My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 136: Stiff Reunion

[Warning: Mixed POV]

- Violet -

Rowan, was it?

I think that was what his beta called him that day.

He stood on the other side of the platform, another Supreme Alpha speaking to him with animated gestures. But he wasn’t paying attention to his companion.

He was staring at me.

Those soft dark green eyes were fixed on my face with an expression I couldn’t quite read. And I hated it...

Conflicting feelings tangled together into something that made my chest ache with guilt I had no right to feel.

I looked away quickly, my heart hammering against my ribs.

This was going to be harder than I thought.

’Why was he here?!’

I sighed, trying to bring my nerves under control.

That was a foolish question and I knew it.

Gregor gently nudged me and I immediately forced myself to focus. I moved towards the area he indicated, a small reserved section that thankfully did not appear too different from the general seating arrangements.

The summit’s fifth day was meant for addressing minor leftover issues, with my trial scheduled as one of the final matters.

The hall continued to fill as we made our way to my spot, wolves finding their seats and settling in with quiet murmurs of conversation. I couldn’t help but notice how a few turned to look my way.

Kael had taught me a bit about how to subdue my presence. I haven’t fully perfected it, so it still tended to slip out once in a while. And any wolf perceptive enough to catch it would be able to tell that I wasn’t an ordinary wolf.

I was about to take my seat at the front when I heard it. A voice that sent ice through my veins.

"—quite the spectacle, isn’t it? Though I suppose anything would be impressive to someone from your territory."

Damon’s voice.

That same smooth and condescending tone was exactly as I remembered.

I turned, unable to stop myself.

He stood not too far away, with Elena hanging on his arm, her pink hair elaborately styled and her expression amused as she gazed between him and the irritated wolf they were addressing. One who likely couldn’t just walk away due to his lower position.

He looked the same. Infuriatingly, maddeningly the same. Tall and handsome with that same shameless confident bearing that had once made my heart race. His dark eyes suddenly landed on me and he went stiff.

His eyes widened, and he stared at me like he was seeing a ghost.

I forgot to breathe.

The air locked in my lungs, trapped there by the sudden crushing weight that slammed into my chest. My vision narrowed to a single point. His face. His eyes. That expression of shock that should have given me satisfaction but instead ignited something violent inside me.

Rage.

Pure, undiluted rage flooded through my body.

Every humiliation rushed back in vivid detail. The public rejection. His cruel words. The laughter of the pack as I’d stumbled away, broken and bleeding inside. The patrol wolves he had sent to kill me. Their teeth tearing into my flesh. Their casual discussion of my death like I was nothing more than a problem to be disposed of.

He had wanted me dead!

As if rejecting me hadn’t been enough!

He had banished me and decided that I wasn’t worth living.

And in this second life, he had made the very same decision!

I clasped my hands at my stomach to prevent myself from curling them into fists. I clutched my stomach hard for a brief second, and the pain, while distant, was irrelevant compared to the building sensation in my chest.

I wanted to let that rage tear free in a way that would make the walls shake and the wolves cower.

I wanted him to tremble.

I wanted to cross the distance between us and show him exactly what this pathetic omega had become.

I wanted to make him hurt the way he had hurt me.

’Stop... Just stop...’

I held myself perfectly still, trying my hardest to keep my anger hidden even as my blood boiled beneath my skin.

I hated this man.

- Damon -

My feet had locked to the floor, my entire body frozen as I stared at the woman standing not so far away. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

It couldn’t be her.

It couldn’t possibly be her.

That girl...

I had spent days imagining this moment. Days rehearsing what I would say when I finally saw her pathetic, measly self again. I pictured her pale and trembling as she stood before the assembly, pleading and begging for this not to go on.

She would look at me with those desperate eyes, begging me to make the accusations go away, revealing her miserable self to the whole world.

I had looked forward to this day with a mixture of dread and anticipation that had kept me awake at night.

But the woman standing before me now bore almost no resemblance to the pathetic omega I had rejected.

She seemed even taller, flanked by two older wolves who positioned themselves at her sides like guardians. Or advisors.

Why did she even have them at her side?

It made no sense.

Was this even her?

The dress she wore draped elegantly over a figure I definitely did not remember, the flowing fabric caught the light and swayed like water as she shifted to look at one of the wolves who had grabbed her attention.

She was beautiful.

I immediately frowned, finding myself horrified by the thought.

When had she looked like this?

Her dark hair was certainly not the dull, lifeless strands I remembered, and her skin had a healthy glow that was slowly beginning to disgust me. Even her posture was different, confident in a way that set me on edge.

But it was more than just her appearance.

I reached out with my senses, trying to identify what felt so wrong about this, but I came up empty.

I could not even smell the Omega scent on her.

She seemed like a blank canvas with a faint scent I could not understand at all.

Something fundamental had changed.

And I wasn’t sure I liked it.