1 - End Of An Engagement

“These are the engagement annulment papers. I have already signed. Please take these to Alpha Edgar and get him to sign these.” 

I nervously lifted the papers to hand them over to Kane, Alpha Edgar’s secretary. It was difficult for me to work up the nerve to finally end this relationship. 

Kane was frowning the entire time when he first heard the news of what I had asked him to come here for. The displeasure on his face increased when he heard me call his alpha as ‘Edgar’ instead of ‘Edge’. He looked at the papers in his hands, reading the clauses. The frown on his forehead deepened even more. Lifting his eyes he met mine again, “Mrs. Darkmoon-”

“Twilight.” I corrected him politely. 

Ever since I met him two years ago he insisted on calling me only by ‘Mrs. Darkmoon’ in respect of my relationship with Edgar Darkmoon, his alpha. He said even though I am not officially mated with Edge yet, I am already a part of the 'family', so it would be best if he already gets habitual of what he will be addressing me with in the future. He also told me that I should address Edgar as Edge because that is what his close ones call him and I will be the closest one to his Alpha in the future. Well, not anymore. 

Kane looked like I had given him a bitter pill to swallow. He took a deep breath, and then started again, 

“Twilight, you are asking for the annulment of your relationship, but returning everything that has ever been given to you by alpha… that is just not right! Since this engagement agreement was formed by your parents with Alpha’s parents when you were just born, you have every right to ask for the annulment of this relationship if you want to. But why aren’t you asking for any money?”

My parents had died in an attack at our home when I was thirteen. My brother was in his early twenties and worked for the alpha of our pack as a Gamma. He was in charge of training the warriors while I had just turned nineteen and had entered the first year of college. It was clear to me that Kane did not think my decision to ask for the annulment was a good idea, let alone not taking any money at all from one of the richest men in the entire world to get out of an official engagement with him. 

I fiddled with my fingers in embarrassment. Kane had always been playful with me and smiling all the time. I was not used to seeing him this serious. Not having any intention of hiding things from him anyway, I stammered to explain, “I- I don’t think I will be needing any money.”

“What?” Kane exclaimed in surprise with his eyes wide in astonishment, “of course you will! Everybody needs money. The more, the better, in fact! And you have started college. You will be going out more, the college fee, the living costs? You are not thinking of dropping out, are you?!”

“No! Of course not!” I explained quickly, “Kane, you are thinking too much. I can handle all that. My parents left a good bank balance for us. And Rhett is here for me, you know?”

The excuse was the only thing that popped up in my mind at that time to avoid his questions. I was not ready to tell the real reason for asking for annulment of my engagement with Alpha Edge to anyone yet.

Not that anyone else in my pack even knew I was engaged to the man whom they all worshipped so much. Well, Rhett, my brother knew but I need to gather even more courage to break the news to him once the annulment is complete.

I had never even seen Alpha Edge in person. Because it had gotten almost impossible to find a true mate in our world, his parents and mine had decided to bond us in an engagement. A binding relationship, right after I was born. An agreement had been signed and his and my fate had been decided. I did not want a hollow relationship with any man, of course.

I was young. I always wanted to find a true love who would love me with all his heart… but then I found out I am dying soon.

When I remained silent after the explanation, Kane exhaled a deep sigh and muttered, “Alright. Since you have already made up your mind, I will hand these over to Alpha tomorrow.” Kane waited for me to say anything. I guess he was still hoping that I would back out.

“Thank you, Kane.” I smiled in relief. 

For the first time, Kane did not smile back at me. He looked at me with deep concern and then muttered, “Twilight, Alpha Edge… he is a good person. I really think that you should reconsider your decision. If you change your mind, then please call me immediately.”

I never will, I already knew. In all the twenty-seven years of his life, he had not even bothered to appear in front of me to see me. How can we be a match for each other if the man I am engaged to does not even want to find out whom he is bound to?

“Okay.” I responded instead.

The moment Kane walked out, it was like a weight had been lifted off my chest. 

I had just ended a relationship with the man that every girl in our world was dying to marry. The Alpha King- Edgar Darkmoon. I would not have had the courage to end it for a couple more years, but now that I don’t have much time left, I don’t want to waste it on respecting a relationship with an arrogant man. 

I was supposed to shift into my wolf after my thirteen birthday, but I never did. My parents had been worried. They thought that maybe it was just a late spur. But then six years passed by and I never heard the voice of my other half inside me like all the other people in our world did. I never shifted. Then last month I suffered through excruciating pain in my head with constant nosebleeds for an entire day. I got out of the territory, found a rogue hospital that would not leave a trace of my medical history for anyone to dig out, and discovered that I have a tumor in my brain.

With my immunity getting eaten away by the little cancerous ball in my head over several years, it was no wonder that my wolf could never come out. I had been shaken at first, then cried in fear of dying, then contemplated if I should tell anyone about it or not, and then decided that it is no good to let my precious ones go through grief for the months that I have left. Nine months, the doctor said. I have only nine months left. That was a month ago. Now I have eight months and I was counting each day.

Getting out of the house, I walked to the pack house to have lunch. The large four floors building was built with wood entirely and stood on a large ground surrounded by trees from two sides. On the left side, there was a large training ground for pack warriors that was devoid of any grass. I entered inside through the main door.

Since most of the people had gone out to college, school, and work, there were not many people in the hall. I went ahead to take a seat at the dining table and started serving myself.

“Oh my… you bunked the college again?” the sweet voice dripping with concern came from behind me.

I closed my eyes, taking several deep breaths to calm myself instead of grabbing the lunch plate and throwing it in the face of the girl that stood behind me.

“Leave me alone, Mariana!” I mumbled with great control while shoving a spoonful of pasta in my mouth.

“I am really sorry to intrude, Twilight,” the girl walked ahead to get close to me. I lifted my head and turned to the side to see her. Dressed in a very plain white dress that fell to her thighs, light grey eyes, and skin that appeared to have been made only for her with creamy smoothness and shine, Mariana- the alpha’s daughter came to sit in the chair next to me at the dining table.

“I just returned from college. I was worried about you so I asked our economics professor if he had seen you? Because I saw you all dressed up this morning but you were not at the college, right?” she said in the silkiest voice that was grating against my ears but was pleasing to all the other kids sitting in the hall staring at her like she was an angel dropped from heaven.

“And you told them that I am missing, didn’t you, Mariana?” I threw the spoon on the plate and turned to face her fully because I knew she was not going to leave me alone until she has shown everyone how great of a creature on the earth she is.

“Well, I was worried about you!” Mariana tucked her curly brown hair behind her ear with all the concern she could bring on her face, “then professor thanked me for informing him about your disappearance. I suggested to him that he should call Rhett and confirm you are okay.”

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?!” I jumped out of the chair, furious, “how is it any of your fucking business where I am and what I do?” 

Rhett is going to eat me alive. SHIT!

Mariana trembled visibility, her eyes filling up with big drops of tears. I was almost ready to grab the wooden table and throw it in her face. 

‘Oh my god, look, Twilight made Mariana cry!’

‘She is always like this. Mariana is so innocent. Why does she have to be so rude to her?’

‘Mariana is alpha’s daughter but she is still so respectful and kind to everyone. She never even raises her voice at anyone. How can Twilight be so cruel to such a good person? She is disgusting.”

The other people sitting in the hall started to talk, pretending to keep their voices down.

“Twilight, you don’t have to be such a bitch all the time to Mariana,” a nerdy guy with square glasses marched over to us, his glare fixated on me, “Mariana was only concerned about you. You should be thanking her.”

“Shut up, Gerald.” I growled, and shifted my eyes back to Mariana, “you better learn that when you really cry in despair, the tears drip from both eyes, dumb drama queen, not just a drop from the corner of your left eye that you always forcefully leak out. I have told you a million times to stay out of my business! Next time I am going to punch you in the face, Mariana. You know that I never bluff, don’t you?”

“LIGHT!” the rough growl echoed in the pack house, and my body stiffened. Rhett.