Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Stop the Mourning

Christina's POV

The drive to my rarely-used apartment was a blur. The one that had been gathering dust for months ever since Niall's mom invited me to live at their packhouse and plan the wedding. What a joke that turned out to be.

As I reached my door, I fumbled with the security pad.

Pain traveled through every inch of my body, and I gritted my teeth, refusing to faint pathetically on my doorstep.

Wrong code. Again. And again.

Frustration boiled over.

I kicked the door with my heel, a pitiful gesture that accomplished nothing except sending pain shooting up my leg.

Of course. The universe had declared today The Epic Humiliation of Christina Day.

I slumped against the wall and slid to the floor as sobs tore from my throat.

Why did everyone always choose and care about Beatrice?! Hadn't I suffered enough? Second place in my family, just a replacement in my own mate's heart?

Just as I was nearly choking on my own cries, a deep voice came from behind me.

"That's my door you're assaulting."

Great. Another fucking problem.

"What?" I snapped, turning to glare.

The man standing there was... devastating. Not pretty-boy handsome like Niall, but ruggedly masculine. Tall and powerfully built, with sharp cheekbones and a strong jaw. His dark hair was slightly tousled, and those piercing blue-gray eyes that seemed to see right through me.

He looked like the kind of Alpha who didn't just win battles but erased his enemies from history entirely.

"If you're planning to kick it in, I'll need your insurance information first," he said flatly.

My throat went dry. "I-I'm so sorry. I thought this was my apartment."

He tilted his head, gaze unreadable. "Rough day?"

My face burned with awkwardness. Great. Rejected, injured, and now looking like a complete idiot in front of the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen.

"You could say that." I muttered, hauling myself up and attempting dignity while looking like a raccoon caught in a dumpster fire.

"Easy there, hurricane." He raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the door across the hall. "That would be yours, I believe."

Hurricane? I should've been annoyed, but the way he said it made my stomach flutter strangely.

"I know where I live."

"Could've fooled me."

"Fine," I mumbled, attempting to smooth down my wreck of a dress. "Thanks for the geography lesson."

"Need help with your door code?"

"What I need is for this day to reboot like a malfunctioning iPhone, but thanks for the offer."

I walked toward my door, feigning composure and grace. As if the crazy woman who'd just had a breakdown wasn't me at all.

While I punched in my door code, I could feel those intense eyes watching my every move.

Come on, fingers, work faster.

Beep-finally.

I glanced back. He was still watching, arms crossed.

"Sorry about your door," I muttered.

"I'll survive."

I closed my door and pressed my back against it.

Well, that was humiliating. My devastatingly handsome neighbor probably thought I was a lunatic, and honestly? He wasn't wrong.

Wait-devastatingly handsome?Fuck. I really was losing it.

I dropped onto my bed, exhausted.

Akira was barely alive inside me,hurt by rejection,her once-sharp senses now dulled.

"We'll heal," I whispered to her.

No response.Great. Even my own wolf was giving me the silent treatment.

I don't even know when I started losing myself for him. Maybe it was the first time he looked at me like I wasn't enough. Maybe it was the day he compared me to my sister and I chose to believe him instead of myself.

I bleached my hair until my scalp burned raw, just because he once told his friends, "Chrissy's pretty, but too boring. Look at that mousy brown hair-she dresses like a librarian."

I shoved my feet into heels that carved blisters into my skin, he sneered, "Why are you walking like a newborn giraffe? Beatrice could run in heels."

I dragged myself into the kitchen before dawn, cooking meals I never ate, ironing shirts that weren't mine, baking desserts I didn't taste-all because I believed, stupidly, that one day he'd look at me and finally see me.

But no matter how much I changed, it was never enough. Even when I stood in front of the pack, humiliated and treated like entertainment, he didn't protect me. He only reminded me I should be grateful to "make do."

I realize now-I was never his mate. I was his project. His servant. A placeholder until he found what he truly wanted. And I stayed. For four long years, I stayed.

The weight of that truth crushed me. My chest ached as if every breath cost too much. I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes, but the tears wouldn't stop. How pathetic, that I poured everything I was into a man who never even tried to know me.

The grief hollowed me out until there was nothing left but exhaustion. My body gave up before my mind did. I curled into the wet pillow, vision blurred, and let the darkness drag me under.

Two days slipped away before I woke again.

I called gently to Akira, "Are you okay, Akira? Can you hear me?"

Akira stirred weakly in my mind, "Chrissy, I feel off. I can't smell anything anymore."

I froze, trying to catch any scent. Nothing.

"Maybe it's just temporary from all the pain," I said to Akira, not knowing if I was comforting her or myself. "It might come back later."

Her tail drooped listlessly in my mind. Not being able to smell meant she couldn't identify potential mates-a devastating loss for any wolf. But there was nothing we could do about it right now.

I let her rest and checked my messages.

Oddly, my parents hadn't bombarded me with mind-links or calls since their initial outburst.This engagement had been their golden ticket to an alliance with The Frostpelt Pack. A marriage alliance with one of the North's top three packs wasn't something they'd abandon easily.Neither of us daughters could inherit leadership of The Crescent Pack, but marrying a powerful Alpha?That ensured our pack's future prosperity.

Suspicious.

Part of me wondered if Niall had said something to keep them at bay. Maybe even felt guilty? Unlikely. More probably planning his next move.

The doorbell shattered my pity party.And it didn't stop ringing.

For five minutes.

I groaned. Horrible social interaction.

Dragging my carcass to the door, I pulled it open.

Ysolde Carlisle, who was my best friend and the only person with legal rights to yell at me, stood there with narrowed eyes and two bags of takeout.Then her gaze landed on my face.

"What the absolute fuck happened to you?"

"I'm redecorating my face. The symmetrical look was getting boring," I said casually.

She wasn't buying it.

She reached out, gently turning my face to examine my cheek.

"Who hit you?"

"Come inside," I muttered quickly.

As soon as the door closed, I collapsed into her arms.

Eventually, I forced out a single word.

"Niall."

Ysolde went completely still.

Everyone knew that name.Niall Granger wasn't the type to throw punches because he was calculated and precise. He was the powerful Alpha who destroyed people with phone calls, not fists.

"No fucking way,"she muttered. "Niall? Your mate Niall?The diplomatic poster boy?"

I nodded. "Turns out the charming gentleman becomes a tyrant behind closed doors."

"Tell me what happened. All of it."

So I did. Beatrice's photo. The slap. The formal rejection.

By the time I finished, Ysolde looked ready to commit murder.

"That bastard," she hissed. "And over what? Your psycho sister who isn't even here? I swear to Goddess, Chrissy, Beatrice could be on another continent and she'd still find a way to ruin your life."

"Maybe it's for the best. At least I found out what kind of mate he really is before we got married."

My stomach growled loudly.

Ysolde raised an eyebrow and lifted the takeout bags."Good thing I came prepared."

Between bites, I frowned. "Don't you think it's weird my parents haven't called? They wanted this wedding so badly, but now... nothing."

Ysolde shrugged."Maybe they're plotting. Your father isn't the type to give up his plan easily."

After dinner, Ysolde pushed me into the bathroom to shower while she cleaned up.

I stood under the hot water, trying to wash away four years of delusion.

Through the bathroom door, I heard her on the phone. I caught bits and pieces.

"Complete asshole."

"What a dick."

"You won't believe what he did to her-"

She was probably talking to Zane Carlisle,her brother.Unlike Niall,Zane treated women with respect.

The way Ysolde so instantly,so fiercely chose my side made my throat tight.She believed me without hesitation.When everyone else would side with Niall, she'd declared war on my behalf.

This wasn't something small.Going against Niall's pack could create serious problems for her family's small pack.

I wrapped myself in a towel and sighed.

Why couldn't my parents love me like that?

Suddenly,I was hit by waves of excruciating pain,each one stabbing through my abdomen. Each surge burned through my neck where Niall's mark still lingered.

I collapsed on the bathroom floor with a scream.

Ysolde burst through the door.

"Chrissy! What happened?"

I could barely form words. "Pain... killer... please..."

Ysolde helped me up and rushed out to get medication.

I clutched my stomach,biting my lip to keep from screaming again. This was different from rejection pain.

Akira howled in anguish inside me.

"It's mate betrayal," she whispered weakly.

"What? But I already rejected him-"

"The mark on your neck hasn't fully faded," Akira explained through our pain.

Seriously? He rejected me and immediately ran off to fuck someone else? Couldn't even wait for our bond to completely break before shoving his dick into another woman?

Ysolde returned with painkillers and water.

After I swallowed them and the worst waves subsided, she sat beside me, fury blazing in her eyes.

"That bastard," she snarled.

I nodded weakly.

"You know what?" Ysolde stood up. "Fuck him. You shouldn't have to suffer alone through this pain,he needs to get a taste of his own medicine."

I stared at her in confusion.

"Get dressed," she commanded."Niall's dick isn't made of diamonds, and it sure as hell isn't worth mourning.We're going out to find you someone who doesn't need his ex's photo to get it up."

I blinked. "I've been rejected and your solution is... clubbing?"

She threw clothes at my face."My solution is reminding you that you're Christina fucking Vance, and one Alpha's rejection doesn't break you."

I stared at her. Every part of me wanted to crawl back into bed and disappear. But lying here wallowing while Niall was probably celebrating with someone else?

Fuck that!

"Fine," I said, dragging myself up."But if I collapse on the dance floor,you're carrying me home."

Ysolde grinned wickedly. "Trust me, you won't need rescuing tonight."