The God She Rejected

Chapter 5: Anika's POV

f**k! He was persistent. And attractive. And for a breathtakingly stupid second, I considered it. What was the harm in a number? A little texting? It wasn't like I was going to do anything.

But then I felt it—a subtle shift in the air pressure, like the moment before a thunderclap. The music didn't change, the crowd didn't part, but a cold dread trickled down my spine. Thethys let out a low whine, her instincts screaming a warning far more primal than any concern about a mate bond.

I didn't need to turn around. I knew.

Alexi’s smile faltered, his confident posture stiffening as he looked over my shoulder. His eyes widened slightly, the predator in him recognizing a far greater threat. His hand fell away from my hip as if he’d been burned.

“Problem?” a voice rumbled, so deep it vibrated through the floor and into my very bones. It wasn't loud. It didn't need to be. It cut through the pounding bass like a shark through still water.

Leo stood there. He wasn't dressed for a club. He wore dark trousers and a simple, open-collared shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked utterly, infuriatingly out of place, and yet he commanded the space around him completely. The strobe lights glanced off the sharp planes of his face, his expression deceptively calm. But his eyes… his eyes were a tempest.

The hell is he getting angry at?

“No problem,” Alexi said quickly, taking a deliberate step back from me, his hands raised in a placating gesture. “Just making conversation.”

“The conversation is over,” Leo said.

Alexi, to his credit, didn't argue. He gave me a tight, nervous nod and melted back into the crowd without another word.

Leo’s gaze shifted to me, and its full force was like a physical blow. The noise of the club seemed to fade into a dull roar. “Having fun?”

“I was,” I shot back, crossing my arms over my chest. “Until I was interrupted.”

He took a step closer, invading my space. "Eleni asked me to see if you were okay since you came on your own, but I never expected you to be cheating on me so soon."

"I'm not that heartless," I said, rolling my eyes. "I still need to find a way to mute our link before I consider doing something else."

"Is that so?"

I nodded.

"So I came here for nothing?" He questioned.

“I can take care of myself, so yeah, you came in vain.”

“Can you?” His eyes flickered over me, from the black dress to the sandals, and back to my face. “You attract attention. The wrong kind.”

“Oh, and you’re the right kind?” I snorted. "Leave, Zephyrus. You don't belong here, and rest assured. I won't let you feel any pain."

His expression, which had been a mask of controlled anger, fractured. His eyes travelled from my face to my lips, and then... he bit his own.

The club’s chaos seemed to recede further, the bass becoming a distant, irrelevant heartbeat. He stared at me, and I felt my body start buzzing like crazy.

"You are going to kiss someone else?"

I nodded. "When I mute our bond, yes. I'm too young to miss all the fun."

The air around us didn't just grow cold; it crackled, as if the very molecules were being charged with a static fury. The strobe lights seemed to freeze mid-pulse. For a terrifying, exhilarating second, I thought the club's power had failed. But it was just him. It was all him.

"He is angry," Thethys commented.

"Not s**t, captain obvious."

His eyes shifted from grey to silver. "When you mute our bond," he repeated.

"You are going to have fun, why shouldn't I?"

The low growl that emanated from him wasn't entirely human. I even thought he was a wolf for a second because of how he reacted.

"Why shouldn't you?" he repeated, his voice dangerously soft. He leaned in so close his words were a whisper against my ear. "Because, lykópoulo, the 'fun' you are imagining is a pale, pathetic imitation of what I can offer you."

...

I think I have to take him to a psychiatrist. He told me yesterday he didn't want anything to do with me, and now he is acting this way because he got jealous?

"You think a fumble in the dark with a stray pup is fun?" he continued, his tone laced with a condescension that should have infuriated me but instead sent a thrill through me. "That is a distraction. A fleeting itch."

He pulled back just enough to capture my gaze again. His eyes were burning now. "I can offer you a better night."

I gulped. He was hot, and I won't lie that my whole body hummed with anticipation, but that was all he was going to get.

"You should make up your mind then, Zephyrus, because as you can see," I glanced around until my eyes landed on the poor wolf I would use to make my dear mate lose his mind. "I can be pretty popular, and wolves are very... s****l creatures."

"Hey! We are not promiscuous!" Thethys countered.

"We kinda are."

"Very well, Anika. If that's what you want," he stepped back. "One night would have been nice, but since you don't want it."

I chuckled. "Yeah, no thanks. Don't worry about me. I can travel to different realms and find my own fun in places you can't even imagine."

I was bluffing. I could go to other realms and find some fun, but I had done that already and gotten tired. My siblings were the rulers of those realms, and I didn't want people to tell them what I was doing.

The silver in his eyes flared, and for the first time, I saw how his aura slipped. That has never happened before, not even when that wolf held my waist.

"Our mate is jelly, jelly," Thethys chuckled. She was having a blast.

This behavior was so unlike her. I would expect this from my other brother, Seth, who is the jokster of the family, but not from her.

"He doesn't look too good," I commented as I saw the silver in his eyes churn like a turbulent sea.

"Serves him right because he was mean."

I couldn't argue with Thethys. She was right, but for some reason, seeing him this angry made my heart throb.

"You can do as you wish, Anika," he said, his voice low and cold. "I forgot how many options you had, but just remember that the same applies to me. You are not the only one who can teleport."

Thethys snarled inside me, but we had no right to be angry. Zephyrus was right; he could do whatever he wanted. We may not be able to break the bond yet, but since I'm a witch, I won't feel him cheating on me.

He waited for a moment, probably expecting me to say something, but instead, I turned around and left. I had nothing else to say to him, and maybe, just maybe, it would be better if I left him here.

I didn't want to stay in the club anymore; the music, the sweaty bodies, none of that grabbed my attention. I decided to head back to the hotel.

I didn't look back. I couldn't. If I saw him standing there, watching me leave, I might have done something stupid, like go back. My resolve may falter because the mate bond kept pulling us together.

I hailed a taxi; the process was automatic. Sliding into the backseat, I gave the driver the name of the hotel and slumped against the window, watching the dark landscape blur past. The adrenaline had faded, leaving a hollow, aching emptiness.

I don't understand why our mate bonds have to end in failure. The same happened to my siblings, almost as if the Goddess was punishing us for what my father did to my mother.

"Our mother is not like that," Thethys countered, but I had no fight inside me to say something to her.

The taxi pulled up to the familiar whitewashed building. A light was on, meaning Eleni must be up.

I sighed.

She is bubbly and funny, but right now, I want to be alone, and I know she will ask questions.

I could teleport inside my room, but if I did that, I'm sure she would stay up all night waiting until I arrived.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the taxi door open and stepped out into the quiet night. The decision was made. I would tell her what happened and call it a day. Tomorrow I was going to pack my bag and leave this place once and for all.

I crossed the main door into the lobby.

"Anika?" Eleni's voice called out, warm and laced with concern. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," I replied, my voice sounding tired even to my own ears.

She appeared instantly, wiping her hands on a towel. She was still dressed, her kind face etched with worry that softened into relief when she saw me. "I was getting worried. I asked Leo to go find you, but he never called me back..." She trailed off, her eyes searching mine. "Are you alright, Anika?"

"I saw Leo, but then the club got boring," I stated, my voice sounding hollow.

"Did something happen with him?" She asked instead, quickly catching the shift in my mood.

I sighed. "I know you want to set us up, but I would appreciate it if you didn't do that again. Leo and I are not good to each other."

"Anika I—"

"Please let me finish," I cut her off. "I know what happened between you two, and I'm not angry about that, but I understand where you are coming from. You are worried about him because he hasn't had a relationship, but to be honest, you should let Leo handle it on his own."

Eleni let out a long and heavy sigh. "You are right. I'm sorry for trying to meddle in your business. Leo has been there for me, and I wanted him to be happy too."

"Why don't you date him then?" I suggested, even though I felt like my heart was being stabbed.

She threw her head over the counter, startling me.

"What the hell?!" I yelped as I ran to her side to see if she was okay.

She chuckled when she felt my hands on her back. "I won't lie to you and tell you I didn't consider it once, but then I realized who he was."

...

What does that mean?

"Leo is not the kind of man who gets swayed by anyone. He was adopted and never met his true parents, and the ones he had weren't the best. I met him when he was a teen. He was the bad boy of our school, but he was nice to me because our mothers knew each other. I saw him with countless girlfriends."

I flinched. I can't lie to myself. Hearing about his past relationships isn't easy, even if I knew he was a womanizer before he met me.

"We even had our flings here and there because we were both lonely, but when he saw you, it was the first time I saw his face light up. You caught his eye, Anika, even if he tries to hide it, and I thought you would be the one, but I'm sorry I dragged you into his mess. Maybe Leo is not ready for a relationship."

Of course, his face changed; he recognized the bond.

I thought Eleni was done, but then she said.

"The fact that you are part of that family he was so obsessed with seemed like it was destiny, the one that paired you two up."

...

What?