Chapter 5: "Our Second chance mate."

“I was worried, Luna Sophia. Where have you been?”

Sorren badgers me with questions immediately I step through the front door and I sigh.

“I was, at a friend’s place, Sorren. You don’t have to be worried about anything. How’s everyone been since last night?”

The lie coats my tongue like cold tar but when I look up at Sorren, she doesn’t look like she suspects I'm lying. There’s a slightly sympathetic look on her face as she nods.

“Everyone’s been fine, Luna. 

Miss Violet caused a bit of a scene when she was leaving, so we were worried that something had happened, and the news too…”

I nod because, of course, it’d be stupid of me to think everyone wasn’t aware of it by now. I can tell Sorren is really concerned for me though so I give her a reassuring smile.

“I’ll be fine too, I just need to rest for a bit. I’ll be heading out again by 3 p.m.”

She nods and takes my bag from me, “Everything will be set before then, Luna.”

I’m grateful as I walk away and head up to my room.

I head back into the showers immediately.

This time I don’t bathe to wash away the gunk and sweat of last night, I bathe to inspect myself. Ulric doesn’t even know I installed clear glass walls in the bathroom. I did it in the hopes that maybe the clear water falling over the glass in a waterfall effect would awaken our sex life again, but he barely looked at it.

I curse under my breath when I see the furious red marks.

That fucking idiot.

He left hickeys all over my body!

Bite marks of various shapes and sizes decorate the canvas of my skin and I grit my teeth in wild astonishment. Did I sleep with an animal for fuck’s sake? 

Otsana casually throws an image of last night into my mind again and despite the conspiratorial smile that lights up my lips, I still chide her.

I should feel like I did something wrong, shouldn’t I? 

I did a really bad thing last night. 

Yet each time I remember it and I remember him, I barely have any remorse in my heart.

He was handsome.

Crazy handsome, and his body was a work of art. Every second I spent with him was one of pure bliss.

I frown as I try to actively recall his face now. I know he had vivid scars on his back…. Scars I might have kissed while we were climbing each other, before I kissed him. He looked a bit familiar but that’s impossible.

“Luna Scarlett…” A knock on the main door, “a man came to drop some papers.”

I open the door to the bathroom and shout back my response, “I’ll get right to it when I come down. Leave it on the dining table!”

I hear footsteps go back down the hallway and I sigh.

I hop out of the bathroom and go to check the time. My eyes fly wide in panic.

It’s almost noon. 

Each bone in my body screams to have a reprieve, some rest at least. 

I need to rest. I feel like I just came back from doing a crash course on expert-level gymnastics. I’m sure we’d have gotten a medal if we were at the Werewolf Olympics with all the muscle work we did.

I feel my wolf give an impression of a facepalm in my mind and I snigger in amusement. 

I can nap for an hour or two, then wake up and head over to Ulric’s office. The decision is made the moment I hit the bed because my body shudders in relief. My voice is groggy as I command.

“Hexa, set an alarm for 2 p.m.”

My phone vibrates as the alarm is set and I fall into sleep immediately. I almost fling it off the table when the alarm begins to ring later and I groan in sleepy displeasure.

“Hexa, snooze for 30 more minutes.”

I barely hear the vibration as I fall back into sleep but the world must hate me today because the alarm rings not more than five minutes later! Sorren’s voice is what discourages me from telling the phone to snooze till 2;50.

“Luna? Luna Sophia? It’s 2:30 by the clock. You have an appointment set at 3, time to get ready.”

I drag myself out of bed reluctantly and head to the door, opening it to smile at her, “Thanks Sorren. Please get a driver on standby.”

Sorren smiles indulgently as she nods and walks away.

I close my door and sigh. 30 minutes

I have 30 minutes to get ready.

I take a seven-minute cold shower to wake me up, feeling disappointed as I see the marks still stark red against my skin. I pick a dress with a covered back to hide the ones on my back.

The ones on my waist don’t need to be hidden with anything else. 

I apply some light makeup to mask the ones on my neck. My whole body tingles with strange feelings as I do so.

In fifteen minutes I'm ready. I lace the strap to my low heels and head out of my room. Zach is waiting by the foot of the stairs, bolting up from his seat the moment he sees me. 

Seeing him brings memories of how broken I felt yesterday but I don't dismiss him. We exchange an understanding nod and he follows me as we head out the door.

I get to Highrise Solutions just in time.  The hall is calm when I step in. 

This time I don't need to wave away Ulric’s security men, they don’t approach me. I take the elevator up the stairs and enter Ulric’s office without knocking. He looks up when I step in and I take in the look on his face. His eyes look sunken in and his face is gaunt.

I snigger.

He must be tired from handling the consequences of his actions, Or maybe Violet’s given him a bit of hell. I sit regardless and cock a cool eyebrow up at him, “Trouble in paradise?”

Ulric’s eyes lock with mine and I see slight remorse in them as he speaks, “We don’t need to do this Sophia.”

I scoff and look away but he continues, “I don’t want to divorce you. I’m sorry for what I did, I promise I'll make it up to you. I was never going to get married to, Violet. You’re the one I want.”

My tongue goes bitter all of a sudden so I reach into my bag and pull out the bottle of water Sorren always slips in there for me. A new one each day. 

I open it and take a swig, answering as I close it back up.

“I’ve already stated my terms, Ulric. Do you want me to fix your mess or not?”

Ulric stares at me, his gaze intense, before he pulls out a sheet of paper from under his desk.

“I’ve signed my part.”

I accept it and slip it into my bag, “Thank you. 

We can begin the rejection ceremony.”

Ulric stands reluctantly and so do I.

I’m grateful we’re alone here. 

Severing an already accepted mate bond can be hard and I don't want to have anyone see it hurt me. I feel Ulric’s wolf, Ragnar, rise to the surface and his eyes bloom a wild deep purple. Otsana responds to the call and I feel heat build behind my eyes.

For a moment, the world around us fades away. 

It’s just me and Ulric in a dark space, the only source of light being that of our wolf souls glowing. Ulric’s voice echoes into my heart as he begins.

“I, Ulric Spineridge Highrise, hereby sever the mate bond and reject you, Sophia, Spineridge Highrise, as my mate.

I renounce the connection we once had… and I declare us unconnected.”

I see the bond flicker to life between us. It’s so faint.

So weak.

The sight of it has tears rolling down my cheeks, because this is the bond eight years of marriage has forged between us. 

A bond that barely flickers with light or energy. My voice quivers despite my resolution as I speak.

“I, Sophia Spineridge Highrise, hereby accept your rejection, Alpha Ulric.

I renounce our bond. And I declare us disconnected.”

The bond snaps immediately and each end floats back into us. I clean my tears and smile at Ulric, my voice hoarse and thick with emotion.

“The media conference will be held tomorrow. The reporter you hit is already being located and an agreement will be reached. 

It was all a misunderstanding, and the press will accept that. The share prices will be saved.

I’ll be on my way now.”

I feel Ulric open his mouth to say something but nothing comes out. He can’t have anything to say, not when he saw the bond between us. He did that. 

His actions ruined us.

I’m at the door when I smell it. It’s the undeniable scent of cedar and juniper. 

Otsana surges to the surface immediately and I frown confused because it’s delicious. The scent sends every nerve in my body alive.

I ask her, confused, ~Is…. it from Ulric?~

The scent wafts into my nose again and I feel saliva pool in my clenched mouth this time. Otsana is frantic as she responds, ~No. 

This… this is something different.~

I hear footsteps immediately. Me and my wolf snap our attention to the hallway and I feel my blood run cold.

H…. No way.

Otsana’s whimper is high-pitched as she whispers into my mind. ~It’s him, Sophia.

He’s…. Our second chance mate.~

I feel every wall I have built to keep my defenses up weaken immediately.

A mate?

A… another one?

He gives me a pointed look as he walks past and into Ulric’s office. 

No. 

My mind runs wild with conspiracies.

He could be one of Ulric’s friends. 

This could have been a ploy to get back at me all along! No, this can’t be happening.

My world goes crashing even further as Ulric gets up swiftly, an evident look on his face. The tension in the room skyrockets as Ulric scowls and asks darkly, “What are you doing here?”

I wait with bated breath yet my mind seems to close in on itself as the strange man smiles darkly and replies, 

“Hello to you too, brother.”