5.

Elena

“Move,” she says, flipping her hair.

I let out a short laugh. “Are you serious right now? You stand there flirting with every Alpha just to mess with Rowan and you’re acting like nothing is wrong.”

She rolls her eyes. “Mind your fucking business, Elena.”

“My business became my business the moment you decided to play with his feelings,” I snapped. “Do you even hear yourself?”

She crosses her arms and looks me up and down slowly, like she is inspecting something cheap.

“You really thought dressing up like this would make him forget me,” she says with a smirk. “You thought he would suddenly look at you and go wow, Elena is better than Lydia now.”

My chest tightens.

“I didn’t dress up for him,” I shoot back.

Some people are already watching. Phones are coming out. Of course. This school never misses free drama.

She laughs softly. “Face it. No matter what you do, Rowan will always like me. You’re just… there….like background noise.”

Something inside me snaps.

“At least I’m not so insecure that I have to flirt with half the school just to feel important,” I fire back. “You’re exhausting, Lydia. Do you know that.”

Her smile disappears.

And then she slaps me hard.

My head turns slightly and my cheek starts burning immediately.

People gasp.

Before I even think, I slap her back.

The sound is loud.

Her eyes widened. “How dare you. A lowly girl like you slaps an Alpha’s daughter.”

Wow. Original.

She grabs my hair and yanks it.

“Ow. Are you crazy,” I yell, grabbing her wrist but she pulls even harder.

Everyone is watching. Some people are laughing. Some are filming. Someone is definitely posting this online.

“Let go of me,” I shout.

“Never,” she snaps.

“What’s going on here?” I hear Rowan asking.

For half a second, I almost stopped.

But I’m too angry. Too hurt. Too tired of this fucking crap.

I pull her hair back without even thinking and she screams, grabbing at my wrist. We start struggling and somehow our feet slip at the same time.

For a second, everything feels slow.

I feel myself tipping backward and my heart jumps straight into my throat.

Rowan moves. He stretches his arm…I see it.

I reach for him because I honestly think he is reaching for me.

I really do.

But he isn’t. He grabs Lydia instead and pulls her close to him like she is something fragile.

And I fall. Straight into the fountain.

Cold water crashes over me and knocks the breath out of my lungs. My dress clings to my body. My hair is soaked. My makeup is probably running down my face.

When I lift my head, everyone is laughing. They are pointing. Recording. Whispering. Enjoying every second of it.

My heart starts beating so hard it hurts.

I look up and I see Rowan standing there with his arm around Lydia. His face looks guilty, but he does not move away from her. He does not let go.

She is smirking. Like she fucking won. Like this was her plan all along.

And in that moment, everything clicks.He chose her. He did not hesitate. He did not even look back at me. I was never an option.

My chest tightens so much it feels like I cannot breathe. Shame and embarrassment burns through my skin. I have never felt so small in my entire life.

I start pulling myself out of the fountain, my hands shaking as water drips from my clothes and pools at my feet.

Rowan steps forward. “Elena, take my hand.”

He reaches for me.

I look at his hand. Then at his face. Then at Lydia still tucked against his side.

And something inside me finally breaks.

I ignore him.

I push myself up on my own even though my legs feel weak and unstable. I turn around and start walking away.

Then I run.

“Elena,” he calls. “Elena, wait.”

I don’t. I just run faster.

My chest is burning. My vision is blurry. My throat feels so tight it hurts to breathe.

Then my heel snaps and I almost fall flat on my face. I stop, breathing hard, completely disoriented, and look around.

Ice rink. Of all places.

How did I even get here?

My body finally gives up.

I walk onto the empty rink, sink down onto the cold floor, and collapse. My wet dress spreads around me and water keeps dripping onto the ground.

And I break down sobbing hard. The kind of sobbing that shakes your whole body and makes your head ache.

Because tonight, in front of everyone, Rowan chose her. And I was the fucking joke.

I stay lying there on the cold rink floor, staring at nothing, feeling like the dumbest person alive.

How did I let this happen?

How did I convince myself that tonight would be different?

Tears keep sliding down my temples into my hair and I do not even bother wiping them away.

I am such a damn fool.

I should have seen it coming years ago. Rowan was never mine. He was never going to be mine. He never looked at me the way I looked at him. And yet I still dressed up. I still agreed to come. I still stood beside him like I mattered while he was busy thinking about Lydia.

And now everyone has seen me fall into a fountain like some tragic joke.

I press my palm against my chest and try to breathe through the tight pain there.

“I hate this,” I whisper. “I hate this so much.”

I should have stayed in my room. I should never have come here. Maybe then my heart would still be in one piece.

My wolf shifts inside me, letting out a low, sad sound.

She warned me. She tried to protect me. She told me Rowan would hurt me.

And I ignored her because I was stupid and hopeful and in love.

Because the truth is, I have loved Rowan since high school. Since the first time he smiled at me. Since the first time he defended me. Since the first time he called me Lenny like it meant something.

I fell in love with someone who does not care about me at all.

That hurts more than anything else.

I curl up on the rink, hugging my knees, crying until my chest feels sore and my head aches. Cold seeps into my bones but I am too tired to move.

I just lie there, shaking, letting everything pour out.

Then something changes.

A scent drifts into the air.

At first I thought I was imagining it. I am probably emotional…too exhausted. My brain is probably playing tricks on me.

But it grows stronger.

Warm and sweet, like vanilla mixed with rain and pine and something deep and powerful that makes my stomach twist.

My breathing slows without me meaning it to.

My wolf suddenly perks up, alert and excited.

Ignore it, I tell myself.

But I cannot.

I slowly push myself up and look around.

The rink is quiet. Most people are still at the party. Lantern light flickers between trees.

Then I see someone standing near the edge.

A tall figure watching me.

My heart stutters.

He starts walking closer, stepping into the light.

And I see him clearly.

Alpha Kael Northwood.

Broad shoulders. Dark hair. Sharp face. Steel gray eyes that look darker than usual right now.

My breath catches.

“What are you doing here?” I ask softly.

He looks just as shocked as I feel. His eyes move over me, taking in my soaked dress, my ruined makeup, my red eyes.

And then the scent hits me fully.

Warm vanilla. Forest rain. Clean musk. Strength and even comfort.

Everything at once.

My wolf loses her mind.

She jumps and spins inside me, suddenly full of energy.

‘Mine. Mine. Mine.’

Before I can stop myself, the word slips out. “Mate.”

At the same time, Kael freezes.

His lips part slightly and his voice comes out low and stunned. “Mate.”

My heart starts racing wildly.

No fucking way.

This cannot be happening.