course towards Room 67. By the time I’m standing in front of the door, I quickly comb my hands through my hair and take a deep breath to calm the butterflies that have taken up residence in my stomach.

No, this is ridiculous , I giggle inwardly.

I saw Kane just this morning before we parted ways for our respective lectures, but here I am, feeling like a lovesick teenager about to see her crush for the first time.

My insides do another happy little jig as I open the door slowly, my excitement soon turning to confusion when I step into the empty room.

"Kane?" I call expectantly.

There’s no response…however, there’s something else—It's an energy that’s not Kane's; one which I hate that I’m able to recognize.

I turn around to find Juliet's two cronies blocking the exit with smug grins. And when I look back to face the room, I’m unsurprised to see Juliet herself emerging from the shadows like some B-movie villain.

“Of course,” I roll my eyes exasperatedly. All my excitement from seconds ago has disappeared already.

"Just look at that attitude. The little mouse has grown some claws now, hasn’t she? Why don't we give her a round of applause, girls?" Juliet sneers.

On cue, the other girls start clapping and cackling like hyenas at a comedy club.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, instantly feeling like that was a stupid question because it’s obvious now that Kane didn’t send me that note.

How could I have not been able to tell?

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

How did she even manage to mimic his handwriting so perfectly?

Juliet shrugs, her designer jacket shifting with the movement. "I sent you an invitation, and you honored it. Oh wait, I forgot...I'm not Kane."

She starts advancing towards me, her stilettos clicking loudly on the linoleum floor, and she doesn't stop until she's right in front of my face, so close that my body almost remembers the intimidation I would have felt had this moment been happening some weeks ago.

"What do you think you're doing?" Juliet hisses fiercely and I blink,

“Excuse me?"

She rolls her eyes dramatically. "Don't play dumb, Liana. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Kane...and you."

I take a step back because her rosy breath is beginning to assault my nostrils more than I can handle.

"I owe you no explanation," I snap defensively.

“Oh, you do. You owe me, everyone in this town, and this entire pack an explanation, Liana."

My forehead scrunches slightly in puzzlement. What the hell is she on about?

"You know what you are, no matter how hard you try to pretend and lie to yourself. A leopard can't change its spots, Liana. Kane is going to be the future Alpha. And you…you think this pack deserves to have someone like you become Luna? How pathetic!"

I feel my hands slowly tighten around the strap of my bag as her words hit me one after the other.

No. I won't let her get to me.

"Someone like me? What's wrong with me?" My voice comes out half as confidently as I need it to, but I still ride on it.

"There's nothing wrong with me. I'm a person, just like anyone else, who deserves love, respect, and everything good. Yes, even becoming Luna. So what about it?"

I take a step forward to reclaim the space between us.

"Aren't you tired of this? This petty bullshit? I don't owe anyone any explanation, least of all you. And I'm sure as hell not going to put my life on the line for this 'town and pack'" — I make air quotes with my fingers— "that clearly doesn't give a shit about me.”

I can now feel a sense of pride underneath my rant. I finally said what I've been holding back for a long time, and it feels good.

"You want to know what I think I'm doing? I'm living my life. I'm allowing myself to be happy and be loved. Is that such a crime? Does it offend you so much that someone you deem unworthy might actually get a happy ending?"

"Yes, it offends me!" Juliet screams crazily and her hair whips around her face like Medusa's snakes.

I take a step back, being startled by the intensity of her outburst.

"It should be me by Kane's side, not you! I tick all the boxes, not you! I have all the qualities, everything it takes, not—you!"

It’s strange, the surprise and pity I feel for her at the same time. It’s almost sad watching her lose it over something neither of us can control.

"I didn't make Kane my mate, Juliet. Fate did. I didn't force him to love me, and I didn't force myself to love him either. If you were meant to be his, it would have happened a long time ago. Please, just stop this."

Juliet’s jaw twitches angrily. Her teeth clenches and unclenches.

"As much as you don't like me, I don't like you either. And I don't want you pulling me around to talk about this anymore,” I move on to add, afterward turning to leave.

Juliet tugs sharply on my arm and yanks me around, her instantly hand raised to collide with my face, but I catch her wrist mid-air, and the swiftness of my own reflexes surprises me as much as it does her.

"Let's not stoop this low," I say.

Juliet snaps her arm away, her eyes blazing with humiliation and rage.

Swallowing down on all that adrenaline that keeps rushing under my veins, I turn around, and her lackeys immediately scramble to clear a path to the door.

My hand is on the doorknob when Juliet's voice rings out behind me.

"Does he really love you?"

My head immediately inclines westward as I freeze.

“You really think someone like Kane would genuinely love you? And even if by some miracle he does feel something for you other than your so-called mate bond, how long do you think it'll last? A month? A year? Do you believe his family will ever accept you? That the pack will eventually bow down to you as their Luna?"

Juliet's laughter echoes coldly and mockingly in the room. "Face it, Liana, you’re just a novelty to him. Once he gets bored you'll be right back where you started—alone and unwanted."

I force an invisible hot lump down my throat as I try not to let her stinging words crack the armor I've built around myself. I won’t lie, the doubts I've worked so hard to bury seem to have started finding their way up to the surface again.

“Stop lying to—“

Flinging the door wide, I step out and slam it shut against the rest of her tirade.

Juliet's words continue to echo in my head as I storm off, and the strong facade I put up there starts crumbling fast. I know I can get over this. I just need Kane , a long kiss, an even longer cuddle, and his soothing voice singing me a tune that no matter what anyone says or thinks or does, it won’t change what we have between us. I know I’ll be fine like none of that ever happened.

He'll make this better. He always does.

My eyes traverse the entire parking lot in seconds when I reach outside but Kane’s car is nowhere to be seen. He did mention hanging out with his friends after his class earlier on. Knowing where else to go (and probably find him), I leave campus for the bar he likes to go to.

What else, if not the smell of liquor and greasy food hitting my nose the second I walk in? I surveil the room frantically for that one face. There he is!

He’s at the counter, surrounded by his friends. The sight of him, thrown back in laughter fills my heart with warmth and calms my nerves. I break into a smile as I start moving toward the maze of tables and chairs with my focus solely on him.

“…even Liana couldn’t resist at the end of the day.”

Hearing my name makes me stop.

The boozy aura in places like bars interferes a bit with the olfactory senses to a degree and shortens the scent radius (even worse with strong liquor in one’s system). Seeing how Kane doesn’t notice me when I come in is a sign I’m a bit out of his range at the moment. So out of curiosity, I don’t move any further from where I am, in case Kane sniffs me out and stops their conversation.

Kane scoffs, "I told you guys.”

What did he tell them? I wonder interestedly as I continue to listen.

"So, about our ‘win-Liana-over’ bet..." one of the guys starts.

Kane holds up a hand. "Don't even think about backing out. Five grand each was the deal. I got the job done, now it's time to pay up."

“The ice queen did melt faster than I expected, so here’s 2 grand, I’ll balance up by evening,” another one of them slaps some bills on the counter, in front of Kane.

For a moment, I’m confused; I don’t understand what I’m hearing and witnessing. But as the other boys start handing in their own money, with Kane grinning as he pockets every single one of them, my eyelids start to twitch.

The sound of all of them laughing begins to grate against my ears and sickens my stomach to the point the noise in the bar fades to a dull roar in my ears, with the thundering of my heartbeat vibrating against my ribs. My hands tremor at my sides and I clench them tightly into fists as an aching pang lances through my body.

"So that's what it was?" I sourly choke out and am still in a state of utter shock because I can’t fathom if I’m actually standing here, witnessing all of this, or if it’s just a nightmare I’ll soon wake up from.

The group falls silent, all heads immediately turning towards me.

I see how Kane's eyes expand the moment they land on me.

"A bet?" I continue with a soon trembling voice.

Kane jumps to his feet, nearly knocking over his barstool.

“Liana."

I take a step back as he advances. I look into his eyes, and I can’t find the Kane I came here to see. In fact, the person in front of me now looks like a complete stranger.

"You made a game out of my feelings?"

"No, Liana, it's not like that," Kane pleads as he reaches for me.

I take another repulsed step back. Tears have begun to tremble on the brink of my eyelids.

"Don't touch me!”

“I swear it’s not what you think—“

“So none of it was real. I was just a conquest to you."

"Of course it was real. You’re my fated mate and we both know that," Kane insists. "I...Liana, please, let me explain."

"Did you or did you not make a bet about getting me to fall for you? Or rather make a deal to ‘win-Liana-over,’” I incredulously make quotation marks in the air with my index fingers.

“That’s not what actually happened. You have to hear me out at least.”

"Yes or no, Kane!"

He hesitates, then deflates. "Yes. But—"

"Fine," I cut him off. "Thank you so much for your time. For showing me just how much I'm truly worth."

Kane reaches for me again.

“I said DON’T!” I growl menacingly.

“Don’t,” I repeat, pointing a finger in his direction, subsequently wheeling around to start walking away.

I can hear Kane calling after me, his friends murmuring in the background, but I don't stop. And I push through the bodies of other people on my way out, ignoring the curious stares.

As soon as I’m out of those doors, my feet take on a life of their own. I run…fast. My eyes get blinded by the already flowing tears; my chest heaves with sobs I can no longer contain. I don't know where I'm going, but I continue to run…until my lungs burn and my veins grow so hot they might burst; until branches, twigs, and thorns whip at my face, arms, and legs to draw blood out of every tear to my skin,

Thief….you don’t belong here…you’re not one of us….weirdo… your parents were a blight to our pack and so are you…freak….I love you…you mean the world to me… you really think Kane loves you….I have all the qualities, not you….you'll be right back where you started…you’re just a novelty to him…alone and unwanted…

All the words and voices swirl around in my head like a chaotic brew of doom and it’s driving me insane. I’m running mad and my brain is moving wild. I drop to the ground in the middle of nowhere and scream at the top of my lungs, coughing vigorously before breaking into a fresh round of tears.

I clutch at my chest, and it feels like my heart is being ripped apart. Not Kane. Not him too, of all people.

My wolf, she’s stirring restlessly and whimpering inside me, also feeling as lost and broken as I am. I can't breathe. I bury my face in my hands and wet them with a flood of tears. How could I have been so stupid? I let down my guard and opened my heart, only to be made a fool of.

The memories that once brought me joy now cut like knives. Recalling his touch; every kiss; every intimate moment; every whispered promise, makes me so physically ill that I retch out on the grass under me but nothing except saliva comes up.

I can't stay here.

Not for one more second.

Everyone was right, I truly don’t belong here.

My decision is made before I even realize it and I push my shaking body off the ground. I don't know where I'll go, but anywhere has to be better than this place.

By the time I’m walking back home, there’s a strange numbness that coats all my grief.

It's the calm of someone with nothing left to hope for.

My grand dreams, the half-finished semester, my part-time job at the diner, the tiny house I'd been so proud to call my own…damn me for even thinking I’d become Luna one day— those were all hallucinations, and I’m desperate to leave all of that behind now. I know it’s going to be another foolish thought imagining that there might be a life of peace waiting ahead of me, so I expect nothing anymore.

A small voice in the back of my mind whispers that I'm being rash. It wants me to think this through. But I silence it ruthlessly.

I'm truly meant to be alone.