A Dazzling Star

••• Hayden’s POV ••• Entering the Dazzling Star Club, I immediately felt uncomfortable. I never liked going to clubs for the fact that they were noisy and stuffy, with too many people being squashed together. I wondered how so many people were able to afford the high-priced membership here. But that was not important at the moment. It was easy to spot Max amongst the crowd. He stood tall with his more-than-seven-foot height and huge muscular body. I went to him with irritation as I had to squish my way there. I hated other people touching me, especially when they reeked of sweat, cigarette smoke, and alcohol. Just making my way to Max already made my clothes smell bad. Max was happy chugging down some liquor and noticed me the moment I stepped to his side. He looked me up and down. “Are you going to a meeting or having fun at a club?” he asked and laughed out loud. I was still in my three-piece business attire and looked kinda out of place, but I didn't fucking care. I wasn't here to have fun. “Where is she?” I had to half-yelled because of the loud music. “Man, you came too late. She was doing a number on the stage before, and it drove the crowd wild. We are all crazy for her! I had never seen her looking so hot and sexy. She looked like a dazzling star. She should be the icon of this club!” he answered, and it could be seen that he was excited about Charlotte’s dance. “Where is she?” I yelled and repeated my question. Max pointed to the stage and cheered, “Go, Charlotte!” I looked at the area Max had pointed to and saw Charlotte dancing on the stage. “I used to misunderstand her, thinking she was timid. But oh, man... If I knew she could be this shining, I wouldn't have said all those words or even asked you to reject her. She basically just turned me into a fan of hers tonight!” Max kept looking at the stage and cheering at Charlotte. Every time Max met Charlotte before he went to another continent, he used to degrade and belittle her and kept pressuring me to divorce and reject her. He wasn't the only one, though. Each of my friends had the same thought. Heck, even my sis, dad, and pack members thought the same way as Max. I kept my gaze on my ex-Luna. Max was right. She looked... hot and sexy, like a dazzling star. The way her hips swayed, the way her body rolled, the way her hands caressed her body, and her slender and fair neck, which used to bear my mark but was now non-existent because we didn't share a matebond anymore - she was teasing the crowd with each movement without even showing any skins other than her arms and legs. Her every move screamed seduction; even her gaze and smile were enticing. Never had I seen her looking so confident. She looked hella attractive on the stage. I heard everyone in the club cheering for her; some even howled in excitement, and I could tell many male werewolves were looking at her with lustful gazes. I tried to keep my face expressionless. Charlotte did indeed look amazing, but somehow it angered me. Why did she allow everyone to see this side of hers while she never showed it to me? Furthermore, there were many unmated male werewolves. Was she trying to get their attention? She got what she wished for. All the unmated Alphas, Betas, and Gammas couldn't keep their eyes off her. And this thought made me.. jealous. Even Rhett was howling with restlessness and jealousy even though Charlotte wasn't our mate anymore. At this point, I seriously thought of gouging all the eyes of those unmated Alphas, Betas, and Gammas who dared to look at her being so damn sexy, alluring, and attractive. I had to grit my teeth and clench my hands tightly until my knuckles turned white to stop myself from doing what I wanted to do. “Hayden, I love you. Only you and no one else.” Suddenly I remembered the words she used to say to me. Love? I snorted. If she really loved me, she would tell me her real identity and not pretend to be a weak and timid orphan. Now I was sure she had never been in love with me but was just toying with me. Perhaps she was bored and thought it would be fun to find an Alpha and marry him while hiding her real identity. And I just had to have the most rotten luck to be found by her, and my luck couldn't get any worse when I turned out to be her mate too, which turned me into her plaything. She must be beyond thrilled when she first saw me as I was the perfect ‘prey’ for her. I had to applaud her for successfully playing the role of a timid, shy, and meek orphan for the three years we were together. Goddess knew how happy she must feel to be able to fool me and my pack. Was it her kink? To pretend to be weak? How ridiculous for me to believe in her act and so-called love and affection for three whole fucking years. She must be laughing at me secretly behind my back since I willingly fell into her trap. And what happened after three years? She used the reason of being framed by Sofia and forced by me to kneel and apologize to break the matebond. She must have felt bored toying with me after so many years, and the incident with Sofia was the perfect excuse for her to leave. Who knew how long she had been waiting for the time to dissolve the matebond with me? Maybe two years into our marriage? Other than pretending to fall in love with me, she also needed to make sure that I got used to her ‘love’ and affection, right? If not, there would be no point in her play. I had to say she was the master of toying with men. If, according to the timeline, two years was enough for me to get used to her ‘love’ and ‘affection’. After she got bored, she discarded me, which was why she changed so quickly because she was just toying with me. Because I was just her plaything. No one who fell in love with another could change so quickly. I was now sure that all her love and affections were fake! And I, an unmated Alpha who needed a Luna, stupidly fell into her trap and got toyed with her. My balled fists clenched even tighter, and rage filled my whole being; even Max noticed it. “Hey, Hayden. Why are you angry? Don't tell me...” he cocked his neck to one side and laughed until he doubled over. “Don't tell me you regret letting such a perfect she-wolf go!” Regret? “Yeah, I regret it,” I said without thinking. “Well... Just pursue her, then. I’m sure she’ll come back to you if you are serious, seeing how much she used to love you,” Max said lightly. I sneered. Oh, Max, you got the wrong idea. I did regret letting her go, but not because of the reason you thought. Not because I was in love with her and wanted her back, but because I let her play me. I, Hayden Fallon, the Alpha of the third-strongest pack in the world, would not let anyone play me. Fuck her love! Who wanted a fake love? Who wanted to be played? I was an Alpha, and no one dared to provoke me, much less play me, except for that damn she-wolf who dared to get on my bad side. Did she think I would let her go easily after knowing what she had done? Rejecting her and breaking the matebond couldn't be considered as hurting her because she obviously had been waiting for it to happen. Now, she must face the consequences of her actions and deception! If I let her go easily, others would think the Alpha of the Red Claw Pack was weak. “Charlotte, I won't let this matter go. I swear I’ll get back at you for playing me. No one shall live happily after playing me,” I said through gritted teeth as I kept watching her swaying her body to the music. My expression hardened, and before I knew what I was doing, my body moved by itself - my feet stepped forward, carrying me to the stage where that damn sexy player was still seducing every male werewolf with her dance.