Chapter 5

I packed my things.

When I started decorating this house, I decorated it as my home. I never dreamt I would leave my home, especially not like this.

Pausing for a minute, I took a final look around the room I shared with my mate for the last five years. This room had been my safe space, a place filled with laughter and warmth. Now, it was a place I could not call mine anymore. I could not even take a proper look at the bed I once shared with my mate as it was now stamped with infidelity.

I loaded everything I owned into two suitcases, making sure not to leave anything behind. This space was for Irene now and I could not bear the thought of her using my things or even throwing them out in scorn.

As I zipped up the second suitcase, the bedroom door opened and I stiffened.

“Are you upset?” I raised my head to see Irene smirking down at me. Ignoring her, I went back to closing my suitcase but she refused to be ignored. “How does it feel to lose to me?” She asked but I continued to ignore her.

“You know,” she continued, “I have always hated you. You’ve always had an easy life. I've had to work hard for everything I have while you got handed everything.” I didn’t know what she was talking about and I couldn’t be bothered to learn. It wasn’t news that Irene was envious of me but asides from envious, she seemed to be delusional as well.

When I finished packing up my things, I rolled my suitcase with me but the vixen blocked my path.

“You still do not know your place,” she sneered. “You cannot ignore me anymore. I will be your Luna soon!” She hissed in my face.

“Irene,” I called her name in a warning tone.

“There you go acting all high and mighty again!” She stomped her foot. “I orchestrated all this. You lost your mate because of me! It’s time to get off your high horse and realize that you are beneath me!”

“Is that what you want?” I asked and she shrugged.

“It’s one of the many things I want.”

“Would you like me to congratulate you?”

“W - What?” She flinched as I glared at her.

My eyes were swollen and heavy from all the tears I shed. My heart was bleeding. Nothing felt right and it was partly because of this woman; a nasty person who had a habit of snatching up my things so she could relish a sickening sense of victory. I didn’t know why she always competed with me but I did not care then as anguish ripped into my heart.

“You won. Would you like me to congratulate you?” I repeated and she pursed her lips.

When she stole my dolls, I let her go. When she manipulated my friends into ditching me for her, I let them go. Even when she started to fight for my father’s attention, I let her be. She was eager to break me down and trample on me so she could laugh but I was not going to let her see how much she hurt me this time; would not let her know she had shattered every last piece of me. I did not want to give her that satisfaction.

“You –“ She started but the sound of approaching footsteps made her pause.

“What did you say to her?” Jackson demanded, coming to stand beside Irene as he glared at me.

“Jackie, I tried making her understand our situation but she refused to speak to me. She doesn’t acknowledge me as your Luna and your baby doesn’t like that.”

Although she used her usual falsetto that made her sound like a naïve and innocent child, I knew she was mocking me as she emphasized the word ‘baby.’ Irene had a talent for pretending. No matter what she did, no one ever suspected her of having ill intentions.

“Just let her leave. There’s no need for you to explain anything to her. You did nothing wrong,” Jackson responded and I gritted my teeth.

“B – But where would she go? You can’t go back home, sister, and you are not the Luna anymore so you need my approval to stay in the pack house. Isn’t it best you stay with Jackie and I?” I choked at those words. “Think of it. The house is big and lonely so I need someone to keep me company when Jackie is at work.” She widened her eyes, blinking innocently as she twirled a strand of hair.

“I am still the Luna of this pack.” Those were the only words I could muster.

Seeing my mate standing beside another woman cut my already bruised heart and knowing that he was standing with her against me made everything so much worse.

Rather than torturing myself by watching these two, I brushed past them but Irene rushed to block my path. I skidded to a halt as she blocked me but to my utter amazement, she screamed and tumbled to the ground.

Jackson caught her right before she hit the floor, picking her up bridal style. Then he turned to me with eyes that showed his wolf was at the forefront.

“I didn’t do anything!” I exclaimed before he could speak, my senses screaming danger, but then Irene pointed a shaky finger at me.

“Sister – Sister Channy, why did you push me? Do you – Do you hate me that much?” Her clear eyes filled with tears in the blink of an eye. “Are you angry because – because of the baby?” She touched her stomach. “I did it for you!” She suddenly exclaimed. “I did it for you. I thought – I thought you would be happy for me. Isn’t it better for your sister to birth the next heir than for another woman to snatch up the position? I feared you would resent me but this – do you also resent my baby? Are you trying to hurt my baby?!”

I never wanted to cuss as much as I did then. It was the worst script she ever acted out but Jackson was eating it up.

Did what for me? Ruined my mating? My life? There were so many things I wanted to scream at her but the fire burning in Jackson’s eyes held my tongue.

“You – You –“ His nostrils flared as his eyes darkened. “You are really a curse,” he spat out. “After everything – I put up with you – so long –“ Anger distorted his words. The angrier he got, the harder it became for him to put sentences together. “Everything I endured – and you – you want to harm my child –“ He strode forward and laid Irene on the bed. Our bed.

I wanted to laugh, cry and scream all at once. Life was unfair. Life had always been unfair to me but never to this extent. I was losing everything in the blink of an eye and as if it was not enough, I had to watch the man I loved hold another woman and accuse me of trying to harm their child.

“Chantelle –“ He turned to me again but Irene tugged at his sleeve. He bent over as she whispered into his ears. It was such an intimate sight to behold that I felt fresh tears cloud my gaze. “You are right,” he said, nodding as he straightened and glared at me. “Come here.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the house.

“Where are you taking me?” I struggled against his grip, trying to resist as he pulled me but I was not strong enough to resist a full-fledged alpha. “Where are you taking me?” I exclaimed as he flung me into the car.

“Stay!” He growled, making me flinch.

“Jackson –“ I called, my heart beating from my throat as he got into the driver’s seat.

“That’s Alpha Jackson to you,” he snarled, pulling out of the driveway with a screech of tires.  He drove like a madman, his eyes glazing over as he mind linked someone while I chanted prayers to the goddess to save us from his rough driving.

We arrived at the pack house in no time. Jackson dragged me out of his car and into the lobby of the pack house. People passing by stopped to stare and in the blink of an eye, the place began to fill up. Two elders arrived in less than five minutes and I finally understood what was happening.

“Luna Chantelle,” the oldest of the two elders addressed me as he walked over. “The Alpha has asked to sever his bond with you. Do you agree to this?” I swallowed thickly through a tight throat, feeling my heart constrict.

He was breaking our bond.

More people trooped out. The excitement in the air was palpable. I dared not look into anyone’s face, fearing to see the excitement I felt in the air mirrored in their eyes. Although I could not pretend to be a perfect person, I had tried in my own way to be a good Luna to these wolves. I went above and beyond to serve them and make the pack a home for each of these wolves. Yet it seemed they had all been waiting for my downfall.

“I agree,” I answered the elder.

A part of me wanted to disagree. My wolf whimpered in frustration. Although Jackson was not her predestined mate, we had come to love him. I loved this man with every fibre of my being but love was not enough. I was not enough.

There was no reason for me to disagree, no reason to drag things out. I could no longer hold on to a man who had long since let go of me – of us.

“Luna Chantelle, you have failed as a Luna to the wolves of Blood Moon. For this reason, I shall relieve you of your bond to the Alpha and the pack.” A woman ran forward with a knife as soon as the elder turned. As if on cue, she handed it to him and I stretched out my palm. He made a slight cut on my palm and repeated the action on Jackson.

“You may proceed with the rejection, Alpha.” The elder took a step back as Jackson turned to me with his eyes still blazing with fury.

“I, Jackson Knight of Blood Moon, renounce you, Chantelle Park, as my mate and Luna. I renounce the bond we shared and the oaths we pledged.” A fire started in my guts, licking up to my chest and then burning my throat.

“I – I accept the renouncement.” My wolf howled. My chin trembled and my vision blurred. I clenched my fists at my sides, my nails digging into the cut in my palm.

“We stand as your witnesses. It is done.” The elder declared and I heaved a sigh of relief.

I did not know what to expect from annulling a bond but despite the weight of despair crushing me, I felt a lick of relief.

For the last few months, I had carried an invisible burden while walking on eggshells around my mate and pack but now – now it felt like the boulder crushing my chest had lifted.

The elders dispersed. Jackson left me behind without a second glance. The crowd thinned out and I was left alone in the lobby of the pack house.

For a brief and crazy second, I considered getting on my knees, grabbing my mate’s legs and begging him to forgive me, to love me as he once did but I reminded myself he was no longer my mate. He renounced the last five years.

I don’t know if I cried but my legs carried me away from the pack house. There was nothing on my mind as my legs moved. I went about without thought or direction, my feet controlling my entire being.

My wolf howled multiple times. I stopped to stare at the moon as she climbed. Numbness spread through me as I walked and I had a fleeting thought of walking forever. Walking away the pain and anguish suffocating me.

I wandered until my legs ached and my stomach growled. Then I stopped underneath a streetlight.

Where would I go? I had become homeless in the blink of an eye. I could not stay in the pack house now. There was nothing on me – no phone, no money, and no plan.

To stop the emotions about to drown me, I continued to walk and my feet carried me to the first place I ever called home. My father and his wife were out of town at the moment so there would be no one in the house. I let myself in using the spare key always kept underneath a potted plant at the entrance then I dragged myself up to my old room, wondering what Irene would have turned it into.

Pushing the door open, I took a step in and then I froze. It was a scene I had seen earlier in the day; Irene naked on my bed but this time – this time it was not with Jackson.