Wolf Girl (Wolf Girl, #1)(65)

I still didn’t like it, and Meredith must not have either, because she shot me a death glare before I could turn back around to face forward.

All thoughts of Meredith were temporarily washed from my mind when we stepped into the space.

“Good evening, ladies,” Roland greeted us. I smiled at Sawyer’s butler, whom I remembered meeting from the boat.

“Hello, Roland, good to see you.”

He gave us both a smile and we entered the room.

“Oh wow,” I breathed, taking in the giant crystal chandelier that hung from the middle of the large ballroom. From that, small white twinkling string lights branched out to the corners of the room dripping down the walls. Each chair was covered in silk satin, and the center of the tables held a stunning floral display. If this was just an announcement, I hated to think of how extravagant the wedding would be. I recognized the other girls, and that not just the top twenty were here but all fifty. It must be customary to invite everyone back once you’d chosen your mate.

“You bitch!” a familiar female called from behind me and I froze.

Turning, I saw a red-faced Meredith coming right for me.

Okay, so letting her down gently clearly hadn’t worked.

Sage stepped in front of me to cut her off. “Go out on the patio. I got this,” Sage told me and put her hands out to Meredith. “Don’t make a scene,” I heard her saying as I spun and beelined it for the balcony.

Shit.

I mean, this was Werewolf Bachelor, but I was hoping for a drama-free night. I really wished I’d had time to chug some champagne or something to take the edge off. The cool evening air blew past me as I stepped out onto the balcony. Taking in a few lungfuls, I tried to calm my nerves.

“There you are,” Sawyer’s voice called from behind me and I spun.

“I’m guessing that didn’t go well?” I nodded inside, indicating to Meredith.

He smiled, ignoring my comment. “I missed you.”

Okay, I just saw him like thirty seconds ago but… “I missed you too.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned down to kiss me as I threw my arms up around his neck. His lips came down on mine in a hard, aggressive way that I didn’t expect. His tongue pried its way into my mouth in a hungry and rushed kiss that wasn’t like him.

“What the fuck!” Sawyer screamed as alarm bells went off in my head.

How can he be screaming while he’s kissing me? He pulled away from me and I looked up into the eyes of a man I’d never seen before.

Light blond ashy hair, hard brown eyes and a chiseled jaw.

My hands went to my mouth as shock ripped through me.

What the fuck was happening? Confusion seeped into me as the brown-eyed dude grinned at me and then looked back at Sawyer. Meredith and Sage stood just behind Sawyer, watching me, both with open mouths.

Fuck.

Sawyer lunged for the guy, but he leapt over the patio railing and took off running, leaving me with my hands over my mouth and my heart beating frantically in my chest.

“Demi,” Sawyer’s voice held so much anger. “Who the fuck was that?” I noticed he was wearing a weird necklace he didn’t have on before. It was a blue pendant on a thick chain, not his style…

My hands shook as I pulled them away from my face. “I dunno … I thought it was … you.”

He scoffed. “You fucking played me!” The hurt in his voice gutted me.

“No I didn’t! I’m … confused. I thought it was you.” My fingers went to my lips again as I tried to think of a logical reason for what just happened. “Maybe I was drugged.”

He frowned, suddenly looking concerned. “Do you feel drugged?”

I shook my head. “No, but—”

“Did anyone give you anything to eat or drink here?” he pressed.

“No.”

“Then why the fuck was some random dude’s tongue just down your throat!” he yelled as people in the room started to gather behind him and stare. This wasn’t like him, he wasn’t mean, not to me, not ever.

Tears lined my eyelids. “I … I don’t know.”

Anger washed over his features, before morphing into pain. “I … trusted you … with everything. Is this why you were having second thoughts on the way over? Oh my God, I feel sick.”

He turned to leave and I clung to his jacket. “Sawyer, wait! I’ll figure out what this was, it must have been magic—”

“No.” He looked back at me with stone cold fury. “This was a mistake! I love you but that doesn’t mean anything.”

He lowered his head to look down at me. ‘I have to look out for my family now and what’s best for them. It doesn’t matter that I love you. The curse only breaks if you love me back. I’m sorry, Demi. I can’t risk their lives on a girl who just made out with some random dude at what was supposed to be our engagement party.’

He jerked out of my grasp and burst through the crowd, going inside. It was like he’d smacked me in the face. Each word slammed into me like hot coals being thrown at my skin.

‘Sawyer, don’t do this. I love you! This was magic or something. I didn’t know what I was doing!’ Desperation took hold of me. ‘What about the imprint? True mates?’

I could feel his anguish through our bond, like a hurricane of emotions slamming into me with gale force winds. ‘I want to believe you but … I can’t. That was clearly Paladin magic and I don’t want anything to do with it.’