1 : Second Chance Mate

Verena

“Rena, I want to reject our bond and get separated,” Elijah’s voice doesn't hold an ounce of emotion as he sits across from me in the dim living room. I'd been waiting for him to celebrate our third wedding anniversary together. But when he arrived, there was this coldness about him. I figured he was just tired from work, but then he asked me to sit down and dropped a bombshell on me.

"Why?" I blink in disbelief. He must be joking, right? But the intensity of his gaze chips away at my doubt, replacing it with a growing sense of worry. I know the reason. The one I've feared the most for so long.

His mate has returned to the pack.

Elijah is the Alpha of one of the most powerful packs in Fenrisa, the Iron Claw Pack. I am his wife and his mate. One would think that due to being fated, our relationship would be a good one. But that’s far from the truth.

The truth is, I am his second chance mate. 

Elijah’s first mate had left him just before the mating ceremony. The reason was unknown, but everyone assumed that she didn’t want a relationship with her mate and loved someone else. On the same day of their separation, Elijah found me and realized that I am his second chance mate.

Second chance mates are rare, and it can be called a miracle that the Goddess gives Elijah a second chance in love by mating us. He hasn’t rejected his first mate, but one can find a second mate irrespective of rejecting their first mate. It's complicated and goes against the laws of the mate bond. Yet it's a blessing to the ones whose first mate dies or leaves them.

Elijah sighs, “You know about Nixie. She wants to be back with me.”

I clench my fist. “And you want to get back with her?” My lips quiver, and I struggle to stop my body from trembling, but it's futile.

Despite being Elijah’s second chance, he’s my first. My first mate, the only love of my life. No matter who your second chance is, the bond with the first mate is stronger, like the first love that you can’t move on from. Elijah feels the same towards Nixie, I know, but can I simply accept it?

His face remains aloof, “Nixie is sick because of the torture she went through. She needs me, Verena. She is my mate and my wolf needs her.”

His first mate returned a week ago, claiming that she was kidnapped by our enemy pack and taken hostage for three years. The pack that captured her was destroyed due to a pack war, and the hostages were released. That’s how Nixie escaped and returned to our pack. 

"I can’t have two mates at the same time. Having you both is putting a lot of pressure and weakening my wolf. Over time, it’ll get worse. So, I’ll have to reject one," he adds in a calm voice, while a storm is rising in my chest.

"And you choose her," I reply, tears brimming in my eyes.

I knew that Elijah hadn’t moved on from his first mate when I entered his life. But I had believed that I could heal him and show him that I can love him more. I did everything in my power to make him happy when we got married. 

Yet, she’s the one he chooses. 

What about us? The relationship we built for all these years, does it mean nothing to him? When I walked into his life, he was emotionally unavailable and rude to me. But I stayed patient and he gradually started to warm up to me. Since then we had worked together on everything and he promised to stay beside me forever.  

I know that I won’t be able to bear him a healthy child because I did not shift after I turned eighteen and it's been five years since I have been wolf-less. But I felt the mate bond when I saw Elijah at the Mating Ball. He also agreed to marry me because his pack needed a Luna and it was better to have a second chance mate than have no mate at all. 

“You said you'd never leave me. You promised me,” I remind him. “How can you break it because of someone who left you years ago?” 

His icy presence sends a chill through the room. "Rena, watch your words. Remember who you're speaking to," he warns, his tone sharp like a blade. "And do you expect me to overlook the fact that you intentionally drove Nixie away because you wanted to be with me?"

My brows raise, “What are you talking about?” 

He stands from the couch, “You think I don’t know? Nixie returned to this pack just one year after our marriage and wanted to meet me. But you met her first and threatened her to not come close to me and disappear from the pack.” 

Huh? She returned one year after our marriage? How is that possible when she was trapped in the enemy pack? 

A shadow falls on his chiseled face, making him look deadly and dangerous. I have always admired his ruthless side, especially when he makes sure to punish anyone who tries to hurt me. But today, he’s giving me this look as if he’s disgusted by me. 

“Because of you, Nixie could not contact me and tell me what happened to her. I couldn’t be there for her when she needed me. Just because of you.” He accuses me, and I feel like I have been stabbed in the chest. 

“I did not!” I say and he tilts his head as if he did not expect that response from me. As much as I want Elijah all to myself, I know that he feels empty without Nixie. So I would have accepted them being together, just for the sake of Elijah’s happiness. But how will I act on it when I did not know she returned two years ago? I thought she recently escaped the enemy pack, and joined us. 

He raises a brow, “So you are not going to admit it?” 

“Admit what? I have no idea what you are talking about.” I protest.  

"Fine, I'll call him then," Elijah's obsidian eyes glaze over as he connects through the mind-link. Seconds later, the door swings open and Joshua walks inside.

“What’s the matter?” He asks as he looks at both of us. He is Elijah’s Beta. 

“Rena denies that she had not tried to kick Nixie out of the pack when she returned two years ago. Is that true?” 

I look at Joshua expectantly. He will tell Elijah the truth. I relax a little, waiting for the truth to come out. But why do I have this bad feeling? 

“No, I saw her two years ago with the Luna,” Joshua replies calmly, with a subtle smile on his face. “The Luna did threaten her and tell her to leave the pack.” 

What?! 

“Joshua, what the hell are you saying?! I didn't even meet Nixie!” I rise from my seat in shock and look at him in disbelief. 

“Keep your voice low, Rena. Joshua is saying what he saw and I am surprised that you believed he’d lie for you. After all, he’s the one who showed me pictures of your encounter with my mate.” Elijah throws the pictures on the table and it feels like someone has pulled the rug off my feet. These are from a different time. They are manipulated. 

I look at the Beta who gives me a smirk. He betrayed me. I thought we were good friends but…

My shoulders slump as I look at the floor. This can’t be happening. 

“Do you have any evidence that the Beta is lying?” Elijah asks. 

I don’t have an answer. My head spins, trying to process everything that has happened. 

“No,” I whisper. If I had known that he’ll betray me like this, I would have been more cautious. But why would he do this? 

For a few minutes, silence hangs heavy in the air until Elijah gently grasps my chin, coaxing me to meet his gaze. His inky black hair falls messily across his face, reminding me of its softness when I touched it before.

“It's over, Rena. You knew how much I loved Nixie, yet you pushed her away from me. Then you pretended to love me when all you wanted was the power and wealth that comes with being my wife. I can’t let any of this slip away.” he says, his voice gentle but deep and chilling. 

Pretend to love him? After all these years, he thinks it was an act. I know I don’t have any evidence to prove my innocence, but won’t he try to believe me for once? I can’t help but wonder if he would have believed Nixie if she was in my shoes. He would have probably forgiven her, because mates tend to be possessive of their partners. But he won’t treat me like that, because according to him, I am just his second chance. I am nothing compared to his first true mate, his first love. 

Tears glisten in my eyes as pain grips my heart. "Elijah, I mean it. I don't care about the position. I just want you."

He growls, baring his canines and his eyes flash, “I had enough. You should be grateful that I am not imprisoning you for doing something like this. So if you don’t want to live in the cells, I advise you to accept the divorce and the rejection.” He lets go of my chin and retrieves the divorce agreement. 

He slaps it onto the coffee table, making me flinch. "Sign it.”

I stare at the papers with a bleeding heart. All the good memories I had with him flash in my head. What did all of those moments mean? Was it a lie when he said that I make him smile? That I am special to him?  That our bond is no lesser than a first mate bond? 

I slowly bend forward, and grab the pen. I sign the paper while holding back my tears.“Here, it's done,” I whisper while holding the divorce agreement. For a brief moment, the iciness in his gaze melts, replaced by shock and hurt. But he swiftly regains his composure and accepts the paper from me.

“I did not want us to get separated this way, but you left me no choice,” 

A sad smile curves my lips. So he would have gotten separated from me anyway. It did not matter what I did, he just needed a reason to reject me and have his mate back. 

“When is the rejection ceremony going to take place?” I ask while looking down at my trembling arms. If I see his face, I’m afraid I’ll break down completely. 

“Tomorrow. I expect you to be present at the training ground at eight in the morning. Once the rejection is over, you can stay at the packhouse. Though I’d prefer if you don’t come close to my mate. I don’t want you to cause a scene.” he replies and it hurts how he calls Nixie ‘my mate’. 

I rise from my seat and turn around, “Don’t worry, you won’t find me anywhere near you or Nixie after the rejection is over. That’ll be my gift to you. Happy Marriage Anniversary, Alpha Elijah.” 

********************************