My sister immediately grabbed two glasses of champagne from the passing waitress. Everyone looked at me like I'm the source of entertainment tonight. “One for you, my lovely sister.”
I took a sip. But the sight of my sister kissing him passionately and touching him intimately after rejecting me...I let myself descend into madness.
I emptied half of the glass and threw the remaining wine to her face.
Before she could scream, I forced myself up and sprinted far away. I ran away from my birthday party, away from the music. I ran away from the Nightshade Pack.
I forced my feet to run away as fast as I could until I found myself wandering in the woods. Damp earthy scent met the darkness of the forest that even the moonlight barely passed through the thick canopy of trees.
Even with all what happened on my eighteenth birthday, I still knew the road to my cottage, the place where I constantly ran to when my father or sister beat me up. It was the only place in the world where I could be myself, away from anyone’s eyes, where I spent lots of time healing myself since childhood.
I entered and unlocked the door with the key I always hang around my neck. The cottage was the same, it looked the same and felt the same: my home in the heart of nowhere.
I crawled to bed even with this ridiculous dress. With its familiar scent and peaceful surroundings, I drowned my sorrows and anger into a nice good sleep.
I woke up to the smell of something burning, smoky air stinging my eyes and rendering me breathless. Huge, bright orange lights were dancing in the corner of my sight—
Fire. The cottage was on fire. All around me was on fire.
“Help! Help me!”
I rushed to the door but it was locked from the outside. I crawled back to the bed. Every bone in my body screamed in pain. I’m too weak to move.
I blinked and realized that the last thing I drank was the champagne my sister gave me. Fuck. The champagne, the unexplainable pounding in my head, the lock outside the door...my sister did this to me. Taking my mate away from me wasn’t enough for her. She was willing to kill me.
This made me realize that perhaps being rejected is the lesser evil. Amber is the greatest evil.
“We’re a minute away from passing out,” Mira said to me, my wolf whimpering yet again.
I was about to reply when a mighty kick sent the door flying open, revealing a towering male figure.