Carena:
Seeing me standing in the doorway with tear-filled eyes made Tabitha snatch up a silk purple gown from the ground and quickly slip into it. I was in utter disbelief. My little sister was in my bedroom, wearing my silk gown and having an intimate session with my mate.
"How dare you!" Without wasting a single minute, I lunged at the bastard alpha who had no decency to lower his eyes after being caught in a situation like this. But before I could slap him, he grabbed my wrist and twisted my arm, kneeing me in the back and causing me to fall to the ground.
"Ahhhhhhh!" A loud cry escaped my lips as I hit the floor. My body felt utterly weak from the procedure. The doctor had even warned me not to walk too fast for now. I was supposed to be resting, not getting kicked in my back.
"How could you—" With a hand on my back and my head up, I asked Jack. He was trying to cover Tabitha behind him so she could change peacefully.
"I'm not the one she needs to be shielded from. How could you take my sister to your bed? She's only 19," I yelled at him in disbelief that my 26-year-old husband had convinced my sister to jump into bed with him.
"Don't try to make it sound weird. We are in love," he said, as if catching him in bed wasn't enough, but now he was loudly professing his love for my sister.
"Since when? She came here when she was only a child herself," the idea of him grooming her was sickening to me. As I grimaced, my sister groaned and stepped in front of him.
"What's the matter with you?" her scream stunned me. I froze, watching her hunch over me and continue, "I didn't live here for that long. I was in the werewolf hostel for young teens, remember? We started seeing each other in a different light when I came back after I turned eighteen. So you better not try to make it sound gross."
Tabitha had never talked to me that way. I could see the light of resilience in her eyes.
"Tabitha! He's my fate, my husband. He's fooled you if you think he loves you," I murmured softly, because all I could see in her face was a naive girl who had believed this older man and had given him her heart.
There was no way he planned to keep her with him. However, my sister surprised me with no guilt in her eyes.
"I think you're the one being fooled here. He stopped loving you a long time ago. Why do you think you were asked to leave with his mother for pack-related business parties?" I couldn't believe my little sister was saying all that to me. Ever since my mother brought her home with the twins, I took them under my shelter, even when my father wanted nothing to do with them. And now, my own sister was looking me in the eye, fighting me for my fated mate. My eyes traveled behind her and focused on Jack, who was calmly slipping on a shirt and buttoning it up.
"You need to set my sister free. Tell her the truth that you never intended to leave me. That you played with her," I yelled while tears remained brimming in my eyes. Jack frowned and approached Tabitha, holding her hand before my eyes.
"It's ignorant to deny the reality that you think my love for her is not real," Jack uttered, shrugging carelessly. "Babe, go get those papers," Jack said, and my sister walked over to my closet, looking inside as if she'd been using it as her own for a very long time.
"You would have received these papers in the hospital if you hadn't come all the way here to witness all this," Jack commented, making it seem like it was my fault that I came home instead of staying at the hospital.
My sister returned with some papers in her hands, shoving them in my face. I grabbed them before they fell and started reading through them.
"You were going to divorce me right after my abortion?" I was in shock as I held the divorce papers and watched Jack roll his eyes.
"Sign these papers and leave. You've already wasted a lot of my time. I don't want to stay married to you and be unhappy," he commented, my sister sliding closer to him with her arms folded over her chest.
I began to think over the timing of everything, and I couldn't help but look Jack in the eye and ask him, "What was wrong with my pregnancy?"
My heart pounded, and sweat formed on my forehead as I waited for his response. He casually straightened his back and then answered my question, "That I didn't want you to give me any heir."
"Ah!" I recoiled, my hands over my mouth and tears rushing to leave my eyes.
"You lied—You made me terminate my pregnancy because you were cheating on me and didn't want a baby with me?" I tried raising my voice, but it came out like a hopeless jumble.
My hand flew to my stomach, and pain struck me. "It was my decision. I didn't want you to give him a child. He should have a child with someone he loves. And that someone is me!" my sister didn't waste a single minute before stepping forward and shielding him from my hard gaze.
"Now sign these papers and leave," my sister screamed once I didn't break the stare from Jack's face for too long. I was beyond angry at this point. I felt betrayed and dumbfounded. I broke the stare from his face and grabbed a pen, quickly signing without even asking them any more questions. They took away my chance to have a baby, a baby I'd been craving for so long. The minute I was done with the signature, Jack snatched the papers out of my hands and pushed me away. "Now leave!" he yelled.
"I'll take my siblings and leave," I hissed, wiping the tears from my cheek and heading for my twin siblings' bedroom. The minute I opened the door, I saw my twin siblings already awake. It was as if they had huddled together after the commotion began.
Twelve-year-old Riona and Markiel faced me. "Come on, Riona, help me pack Markiel's belongings, and then we'll go collect your stuff," I sniffled, running my hands over my face.
"Where are we going?" Riona pulled away to stand with Markiel. Tabitha rushed inside the room and stood in front of them.
"We're going back home," I said, glaring at Tabitha in the eye.
"My siblings will not go anywhere," Tabitha said, holding Markiel's hand, making me breathe heavily in disbelief. The fact that they were my stepsiblings and I was the reason they got to live such a lavish life.
"Wait, did she find out about you and Alpha King Jack?" Riona shook the world from under my feet when she asked Tabitha.
I watched them all one by one before uttering, "You all knew?"
"Of course they knew. I don't hide anything from them like you. Now get the heck out of here. Nobody here is your family. We are cutting ties with you," my sister hissed, pointing her finger at the door.
"She's right. Why the hell would we leave such luxuries and go anywhere with you?" Markiel rolled his eyes, holding his new iPad. I nodded my head, my lips tightly pressed. After taking in their faces and recalling how much I faced to keep them alive and give them a better life, only to be repaid like this.
“Pack your clothes, I don't want you going around telling everyone I stole your clothes,” Tabitha yelled as I walked out of the room and made my way towards the exit.
“Stealing clothes? You think that's what you'll be called out for?” I muttered under my breath, hearing them come after me to watch me leave. I didn't want to take anything from here with me.
“Before you leave,” I heard Jack’s shameless voice, “I, alpha king Jack, reject you as my mate.”
I grunted under my breath, nodding my head. I stopped right when I was at the exit door of the mansion and turned around to look at them.
“I accept your rejection,” I replied with tears in my eyes, “I'm sure you're very proud of yourself for stealing everything from me. But I'll just say one thing, after what you two did to me and how you killed my child—if the Moon Goddess is listening, I curse you to never be able to hold a baby. I curse you to never become a father!” I finished while Jack grunted at my words. I'm sure nobody took me seriously, I didn't either. Why would I ever be able to curse someone?
I left the pack house and took a bus to my birth pack.
Carena:I had nothing on me except my phone and some money in my bag. I traveled for hours on the bus and then hopped on a train to the largest pack up north-The North Comet Pack.After getting off the train, I wrapped my arms around myself while navigating through the rain as I made my way towards the pack's border. There stood a massive black door obstructing my view ahead.“I don't recall there being a gate,” I murmured, pondering why the security had been beefed up. It had been years, so many changes had occurred. The last time I left was when the alpha kings of North and South were not on good terms, and things only deteriorated after that.My ex always boasted about how he would have handled being an alpha king of the North as well. I didn't say it to his face back then, but I could definitely say he wasn't even doing a great job in the South.“Stop right there,” a guard's loud and commanding voice halted me in my tracks, causing me to quickly backtrack my steps.“Who are you?”
Carena:Lady Mary Jane departed with her guards, leaving me behind with a mind in disarray. I felt utterly clueless, as no one had bothered to fill me in. My father had actually stepped out to follow Lady Jane to inquire about the details, while Maanya hadn't uttered a word to me."What debt have you guys received?" I couldn't bear it any longer and followed her into the kitchen, where she was stowing away all the food they had prepared to serve the queen mother, who hadn't even bothered to taste a single thing.The power dynamics within our pack had deteriorated significantly. Imagine being in debt, yet wasting so much money without receiving any appreciation for it."Why the sudden return, Carena? Didn't you depart with your family to live a life of luxury with the enemy of our pack?" She tossed the sponge into the sink and turned to face me."Sis, I am no longer his mate," I responded, averting my gaze. I couldn't discern what angered my sister and father more: my decision not to p
Carena: I stood before the imposing black mansion, scanning my surroundings as the security guard phoned the lady inside to inform her of my arrival. He assessed me while conversing with her.“Feel free to enter,” he ended the call and gestured for me to step inside. I had chosen a simple white dress paired with old boots from my highschool days.Inside the pack, numerous changes had taken place. The atmosphere was different, charged with an air of mystery and uncertainty. Neighbors were not very keen on meeting each other anymore. Everybody kept to themselves but the gossips would circle the entire pack in seconds.I leisurely made my way into the foyer, greeted by an aura of darkness reminiscent of a haunted mansion. The foyer offered a gloomy welcome, with shadows dancing around the dimly lit space. The big chandelier hanging down the ceiling gave me ick. It was huge, making me wonder if it would fall on me.Guided by a maid, I followed her to a living room tucked away beside the
Carena:"Alright, so you should begin with fixing up his sheets," the maid kept rambling on while I felt frozen in place. I couldn't even sense my heartbeat at that moment. It wasn't that I was upset because he was disabled, but rather due to the lack of transparency."Wait a moment!" I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves and grasp the reality."Yes?" The maid rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest."What's going on? I mean—I need to go home. I'm not feeling well," I stammered, feeling like a fool. But at that moment, I couldn't even respond like a decent person. All I could think about was my family deceiving me, just like the other half of my family had."You're supposed to start working today. He has another maid, but she isn't coming today, so you have to stay," she pouted, though in reality, she was trying to appear cute. She seemed annoyed that it was taking so much time to get to work."Then I need a break," I couldn't stay put. I had this u
Carena: "Just one last bite," I held the spoon up to his lips and fed him the liquid food with much difficulty. He could barely open his mouth and would tremble miserably when he did."Now the medicine," I muttered, holding up the liquid in a syringe and then making him swallow it. His mouth would only open an inch, and whenever it did, his face would contort to one side."Are you aware of what's going on?" I asked as I stayed seated beside his bed."Okay! Blink twice if yes and once if no," I leaned in closer, engaging in a tense stare into his eyes. "Do you know I am going to be your wife in a week?" I asked, noticing that he blinked twice."There you go! That's not bad. See, we can communicate like that," I smiled until a sudden memory struck me. It was an odd thought, but it reminded me of my ex falling sick. He would become so grumpy, and I remember having to stay awake beside him. Even if he caught me blinking from sleep, he would groan and get upset with me.He used to find it
Carena:I returned home after finishing my shift and pressed my uniform for the next day. Heading downstairs to join my family, even though I wasn't planning to eat dinner. I simply craved their company, longing not to feel alone.The words spoken by Lord Rennick had left me deeply unsettled. I didn't know how I would fulfill his wishes."So, how was your first day?" my dad inquired, happily munching on his food. Tonight, my sister had prepared lasagna, and it looked mouthwatering. I couldn't resist grabbing a plate and digging in. Due to the royal protocols, I couldn't eat as freely as I usually do. I had to restrict myself to small portions, taking tiny bites, and leaving most of it untouched, mimicking their eating habits."It was strange," I sighed, taking a bite and savoring the taste. Even their food lacked flavor, no spices whatsoever."Strange? You must have been puzzled by their luxurious lifestyle," Maanya chimed in."No! It's just... they're peculiar," I struggled to find t
Carena: "I'm too happy to be mad at you right now," Lord Rennick said, leading me outside where he'd been scolding me about miscommunication with Sawyer. He said I might have mixed up the number of blinks I'd made him do earlier and taken it the wrong way. He also mentioned that I had hurt Ginny's feelings and advised me to be more careful from now on.However, I could sense his mood was a bit milder, probably because he was glad to finally communicate with his son. But that happiness depended on whether his grandson was honest with his words. I felt betrayed by how he treated me."Now, go take care of him and apologize to Ginny when you see her again tomorrow," Lord Rennick muttered under his breath. Before leaving, he added, "Don't tire my grandson with the blinking game. It's a blessing that we found a way to communicate with him, but it shouldn't be overused."Throughout this conversation, I simply kept my head down and nodded. I didn't even mention Sawyer's lie. But it did make
Carena:"I can't believe you keep on lying to us," Lord Rennick erupted, throwing another tantrum upon finding me guilty of deceit. I was innocent, it was his grandson who was a liar but who would believe me?"I'm not lying," I murmured, keeping my head down, unable to express my frustration to Lord Rennick."Then what's going on? Are you suggesting that you're not adept at the method of communication you've chosen for my grandson?" he spat, slamming his fist on the table and demanding eye contact.I flinched at the sudden rise in his voice."I'm sorry, I'll try to be more cautious from now on," I sighed, feeling exasperated that I continually found myself in trouble because of Sawyer. This time, there was no way I would accept his excuse.He had claimed not to understand the rules last time, but this time, he had heard me vent my frustrations, yet he still lied in front of his grandfather."Are you attempting to avoid intimacy with the alpha king?" as he posed that question, I found