6. A Weak Bond

AURELIA

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The next few days went in a blur.

Much to my relief and dismay, Alpha Raiden stopped coming to the room. He hasn’t been here for the past two nights. He didn't let me leave the sex room and I also didn't know what was going on out there in the pack. I also didn’t have the energy to do anything more than shower in the adjoining bathroom and wrap myself in the sheets that still smell like Alpha Raiden and I.

I was crazy for and about him. As stupid as that might sound.

Usually, my meals were delivered to me by servants who would push my tray of almost disgusting food through the space that I woke up to find underneath the door. The space was just big enough to let the tray in and out of the room.

Clearly, I had been living the life of a prisoner yet I dared not reject Alpha Raiden and free myself from the torment he was putting me through. The fear of what he was capable of doing to me if I tried to reject him again kept getting in the way… or maybe I was too scared of losing him just as much as I was scared of meaning nothing to him.

I was lost in my own thoughts when the bedroom door swung open, disrupting my thoughts as hope sparkled within me.

“Alpha Raiden…” I breathed, stupidly excited about seeing him. I jolted off the bed with the sheets still around me.

No one else had opened the door to the sex room. No one but Alpha Raiden. Well, until now.

“Oh, sweet Aurelia.” Larisa’s malicious voice resonated in the room even before she stepped in, showing her face before me. “You must be disappointed to see me instead of the man who you desperately yearn to see.”

Yes, I was disappointed.

But I shoved that feeling to the deepest part of me as I asked, “What are you doing here, Larisa?” That question popped out of me even though I could see the food tray in her hands.

There is no way she was here to give me food. The pack might see her as a saint but I have experienced firsthand that Larisa was more of a demon than a saint.

Larisa’s face scrunched into a frown and she barked, “Larisa? How dare you call me by name?”

I rolled my eyes mindlessly, “How dare you raise your voice at me? I am still your Luna, Larisa.”

That was a bold move… a bold move that I didn't expect from me. Of course, Larisa was stunned but she covered up by laughing.

“You are such an idiot, Aurelia.” She spat, throwing the food tray on the floor. I watched as what I assumed was my food for the day splattered all over the floor. “Luna? Is that what you think you are?”

“Larisa, please just–”

My attempt to plead with my mate’s lover to leave me alone was cut short by Larisa’s palm as it connected with my right cheek, sending my head sideways as my cheek stung from the hard impact.

“You’re not worthy enough to say my name, bitch!” Larisa snarled, pulling at my hair just so she could look into my red eyes.

She slapped me again and this time, I staggered backward. I didn't have the strength to fight back nor could I hold back the tears that rolled down my cheeks. I have been deprived of good food for many days. I had been tormented by my own mate and now? Now he sent his lover to strip me of what was left of my sanity.

“I thought I should bring you food– aah. That’s a lie.” Larisa confessed to me. “I came here to let you know that Raid is mine. He has always been and he will always be.”

To keep my strength and save myself from any more assault, I kept my tongue in my cheek, listening as Larisa told me about the Luna ceremony that would be coming up tomorrow.

My eyes widened and my body shook as sorrow zapped through me when Larisa announced, “Raid wanted to hold the ceremony so he could officially name me Luna. He said he wanted to strip you of the honor of being called Luna publicly. He wants to choose me publicly, Aurelia.”

He never chose me publicly.

A Luna ceremony? Tomorrow?

Larisa’s voice found its way into my head when she continued speaking. She etched, smiling, “You must feel weaker than usual, Aurelia and you must have noticed that he stopped coming to you for sex. You are completely useless to him now, Aurelia–”

“W-what are you saying?” I stuttered, fear gripping my heart as I already knew the answer to that question.

“I am saying that Raid has been making sweet love to me for the past two nights. He holds me, kisses me, worships my body and he doesn't care about what our steamy moments do to you. It’s time you give up, Aurelia because I can tell you are holding on to him.” Larisa answered, each of her words stabbing me in the gut.

“Liar!” I exclaimed, crying profusely. “I would have felt it if he made love to you. I didn’t feel it–”

“Then your bond must be weaker than I thought.” Larisa laughed in my face. “What’s the point of keeping such a weak bond, Aurelia? In fact, you are no match for me so you will never be a competition. You were never one, anyways.”

My legs gave out under the weight of my body as mental pictures of Alpha Raiden and Larisa in bed, tangled in the sheets and completely entrenched in every way possible, flashed through my mind, killing me rapidly.

Something twisted in my stomach and a new kind of pain rocked my body.

“You will die soon, Aurelia. There would be nothing left of you when I become Luna tomorrow, mark Raid, carry his mark, and claim all that was rightfully mine… all that you took from me. I can’t wait to see your dead body.” Larisa muttered to me, kicking me in the ribs just to watch me suffer.

She left the room after stomping on the food she brought in and I was left alone to not only cry my eyes out but also dread what the nearest future had in store for me.