Chapter One
“I'm sorry, Drea. This is out of my control.” Troy started, his voice coated by the loud party noises coming from every part of the room.
“I'm your mate, Troy. You can't just reject me and think you'll find another mate just like that.” Drea said back to him, her voice going lower with each word. What was happening to her was not only sad, It was incredibly embarrassing.
Who gets rejected by their newfound mate on their twenty-first birthday?
It was a bitter stroke of bad luck and it was the worst way for her to start her new age.
“Look, I know my dad can be a little intimidating but he's right. You're an omega, Drea. You're not even the strong kind of omega that'll someday grow into a strong Luna. I mean, you're twenty-one and your wolf is still dormant. I don't need someone like that as my mate, Drea.”
Drea fought hard to restrain the tears threatening to escape her eyes as people trailed on around her, oblivious to her pain. Each word from Troy hurt her even more than the last.
“So you're really going to go on with it?” Drea asked, already giving up.
Troy nodded, a wave of mild regret crossing his face.
She knew nothing could be done any longer. She might as well just get the rejection over with right here and now, when she still had the fortitude to bear the pain that came with the process. She was heartbroken, she could withstand any physical pain.
“Everyone gather round.” She could hear the voice of Alpha Zack Draymond, Troy's father in the background. He must have seen them talking and listened in.
Drea scoffed. Troy and his father were really pulling all the stops, trying to make this rejection as painful and as embarrassing as possible. As more people started to surround her and Troy, she could feel her spirit start to collapse. If she had to remain here any longer than necessary, she would give the people what they want and break down before them.
“Let's just get this over with.” She whispered, just loud enough for Troy and his particularly obnoxious father to hear.
Troy grabbed her hands, shutting his eyes for a second before opening them again. Drea could see the determination in his eyes as he opened his mouth—the cold, chilling determination. For some reason, she could feel the cold in her spine as well.
“I, Troy Draymond of the Woodland pack, reject you, Drea Corrigan as my mate.” Troy announced, each word deadlier than the last
Like an instinctive reaction to Troy's words, Drea’s bones started to shatter, lacing her pale skin in the process. She crashed straight into the floor and felt her skin start to burn up. It was hell, the explosive pain that descended into her body from almost nowhere.
“Drea!” In the middle of the dizzying pain, she heard her brother call.
“Heron.” She whispered, already feeling her strength start to fail her. Before she could fully pass out, her brother had managed to find his way through the crowd. He leaned down and carried her up. The last thing Drea heard as Heron carried her away from the chaos were fits of hysteria from the people watching everything unfold.
“Happy birthday, Andrea.” She whispered weakly to herself, finally letting go. Everything went black as she dropped her hand, letting it float in the air as Heron continued to carry her to her room.
“You're not enough, Andrea.”
“You're a lowly omega. Your wolf should have risen three years ago. Yet you lay here, powerless and wolfless.”
“you will never be nothing more than a lowly omega.”
Drea opened her eyes, sucking in as much air as she could. The pain was gone.
She survived the rejection.
Before she could have the time to process the thought, the door to her living room swung open. Her little sister was standing at the doorway, a sympathetic expression resting on her face.
“Lilly?” She called, sitting up against her bedframe. Lilly walked in, her fingers interlocked and clamped together.
Like Drea, Lilly had jet black hair, hazel eyes and delicate facial features. Unlike Drea, her thirteen year old sister was much, much shorter.
“I'm sorry.” Lilly whispered, sitting gently on the side of Drea’s bed.
“Its fine.” Drea responded.
It was far from fine but the last thing she needed was her little sister's pity.
“Where's dad?”
“He's downstairs.” Lilly responded, pushing away strands of her hair off her face. “He's saying—”
Drea cocked her eyebrows. That can't be good. Her sister only trailed off when she had had news to deliver.
“He's saying what, Lilly?”
Lilly swallowed. “He's saying if you can't find a mate by your next birthday, he's going to kill you himself. He says you're a disgrace and should have never been born in the first place.”
“Oh well.” Drea responded, sinking into her bed, even more. “Tell me something new.”
As Lilly opened her mouth to speak, a loud crashing noise from the living room below penetrated the air.
Drea turned to look at her sister, worry and utter fear planted on her face. She could feel the chill again—the one she felt when Troy rejected her.
“I'll go see what it is.” Lilly said, rising from the bed. Before Drea could reach out and stop her, Lilly was out the door.
She wanted to follow. She wanted to yank the heavy sheets off her legs and hurry down the stairs. But for some reason, she couldn't. The chill down her spine continued to rise and it felt like her body was going to freeze into the mattress. Another crashing noise penetrated her ears and the worry on her face instantly transitioned into terror.
Her fear was solidified when she heard the familiar lowly voice of her father cry out.
“Please! Have mercy.”
Soon, the crashing noise stopped and everywhere grew still and silent.
Terrifyingly silent.
She should get off her bed. She should run down there. Yet, she remained in her room, frozen with fear.
As she continued to let the terror get the best of her, she started to hear slow and steady footsteps. Her skin crawled as the footsteps grew louder. Someone was climbing up the stairs and something told her, it wasn't her little sister.
The cold was no longer in her spine alone now. She could feel it in every part of her body. She could feel her hands start to slowly shake, as the footsteps grew even louder. Her eyes remained fixed on her doorknob as the harsh cold continued to get to her. Something in her knew what was happening. She knew who was on the other side of that door and could feel her blood freeze, just at the thought.
She watched her doorknob turn slowly and her door creak open. There he stood, at the doorway, in a dark leather jacket and a dark pair of fitted jeans. Drea felt her heart skip a beat as the door gave way completely. She was right.
It was him.
As she continued to stare at him, Drea could feel the air in her room turn even colder. She looked down at his boot, seeking solace in that space. She couldn't afford to look him straight in the eye. With each step he took, the ground underneath his feet froze into an icy blue. Drea could not look up at him, scared he was going to freeze her to death right there and then.
Oh well, the worst day of her life might as well be her last.
She could feel the cold grow more eminent as he walked closer to her.
“Look at me.” His voice was deep and dreary. Just as she thought it was going to be. Drea couldn't find the courage to look up still.
“I said look at me.” His voice was louder, petrifying almost every organ in her body.
Slowly, she found the courage to take her eyes off the ground, and onto his face.
The first thing she noticed were the streaks of snow around his deep brown hair and his eyebrows. He stood before her, a dominating look on his face.
Where was her wolf when she needed it?
“Do you know who I am?”
Feeling a fresh wave of utter fear crash into her, she nodded, slowly.
“You’re Logan Frost.” She managed to say, amidst chattering teeth. “You're the Alpha of the Snow Pack.”