Emily is shocked at what she hears. Coming from Louis’s mouth, it hits her like a flying arrow straight to her heart. She can never believe that Louis will say those words to her – words of rejection.
“Emily…”
“I accept your rejection, Louis Clayton,” she replies swiftly, then she turns her back and storms off the venue.
She sits solemnly on the balcony of the pack house, not knowing what else to do. All she had imagined was that she would be returning here as a Luna, not a rejected girlfriend.
What she can not comprehend is why Louis chose Kathrine, a strange woman that he barely knew, over her. He threw away their years of friendship and relationship like it meant nothing to him.
Emily bursts into tears, unable to withhold herself any longer. She breaks down and lets her emotions overwhelm her in an unbelievable state.
“Emily?”
His voice rings in her head, she looks up to see him standing in front of her with a solemn expression on his face.
“Why?” are the only words that stumble out of her mouth, what more can she say?
“It was a hard decision to make but I had to,” Louis replies coldly.
“You had to? Louis, you threw away nine years like it was nothing to you and your best explanation is that it’s because you had to?” Emily snorts.
“I touched her, Emily. The first night I met her, we kissed and I touched her. I haven’t felt that feeling in years, not even from you. The things I feel for Kathrine are what fated mates do feel for each other,” Louis defends himself.
Emily scoffs, “Fated mates? You chose a stranger over me!”
“You are the stranger, Emily, and I do not regret the decision I made tonight. You can stay here as long as you want, you will always be welcomed to the pack house.”
He turns his back on her, indicating that their discussion is over. Emily sobs deeply, her heart begins to ache. She can feel the mate bond tearing apart, the bond breaks with a snap and Emily falls to the ground.
Why is she feeling this way? Louis is not her fated mate so why is she feeling this heartache?
“What is going on? Why am I feeling this way?” Emily asks as she looks up at the sky to watch the moon that lit up the night.
Emily, you have to be strong and endure this. There are more pains to come.’ Ingrid says to her.
So you knew about this? Why didn’t you tell me?’
You didn’t want to listen to me. You were too busy fantasizing about your wedding with Louis that you barely listened to me.’ Ingrid snorts.
Emily screams at the top of her lungs, this is insane! Everything still seems so unreal to her, she wishes that she has the power to turn back time and set things right. Maybe – just maybe – she wouldn’t have given her heart out to Louis.
Louis returns to the crowd with a forced smile on his face.
Is he regretting the decision he made?
No.
Is he feeling guilty for breaking Emily’s heart?
No.
She should have known better, that he is not willing to choose her over his beloved fated mate. She shouldn’t have put all her hopes on him, she shouldn’t have believed his words.
He didn’t want to feed her with the benefits of the doubt right from the start, so he lied to her that he was going to choose her. And she believed him immediately, now she feels stupid for taking his words seriously.
Kathrine’s scent hits his nose, her scent calms his nerves and his shoulders relax. This is the true meaning of love, to feel reserved in the presence of your fated mate.
“You look disturbed, Honey. Are you sure that you’re okay?” Katherine asks him.
“No, I’m not okay. But your scent just calmed me down, thank you,” he replies.
Kathrine smiles at him, “Is she bothering you? The other woman?”
Louis sighs, “Yes but I do not intend to keep her on my mind for much longer, you are the woman I chose and the woman I love. Emily does not mean anything to me anymore.”
Kathrine massages his shoulders to calm his nerves. “We could to our room and try to get this woman from your mind completely, I could show you things that you would never imagine to be possible just like we did last night.”
Kathrine winks at him and he nods, maybe what he needs tonight is a woman’s touch – his woman’s touch. Kathrine is his medicine for calmness.
As they walk up to the balcony to turn in for the night, Emily is sighted with her head in between her thighs. Her sobs can be heard vividly, Louis clears his throat to get her attention.
Emily stands up immediately she sees them, she wipes her tears with the back of her palms and straightens her folded dress.
“Louis…”
“Oh hi, Emily. It’s such a shame to see you crying like a child here, are you not scared of letting someone see you here?” Kathrine asks her.
“I’m fine,” Emily tells an untruth.
Kathrine gives her scornful smile, “You should be fine, Louis has already gotten over you. He’s ready to move on and start a new family with me and so should you…”
“Sorry to say but you’re not in the right place to give me advice, I can advice myself .”
“I’m giving this advice to you as your Luna, you must take it otherwise, something terrible might eventually happen to you and you might not see it coming,” Kathrine snickers lowly.
Emily glares at her but says nothing more, Kathrine is right. She is now the Luna of the Crescent moon pack and therefore, every pack member ought to respect her and see her as a mother.
“Thank you for your advice, Luna,” Emily says through gritted teeth.
Kathrine smirks before leaving with Emily. The pain of seeing them walk off together pains Emily so badly. It’s almost as if he stabbed her heart several times.
You will get over him, it’s just a matter of time.’ Ingrid says to her.
Emily sniffs, she is about to break down for the second time.
How am I going to get over him, Ingrid? For nine years, I gave Louis my heart. I loved him like never before and he chose to throw it away simply because he found his fated mate a night before our wedding.’
If Louis had told her the truth earlier, she would have gladly prepared herself for what was coming. But instead, he chose to lie to her and humiliate her in front of his pack.
What will become of her fate now?