Leave my husband

Avery’s POV

I didn’t see the dark haired man when we finally entered the hall. But that wasn’t surprising because it was a very large hall, holding almost two thousand people.

The spring pack was the largest, most prosperous and most advanced pack in the west, so the east and the south all gathered here for meetings.

Every important person of power was here. The Alphas, noblemen, and finally the panel of elders.

Alphas ruled the packs but these twelve elders of the Council where the rulers of Alphas.

The meeting began with the most urgent and most important topic.

The topic of “The Blight.”

The Blight was a deadly pandemic, a rotten infestation that was slowly consuming and destroying everything it touched for decades now. From livestock, to plants and finally pack members. Nothing and no one was safe from it.

The good thing was that it was very slow to spread and only the spring pack seemed to be immune to it for some unknown reason.

The council finally came to the conclusion that the spring pack would help to produce more crops and livestock for the affected packs.

Typically the northern packs would have been given that task because they had larger farms untouched by the blight, but the north was currently ruled by the greedy, barbarian beast that called himself Alpha Kane— King of the north.

I and James easily agreed to take on the responsibility but the Elders still decided to send a message to the north, requesting for the king’s assistance.

Then the topic of James and Lizzy was finally brought up by Elder Novak —The chief elder.

He called James forward and began to speak.

“It has been brought to our attention by Noblewoman Susan that you have defiled her young daughter but have refused to take responsibility for it Alpha James. What do you have to say for yourself?”

My mouth hung open and James looked stunned for a moment before finally responding.

“Elder Novak, that is going too far. Yes we found out that I and Miss Elizabeth are fated, but as everyone here already knows, I am happily married to her sister, Luna Avery and I plan to stay that way for the rest of our lives.”James announced.

“Alpha James, no one is trying to break up your marriage with the Luna. We all respect and recognize the contribution she has made in your pack and we thank her for her service, but that does not change the fact that you seduced a young innocent noblewomen into your bed and have not yet rejected her.”

A chorus of murmurs filled the hall and I shut my eyes as hot shame washed over me. Every one now knew that my husband was in bed with my sister. How much more embarrassment was I supposed to endure before this nightmare was over?

James could not respond to that because it wasn’t entirely untrue. The important thing was that she was in his bed no matter who seduced who.

“Young Alpha, It is highly unfair to tarnish the poor girl’s her reputation and leave her to a harsh fate of disgrace. We understand that rejecting her could kill her. So I and the rest of the council have come to a decision on the matter.”

I held my breath and felt my ears ring from my pounding heartbeat and fast rushing of blood.

“Miss Elizabeth will move in with you and the Luna for a temporary period during which you will either find a way to live with both women, or find a way to reject Miss Elizabeth with the help of medical assistance. That is our decree.”

Then the elder turned to me and added. “Don’t be greedy Luna Avery, don’t let petty jealousy kill your sister and ruin your husband.

If we were being honest, Alpha James has been a wonderful man. Who else would have agreed to marry such a weak werewolf unable to shift?” He asked and the crowd murmured their agreement.

I felt a little part of me die on the inside but he continued. “As a commoner and the Luna of the largest pack around, I would expect you to be a shining example of a submissive wife for other women who are in a similar situation. That is all.”

I felt all the blood drain from my face as James returned to sit beside me. I refused to look at him even when he tried to hold my hand.

I was frozen in shock, humiliation and pain.

After the meeting was over, I walked ahead of him to the car, ignoring him as he tried to apologize to me.

What did he want me to say? That I forgive him and everything was fine?

“Avery, baby please wait.” James begged as I tried to slam the front door behind me, hoping it would hit him in his face.

“Avery—“ He rushed forward and grabbed my hand as I stormed into the bedroom.

I whirled with tears in my eyes. “What James?!”

“Please baby talk to me.” He begged.

“And say what?! Do you want me to congratulate you on your new wife?!”

“You’re my only wife Avery.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Congratulations for making my sister your new mistress then.” I sneered, trying to yank my arm away from him.

“Please please Avery don’t say that. I’m really trying hard to fix this.”

“You’re trying hard?! You didn’t even say anything when that old disease of a man humiliated me. You just stood there and let him shame me in front of all those people!”

“Avery what did you want me to do! He’s an Elder! I can’t go against him in public. Please be reasonable let’s talk about this like grown ups.”

“Like grown ups? Well what do you think a grown up Avery should say James? That it’s okay? That I forgive you and I’m fine with you bringing another woman into our home?”

James looked a little irritated now. “She’s not just another woman Avery, she’s your sister. You’ve known her all your life. Don’t make it sound worse than it is.”

My hand struck out faster than I could control it and landed a slap across his face. Maybe I should have felt bad but I didn’t regret it one bit.

“Do you hear yourself? Because she’s my sister, you think that makes it better? You’re a fucking asshole James!” I cried as tears streamed down my face.

James looked very ashamed now. “I’m so sorry my love, I didn’t mean it like that I swear. I was just frustrated, I didn’t think before I said it. I’m so so sorry.” He suddenly knelt on the floor and hugged my waist.

“Let go of me James, you need to prepare a room for you and your mistress.” I said trying to push him away but he held me tight and began to cry.

“No Avery, don’t push me away. I don’t want her, I want you.”

I snorted at that. “It didn’t look to me like you didn’t want her.”

“That was just the mating bond controlling us. This is me talking Avery. I want you.”

I turned my head away, trying not to let hope bloom in my heart at his words.

James peppered kisses on my belly. “I will always want you Avery, let me prove that to you.”

I didn’t fight him when he got up and pulled me against him.

“Let me show you how much I want you Avery, let me make love to you.” He whispered, peppering my neck with kisses.

I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. I desperately wanted his words to be true.

“I’ll never ever let you go Avery. Till death do us part.”

He made love to me twice that night, each time he swore to never let me go, but something was off. It felt different from before. It felt forced, like he was trying to prove to himself that he wanted me.

When we were done, I felt worse than before. Like I was the mistress begging a man to love me when his heart belonged to another.

The next day, Lizzy moved in. But instead of giving her one of the guest rooms, James insisted that she stay in one of the detached bungalows in our compound. It was comfortable and luxurious, but it was detached from the house.

When Lizzy arrived, she came to my home, ran into my arms and cried on my shoulder.

“It was Mum! Mum forced me to come here.” She told me. “I don’t want this. I don’t want you or James to hate me. We’ll fight the bond and I’ll find a way to accept the rejection. I love you too much to take him from you.” She vowed.

I sighed and cleaned her tears. “I know Lizzy. We’ll get through this.” I had been repeating this mantra to myself since last night. It was the only thing that kept me from bursting into tears.

When James returned, he snapped at Lizzy to go back to her detached house. She snapped back that he didn’t need to be rude but he just pulled me into a passionate kiss, and ignored her.

I saw her face darken for a minute and her eyes fill up with tears before she regained her composure, straightened her head and stormed out.

In the middle of the night, I woke up to a cold, empty bed. Feeling surprised, I got up to look for my husband. But a sudden movement from the window caught my eye, causing me to move closer to inspect what it was.

And that’s when I saw him. James, my husband was sneaking into Lizzy’s house.

Maybe I should have stormed out and pulled him back. Maybe I should have yelled and screamed at him, but I was too tired to do any of those.

All I did was climb back into the bed and cry myself to sleep.

When I woke up in the morning, James was beside me like he never left. He kissed me a good morning and I smelt Lizzy’s perfume on him.

That’s when I made my decision. I was going to leave my husband, whether he wanted me to or not.