Emily’s POV
It was raining this morning, and the icy wind and heavy downpour added to the somber feeling inside my chest.
I tried my best not to let things get to me, but early this morning I snuck into my parents’ house. Eventually, I gave up trying to stay strong and let myself cry.
“Mommy,” Lex called, sitting on the bed. “Are you feeling ill?”
Sasha brought the sleeping Lex to me about an hour ago. She will follow us to the White Moon Pack in a day or two.
I wiped my eyes and sat next to him on the bed.
“Mommy is fine,” I lied, wiping another stray tear from my face. “My allergies are just playing up.”
Lex knitted his sleeping eyes together as if he were checking if I was lying, nodded a moment later, and didn’t ask any more questions about my red and swollen eyes.
“Are we leaving?” He asked, seeing the bag sitting at the foot of the bed.
“We are,” I replied. “There is nothing left for me here.”
“Just our mate,” Willow howled sadly in my mind. She felt that we ought to challenge Angelica to a rematch and was upset that we were leaving so quickly.
I blocked Willow off, got to my feet, and returned to finish packing my bag.
“But Mommy,” Lex complained. “I want to stay. I like Alpha Alex.”
I froze at the sound of Alex’s name and stopped what I was doing. I felt my body and heart tingle with the same unbearable pain as last night.
“Maybe one day, Lex,” I said, on the verge of tears. “But now is not the time.”
I picked up the bag and gestured for Lex to follow me.
In an attempt to avoid waking up my parents, I tried to be as quiet as a mouse, but that was all in vain.
As soon as I tried to unlock the front door, Alex’s intoxicated scent assaulted my nose, and the foyer light suddenly flicked on.
Like a deer caught in headlights, I froze in place.
“F*ck!” The word slipped from my lips. I should have realized he was going to try to stop me. How the hell did he find me?
“Are you heading out without bidding me farewell?” Alex’s husky voice was full of emotion.
“Mommy, look! It is Alpha Alex!” With great excitement, Lex let go of my hand and rushed into his arms. “Did you come to convince Mommy to stay?”
I slowly turned to face Alex.
His face and eyes were swollen and red, his hair was disheveled and sticking out in all directions, and he was still wearing the same clothes from the previous night. It made my heart hurt seeing him like that.
Did he spend the entire night awake?
I took a deep breath and let Alex’s intoxicated apple crumble scent fill my lungs. It would be the last time I would be able to enjoy his beautiful and delicious scent before I leave and never see him again.
An uncontrollable sob escaped from my lips. I wasn’t ready to let go. I yearned for nothing more than to be in Alex’s arms and have him reassure me that this was all just a bad dream and that everything would be fine.
My heart hurt.
I desire him.
I need him.
I want to be with him. But most importantly, I love him.
I sighed, the tears burning behind my eyelids as I reminded myself of last night’s events. I had never experienced such humiliation in my life.
I looked into Alex’s bloodshot eyes and my mind raced. His eyes were the silvery hue of the weather outside, depressing, gloomy, and worn out.
The council made Alex present his future Luna and Luke was told to prepare a platform in the clearing, so he could introduce his new Luna informally.
The members of the pack appeared irate, dissatisfied, and disappointed, and the mood in the clearing was ominous and erratic. They did not even look at me.
I let the pack down, and that is all my fault. I am not worthy of their respect or to be considered as their Luna.
“Wolves and she-wolves,” Alpha Cole informally called the pack to order. He, too, had an expression of disapproval on his face.
The members of the pack moved closer to the stage, keeping their focus solely on Alpha Cole; they purposefully turned away when Angelica got onto the stage.
When Willow saw Angelica attempting to hold on to Alex’s side, she growled and scratched to be let go.
Alex growled at Angelica, and she quickly stepped away from him, giving him a disapproving scowl.
“Alex, I am your Luna and your mate,” she hissed at him.
With a hard, cold look on his face, Alex grabbed Angelica’s arm and pulled her away. His eyes shifted black.
“What are you doing?” He hissed, angry.
“Taking possession of what is rightfully mine” Angelica spat.
“I don’t belong to you!” Alex growled. “I am not something you own!”
“You do now!” She scoffed. “I won the title and your hand in the duel.”
“And you cheated!” Alex snarled.
“You do not have any evidence,” she stated, grinning and raising her head.
Angelica pivoted, leaving Alex speechless, and she approached Alpha Cole to seize the microphone.
“Members of the Pack,” she said. “This is Alpha Alex and his fated mate Parker’s scheduled rejection, in addition to being a Luna introduction.”
Angelica met my gaze and her lips formed a veiled smile.
When they realized that I was Alex’s mate, the pack members gasped and looked curiously at me.
With a broad smile, Angelica motioned for me to join her on stage.
“Get moving!” Angelica snarled. “That was part of the agreement, wasn’t it?”
I moved forward, feeling knots in my stomach form as the pack members stared at me intensely.
“Reject each other now,” scoffed Angelica. “And leave the Opal Pack! You are no longer welcome here.”
Alex moved to stand beside me and grasped my hands. He appeared emotionally spent.
“I can’t,” Alex said, turning to look at Angelica. “I love her!”
Gasps surrounded us, and the pack members started to fuss. The idea of Alex rejecting me did not sit well with them.
“Then, as per law, you need to forfeit the Alpha title,” Axel said. “It is just and reasonable. Since Angelica prevailed in the duel, she is now the legitimate Luna of the pack.”
I would never allow Alex to lose his title!
“Then I’ll…” Alex muttered, but before he could continue I interrupted.
“I, Parker, reject you Alpha Alex as my mate!”
Alex shot me a confused look, the clearing erupted in startled gasps.
“Sorry,” I said, trying to control my emotions. “But I am not going to let you give up your Alpha title over me.”
Alex was speechless and in complete shock. What I had just said had taken him by surprise.
I released Alex’s hands, spun around, and bolted into the woods.
I ran for hours, trying to clear my head.
Eventually, I made it to my parents’ house, where I slipped in through the window of my former bedroom.
“Emily?” The terrible memory left my mind when I heard Alex’s gentle voice.
“I-”
I had no idea how to respond to him.
My gaze shifted to Lex, and I held my hand out to him.
“Lex,” I called. “We must go now.”
“But I don’t want to go, mommy,” Lex whimpered.
“We have to,” I said.
It was hurting me to stay in Alex’s presence.
“Let me drive you,” Alex said.
I shook my head and replied, “No.”
Alex retorted, “But I insist. It is the least I could do.”
I gave a forceful shake of my head; this would only exacerbate the situation for us both.
With tears threatening to fall, I said, “It is better you do not come. It will just worsen things.”
“Please allow me to do this.” Alex pleaded. “Let me drive you back to White Moon Pack.”
“No!” I said, my tone giving Alex no room to argue, and I opened the front door.
“Emily….” Alex’s voice broke, raw, bitter emotions coursing through it. “It can’t end like this.”
I made an effort to stay away from him because I knew it would be difficult to say goodbye.
I went outside, noticed a car approaching, assumed it was Mila, grabbed my bag, and pushed Lex out.
“Emily, wait! Please!” Alex called from behind. “Will you just let us talk about this?”
“Why is this piece of trash still in my pack’s territory?” The air filled with Angelica’s screeching voice as she got out of her vehicle.
Alex’s expression hardened as he looked to where Angelica was getting out of the SUV.
“That loser ought to have left last night!” Angelica went on.
“Enough!” With a growl, Alex’s face darkened, and his eyes went black. “Get back in your car and go back to the pack house!”
My spine tingled from hearing Ghost’s huskier voice, he must have grabbed control.
Willow purred, and I let go of my mental barrier.
With a vile glare, Angelica returned to her car.
“You have got an hour.” She shouted and drove away.
“She might have gotten rid of us,” Willow grumbled, coming closer. “But our mate would not submit to her commands and would not be easily subdued. He remains the Alpha.”
I grinned at that.
“For once, I wished I was a fly,” I chirped. “It would have been fascinating to see this drama unfold between them.”
“I don’t think there will be much drama,” Willow said. “Ghost will make sure she knows her place.”
“Yeah, by his side,” I said, feeling my heart tighten in my chest. “They are….”
“Nope,” Willow cut in. “The Luna Ceremony will only take place in two weeks.”
“How do you know this?” I asked, startled at the news. “Alex said nothing to me.”
“My little bunny-bun-fur-ball told me,” she said.
“Ghost?”
“Who else, silly?” Willow said, sounding kind of excited. “Alex and he intend to discover the truth before then. He refused to take that mate-snatching thing as his mate.”
“Why didn’t Alex discuss this with me?” I asked, bewildered.
“Alex did not want you to get your hopes up,” Willow clarified. “Besides, you did shut our link.”
I sighed.
She was right.
I could feel Ghost and Alex, pleading with me to let them in, behind the block.
“Talk to him,” Willow mused. “Listen to what he has to say.”
****