Page 41 of Rejected by My Shadow Alpha (Mate to the Fallen #1)
Raven
I left the room before the stranger woke up.
You won't leave…stay… choose me…
My body ached in places I didn’t know I could ache. And as I washed his scent off me in the room I hadn't gotten to use the night before, dark sensual memories threatened to obliterate me.
Memories I could have sworn didn't belong to me if it weren't for the marks I wore on my skin. The marks he'd left on me. On my thighs, my hips, my sides, my sore aching nipples.
I could still hear his voice, rich, luscious, and downright decadent in my ears.
Mine… you're all mine…
I shivered at the recollection. There was no way I'd begged and pleaded for him to touch me. No way, I'd cried and sobbed in ecstasy.
No way I had fallen apart in the arms of a complete stranger and felt more treasured than I'd felt in years.
No.
There was the only reasonable explanation for my unhinged actions. I must have been drugged at the bonfire. Perhaps by Ivy or even Elias hoping to hit before discarding me at our mating ceremony today.
Anger and a sense of loss and emptiness railed within me.
Whatever had been the cause of my intoxication, it didn't change the fact that last night happened.
I'd always wanted my first time to be with someone special. Someone that mattered.
For it to be memorable. And in a way, it had been.
I wasn't sure I could ever forget it even if I tried. I definitely couldn't forget him. Even if he was just a stranger whose name I didn't even know.
As if prompted by my thoughts, an image of those golden hazel eyes focused on me, his ink-black hair spilling across his forehead and down his cheekbones to those sinful lips popped into my head, and I sucked in a breath.
Carefully tucking away all distracting thoughts of the night before, I pulled on my semi-dry freshly laundered clothes.
There was no time for reminiscing. I was already late for my mating ceremony.
The uncontrollable rage I'd felt at Elias’s and Ivy's actions the night before had cooled to a deadly determination.
I might have already lost my shares in Ivory Enterprise but no matter what it took, I would keep my position as Alpha Heir, the last legacy my parents had left me.
Murmurs and whispers surged to life as I walked into the ancestral site where my mating ceremony was to take place.
It was a picturesque outdoor area overlooking a sprawling valley that had been artfully decorated with stunning arrangements of hydrangeas and carnations. Heartwood seats occupied by pack members laid on either side of the aisle, my anxious groom waiting at the altar.
Once Elias caught sight of me, he quickly crossed the distance to me, his hair slightly messy as though he'd been running his fingers through it.
“What the fuck are you wearing and where the hell were you?” Elias seethed, his usually stunning face twisted into an ugly expression.
Then just as quickly, Elias caught himself, his expression smoothening out, his gaze and voice softening with concern.
“You were late for the ceremony… we couldn't find you in your room or anywhere at all. I got worried—”
“Worried that your perfect plan would fall apart?” I quipped, watching for his reaction.
Something flickered in the depths of Elias's gaze but his look of confusion remained.
“What are you talking ab—”
“Elias, Raven,” Ivy interrupted, sashaying towards us, her red hair pulled back into an intricate updo, her dress an exquisite forest green that was a perfect replica of the mating ceremony dress that I should have been wearing.
Her smile was sharp and unfriendly.
"Surely whatever disagreement both of you have can wait until after the ceremony. The entire pack is waiting.”
Rather she was the one waiting. Waiting to humiliate me and steal my position as Alpha Heir.
My nails dug into the soft of my palm, and I took one step towards Ivy only to pause at the sudden hush that fell over the clearing as Elder Dawson, my uncle, and regent of the Ivory Moon Pack, walked in, his mate at his side and the rest of the council trailing after him.
Only Elias and I remained fully upright, other members of the pack bowed to Elder Dawson. My uncle was not an Alpha wolf, but one wouldn't know that from his sturdy build and terrifying aura he wore like a cloak.
Elder Dawson's gaze met mine, a quiet look of censure in his eyes.
“You will explain why you kept the entire pack waiting,” He demanded only for Aunt Tiffany to intercede.
“Don't be too hard on Raven. New brides are usually so anxious,” Aunt Tiffany placed her hand over Elder Dawson's before shooting me a soft understanding glance.
Elder Dawson and Aunt Tiffany might not have been the most affectionate adoptive parents while raising me after my parents’ passing but I could tell that they cared.
Elder Dawson caved with a reluctant nod.
“Fine. Let's begin the ceremony—”
I turned to face Elias, the words that would end our engagement falling easily from my lips.
“I, Raven Nightbane, reject you, Elias Blackwell, as my mate,” I met the gaze of the man who'd betrayed me. “I will never get mated to you, Elias.”
Shocked gasps and whispers broke out across my pack members at my declaration.
“What?” Elias's voice was taunt with anger, but after an imperceptible glance in Ivy's direction that I only noticed because I was watching, his tone softened once more.
“Look, Raven, whatever is wrong, we can talk about it and—” Elias took a step closer to me only to pause suddenly.
He went completely still, a look of fury condensing over his features.
“What is that?” Elias growled, his gaze fixed on my neck.
I tracked his gaze to the gaping collar of my shirt that’d revealed one of the hickeys the stranger had left on me.
Damn. Just how many marks had he left on me?
Reflexively, I slapped my hand over it, hiding the expanse of skin but Elias advanced towards me, roughly grabbing my arm and tugging me towards himself.
“I asked you a question, Raven,” He snarled, a surprising amount of possessiveness and jealousy in his gaze as his mask fell completely. “I gave someone as unworthy of you the privilege of being my mate. How dare you think of rejecting me after whoring around?”
That was it.
I broke his hold easily with a move that I'd learned over the years, trying to stand up to Ivy. Then I slapped Elias right across the face.
The entire clearing fell silent and Elias stared at me in a mixture of shock and disbelief as though he'd never been hit before.
I slapped him again, feeling the pain and betrayal of the night before even more deeply now.
“You are the one unworthy of me. How dare you call me a whore when you are the one screwing my cousin?” My raised voice carried across the clearing even without my intending to, and chaos descended.
Aggressive whispering and exclamations filled the air, the council members wearing similar looks of shock, Aunt Tiffany seemed like she was a breath away from fainting and Elder Dawson wore a grim expression.
Ivy stepped forward, her cheeks flushed almost as red as her hair with embarrassment.
“Raven, you can't just baselessly accuse Elias and me to excuse your infidelity,” She growled, a silent threat in the sound.
I leveled an unimpressed look at Ivy.
“Who said my accusations were baseless?”
Whipping out my phone, I held it out in such a way that the council, as well as any wolf within a few feet of us, could see exactly what was on the screen as I hit play.
But even if I hadn't, the voices from the video were unmistakable and distinct. So were the accompanying wet noises and moans.
Elias and Ivy paled with shock but it was Elder Dawson who reacted first.
“Enough!” Elder Dawson silenced the crowd with a growl, tossing a cold glare at Ivy and Elias before turning to face the pack once more. “The mating ceremony has been postponed until the council handles the investigation and gets to the root of this issue.
I paused, almost uncertain about this sudden victory.
At a council meeting, not only could my rejection of my mating to Elias be finalized but I could also bring up the more sensitive charge of Ivy stealing my inheritance.
Elder Dawson made a motion indicating Ivy, Elias and I to follow him and soon we were all seated in the privacy of the council meeting room back inside the old pack house.
The five council members sat on one side of the table while Uncle Dawson took the head of the table, his mate next to him as Ivy, Elias, and I waited for his verdict.
Elder Dawson gritted his teeth as though bracing himself before holding out his hand for my phone.
“I will examine the evidence now,” Elder Dawson said.
I felt a strange sense of unease build within me but I knew Ivy's punishment couldn't be determined until Elder Dawson sanctioned it and while I knew my uncle to be occasionally blind to Ivy's faults, he always stuck to the pack rules regardless of who was involved.
I handed over my phone.
Elder Dawson watched the video, his jawline getting more tense with every second that passed. Then the video ended.
“I apologize for my daughter, Raven,” Elder Dawson said tersely, his gaze meeting mine. “However, your betrayal of the Ivory Moon Pack cannot be forgiven.”
I blinked, certain I had misheard.
“What?” I echoed, reaching out to retrieve my phone, only for Elder Dawson’s fist to come down, shattering it to pieces.
Elder Dawson's dispassionate gaze remained fixed on me as he spoke.
“By rejecting and cheating on your fiancé, you have not only put the alliance to the Shadow Thorn Pack at stake but put our entire pack in danger of war.”
Elias shrugged, a slight smirk curving up the side of his face.
“The Shadow Thorn Pack and I are ready to forgive this slight as long as Raven makes amends by relinquishing her position as Alpha Heir publicly with immediate effect.”
All around the table, the other elders and Aunt Tiffany watched with stoic expressions while Ivy's cruel gaze failed to contain her amusement.
I felt the steel jaws of a trap snapping shut around me.
That was when it hit me.