GIFTED RILEY by Lacy Mierr

GIFTED RILEY

Chapter 1: Shattered Dreams

*Riley*

My head made contact with the table once more, broken glass piercing my skin. My nose was bleeding again – second time this week. My ears rang and my vision blurred, so i couldn’t see who was attacking me. but if i had to take a guess, I’d say it was one of my sister’s friends.

“Come on, poor Riley,” my attacker growled against my ear.

I was right. I recognized the voice immediately. It belonged to Hailey, my sister’s so-called friend. She snickered as she shoved me again. I tried my hardest to hold my ground, but she was too strong. I spun and soon felt my face hit the dirt. “Is that all you’ve got?”

“Real mature, Hailey.” I spat out, my mouth tasting like iron. “Go ahead and pick on someone you’re ten times stronger than.”

“It’s not my fault you’re just a weak, defenseless girl with no wolf.” An amused chuckle slipped from her lips, “oh, I meant human.”

I could feel my hands clenching into fists, aching to strike back at her, but the aloof energy I had managed to maintain all these years would be for nothing if I showed any emotion.

“At least I’m not a pathetic wannabe trying my hardest to get into the cool crowd,” I retorted defiantly.

Before I could finish my sentence, I felt a searing pain at the back of my scalp. She had dragged me up by my hair, her hot breath against my n*ck.

“I’ve always wanted to disfigure that pretty little face of yours,” she growled in my ear. “Don’t tempt me, weakling. Just because you’re a part of the pack by birth doesn’t mean you’re one of us. No one would really care if anything happened to you. Never forget that.”

And with that, she pushed me off and walked away. I heaved a sigh of relief, brushing myself off.

Another day, another dose of being bullied ticked off the list. I wonder who will take on the task of tormenting poor Riley tomorrow.

Hailey was wrong though. Someone would care if something happened to me – my Noah.

Noah is my confidence and my pride. For three years, he has been my sun, my moon, and all the stars in between. He was the reason I could face the pack’s snide remarks and taunts about being wolfless with my head held high.

His kindness was a balm to the sting of rejection, his presence reminded me that I wasn’t alone and we were in this together.

Unlike others who felt their fated mate connection on a primal level, I, the girl cursed without a wolf, could only rely on the steady growth of our love. But deep down, I knew that Noah was my mate. We were two halves of a whole, destined to be together forever.

And since it’s his 18th birthday today, we would finally make forever official.

I dusted myself off, smoothed out my hair and made my way over to his house, eager to see him and seal the deal.

“Noah?” I called out, as I pushed the door open, but there was no response. I walked around for a minute, wondering where he was, but didn’t seem to find him.

Maybe I went to his house too early, and everything he had probably planned for today wasn’t ready yet, I thought.

I made my way down the road, deciding to head back home. The streets were empty, and I was glad for it – I wouldn’t have the pleasure of coming across any of the other members of the pack. I definitely wasn’t in the mood for more bullying.

My phone suddenly beeped with a text from Noah: “I’m at your house. Can’t wait to see you.”

I let out a happy squeal and turned back to head towards my house. But before I could take a step, a loud voice stopped me in my tracks.

“Riley,” my brother’s booming voice echoed through the empty street as he appeared behind me. “Don’t tell me you’re going to see that boy.”

I sighed as I turned to face him.

Unlike most of my family, Liam was built like a gentle giant. His kind heart couldn’t stand the cruelty toward me, so he always made sure to be extra nice to me. He’s next in line to be Beta of the Evermane Pack, respected for his strength and even more for his compassion.

“Fine then, I won’t tell you.”

“Being with him is a mistake.”

When would Liam stop this? “No, it’s not… we love each other. I’m his mate.”

“His mate?” Liam chuckled, seizing my arm and pulling me back. “What delusional world are you living in? You know you can’t have a mate, and that means Noah’s mate is someone else. Like I said, this fooling around is a mistake. You’re going to get yourself hurt.”

While he was distracted with lecturing me, I managed to pull my arm out of his grip, putting some much-needed distance between us.

“You don’t have to remind me that I’m not one of you. But what you don’t understand is that Noah chose me. He loves me, and he wants me for me,” I said, pleading with him to understand.

“He’s going to be the next Alpha. Even if it were possible, it can’t happen because he needs someone strong by his side.” Liam stated.

He’s going to be the next alpha, his words repeated themselves in my head. It doesn’t matter, I said to myself. As long as we are mates, we can still be together even when he becomes the alpha.

“Noah and I have a connection, and I need to see where it leads.”

Without waiting for him to say anything else, I moved past him, making my way swiftly to Noah. What did he know anyways? He didn’t know Noah like I did. He didn’t know how tender and kind he was with me. It was impossible to imagine that someone who treated me with so much fragility could ever do anything to hurt me.

As I reached Noah’s door, I tugged nervously at my dress. I can do this. I can be his mate. I can be the one that’s meant for him, and nothing any other person says matters.

With that, I pushed the door open.

The scene before me played out like a movie. It had to be, because there was no way this was reality.

Yet, as tears started to fall down my ch*eks, I knew that what I was witnessing was real – my sister, Ava, with her jet-black hair cascading down her back, was writhing in pleasure on top of my boyfriend.

My gaze darted to Noah, urging him to see me standing there and tell me I’m hallucinating, or that it’s a joke. At this point, I’ll believe everything except for what’s right in front of me.

But his eyes were locked on Ava, a possessive hunger twisting his features. A hunger that should have been directed at me!

A choked sob escaped my lips, a raw sound that echoed in the vast emptiness of the room.

The bracelet I’d made him, a symbol of my love, glinted on his wrist under the harsh light. It felt like a cruel joke, a reminder that I was indeed in this alone. And whatever fantasy I’d made up was my own undoing.

The air grew thick with something far worse than sweat – the stench of betrayal. Shame coiled around me, suffocating the air from my lungs. I wasn’t just heartbroken, I was shattered. The girl who walked in here, brimming with hope, was gone, replaced by a broken mess.

Anger began to settle in. And as I stared at his n*ked body for a moment, I wondered if it would make me feel any better if I castrated him.

The world seemed to be extra cruel to me today, because just as my sister climaxed, she fixed her gaze on me smirking. “Nice of you to join us, sister.” She pulled out something from under her, dangling it between her fingers.

Noah’s phone.

“Riley?” Noah exclaimed in shock, pulling himself away from her.

“I thought Riley should get a front row seat to what we do when she’s not looking.” She smirked at me devilishly, still holding Noah’s phone. She wanted me to know what she did, wanted me to know that she had my heart in the palm of her hands.

The tears were pouring now.

“What’s going on?” I asked quietly, even though I knew the truth.

Ava got up from the couch and wrapped herself around Noah, placing a seductive kiss on his n*ck while maintaining eye contact with me.

“Go on, Noah. Tell her,” Ava purred, the words laced with cruel excitement.

A sharp, unexpected pang echoed in my chest. Did Ava really hate me that much?

No! This is between me and Noah. I will not entertain her deliberate jabs and insults. But still, I knew that something precious to me was about to shatter.

“Tell me what?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

Noah stood frozen, his face a mask of conflicting emotions. Hesitation flickered in his eyes, his shoulders slumped, his entire posture radiating nervousness.

I longed to reach out, to grab his arm and shake him until he spoke. But a strange paralysis gripped me.

“I…” Noah stammered, his voice cracking. He couldn’t meet my gaze, his eyes darting away as if searching for escape.

“Stop taking it easy on her, Noah. Tell her!” Ava didn’t even have the decency to hide her amusement.

Fury, hot and primal, bubbled up inside me. Did he love Ava? Was that the reason for his strange behavior? I wanted to scream, to tear at her smug face, to claw out Ava’s eyes for the joy she seemed to derive from my pain.

“Tell me what, Noah?” I repeated, my voice trembling slightly, a desperate plea laced with a rising tide of anger.

“I never wanted to hurt you,” he mumbled, his voice thick with guilt. “You have to understand, tomorrow is the Choosing Ceremony…I”

But I was done listening to excuses. “But you hurt me anyway, didn’t you?” I spat, cutting him off.

“You sad, petty human, and your petty emotions. Are you so dumb that you can’t already tell what’s happening?”

Tears well up in my eyes, blurring my vision. She’s right. I know what he’s going to say, but I don’t want to believe it.

As if in slow motion, Noah took a shaky breath. “Ava is my mate,” he confessed, the words tumbling out like a death sentence.

The world seemed to tilt on its axis as my legs buckled beneath me. The feeble hope I’d clung to, the belief that there might be an explanation, crumbled to dust at Noah’s feet.

Noah and I are nothing. He and Ava are everything.