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Chapter One
Livvy
My self-confidence had boiled down to this. I’d flung the plum dress into the back of my closet despite how pretty it looked. Not on me but pretty in its own right.
As I sat on my couch, surrounded by my best friends, Oreo Cakesters and whole milk, I groaned and tossed another cookie into my mouth.
Damn them.
Damn them all.
I couldn’t muster up one of the reasons I’d convinced myself that going to Beth and Jason’s engagement party would be a good thing. It was only for show, since Beth was a human. The party was planned so her parents could attend and everything could seem like their marriage was simply a joining of two humans in love.
Pure. Sweet. Fascinating love.
Couldn’t be further from the truth.
Jason was engaged to me. Well, not engaged but promised. He was my mate. I’d always been taught that there was only one mate for us.
We felt the mating pull when we were just fifteen and had been together since, waiting for our first shift to fulfill the marking and mating ceremony.
We’d run together. Planned our life out. Even named our future children.
He’d bought a house for us.
Of course, now I knew why he’d only put his name on it. He’d said it was for tax purposes or some such bullshit. I’d believed him. I’d gone in one day to store away some things I’d purchased. A comforter set. Some mixing bowls. New towels.
Jason and I were starting our new life, and I was excited.
We’d never had a fight.
I’d heard some noises in the back room. My stupid self thought, at first, that maybe Jason was setting up our bed.
He was doing something in our bed—or someone. Beth.
She was riding him, and he was saying things, things he’d never said to me.
I cleared my throat, and that was the end of the pretenses.
He and Beth were engaged the next week, and he put her name on the house. I notarized the documents myself. It was one of my few job skills. I’d notarized documents for the pride. It didn’t pay much but it was something.
Goddess, I was a fool. And tonight had proved the point.
The whole pride was at their party. Their engagement had lasted years. They were the most on-again off-again couple I’d ever known. The talk of the pride. One day, she was throwing his stuff out on the curb; the next, they were taking extravagant romantic getaways.
She boasted about fake pregnancies more times than people changed their underwear.
Had she truly been his mate, Jason would’ve been able to scent the change in her smell. He would’ve been the first to know she was with child.
I attended the party as a sign of strength. To show everyone they didn’t hurt me. That I stood courageous even when they tried to break me.
All went fairly well, until Beth’s mother approached me, sinister intent written all over her face. “Well, so brave of you to show up, Livvy. It must be hard to be here.”
I smiled and donned a friendly smile that intended to show I was untouched by her words even though they stabbed me right through the heart. “I’m so glad for Jason and Beth. They deserve to be happy.”
She reeled back. “Yes. They do. Especially Jason, with all he had to deal with before my daughter.”
“Is that so?” I immediately regretted my words.
