Maya's POV
“Thanks again for letting me stay, Corina,” I thanked, having tea at a friend’s place.
“Of course, Maya. You know I’ll always have your back,” Corina said.
According to my knowledge, Corina was half-werewolf and half-human. When she was eight, her family moved to this pack and settled in the outskirts of the city. We met at a volunteer event I had to attend- to gain the favor of other werewolves- and Corina was the only one who helped me get through the whole thing. She had been a true friend to me since then.
“Still, what happened earlier today? You completely left me after you got that text. Did something happen between you and your boyfriend?” Corina asked.
The second she asked me that, I was instantly reminded of what I found out happened between my ‘roommate’ and now-ex-boyfriend. I grew so angry, but I didn’t want to accidentally snap at Corina, who had nothing to do with the situation.
So I took a deep breath before starting to tell Corina what happened earlier today. How Jillian asked me to buy some pregnancy test for her at a pharmacy, to Jayden revealing that he had no feelings for me. That he wanted to be with Jillians, who was his supposed ‘mate’...
“That is so messed up! I can’t believe they did that to you!” Corina exclaimed in disbelief. I know, right? Even now I couldn’t either. The more I thought about it, the more nauseous I felt, with my body growing somewhat heavy, and my head somewhat feeling dazed.
“Hey. Are you okay? You’re looking a little off,” Corina asked.
I put my hand on my head, pinching the bridge of my nose to regain some focus. “Yeah. Just… hard to process all this,” I admitted.
“Are you sure it’s just that and… nothing else?”
I grew a bit confused by the assumption and looked down at myself in wonder. From what I could see, there was nothing out of place. When I looked back to Corina, though, I noticed she was staring at my stomach. The gears shifted in my head, and I realized what she was asking about.
“Corina…” I scolded, causing her to raise her hands in playful mercy. “It’s definitely not that. Jayden and I never slept… together…”
Almost as soon as I said that, my stomach started churning, and I raised a hand to my mouth, feeling something wanting to come out. I hastily rushed to a nearby trash bin and opened the lid, vomiting out bile from my mouth.
“There, there. It’s all right,” I heard Corina say, patting my back gently, as I continued to empty out my stomach. As she brushed a bit of my hair back, I could feel her flinch slightly for some reason. “Maya. Did Jayden ever… ‘Bite’ you or anything?”
Though I was a bit confused by the question, I did think back on it for a bit, for Jayden indeed did that when he first brought me to this world. Promised to protect me after my parents’ passed away. “Yeah, he did. Said it would transfer some of his scent onto me, and protect me from rogues or other werewolf attacks. Why?” I inquired, turning to her as I wiped my mouth of the leftover saliva.
For some reason, Corina seemed hesitant to answer that time. “Well, he’s not wrong, but he didn’t tell you the full truth, either,” she looked at me with a serious face. “That mark he left on you was a sign of your bond as mates. Something that is supposed to have been done during the mating ritual between two willing parties in love with one another. So long as you have that mark, usually you both would be bound to one another. However, in the case if one side cheats on the other, the other party would be notified by the mark. Even more so, if the first party slept with anyone other than their mate.”
Shock filled me from this revelation. The mark Jayden left was not one that was to protect me, but one to mark his ‘claim’ on me?! More than that, this mark was to notify me if Jayden did cheat on me?
No wonder there were times when my shoulder would suddenly jerk, around where the mark was. I was so naive to believe it was just muscles with all the heavy lifting and physical activities I had to do in those volunteer events.
“Is there any way I can get rid of it?” I asked Corina as I clasped onto the dreadful mark, as though hoping I could pinch and squeeze the stupid thing off me. Only for it to be futile.
“Yes. It’s just…” I didn’t like how she trailed off there and turned to her, seeing her look down with a saddened expression. “For the bond between you two to be broken, one side has to reject the other. However, you can’t do that, Maya.”
I widened my eyes at those words. “Why not?!”
“For one thing, the only one with the mark on them is you. Jayden doesn’t have a mark from you, does he?” I flinched when she was going with that fact. “Only the person who gives the mark can break the bond. If both sides give each other the mark of the mate bond, either one can break it. If it’s only one side, though, only the one who gave the mark can end it.”
I didn’t like what I was hearing. Not one bit. I looked down, trying to consider my options, or lack thereof. If I wanted to end things with Jayden, I had to talk him into ending this ‘bond’ we have. It should be easy, though. For after all, he already has someone else he’d rather be with.
“I’ll see him tomorrow about ending this.”
***
The next day, I stood before the door to my apartment. Or rather, soon-to-be former apartment. Something told me Jayden was with Jills. And given how she was pure human- or pure as can be- she would have to still be in our apartment until Jayden marks her like he did me. That, or until that baby she supposedly has with him is born.
Corina wanted to accompany me, be my support should anything happen, but I managed to convince her into letting me come alone. This was between me and Jayden, after all.
I sighed before raising my hand to knock, prepared to face the music, when the door creaked open before my knuckles could hit it.
‘Did they not lock the door properly?’ I wondered, slightly concerned as I lowered my hand to the doorknob, only to freeze when I heard voices on the other side.
“I still don’t understand why you didn’t reject that bitch yesterday, Jayden. She’s got absolutely nothing to back her up. No parents, no relatives you should be afraid of, she even only has one friend in this pack who is practically nothing compared to you. Why the delay?” came Jillian’s voice.
I grew angry when I heard her slander Corina. As much as I wanted to slam the door open and give her a good slap as punishment, I decided against that. Lightly taking a breath to calm myself, and listen to their conversation.
“Jills, you’re missing the point. It’s not her dead family I’m worried about. It’s the inheritance they left her with that we need,” came Jayden’s voice, baffling me with the response he gave. “Do you have any idea how much they left her? If I completely break up with her, we won’t be able to get another penny of that dough.”
“That said, do you really think she’ll come back and reconcile with you? After what happened yesterday?” Jillian asked.
“Oh, but it’s not like she has much of a choice in the matter. She is just human in this world. Even if she wants to break up with me, where would she go? All she’s good for is her family’s money. Any werewolf would want her if they knew that. But they won’t get to her so long as my scent is on her. If anything, she should be considering this as payment for her protection. Still, we can’t have her going off on us. Just to amuse her, we best put her in a good mood. Don’t worry, Jills. With her as our personal ATM, our future will be that much more secured~”
My jaws slowly dropped as I overheard every word being said there. I was just a convenient ATM to them all this time? Jayden never felt anything for me; just wanted my inheritance? The money my dead parents left me?! I was just speechless to learn of how cruel he could be, to even use my situation to his advantage. Moreover, I had fallen for that act this whole time.
My head spinning, I couldn’t bear to stay out there any longer. After rushing down the long flight of stairs, I eventually made it down to the entrance, and back to the taxi I took getting here. I hastily got inside, catching my breath, and running my hands across my face in frustration.
Never again, will I be playing in the palm of that disgusting dog’s hands. Never would I let him beat me, and take my parent’s money for his own selfish uses. I just need to come up with a way to get that dog to end our relationship once and for all, before he could take my inheritance away.
“Where to, ma’am?” the driver asked.
I glanced to my watch, noticing it read a little over 9AM. “Sweethunt Cafe, please,” I requested.
Maya's POVI arrived at Sweethunt Cafe, where there were barely any customers within. I couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Yesterday, I had thought the person who called me was a scammer, a prank caller, and went off on him. He was probably annoyed with my manner. Although I wasn't sure if he would show up, I still took a seat at an empty table, ordered a cup of coffee, and waited. Hours passed since I arrived. The sunlight near the window became dazzlingly bright, and the busy hours were coming to an end in the cafe. And yet, with every customer that had been coming by, not one approached me nor seemed remotely familiar. ‘He won’t come. I should go back to Corina’s. She might be worried about me,’ I sighed, rose from my seat and left payment for the coffee and lunch on the table and took my leave.As I exited out the cafe, my head down in disappointment with my day, I didn’t notice someone walking in front of me and bumped into that person.“Oof! I’m sorry. I-” I paused as I looked
Maya's POVNight has come, and so was the Crescent Night Gala. After changing into some elegant dresses, Corina and I made our way to the party. While she had on a nice green dress with a crossover neck, I was wearing a navy blue dress with only one strap on the left side, and a slit on the right. When we arrived, the party was in full swing. I subconsciously kept one hand down by my side, trying to cover the slit that was revealing my thigh. “I really wish you would lend me that dress instead,” I said, not used to these sorts of dresses.“Ah, don’t be shy. You look great in that,” Corina said. “Besides, you’re wearing a mask. No one would know it’s you.”“Am I supposed to be reassured or offended by that?” I questioned, having mixed feelings with that statement. Corina only giggled, and gave me a pat on the back. “Chin up. You look stunning, Maya. Oh, how about the punch bowl? I’m feeling parched.”I nodded to that, and followed her to the punch bowl. As we made our way there, thou
Zeke's POVI stared down at the flustered human, left speechless with her mouth gaping like a fish’s. I must admit, though I did question Jayden for his new ‘girlfriend’s’ stupidity, there was something about this human’s reaction that was endearing. ‘Amusing’, even. So much so, I want to tease her more.But there’s one werewolf nearby- the one laughing with her just seconds ago- then staring at us in shock with her jaw dropped. Through my mask, I narrowed my eyes in a glare, in which she jumped at, no doubt sensing the glare.“Right. So, I will be on my way now. You two can… Yeah. See you later, Maya,” she hastily said, walking away.The human became baffled by her friend’s sudden leave and reached out to her. “Wha-?! Wait, Corina!” Despite her call, her friend was already long gone.With her gone, the crowd around us dispersed, continuing on with their business. I turned back to the human, grabbing her by the hand. “How about a dance, milady?” I asked in a low tone.I could feel her
Maya’s POV“Your grandmother thought what?!” I gasped, baffled by what the Alpha told me.“I said because of that photo I told you about, Grandma believes we’re in a relationship. With you being pregnant with my child,” he repeated. We were in his car, driving to the clinic to get my arm treated, which was starting to bruise. Not because of the Alpha when he pinned me to the wall earlier, but more from when Jayden grabbed me before that. As he drove, the Alpha explained the questions his grandmother was asking me. Though the explanation did answer the point of those questions, it left me with more confusion. Particularly…“Can’t we tell her that it was a misunderstanding?” I inquired.“If it were that simple, we wouldn’t be in this situation to start with,” he pointed out.We soon arrived at a clinic, where the doctor was treating my arm. As he was giving me treatment, the Alpha went to make a phone call right outside the building. Not long after he finished treating my arm and left
Maya’s POVI awoke to the alarm clock ringing with a yawn. After shutting the alarm off, I got out of bed and tidied myself up for the big day.“You’re really going to find a job?” Corina asked, cooking some omelet for breakfast. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt to try being more seductive on Alpha Zeke. Win over his heart so you don’t have to worry about living in the pack?”“Of course I am sure.” I rolled my eyes slightly at her ‘suggestion’, remembering a few of those techniques Corina tried to teach me after we got back from the clinic two nights ago. “And I doubt I would ever win him over, no matter how much makeup you put on me or what sort of… ‘love technique’ you’ll teach me.”Corina pouted at me then. “Even though it would’ve been a whole lot easier for you if you would learn these techniques?”I nervously laughed at her insistence in teaching me these things, and looked at the clock. “Oh! Would you look at the time? I gotta go.”“The omelet is almost done, though,” Corina told me,
Maya's POV“Just… a little… more…” I groaned, reaching up a high shelf for a certain box. That being something my roommate, Jills, had asked me to get for her. “Pregnancy test?”a teasing voice sounded above my head, before someone took a box off the shelf and handed it to me.I turned and froze when I laid eyes on a man in a trench coat with a black hat concealing the top half of his face behind me. I felt a bit frightened by his large build, and did not want to get in trouble with him. With a soft ‘thank you’, I took the box and hastily made my way to the register.“Just this, please. For a friend,”I said to the cashier, awkwardly adding that last part to avoid any misunderstanding from them.Though, if I could be honest, I really wished the test was for me, but for werewolves like my boyfriend, it would go against tradition if we were to have a baby before we wed, or get marked as mates beforehand. This was especially true given his status in the pack as the future Delta. Once I f
Zeke's POVI raised my brow as I looked down at the phone in my hand, taken aback by the receiver of the call I made just seconds ago. Not once had I ever been spoken to in the manner she had taken with me. Even through the phone, any werewolf picking up my call would become too intimidated, hearing my voice alone. And yet, whoever this person was did not even stutter as she spoke to me in such a manner.I was not the only one intrigued by this, clearly, for my Beta- Ethan- most especially found this amusing, if the way he was trying to conceal his mouth was of any indication of such.“Ha ha ha. Wow, did that really take me by surprise. I didn’t think there was actually a human gutsy enough to yell at you the way that one did,” he said, trying to stop himself from laughing, only to fail miserably.“Keep laughing, and I will take that as you volunteering to be set as a picture-perfect example of what will happen to any who defy me,” I threatened, prompting Ethan to instantly cease his