~NYSSA
"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, but I will not marry you!"
Henry's voice rang out with disdain, and the exciting flutter in my chest instantly died a brutal death. My smile fell away too, and I would have taken a small, disbelieving step back if I was standing. Dread coiled at the bottom of my stomach.
"Henry…you…don't be like this. We spoke about it, remember? I know it took me longer than expected, but I can now awaken my wolf. I can show you now, if you want," I stated, trying to avoid the obvious stare of the rest of the pack members.
Because we — the members of the pack council — were all sitting at the high table, there was no privacy. I could feel the whispers starting to formulate in the heads of the rest of the pack members, but I chose not to pay any attention to them.
Instead, I focused on Henry.
My childhood best friend, the man I had loved since I was a kid, the one person who stood staunchly at my side and never laughed at me when I was unable to wake my wolf. The man everyone already knew I was going to marry. The absolute love of my life sneered at me, his expression twisting with disdain.
"I don't care about your pathetic little wolf. I don't care about you. I am your Alpha, and you will listen to me. I reject you. I reject whatever bond between us, and every single conversation we have had about us being together is now null and void. I will not be your mate, Nyssa Fang. Nor will you be mine," Henry deadpanned.
His voice rang across the hall with his Alpha authority, and the noise instantly died down as the pack members processed his words.
My cheeks burned with shame.
Tears sprang into my eyes, and I found it hard to believe my ears. My heart was slamming violently against my ribcage, and suddenly, the light in the hall was too bright. Every small sound became magnified in my ears, and there was a huge, unmovable lump in my throat.
I had attended this ceremony with joy in my heart. I mean, it wasn't as though what happened to me wasn't worth being happy about. My wolf was finally awake after twenty four years of being wolfless.
Henry was supposed to be happy. He was supposed to share my good news with the rest of the pack, and tell them that we would be getting married soon. He was supposed to take my hand in his and squeeze so hard in his excitement.
That was the plan.
But the instant he saw me and the mate bond snapped between us, the moment I leaned forward to whisper my good news into his ears, his expression had changed with the speed of light.
And now he was glaring at me like I was a loathsome intruder, and embarrassment was burning a large hole through my body as everybody watched.
I reached out to him with a shaky hand. "Henry… my love…"
With an audible sound of disgust, he yanked his arm out of my reach and stood up.
"I have an announcement to make," he stated, and his voice boomed all across the room.
A large dose of panic was slithering down my spine now, and as I twisted my fingers together painfully, I tried to will myself to wake up from this horrible nightmare.
Wake up, Nyssa.
Wake the fuck up.
This is a horrible dream and you need to wake up from it.
But no matter how much I pinched myself, the reality before me didn't change.
"From this moment onwards, there is nothing between me and Nyssa. I formally renounce her as my mate, and whatever relationship we might have had in the past has ended. Nyssa is nothing but an honourable member of the pack, and anyone alluding otherwise will be severely punished."
Everyone was full on staring at me now, but I could not tear my gaze away from Henry.
He went on.
"The woman I will be getting married to is Alisa Thorne," he announced, and as if I hadn't been mere minutes from turning into a wreck, his announcement rocked my world.
My jaw dropped open, literally, and I felt as though my entire body had been doused in acid. Sparse, polite applause resounded across the hall as Alisa stood up, and as she waved to the crowd with a pretty smile on her face, understanding dawned on me.
This was a planned work.
She must have known all these while that Henry had been lying to me for years, and yet she had gone along with it.
I was a fool. The biggest fool to ever walk this earth. Tears streamed down my face even as I tried so hard to blink them away, and when Henry's gaze met mine again, all I could see in his eyes was disgust.
He turned back to face the crowd.
"Alisa and I will be getting married soon, and the wedding date will be communicated as soon as it is finalised. Thank you," he stated and took his seat.
The applause was louder than time, and I suddenly could not take it any longer.
Fuck Henry for doing this to me, for turning my pain into a public spectacle and humiliating me like that. The applause died down as I stood up, and there was anticipatory tension in the air as people waited for me to speak.
I could feel Henry's burning gaze too, but I didn't turn to look at him.
My lips parted, but no words came out. What was there to say, really? That today was the second worst day of my life?
I was sure pretty much everyone could deduce that already. I had no words to say, no comeback for the biggest betrayal of all time.
So I did something I never thought I would do. I turned around, and ran.
As I pushed past the large hall doors, pieces of my broken heart left a trail behind me.
Henry had chosen someone else over me. All his promises had been for naught, and as I ran, I hated him for breaking my heart. For ridiculing me.
But no matter how much distance I put between us, deep down in my chest, the love I have for my best friend lingered, and I knew I was never going to get over him.
He was my only chance of being loved, and somehow, he suddenly didn't want me anymore.
I hate my life.