3
Dominic Cherith, her ex-best friend and her current tormentor. Once, when she was six, he had stood by her side and protected her from her bullies; he had fought them to the extent that a baby tooth got knocked out.
But maybe he realised that standing up for a weak half blood was not a good idea, that it made him stand out like a black sheep in the crowd of white ones. So now he stood on the other side, with her bullies, making her life hell.
It was all part of growing up.
Shaking off that troubling thought, Inez picked up the plate heaped with chicken wings and proceeded to carefully migrate around the tables in order to avoid running into Dominic.
All was going according to plan until she passed a table that was a good ten steps away from him and abruptly felt a wave of heat crash through her. What the hell? It had to be at least twenty or twenty-one degrees here, so why was she suddenly sweating like it was ninety?
Her arms felt shaky and so did her legs. How wonderful it would be if she could simply drop the plate she was holding and leave. It would certainly do that lazy boy, Ron, a world of good to jump off his chair and fetch his own food for a change.
Ugh. Sweat dripped down her inner thighs and her back, and there was this weird churning sensation happening inside of her stomach. She better not have caught a bug or something.
She couldn't afford to get sick. Not now.
'I need to get out of here,' thought Inez as she continued past the tables and almost dumped the plate of chicken wings in front of Ron.
"Took you long enough," Ron griped as he picked up a wing and helped himself. "No wonder you are called trash; you are so slow." As he spoke, he literally swallowed the meat off the bone before hurling it at her forehead. "Pick it up," he commanded.
Inez gritted her teeth. However, the thought of being used as the pack's punching bag stopped her from retaliating. After six months of being kicked around, she dared not go against Dominic or his lackeys.
She crouched and picked up the bone before throwing it in the trash can.
However, as she stood up, she had the unmistakeable feeling of being watched. She turned around to locate the culprit and unexpectedly spotted Dominic staring at her.
And no sooner did their gazes meet than heat burst through her core, causing her toes to curl.
What the —
Inez could feel her heart thumping as the delectable smell of bonbons, whisky, and something else flooded her nostrils. The scent was so potent that she could almost taste it.
What was going on?
Inez had no idea what was happening but something about the situation triggered her inner wolf. She pawed at her from within as she chased her tail. She was, of course, not moving; it was just an anthropomorphization of her emotions.
Her wolf, Nia, was ecstatic.
'Him, Him, Him. ' Nia was demanding and the instant Inez's gaze met with Dominic's wide one, the frantic chant inside of her head changed.
'Mine, Mine, Mine.'
Her inner wolf clawed at her inner surface, and even though Inez wanted to look away, she was certain that even a team of one hundred horses could not tear her away from her spot.
'MATE!' As if to answer her confusion, her wolf shouted that word with such intensity that her head buzzed.
No.
Dominic Cherith? The one who had turned every single minute of her life worse than hell was her mate.
Oh Hell the Fuck, No.
***
Inez felt nothing but sheer panic. Obviously, she did not share the same joy as her wolf. She could feel her hands turning clammy the second Dominic's nostrils flared, and his wolf flashed in his eyes.
His eyes widened for half a degree before his lips set into a thin scowl.
'Don't come here.. please.. Don't.' Inez prayed silently in her head. She suppressed her desires, which were raging in her very blood. Thankfully, being latent must have helped her because her wolf couldn't run wild. That was a hell lot of good news because Inez could feel her wolf going feral when Eve unexpectedly turned around and kissed Dominic.
On the lips.
And he did nothing. If he knew and realized that she was his mate, he made no signs to show it. He remained where he was, letting another female kiss him.
Inez heard her wolf howl in anger— so hard that she caused her head to buzz for three or more seconds.
It was painful, shitty and the absolute worst kind of feeling—far worse even than finding out that her childhood friends were no longer her friends but abusers.
"HEY TRASH! DO YOU NOT HEAR ME?" An angry roar snapped Inez out of her thoughts as she turned and looked at the boy sitting on her left. He was glaring at her, and he was glaring hard. "Do you not see the litter on the ground? Why haven't you picked it up? And what about the ice cream? Where is my chocolate ice cream? Did you forget what you need to do tonight?"
It was only then that Inez remembered that she was supposed to be the nanny of this brat for the party. Cursing herself, she bent down and started cleaning up the mess Ron had made.
Inez might be the planner behind this entire party, but all her credit had long been snatched away, leaving nothing for her but this thankless nanny-duty.
"Ronnie-kins? What's wrong? Who made you upset?" Mrs Fawcett came rushing over with concern a few seconds later, and Inez heard her worried litany the moment she approached the table.
"It's her. She is driving me mad, Mommy," Ron replied, and from her peripheral view, Inez could see him hugging his mother. "I asked her to bring me ice-cream but she is so slow. Can't I get someone else other than this trash?"
"Now, now, Ronnie. There are not enough waste of spaces like her," Mrs Fawcett chuckled heartily at her joke. "They don't have the time to run around as they have too much free time on their hands."
Inez felt her blood boil at the words. She had worked until her entire body started creaking. From the napkins to the chandelier and the ice statue, they were all her creations and yet she was being called a waste of space.
However, she had learnt the hard way not to run her mouth. So, even though her wolf nipped at her surface, she stayed quiet while inwardly trying her best to suppress the embarrassing desires that were surging in her veins.
"Is something the matter?"