4: FOUR

R O S A L I E Silver Moon was packed with people from different packs. The music was so loud that it vibrated through the floor. The air was filled with the scent of perfume and sweat. The club was filled with hot people in designer clothes. And then there was me, a size 18 nobody in a cheap black dress that she couldn’t even breathe in. I felt completely out of place. Like a fraud, I didn't belong here. Casper’s hand was tight on my upper arm, as if silently trying to warn me to not make a run for it. He led me through the crowd, his friends following behind us. People stared as we walked past, but I kept my head down, my eyes fixed on the floor. I didn't want to see their judgment, or the disgust in their eyes. Casper found a table in a secluded corner, away from the dance floor. He sat down, pulling me into the seat next to him. His friends sat down across from us, their smirks making my skin crawl. "Drinks are on me," Casper announced, a wide grin on his face. "It's my lovely mate's birthday, after all." He said the word 'lovely' like it was a joke. And maybe it was. I certainly wasn't lovely. He never made me feel like one. A waiter came to our table, a young pretty female shewolf. I didn’t miss the way Casper ogled her, his eyes lingering on her chest a little too long. A knot of shame and anger tightened in my stomach, but I forced it down. I had no right to be jealous. I was lucky he even acknowledged me as his mate. As long as he wasn’t doing anything with them. "What can I get for you?" the waiter asked, her smile directed at Casper. "We'll have a round of tequila shots," Casper said, not even looking at me. "And for the birthday girl," he paused, looking at me. I quickly shook my head. I wasn’t allowed to drink. He had made it very clear that alcohol made people gain weight, and that was the last thing I needed. "Come on, Rosie," Liam said, sliding a shot glass towards me. "It's your birthday. Live a little." I looked at Casper, waiting for his approval. He nodded, a glint of amusement in his eyes. I knew he was testing me. He wanted to see if I would break. I picked up the shot glass, and brought it to my lips and threw my head back, the alcohol burning a path down my throat. It was vile, but I didn't show it. I slammed the glass down on the table, my eyes watering. "Good girl," Casper said, a smirk playing on his lips. "Another round." The night went on painfully slow. I did my best to play the part of the happy supportive mate. I smiled when I was supposed to smile, I laughed when I was supposed to laugh. I was a puppet, and Casper was the one pulling the strings. He and his friends were getting louder and more obnoxious with each round of drinks. They were telling stories, laughing at their own jokes. I was just… there. I felt invisible and yet, completely exposed. Casper excused himself to the restroom, leaving me alone with Liam and Theo. I wished the ground would just swallow me whole. "So, Rosalie," Liam said, breaking the silence. "How's the... training going?" He said the word 'training' with a sneer, and I knew exactly what he was referring to. He was talking about my diet and my workouts. He was trying to humiliate me. "It's going well," I said quietly. "I've lost a few pounds." "Have you now?" he said, his eyes roaming over my body. "I couldn't tell." I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, but I blinked them back. I would not cry in front of them. I would not give them the satisfaction. "Don't be so hard on her, Liam," Theo said, a fake sympathy in his voice. "She's trying. Some of us are just built... bigger." They both laughed, and my blood ran cold. I wanted to scream, to throw my drink in their faces. But I didn't. I just sat there, my hands clenched into fists under the table, my nails digging into my palms. Casper has been gone for twenty minutes and I was starting to get worried. What if he had left me? What if he got tired of me being around me and decided to go home without me? The thought was so terrifying that I had to take a deep breath to calm myself down. I looked around the club, my eyes searching for him in the crowd. But he was nowhere to be found. I decided to go look for him in the restroom. Maybe he had run into someone he knew and got distracted. I excused myself from the table, and mumbled something about the restroom. Liam and Theo didn't even seem to notice that I was leaving. They were too busy laughing at another one of their stupid jokes. The hallway leading to the restrooms was dimly lit, and it smelled of cheap air freshener and dried urine. I walked as fast as I could in my uncomfortable heels, my heart pounding in my chest. As I stood in front of the men’s restroom. I heard a girl’s moan and the sounds of skin slapping against skin. My blood froze. It couldn’t be, right? It was probably some drunk couple who couldn't wait to get home. But I had a sinking feeling in my stomach, a feeling that I couldn't ignore. I pushed the door open, my hand shaking. And there he was. My mate. The love of my life. With another woman. She was pressed against the wall, her dress pushed up to her waist. Her head was thrown back in ecstasy, and her eyes were closed. She was the same waitress from before. And Casper... Casper was behind her, his pants down to his knees, his face buried in her neck as he pounded into her, over and over again. And then he whispered something, something that shattered my world into a million pieces. "So much better than Rosalie," he groaned. "You're so sweet, so perfect. She's so fat. I can barely feel anything with her. Fuck." And just like that, something inside me broke.