<h4>Chapter 13: Ruined Dinner</h4>


    <strong>Elena POV:</strong>


    <i>WHY THE HELL</i> was he here? I had barely managed to survive seeing him the first time, and now he''s back, standing there like he owns the ce. The audacity! It would take me at least a month—no, two months—to even <i>try</i> to look at him as anything other than the obnoxious, self-centered, power-hungry narcissist jerk that he was. That''s if I was being generous.


    Okay, I know what you''re thinking. <i>Then just reject the stupid, egocentric maniac.</i> Easy, right? Good point. I <i>would</i> if I didn''t respect the mate bond. Because, in all my years, through all the daydreams and fantasies about meeting my mate, one thing was constant: the mate bond was sacred. It wasn''t just some random match-up, it was a gift from the Moon Goddess herself. Rejecting it? Yeah, that was basically flipping her off. And I wasn''t about tomit that kind of abomination.


    But <i>seriously</i>, did she mess up this time? Like, majorly critical error. Maybe there was a switch somewhere in the cosmic lineup, a clerical error, because there was no way Alpha Kane was supposed to be my other half. The Moon Goddess couldn''t have possibly meant for <i>him</i>—this ruthless, arrogant control freak—to be the one destined for me.


    Every fiber of my being screamed that this had to be some colossal mistake. Mates were supposed toplete you, to be the other half of your soul. But Kane? He was like a walking red g—a towering, smoldering, dangerously dominant red g. I could already feel the weight of his presence pressing on me, that overpowering aura he carried like a crown. And I resented it. Him.


    No, there had to be some other exnation. Maybe the goddess was testing me, putting me through some cruel cosmic joke. Because, honestly, how could Alpha Kane—the man I''d spent years resenting—be the one I was fated to spend my life with?


    "Alpha Kane," my mom greeted him, her voice a little too cheerful, like she was trying to dissolve the tension in the room with a smile and some pleasantries. Good for her. He acknowledged her with a nod, his expression still unreadable, and I could tell she was trying to keep things light, as usual.


    "We were waiting for Samuel to have dinner," she said in that chirpy tone she used when trying to ease a situation, "and now that you''re also here, why don''t we all sit down for dinner and talk about this mate issue after?"


    Dinner? With <i>him</i>? Great. Just what I needed to make this awkward night even worse.


    "Sure, thank you, Luna," Kane replied smoothly, and while that was polite enough, it wasn''t nearly as respectful as I wanted. <i>Okay, maybe I''m starting to sound like a total bitch, bute on!</i> He could''ve at least tried to decline, something like, ''<i>Oh no, I wouldn''t want to impose,''</i> and then I could jump in with a quick, ''<i>Oh, no really, you are imposing,''</i> and watch him squirm away in embarrassment.


    But no. Of course, that wasn''t going to happen. He was <i>Alpha Kane</i>—too self-assured, too dominant to care if he was imposing. Instead, he was going to stay. In fact, he''d probably enjoy every second of making me ufortable. And that, right there, pissed me off even more.


    I sighed internally. Oh, Moon Goddess, help me. I needed to stop spinning these crazy fantasies in my head where everything yed out perfectly, where Kane got embarrassed, left with his tail between his legs, and I enjoyed dinner peacefully, free from the weight of his dominating presence. But the reality was, I was stuck. Stuck with this mate bond, stuck with <i>him</i>, and now stuck sharing a meal with the very man who made my blood boil in ways I wasn''t ready to admit.


    Yup. Definitely needed to pull my head out of fantasy world. <i>And fast.</i>


    And there I was, my appetite ruined as I watched my parents attempt to ease my mate. <i>Ugh, that word definitely wasn''t made for him</i>. To make matters worse, he was seated right next to me. Thanks a lot, Mom. Just what I needed—a constant reminder of my unfortunate fate.


    "I''m nning to take my mate to my pack as soon as she finishes saying her goodbyes and packing," he said casually while shoveling food into his mouth,pletely unfazed by my presence. "Let''s see... maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."


    His words hung in the air, heavy with expectation. <i>As if I''d just agree to that!</i>


    "Luna, this food is amazing," he continued, trying to soften the blow he''d just delivered.


    I couldn''t take it anymore. "I am not going anywhere with you," I shot back, as if I were discussing the weather. The moment the words left my mouth, I felt the tension shift. He stiffened beside me, his alpha aura rolling off him in waves, something dangerous lurking just beneath the surface.


    <i>Great, I think I just ruined dinner. Yay for me.</i>


    My dad coughed, looking embarrassed by my outburst and maybe a little scared of what I had just unleashed. Wonderful. I hated seeing that look on his face, that hint of fear mixed with disappointment. I quickly nced at my mom, hoping for some sort of reassurance, but she merely looked torn between wanting to support me and wanting to keep the peace.


    Feeling guilty, I excused myself from the table, slipping out of the dining room and into the cool night air. I didn''t like seeing my dad scared of that stupid jerk of a mate. It was infuriating how Kane expected me to bend to his will, to do everything he desired as if I were some mindless machine.


    <i>If he wanted me to go with him, he''d definitely have to earn it.</i> Scaring me and my parents with his alpha aura wasn''t going to cut it. He needed to understand that I wasn''t some prize to be won or a possession to be imed. I was my own person, and I was done with being treated like a pawn in whatever twisted game he was ying.


    Taking a deep breath, I stepped further into the shadows, trying to collect my thoughts and steady my racing heart. I would not be intimidated.


    "Now that wasn''t very nice, little mate."


    <i>Fuck</i>. It was Kane. I froze, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up as I slowly turned to face him. I hadn''t noticed how deep into the forest I had wandered, too caught up in my own thoughts, too busy calling him names in my head to pay attention to where my feet were taking me.


    There he stood, a vision of raw masculinity, his dark hair tousled by the breeze, his eyes smoldering with a mix of annoyance and something else—something far more dangerous. The way he looked at me made my stomach flip. He seemed like a predator, sizing up his prey, and I felt trapped in the wildness of the forest and the intensity of his gaze.


    <i>Oh great, just great.</i> I was utterly screwed, and no one would being this way any time soon.