"No Hal, I am picking up the flowers....will you calm down? Of course I have checked the seating arrangements...yes...yes...yes...yes...oh I'm getting a call Hal, I'll call you back, bye" I snapped my phone shut, throwing it into my purse without a second glance at it. Maybe taking Hal up on the maid of honour offer was not the best decision of my life. I had been on my feet for the last five hours trying to have the hall ready for the auspicious occasion. I walked back into the grand hall, repositioning the flowers the way the Hal had instructed them to be. Sweat was perspiring down my back due to the heated summer day, and I could feel my dry throat ache for a drop of water.

I marched around the embellished tables, straight towards the end of the hall, grabbing my bottle of water to finally satisfy my thirst. A heavy sound walking towards the hall grabbed my attention, causing me to part the bottle from my lips instantly. By the alluring scent I could tell it was my poor excuse of a mate, who I had absolutely no desire of seeing. After I had walked away from him during my run, I had felt appeased with myself for not falling into the mate bond, and I intended on keeping it that way. I hurriedly grabbed my bag and dashed out of the halls through the kitchen, placing a hand over my speeding heart once I had made it out. I knew it was only a matter of time before my walls came crashing down and I would be no longer be immune to the mate bond.

The loud tone of my phone snapped me back to reality, making me jump with surprise. I picked it up again, without a second glimpse at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"You don't have to run out of the room you know?" his voice radiated through my phone, sending a current of sparks through me, making me stop in my tracks.

"How did you-"

"Get your number? I ordered Hailey to give it to me" he responded casually.

"Do you not get that I don't want to be around you or do I need to write it out for you on a piece of paper in capital letters and post it to you in the mail?" I replied equally as casually, my patience and toleration somewhat decreasing with every ticking second I conversed with him.

"Now what good would that do to me? You see, you're my mate and that automatically gives me the right to talk to you."

"I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. You see, my name is not Chloe and I don't open my legs for the first person I see so I'm afraid you must have the wrong number" My fingers were about to end the call when his voice cut me off once again.

"Don't test me mate"

"Ex-mate" I muttered, hanging up on him instantly. I continued advancing towards my next destination. The bridal shop. I walked inside the petite store on the corner of the narrow street, my feet frozen at the entrance of the shop. My orbs floated around the store, capturing every fine detail on the dresses. I felt a small sting deep in my heart as I came to terms with the fact that I was never going to have a wedding day. It was true that I loved Drew, but he had his own mate to find, and I was not going to take that away from him.

I strolled around the collection of dresses, my feet slowly guiding me through the store, the feeling of every soft fabric touching my fingertips as I slid my fingers down the white gowns. My eyes focused on the small features that made every dress unique. A middle aged lady suddenly popped into view as I approached the end of the shop.

"Hello, how may I help you?" she questioned politely, brushing down her pinafore dress and pushing her thick, black glasses up her nose, a smile plastered on her face.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Hailey Wood's dress" I kindly stated, re-entering the world of reality. Her smile extended as she escorted me towards another area of the store and pulled out a garment from the collection.

"This will be it" she replied, handing the dress to me. I thanked her respectfully and hurried out of the store, back to the pack house, where Hal was already present.

To my uttermost disappointment, Chace was also existent in the room my best friend happened to be in with her mate.

"Al, thank god you're back. Do you have my dress?" I nodded, handing her the dress. She looked at it with complete adoration, before hiding it from Adam's view and focusing her attention back on me. "Al, I'm sorry, but I have one last job for you. I need you to go through the guest list and make sure all the invitations have been sent."

"Alright, no problem" she sent me a slight fake smile before finishing her sentence.

"With him" she pointed at Chace who sat with a sly smirk on his face by the table.

"Why him?" I whined, not caring about the fact that he was literally a few feet away from me.

"Because he's the best man, and he needs to go through the list too, to check if he missed any of Adam's guests. I'm sorry Al." She sent me a sympathetic smile before disappearing out of the room , her mate tagging along, leaving me and Chace alone.

I stood paralyzed for a few seconds, my mind absolutely clueless of how to act before I returned to my senses. I ignored his presence and walked to the other side of the table, my eyes always averted from his.

"Alright, this is how it's going to work, I go through Hailey's guest list and you go through Adam's. No talking, no looking, keep to yourself. Understood?" I snapped, my eyes meeting his as he smirked and nodded. But something told me that he didn't understand my terms. Nevertheless, I picked up the huge pile off the table and started focusing on my work. My wolf was aching to focus on Chace, however I refused to give into his satisfaction. I refused to be like Evelyn, and give into something I knew was never going to be real. All Chace wanted me for was to satisfy his needs, but I was never going to let that happen. Ever. I refused to. I wanted to be stronger and overpower the bond, leaving my mate to feel the pain of loss and loneliness. I wanted him to suffer the way I had when he had rejected me, and that's exactly what I planned on doing.

Good luck Chace Winchester.