Three Rejections Before Becoming the Alpha King's Obsession

　　Lilith POV

　　This is the THIRD time I have stood in front of my pack with Casper by my side.

　　I wish I could say that I am excited, but I am not.

　　This is the third time I have hoped that he will finally choose me. This is the third time I wait patiently for him to complete the bond that was given to us by the Moon Goddess.

　　As I look out over the crowd that has gathered, I try to muster up feelings of excitement, but I can't find them. All I feel is dread. I fear that he is going to walk out on me once again.

　　Pulling my gaze away from the crowd, I turn to my father. Alpha Victor. He looks bored, like he can't wait for this to be over. He should be happy for me, but he hates me, just like everyone else in this pack. They all blame me for something that was out of my control. They all believe I killed my mother.

　　My father clears his throat, pulling me out of my thoughts. I look across the ceremonial circle at Casper, and he looks as white as his name would suggest.

　　"Lilith, Casper," my father practically yawns. "If you will please join hands in the center of the circle."

　　I reach for Casper, but he doesn't touch my hands. Instead, his eyes flicker over the crowd like he is waiting for something else to happen. Then, it does.

　　Zachary, one of the pack warriors, bursts into the clearing. He is panting heavily, and his eyes are filled with tears. All eyes are now on him and the commotion that he has caused.

　　"Stop!" He shouts. "Serene has been attacked."

　　Casper gasps, his hand covering his mouth, as soon as he hears Serene's name. Worry is etched across his face, and something I cannot place. Something that makes my stomach lurch with unease.

　　"I have to go," he whispers, turning away from me.

　　I reach for him, wrapping my hand around his wrist. Casper glances at it before looking back at Zachary. He tries to tug himself free, but I refuse to let him go.

　　I step closer to him, lowering my voice. "If you walk away from this ceremony, I won't let you humiliate me again."

　　He wrinkles his brows and takes a small step back. "What are you trying to say?"

　　I square my shoulders, trying to look tougher than I feel in the moment. "That if you walk away for Serene, again, this is where our bond ends."

　　Casper brushes a stray hair from my face, and the tingles that spread across my skin from the mate bond don't make me feel better like they once did. Now, they feel like they are mocking me.

　　"You are being dramatic, Lily."

　　My practiced composure fractures for a moment, and I stomp my foot like a child. "I mean it, Casper."

　　An easy smile spreads across his lips. "I will be right back. Wait for me here, and we can finish... this."

　　This. The word stings like a blade against my skin. Is this all that remains of our bond? Something inside me breaks into a thousand pieces, and I know it can't be put back together.

　　He tugs his hand away from me and disappears through the crowd with Zachary and my father following behind me.

　　Despite myself, I wait. One by one, pack members leave the clearing, already knowing what I have refused to acknowledge. Casper isn't coming back. Once again, he has put my cousin before me.

　　Some of the pack members mutter pity in my direction, but most of them sneer with satisfaction. One particular wolf announces that this is what I get for what happened to my mother all those years ago. I drop my eyes to the ground, hoping that none of them will see the tears gathering there.

　　And then, I am all alone.

　　I drop the ceremonial robe onto the altar and turn toward the pack house. The path runs through an isolated patch of forest that I shouldn't be allowed to walk alone. Without my wolf, I don't have the ability to protect myself, but no one seems to care, not when Serene is supposedly hurt.

　　No sooner do I step onto the path than I sense them behind me. Rogues. I swallow hard, refusing to glance over my shoulder to see how many there are. I walk faster, but that only makes them excited. They are enjoying the chase.

　　'Casper,' I reach through the pack mind link. 'I need your help. There are..."

　　'Enough, Lily,' he cuts me off. 'I told you I would return when Serene is calm. Why must you make everything about you?'

　　He cuts off the link between us and blocks me from reaching out to him again.

　　"Casper," I croak his name aloud.

　　In that singular moment, my heart seems to shrivel up to nothing, leaving a gaping hole in my chest where it used to be.

　　I slip off the path and lean against the cold bark of a tree. I breathe in deeply. "You can do this."

　　"Come out, come out. Wherever you are?" One of the rogues taunts.

　　Their laughter fills the air around me. "Yeah, little wolf. We only want to play a little."

　　This makes them laugh harder.

　　The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I know they are getting close. I close my eyes, trying to calm my heart rate, but I am failing. When I reopen them, I am surrounded by dark figures.

　　'If you ever wanted to wake up again,' I call out to my wolf. 'Now would be the perfect time.'

　　But I am met with nothing but silence.

　　"Okay," I say, cracking my neck from side to side. "I guess I will have to do this alone."

　　Instinctively, I slip into the fighting stance that I have been using for years. The one that I use in the training I am not supposed to be having. The stance I learned in secret.

　　I step into the moonlight and beckon one forward with my finger. "Who's first?"