*Selena*
I stood there, blinking in disbelief after hearing my wolf speak.
How… how was it possible?!
Damon couldn’t be my mate.
He used to insist on this all the time, but I didn’t want anyone else other than Zander. I truly loved him.
“Selena!” Damon whispered urgently, looking at me intently. Ignoring him, Zander stood by my side.
“What did you just say?” Zander looked shocked and hurt as his eyes bore into mine. We had just mated and marked each other, and now this revelation was something I couldn’t help, as the feelings intensified with each second I looked into Damon’s eyes.
“As I told you I have always known that you are my mate, Selena. But now you can also feel it. You belong to me, always and forever. Let’s go home,” Damon said, extending his hand towards me. Zander, however, slapped Damon’s hand away.
“She is my mate, my Luna, the mother of my son. She doesn’t belong to you,” Zander snapped fiercely.
“Whatever you say, Alpha King, won’t change the fact that she is my mate,” Damon fought back.
“Damon!” Zander growled a warning; his claws came out, and his eyes turned red. Lyon was surfacing and he was ready to attack Damon, who was equally furious. Damon’s teeth pulled out of his lips as his claws grew longer, and he took a position to counter the Alpha King.
“No! Please, stop it,” I intervened, pushing them apart before they could kill each other.
“Reject her!” Zander thundered.
“No. I won’t,” Damon growled. “Vampires never reject their mates, unlike you werewolves. We cherish and treasure our mate,” Damon mocked, causing Zander to snarl in annoyance.
“Selena, reject him,” Zander demanded, turning to face me.
I stood frozen, surprised by the unexpected desire for Damon. I couldn’t comprehend the fog that clouded my thoughts, and the words that left my mouth were, “I want to be with my mate.”
Zander looked hurt and shocked, staggering a step back.
“Mom! Dad! What’s going on?” Austin ran to hug me, but Zander pulled him away.
“Mom has chosen him over us, son,” Zander spat with disgust.
“Reject her, Alpha King! Selena is meant to be with me, and she has accepted she wants me,” Damon demanded.
“I won’t reject her or accept her rejection. She is mine, whether she is destined to be with me or not. She will be mine as long as I am alive,” Zander roared his claim, and my heart cried. Arena was saddened as well. She felt a connection with Lyon and Zander in the woods.
“But she will always choose me over you, Alpha King. I am taking her with me,” Damon snarled.
“She won’t go anywhere,” Zander said, his protective instinct on full display.
“Dare to stop me!” Damon challenged as he took my hand in his, pulling me away from Zander.
I felt like I had no control over my body and mind. I never knew the mate bond would be so powerful.
‘Arena, can you also feel it?’ I thought foolishly.
‘I can feel it more than you, but this seems like a more potent force as if the mate bond pull had been intensified hundreds of times. I couldn’t fathom what it is,’ Arena sounded unsure.
I also wanted to think about this, but suddenly my thoughts seemed to be overpowered by Damon’s voice.
“Selena, my mate, we should leave. Let’s go,” Damon declared.
“What? You can’t take my mom with you,” Austin ran towards me, freeing his hand from Zander.
“Hey, kiddo! You will also come with us. I don’t want to separate you from your mom,” Damon smiled.
“No, I won’t leave my dad,” Austin protested.
“I don’t want your mom to be sad missing you,” Damon said as he tried to reach for Austin.
“No, don’t touch him,” I didn’t know where I got this power. “He is Zander’s son, and no one could take him away from his father,” I emphasized.
Damon looked surprised for a moment, but again his eyes glowed as he smirked, and I felt my resolution weakening as if my mind belonged to him.
My eyes moved to Zander. The hurt and sorrow were hard to miss on his expression as he clutched Austin to his chest.
“Selena!” His voice pleaded with me, and his eyes begged me for the last time. Austin was crying, and my heart ached, but as if I had no control over my body, I couldn’t stop when Damon held my hand, and I was forced to go with him.
**************************
*Zander*
I couldn’t believe Selena had chosen that wicked vampire over me. Just moments ago, we were happy, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone with her mate. Just like that?! It felt like the ground had crumbled beneath my feet, leaving me with nothing but the echoes of our laughter. All I had left was Austin. How could fate be so cruel, tearing her away from me once again?
I glanced around, and everyone was there – my family and pack members, all wearing expressions of sympathy and pity. The weight of their eyes bore down on me, amplifying the emptiness within.
“Dad, where is Mom? Why did she go with Uncle Damon?” Austin’s innocent voice broke the heavy silence, and I found myself at a loss for words. I looked at him with sorrow-filled eyes and gently wiped away his tears.
“Austin, Mom will come back soon; she went for work,” Blair intervened, coming to my side. She scooped up Austin into her arms, offering him comfort. She shot me a glance, a silent understanding passing between us, before carrying him into her room.
“Alpha, are you okay?” Maddox approached hesitantly, concern etched on his face. “Yes, nothing can make me weak. I have more work than mourning over losing my Luna,” I declared as I strode toward my office.
I didn’t show them the pain inside me. Lyon was also feeling the agony and hurt; I felt him becoming distant as if going into his safe space, cutting away from me. I didn’t blame him for it. It was all my fault. I shouldn’t have let her go. I should have fought for her. But the moment she said she wanted to be with her fated mate, I lost it. I felt no reason to stop her. However, I wanted to be selfish again. But that was what I had always been for her. Just once she should have the choice to make her own decisions.
“Alpha, Miss Avery has come to see you,” a guard informed me through mind-link.
Avery?! A frustrated sigh left me as I remembered her.
Now, what did she want, and why did she come here?