The Left Behind Diary

NYSSA'S POV

Panic paralyzed my limbs. The tension in the air felt thick and suffocating. My entire body trembled as I stared at the bathroom door panel. I braced myself for the inevitable wrath, gripped the cold brass knob, and pushed the door open. Blinding light from the bedroom flooded my vision.

Cormac narrowed his eyes the second I stepped out.

His predatory instincts surged. Sharp claws slid from his fingertips, scraping against the air. His muscular body coiled tight, ready to strike an unknown threat.

"Who the fuck are you?" he barked.

The genuine hostility in his voice struck my chest like a physical blow. My breath hitched.

*Who was I?*

The question echoed in my mind, bringing a wave of agonizing devastation. He did not recognize me. I was the same girl who had catered to him after his drunken nights. I was the girl he had poured his heart out to just last night on that very bed. We had watched *The Breakfast Club*. He had told me I had beautiful eyes.

But in this harsh daylight, standing beside the statuesque, gorgeous blonde bombshell, I was an invisible stranger.

Before I could stammer a defense, Sloane casually stepped forward.

"She's one of the servant girls," she stated, her tone dismissive and flat.

Sloane snatched my discarded feather duster from the nearby dresser. She thrust it into my hands with a sickening, condescending smile. Up close, her dominance felt suffocating. She took immense pleasure in reminding me of my exact place in the pack hierarchy.

"Are you done cleaning the shithouse?" Sloane snapped.

I clutched the wooden handle of the duster. My throat felt tight. The humiliation burned under my skin, but I forced a nod.

"Yes. It's done." I managed to speak.

Cormac avoided my gaze. He refused to look at me, erasing our shared history with his cold indifference. He reached into his pants pocket, pulled out his expensive leather wallet, and extracted a crisp paper note. A shiny Moonmark. He extended his muscular arm, offering the valuable currency like I was a cheap nuisance he could simply buy off.

"Here you go. It's for all your hard work," he said.

The dismissal hung heavy in his deep voice. My cheeks burned with shame. I earned a mere five Howlcoins a week. It would take me months to save up enough to equal one Moonmark. My fingers shook as I reached out and took the crisp bill from his hand.

"Thank you," I murmured, staring at the floorboards.

Sloane was far from finished with her verbal assault. Her inner wolf aggressively rose to the surface. Her dark eyes flashed with dangerous gold as she glared at me.

"Grab your little cleaning crap and get out right now. Cormac and I have unfinished business to take care of," she ordered viciously. "Alone."

I flinched and took a step back toward the door.

"What are you still doing here?!" she spit venomously. "Do you like watching people fuck? Is that it? Does this type of stuff get you off?"

"No. I'm leaving right now."

I scrambled frantically to gather my cleaning caddy from the corner. Shame and terror propelled my movements. I just wanted to escape this nightmare. I slung the strap over my shoulder and spun toward the exit.

"Wait!" Cormac called out.

His voice stopped me in my tracks. I turned back around, my heart thudding wildly against my ribs. He reached out and let his hand drop, engaging in what felt like a cruel, twisted game of pretend. He acted as if we had not spent the last five weeks having deep conversations.

"What's your name?" he asked smoothly.

I swallowed the immense heartbreak lodging in my throat.

"It's Nyssa," I replied quietly.

A bright smile spread across his handsome face. Hearing my name seemed to amuse him.

"Nice to meet you, Nyssa. Do you like parties?"

"Yes. But I have never been to one."

"Well, there is a massive pack party being held at the Eclipse Caves later tonight. It's officially in honor of Kaelen. He is the Alpha's son, and he is finally coming back home. You should come."

My pulse skipped a beat. The party was for Kaelen, but I knew the truth beneath his words. Cormac knew today was my eighteenth Moonday. It was my most important birthday. I had told him that secret during our intimate talk last night. This invitation was not a coincidence.

"I don't know..." I hesitated, gripping the strap of my caddy.

"Please," he urged softly.

He finally locked his intense brown gaze directly with mine. The magnetic pull in his eyes weakened my resolve. I realized in that split second that I could never refuse a direct request from him.

"Okay. I'll be there."

I turned the knob and slipped out of the room. The very second the heavy bedroom door clicked shut behind me, explicit, wet sounds echoed out into the quiet hallway. Cormac and Sloane immediately resumed their sexual hookup. Skin slapped against skin. Soft moans and guttural grunts drifted through the thick wood.

I walked away down the corridor, hugging the cleaning tote to my chest.

*I hate feeling like his dirty little secret,* my inner wolf, Vesper, grumbled in my head.

*We shouldn't have said yes to the party,* I replied mentally.

*I don't care about him right now,* Vesper countered, driven purely by primal instinct. *Tonight is the full moon. We will finally experience the painful shift and magically sense our one true fated mate. Let him fuck that blonde bimbo. We have better things to worry about.*

I sighed and took the back staircase down toward the servants' quarters. Vesper was right. Tonight was supposed to be special. We were supposed to find our mate. But my chest still ached with the fresh sting of Cormac's rejection.

Time jumped to later that afternoon.

The Pack House kitchen buzzed with the usual chaotic energy. Steam rose from the industrial sinks. I stood at the deep basin, mechanically washing a massive pile of dirty plates and greasy pans. My hands were pruned and soaked in soapy dishwater. My mind replayed the bizarre encounter from Cormac's bedroom. He had smiled at me, handed me money, and invited me out—only to fuck someone else while I stood mere feet away.

A sudden, horrifying realization struck me like a bolt of lightning.

"Shit!" I cried out loudly.

Sheer panic seized my lungs. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I dropped a ceramic plate into the sudsy water with a loud splash.

Bessie, my best friend and a fellow omega, immediately looked over from her station. She paused her frantic towel-drying.

"Hey, who died?" she asked.

"No one. I just realized something terrible." I turned to her, water dripping from my yellow rubber gloves.

I had left my personal canvas bag behind in Cormac's bedroom during my frantic escape. The bag itself meant nothing, but the contents meant everything.

"What did you leave?" she pressed, her brow furrowing in confusion.

My knees felt weak. I stepped closer to her, lowering my voice to a frantic whisper.

"I left my private diary in that bag."

Bessie's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"You mean the exact same diary filled cover to cover with all your secret, embarrassing, romantic fantasies specifically about Cormac?" she gasped.

"Yes! That exact same one!"

Terror washed over me. If that diary fell into the wrong hands—especially Sloane's or Cormac's—my life in the pack would be over. My reputation would be destroyed. The head housekeeper, Mildred, would use it as ammunition to fire me. The thought of Sloane reading my obsessive thoughts out loud to Cormac made my stomach churn with intense nausea.

"Shit. You have to go get it back right now. If someone finds it, you are doomed," Bessie whispered.

"I know! I am begging for your help. Will you come with me to retrieve it?"

Bessie hesitated, glancing nervously toward the kitchen doors.

"I don't know, Nyssa. I am already on Miss Mildred's bad side this week. Sneaking into the Beta's restricted quarters could get us both severely punished."

I desperately needed her help. I needed a lookout. I stripped off my wet rubber gloves and grabbed her arm.

"If you help me sneak back into his room to get the book, I will take you as my plus one to the elite Eclipse Caves party tonight."

Bessie froze. Her eyes lit up at the prospect.

"You got an invite to the Eclipse Caves rave?" she beamed with sudden excitement.

"Yes. Cormac invited me himself. It's a massive party for the Alpha's returning son, Kaelen. Please, Bessie. I cannot do this alone."

Bessie threw her damp dish towel onto the stainless steel counter. A wide grin stretched across her face.

"Alright. What are we waiting for? We have a diary to go find."

"Thanks. You are saving my life," I breathed out in profound relief.

Bessie held up a finger, giving me a serious, conspiratorial look.

"Don't thank me yet. Because if we get caught, you're taking all the blame."

"Ok. Deal."