Chapter 5
Evelynne:
With barely five minutes left before the event starts, we arrived outside the Hogan mansion.
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Elli stood by my right, staring straight ahead towards the entrance with a blank expression. After a while, he turned to look at me as if to search for the slightest hesitation, and I did my best to not let him read through me.
“Will you be able to walk inside all alone?” Mom’s worried voice brought me back, and I turned my gaze to her.
“I can come in by myself.” I gave her a small smile, but she stood still, not seeming convinced by my little facade.
“Mom, you can go in. I’ll walk Evie inside.” Elli said from beside me.
His words sounded more convincing to her and she nodded in agreement, “okay.”
She turned around to head towards the entrance, only to suddenly stop on her heels and walk over to me, she raised her palms and pressed them to my cheeks. My eyelids fluttered close and I subconsciously leaned into her soft warm hands.
“Will you be alright?” my mother was never one to show affection openly this way, and her sudden question made me open my eyes to stare at her.
Our eyes locked for a moment, her deep shade dark eyes searched mine. My forehead creased when I noticed the slightest hesitation as if she didn’t want this to happen, and I was reminded about what Gabriella had said minutes before she stabbed
- me.
“Mom, do you want this to happen?” I ignored her question with my own question.
There was a moment of silence between us before she nodded, “Of course, I want this to happen. I’m sure Desmond will take care of you.” She brushed back a strand of hair falling on my face before stepping back.
Despite her response, my eyes remained on her, trying to find any emotion out of place, but there was nothing there and Gabriella’s words about my mother further bothered me.
After my father passed away five years back, my mother smiled more, paid attention to Elli and me more than before, and did everything she could to make us forget about him–as if she was trying to atone for a guilt she didn’t own.
“See you inside.” Mom looked away from me and smiled at Elli before she turned and headed inside, leaving Elli and me alone.
“Is mom okay? did something happen?” I asked him.
“None that I’m sure of,” Elli responded, his hand enveloped mine, his grip warm and soft, “Let’s go inside.”
We both made our way to the entrance of the mansion. As soon as the door was opened, my eyes were welcomed with a blinding bright light from the hall, along with a cozy warm scent.
I took a deep breath, shoving away the negative worries bothering me, and steeling myself for what was to come.
The hall was silent at first, but the moment we stepped in, the crowd broke into whispers and murmurs.
“She’s on a maroon dress.”
“Is that even acceptable?”
1/4
Damance…
Open
08:29 Pon, 10 Feb
Chapter 5
Cractone Goddess, Why is her dress in short? she’s meant to be fully covered and dignited
“An abomination for a luna?
Kill’s grip on my hands tightened, I turned my head to him and noticed his clenched jews, byty, away kis expressionlese
fare.
“Their words don’t mean anything to me? I whispered to his hearing alone and felt his grip soften, before he surety sodites
Together, we walked into the Grand hall, the crowd parted like a sea as we made our way towards the font. My hear hammered in my chest and my attempt to remain unbothered shattered as the air clouded with the very scent of my doubts.
The scent of flowers, candles, wine and my mate filled my nostrils, and with every step my heart raced, but not in anticipation rather in sheer pure hatred.
The large hall was neatly decorated, with crystal chandeliers refracting rainbows of light across the polished marble font. the high ceiling seemed to stretch up to the sky and the walls were decorated with elegant portraits of the past digits.
Finally, my eyes fixed on the figure waiting for me towards the farther end.
Desmond’s gaze met mine, his eyes roamed over my body in disbelief before settling on mine with a deep frowILL
My fingers clutched my purse and dug into it, the deeper he stared at me, the more disgusted I felt, leaving my body sinking with a surge of anger and determination.
Having made a decision, my eyes traveled across the crowd, searching for a valuable asset in human form. After a while, in finally settled on someone–dressed in a black button up and neatly ironed pants.
As we reached the front, Elli’s hands slipped from mine and he took a step back.
The whispers died down as I came face to face with the man who wore a charming smile, yet he was the reason behind my past torments and death.
“Why are you on a maroon coloured dress?” he leaned in to ask the question bothering the crowd.
“Cause I don’t want to go on with the ceremony.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t want to be the Luna of the pack. The words slipped out my lips ever so smoothly, despite the tremors on my fingertips.
“What?” Desmond asked and took a step back, as if to have a clearer look at my face and to access whether I was joking of
not.
He seemed to have read my seriousness, because his eyes narrowed at me, “You can’t be serious, Evie. You are my maze.” the said, his voice low and even, with so much assertiveness and a hint of underlying tension.
I raised my chin, “I’m serious, Desmond. I don’t want this.”
His gaze traveled across the crowd that once again erupted in whispers and chaos.
“You certainly don’t know what you are trying to get yourself into,” he took a deep breath, “I bet you’re just scared. You are my mate, my Luna, so stop going around with such jokes.” Desmond’s face darkened, his eyes flashing with anger.
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Chapter 3
He turned to look away from me and gestured to the priest to go on ahead with the ceremony.
He was trying so hard to keep his emotions in check but the tremble on his shoulders gave him away heavily.
The priest held my right hand, along with Desmond’s.
I already made my decision to not go on with this again, and there was now way I’ll turn back suddenly–but I had my reasons for being in attendance.
My body boiled with rage to rub his face with the same shame and mockery he rubbed on mine.
“I don’t want to be your Luna nor do I want to be tied with you for the rest of my life. What’s difficult to comprehend there?” I jerked my hands away from the priest and stepped away.
Desmond’s eyes landed on me, flashing with rage, “What the hell is this about?!” he growled.
My hands clenched into fists at my sides and I took a deep breath, “I’m rejecting you! I don’t want to be your mate. I don’t want to be your Luna. I don’t want to be the Luna of this pack.”
His face paled slightly, and his chest heaved in anger as he stepped closer to me.
“Evelynne, you can’t do this. You can’t reject me. You’ll be banished from the pack, and turn into a rogue left to perish. No one rejects the Alpha, so what’s this game about?” he released a breath, and stepped closer to me, so close that his cologne enveloped my nostrils.
Compared to how my body had always reacted to his closeness, I felt empty with no excitement thumping through me.
His palms rested on my shoulders, “If you are scared, we can complete the ceremony in an enclosed place.” Desmond’s eyes searched mine, searching for a reason and that was when I noticed the fear in his eyes- the very idea of my defiance scared him.
The whispers grew louder, and louder, that it disturbed my senses.
I didn’t need to search for my mother’s expression to know she’s in pure disbelief right now, neither did I need to search for Elli to know he is as confused.
I shrugged his hands away from my shoulder and pressed my hands to his chest, pushing him away. His eyes slid to my hands and looked up again–in fear, worry and surprise as he realized the mate bond wasn’t affecting me.
“I don’t want that.”
His jaws clenched in frustration and he asked, “Then why did you come over here? to reject me in front of the pack.” His shoulders trembled with anger and his dark eyes stared deeply at me.
His question was simple, and so was my answer, “I came here to reject you in the presence of everyone.”
So you can at least feel the mockery you put me through. I completed the sentence to myself.
“What?!”
The noise from the crowd became hysteric, even the priest couldn’t contain his shock as he stared at me.
I heard someone’s footsteps walk closer to me, turning my head, my eyes settled on Gabriella who marched to me with worried eyes.
Clearing my throat, determination finally boiled through me, “I, Evelynne Milton, reject you Alpha Desmond Hogan as my
3/4
Onon
08:22 Mon, 10 Feb
Chapter 5
Alpha and my mate.”
n
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Shrieks, gasps, murmurs blasted chaos into the hall, “What are you doing, Evie?” Gabriella’s soft voice reached my ears but I didn’t bother sparing her a glance.
“You’ll be banished and left to perish without a pack. You’ll become a rogue.” Desmond declared.
“I shall be banished, but I’ll never become a rogue.” I stated, and Desmond’s frown deepened, unable to understand my words.
“Why are you rejecting me?” he asked, his eyes blazed with intensity, that left his voice cracking with emotions as if I’d torn his heart from his chest.
My response came without hesitation, and in a firm tone, “Because I’m in love with another.” The words hung in the air.
And once again, there were gasps but I barely paid them any attention.
Desmond face contorted in rage, as he stared at me in disbelief. Pure anger shimmered from his expression and he tightened his fist at his sides, “With who?” he growled. A snarl that seemed to rip from his very soul.
My eyes drifted towards the young man standing mere feet away. His dark eyes seemed to bore into my very soul with an unreadable expression, yet his presence drew me in like a magnet.
His shoulders stiffened as our eyes locked, and without a second thought, my legs moved towards him with a desperate urge to end this day in a different way from before.
I gripped his collar, yanked him down to match my height before I smashed my lips to his as an act of rebellion to everyone present in the hall.
He resisted and fear enveloped me as I counted down to ten so I can pull away if he doesn’t react.
Did I choose the wrong person? worry clouded my thoughts, and my eyes pleadingly locked into his eyes that deepened into a darker shade.
One. Two. Three… Seven. Eight. Nine… and just before either could pull away, his hands slid to my nape and he gripped me closer.
A single tear escaped from my eyes, grateful that he didn’t push me away. I had everything planned out and had picked a valuable asset to go against Desmond.
An asset.
Our lips moved in perfect sync, blurring out the voices around us and I smirked to myself–unknown to me what I was getting myself into.
