Pregnant And Rejected

Chapter 21

Day of the Ceremony

Belene’s POV

My fingers anxiously trace the flowers embroidered into the bodice of my wedding gown it’s a delicate white contera weightless and ethereal I look more like a wood nymph than a bride.

I remember the day we chose it, Bastien and ill was the first dress we found that did not completely overpower my w frame three years ago. We tried countless others first, but the moment i stepped into the gossamer fabric i wen tace said it all.

This is the way of rejection ceremonies Marriages end as they begin.

We will wear the same clothes, meet at the same moonlit altar with friends and family looking on, we’ll even play the samnem Vet instead of vows to love and keep each other we will vow to part. Instead of exchanging rings we’rar more then, and instead of shifting to run together beneath the stars, we’ll divide, forging new paths in directions of our own choosing

Of course, Bastien and I never ran together in the first place. We walked through the forest hand in hand, a sweet concession for the loss of my wolf.

Tonight I expect he will shift, and I have a fairly good idea where he’ll run rather to whom he’ll run.

I’ve replayed my conversation with Arabella over and over in my head. At first I thought I must have misheard her, after all Bacon himself told me Arabella was his mate. Yet the more I ponder our conversation the clearer it becomes Bastien is my mate, or the would have been if I still had Luna, It explains why I always felt connected to him, why he always made me feel safe.

Those horrible women at Gabriel’s birthday were right, I am too broken to be anything but a burden. My one chance to be whole might have been finding the man the goddess chose for me, but fate had other plans.

My mate doesn’t want me without my wolf.

Who could?

breath, trying to tell myself that one day I might find a wolf who is able to look past my shortcomings. One day

anyway, rolling down my cheeks in gray rivulets of mascara, It doesn’t matter if I’m enough for someone else The only person I want is Bastien, and no matter what I

Bastien’s POV

reality. In less than an

he is, but I have to do this for Selene. This is what being an Alpha is all about, I rernind my stubborn wolf, taking care

about being in control. He

I don’t. I haven’t been able to eat or sleep for days. I haven’t been able to think about anything other than the fact that I will never get to hold my mate in my arms again. Not only that, I’m going to have to watch her build a life with another wolf – an idea

Blaise’s hunt for Volana wolves or my Alpha training. I’ve been wallowing

sitting on my dresser, wrapped up in a velvet box and decorative paper. When 1 bought it I told myself it was merely a parting gift for Selene, a token of appreciation for our years together and good will for the future. But deep down I imagined it

now that he’s finally speaking to me again. You think a pretty trinket is going to

do or say that will change things now. It’s too late. It was probably too late

I have

sigh, I toss the

Gabriel’s POV

wolf form day and night, but drafting laws and signing treaties is difficult without thumbs.

regret churn deep in my belly. This is not the path I hoped my son would walk. His marriage to Selene started on

but she was never afraid of her mate, and caring for Selene had softened Bastien in so many ways. Watching her heal and witnessing them grow together made Odette and I endlessly happy; we were both shocked speechless when they announced

it, but I know Bastien is heartbroken. Under any other circumstances I might be angry at the person responsible for his pain, but I know it isn’t Selene’s fault. In the end I suppose Garrick’s torture was too much to overcome. If anyone is to

eyeing the fluttering fabric curiously. The doors were closed when I entered my

but an unmistakable draft of cool air wafts through the room. My hackles raise as I scent a strange wolf, my mind racing to understand how anyone could have gotten past my heightened senses. My gaze jumps to the goblet of wine by my computer, but before I can

the dim terrace lanterns. He’s tall and thin, dressed in all black and exuding undisguised hostility. Green eyes glow in the darkness, but I can’t see anything more of his

has, “only cowards hide in the shadows.

His voice sounds familiar, yet I can’t place it.