The Rejected Omega Is Actually The White Wolf

Alina POV:

Back at the villa, the night air was freezing.

Krystal dumped the dead terrier on the patio table. "Get rid of it," she told a servant.

Something glinted on the dog's collar. A silver medallion shaped like a shield.

"That's my father's!" I lunged forward. "The Medal of Valor! It went missing the day I was sent to the Alps!"

"You put a hero's medal on a dog?" I screamed at Jaxon.

Jaxon looked surprised. "I... I didn't know. Krystal said she bought a vintage charm."

"It's trash," Krystal spat, snatching the collar. "Cursed. Just like her."

She walked to the edge of the patio, overlooking the churning Hudson River.

"Give it back!" I begged.

Krystal smiled. "Fetch."

She threw the medal into the black water.

I didn't think. I jumped.

"Alina!" Jaxon shouted.

I hit the water hard. The cold was absolute, a thousand knives. The current grabbed me. I clawed at the muddy bottom, fingers brushing metal. I grabbed it.

Lungs burning, I kicked upward, dragging myself onto the rocky bank, shivering violently.

I looked up at the balcony.

Jaxon was there. But he wasn't looking for me.

Bright streaks illuminated the sky. A meteor shower.

"Oh, Jaxon! You made the artificial meteor shower happen! Just for me!" Krystal squealed.

"Anything for you, my love," he said, arm around her.

He had forgotten I was in the river.

I clutched the cold medal. The final thread of the Mate Bond snapped.

I didn't feel pain anymore. Just clarity.

"You promised to protect me," I whispered. "But I am less than a dog to you."

I walked toward the city. Tomorrow was my father's death anniversary. And tomorrow, Alina Phillips would die so the White Wolf could be born.