Chapter 0006

Verena

“So, when is the Alpha throwing us a party?” Dory asks as she walks into my room with a cheerful smile. She does not know. The only thing she knows is that I went to Elijah to tell him the good news. “You definitely have to tell me the names you are deciding on, especially if it's a girl. I don’t want our princess to have a terrible name like mine. Also I–”

“We are going to have a rejection ceremony today,” I say with a grim expression.

Dory blinks a few times, “What? That’s such a bad joke.”

My lips curve in a sad smile while I sit on the armchair, “It's not.”

The girl’s smile drops, “No, that’s not possible.”

My gaze dips to the jar she’s holding in her hand, “Did you bring the herbs I asked you to?”

Her brows pucker, “Yeah, I did. But the herbs you asked for are used to protect an unborn from any strong supernatural forces. Why would you ask for something like—” her lips stop moving as her eyes light up with realization. There are certain herbs that protect an unborn child in the womb of a mother who gets rejected from her mate. I told her to bring one of those so that no harm comes to my baby.

She stays still for a few seconds, “What? I– Are you really getting rejected?” I answer her with my silence. She stands still, as if processing everything.

“The Alpha...he’s behind this, isn’t he?” she grits her teeth. “I should have known it. Something felt off about you staying in this room, and looking so pale.” She clenches her fist.

I slowly rise from my armchair, “Dory, calm down.”

“Fuck, no!” she slams the jar into the bedside, and stomps out of the room. Shit! I run up to her. She’s going to argue with Elijah.

Stepping out of the room, I get hold of her wrist, and stop her, “Stop! Don’t do it.”

She whips her head at me, rage burning like coal in her eyes, “Luna, I respect you. But I can’t accept this. How can he do this to you? I’ll go and knock some sense into him!”

“No, no, no.” I pull her back. She is acting like a dog who has gone feral, and needs to be kept on a leash. Most of the time she is calm and rational. But when it comes to the people she cares for, she becomes hot-headed and does something regretful. If she talks back to Elijah, she can be put into the cells or even banished.

“Calm down. This decision is mutual,” I say, and she freezes. She turns to me with a face as if lightning has struck her.

“What about the child? How can you get separated when the future heir of this pack is growing inside you?” She points at my belly and I place my palm on it. Despite what the clinic said, I believe that a life is growing inside me. I can feel it in my bones. But I don’t want to tell Dory everything. She does not need to be involved in my problems.

"It's because of the new girl who joined the pack, isn’t it?” Dory asks suddenly, and I jerk my head up at her, my heart skipping a beat. I did not expect her to catch on to it so quickly. She notices my face, “You don’t need to worry about her, Luna. I’ll teach her a lesson that she’ll run out of the borders of this pack and never look back,” she says with determination.

I sigh. This girl has no sense of danger. “You’ll do nothing like that. Promise me.”

She frowns, “But—”

“I said what I said. Don’t argue with your Luna,” I will be ex-Luna soon but there is time left for the rejection ceremony. So I will use my authority to make sure Dory does not put herself in danger.

Her shoulders sag, and she reluctantly nods. “But why are you not doing anything? Will you let another girl just take everything from you?” Her words prick me. I did try, but when Elijah wants me to step out of his life, then there is nothing I can do. Even our child could not save our relationship because he does not even believe in its existence.

“It's pointless. Also, it's better to end things. Our marriage was like an agreement and since he has no use for me now, the agreement has ended.” It was a mistake. If I had known that I would be treated like this after the return of his fated mate, I would have never agreed to this marriage. Second chance mates after all are…second choice, not first.

“But Luna…” She steps closer to me, her brown eyes staring at me, “You love him, more than your own life. I know you.” Her words squeeze my chest tightly and warm tears cover my vision. She has seen how much dedicated I have been to Elijah.

I blink to push my tears back, and amidst the silence of the gloomy morning my words come out like a sad symphony, “My love is not enough.” A tear slips down my left eye.

Dory's eyes glisten with pain as she wraps her arms around me in a gentle embrace. The warmth of her act stirs something inside me, and I break down into sobs. Now that she's here, I realize how much I needed someone's presence to share my sorrow. With no parents or many friends whom I can trust to open up to, given my focus on work and Elijah, her presence feels like a cool shade after hours of walking in scorching heat.

"I am so sorry this is happening to you. If the Alpha can't see how much you have sacrificed for him, then he does not deserve you!" she cries, and I hug her tighter. It brings me some relief knowing that there's someone for me.

"Don't worry sweetheart, it's okay. I can make it." I pat Dory on the back. "Later I'll go to Elijah's room and get my stuff back, they must not want to see me in this house, and neither do I.”