She had turned to me, her eyes cold and distant. "This is our chance, Claire," she said, her voice devoid of emotion. "I won’t waste it."
In the years that followed, I earned Caspian's resentment. He blamed me for everything—for keeping him from joining Ophelia, for holding him back, for being the reason he was stuck in Bloodvenom Pack. Especially after I became his mate, his hatred for me only grew.
From a young age, I had always followed Caspian around like a shadow. I adore him, admire him. And when I turned 18 and discovered he was my mate, I was overjoyed. I thought it was fate, that we were meant to be together.
But Caspian didn’t see it that way. When I told him we were mates, his reaction was anything but what I had hoped for. "No," he had said, his voice cold and distant. "This isn’t right. I was supposed to be with Ophelia."
I was devastated. "Caspian, please," I had begged, tears streaming down my face. "We’re meant to be together. You can’t just leave me."
But he had been determined to reject me, to leave with Ophelia and follow her to the Shadow Crest Pack.