Babel Novel
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Chapter One
“Don’t lie to me, Mia!”
“Your brother’s happy and that’s all that matters.”
Jace’s eyes hold sympathy. Of course he pities me. Everyone does.
He squeezes my hand. “I’m sorry. Cameron’s a fool.”
I’d only left Cam’s bed a few hours ago.
The scent of him is still on my skin. We’d f*cked countless times and when I drifted off to sleep it was
with a contentment that for most of my life had been foreign to me. Cam was my best friend, my alpha,
the only man I’d ever love.
And now he was marrying someone else.
_____________________
“This union is a gift of the Goddess,” my father says.
As the senior beta in the pack, it’s his job to officiate mating ceremonies. He’s speaking to the smiling
couple, but his eyes are on me.
Message received, Dad.
He warned me not to get involved with Cameron. He’d told me it was a mistake. And I have no one but
myself to blame for thinking there could ever be a future between me and the Alpha.
Tears roll down my face and I swipe them away.
More wolves rush in to watch the ceremony. We’re in the grand hall and the entire pack crams in for a
better view.
“You didn’t really think he would end up with you?” Cameron’s sister Claire pauses beside me. She
smiles cruelly. “Oh, you did! Wow. Mia, you were never going to be more than a temporary diversion.
I’m sorry you had to learn this the hard way.”
She’s smiling so I’m pretty sure she isn’t sorry about anything.
When I was four, Claire kept telling me all about how my mom died and how no one would ever love
me, because I was pack trash. So I shouldn’t be surprised to see her laughing at me now.
“What did Claire say?” Jace asks as he rushes in a few seconds behind her.
“Nothing.”
With my dad as beta, I grew up in the same house as Cameron and Jace. They were always kind to
me. Their older sister Claire…not so much.
“Are you okay?” Jace whispers.
I try to smile so it’s not so obvious I’m hung up on Cameron. Because Cam and I have shifted beneath
full moons our whole lives, and we’ve been sleeping together for the better part of two years. If our
bond was going to grow, it would have happened by now.
“I’m fine, Jace.” It’s a lie, but I need him to believe it. “Your brother’s happy and that’s all that matters.”
Jace’s expression hold sympathy. He’s six-foot-four, with the same eyes and build as Cam. He’s not
quite as strong, but he’s more compassionate. Why the hell couldn’t I have been drawn to him?
He squeezes my hand. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be beside your brother, not back here with me.” I pull away.
He frowns but doesn’t argue. A second later he trudges forward while I continue to edge back, hoping I
can disappear entirely.
I’d only left Cameron’s bed a few hours ago.
The scent of him is still on my skin. We’d f*cked countless times and when I drifted off to sleep it was
with a contentment that for most of my life had been foreign to me.
Cam is my best friend, my alpha, the only man I’ll ever love.
And now he’s marrying someone else.
I don’t know what I’ll do without him. The pain I feel is unbearable, and yet I’m also numb. It’s like I’m
disconnected from everything that’s happening around me even while I’m right here in the thick of it.
I’m in shock, I think.
Cam and I had been eating lunch together in the main hall when this woman arrived. She was the
daughter of some prominent Alpha on the West Coast. I smiled hello and went back to eating.
Cam took one look at her… and it was as if I never existed.
Like we hadn’t spent our lives together or talked about the future we’d share. Like I didn’t spend more
time in his arms than I did out of them.
“I now pronounce you mates!” my father proclaims.
The whole pack goes wild, clapping, cheering. Celebrating this union and welcoming our new Luna into
our midst. Their joy compounds my shame. Everyone knows how inseparable Cam and I are. The easy
way they accept this new woman emphasizes how little they think of me. That hurts.
I stand frozen as Cam and his new bride walk down the aisle of the main hall. Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.
Cameron doesn’t glance my way as he heads out the door.
But Ashley–his wife–pauses. Her head jerks back to me.
“I smell you on my mate,” she says sharply.
I bow my head. “He is your mate, Luna. I cannot undo the past, only wish you both the happiest of
futures.”
She laughs, a pretty sound. “Of course we will be happy.” She leans closer, using her height to look
down at me. “I’ll expect you by my side tonight on our celebratory run. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Luna,” I mumble.
What can she possibly mean?
I glance at Cameron. I look for something–an acknowledgment, an apology… anything.
“Cam?” I whisper.
But he looks straight through me.