MY EX WANTS ME BACK

Ophelia’s POV

As I approached the Moonlit Pack gates, my heart pounded louder than it should be and I clenched my fist by my sides. I walked alongside the warrior Eric had sent for me, their cold eyes on my every move.

Every instinct screamed that I should run back to Ryker for help but I couldn't. Not when I was a danger to his camp.

They opened the iron gate and I scanned the area. It hadn't changed a bit.

And he was there, waiting by the courtyard.

His blue eyes were shining in my direction.

“Ophelia,” he drawled, his voice smooth and filled with mockery as he stepped forward. “You finally decided to stop running. I'd almost started to think you enjoyed living like a stray.” He said, making an innocent face like he didn't just itch out a word.

I stopped a few meters from him, my jaw tightening. “I didn't come here to be mocked, Eric.” I warned and he curled up his lip to a smirk.

That was one of the things that flustered my heart months and years back but now, it didn't even cast a blood of me from it.

“No, of course not. You came here because you knew you didn’t belong with those rogues. I always knew you’d come crawling back. It was only a matter of time.”

My eyes turned red in anger, my wolf snarling in my mind. “I didn’t come back for you,” I snapped. “I came to hear what you wanted. Say it quickly, so I can leave.”

His smirk only deepened, but his eyes turned darker. He took another step closer to me. “Leave? Oh, Ophelia, I'm afraid it's not that simple. You see, we need you here.”

His words struck me like a ton of bricks and for a moment, I stared at him, caught off guard. Really? I never thought of this.

“Need me?” I repeated unbelievably. “You rejected me. You humiliated me in front of the entire pack and called me weak. Now you expect me to believe you need me?” I rolled my eyes, my arm placed on my chest.

“I made a mistake,” he finally admitted after a while but there was no remorse in his tone. It didn't come from his heart. “I acted on the information I had at the time. But I've since made an investigation, and it turns out you were falsely accused.”

I sighed uncontrollably. My tongue licking my already dried lips in pain.

“You’re saying you knew I was innocent,” I said, my voice trembling as I tried to restrain my fury, “and you still let them banish me?”

He crossed his arms, his face steady. “I didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the truth to come to light. An Alpha must act in decision, even if that means making sacrifices. But now, things have changed.” He gestured toward the packhouse behind him and I turned towards it. “The pack is suffering, Ophelia. Wolves are falling ill, injuries aren’t healing as they should. Whatever your Shadowmark is, it’s connected to the moon’s energy and we need it. We need you.”

My eyes widened at his words. How come he knew about my shadowmark?

“You wonder how I found out?” He asked in a cunning tone. “I am the Alpha, Ophelia and I can see anything I want to see.*

The little ray of hope I had died instantly, he had always been a user, he needed me because of my shadow mark, he wanted to claim his possession over me.

“Do you need me?” I repeated, my voice rising. “You cast me aside when it was convenient, and now that you’re desperate, you want me back? Do you think I’m just going to forget everything you did?”

His face turned cold as he stared at me dangerously. “This isn’t a request, Ophelia,” he said, his voice low and cold. “You will return to the pack. You will use your mark to heal my wolves. Refuse, and I’ll have no choice but to consider you an enemy of Moonlit.”

I raised my brows unbelievably at his words. He hadn't changed one bit. “Is that a threat?” I asked, taking a step forward. “After everything you’ve done, you think you can threaten me into submission?”

“You think you can control me?” I continued. “You think you can use me like a tool and discard me when you’re done? Not this time, Eric. You may be the Alpha of the Moonlit, but you have no power over me.”

He growled inwardly, his eyes changing. “You just got on my last nerve.” He roared, his sharp hand holding on my throat and pressing hard on me as I screamed out for help.