HANNAH
I cry until my eyes run dry, my heart shattered into a million jagged pieces by Alex’s betrayal and the public humiliation that followed. The tranquil silence of the forest is broken by the crunch of leaves underfoot, and I don’t bother lifting my head to see who it is. But I know who it is the moment her scent reaches me, as she wraps her arms around my trembling form.
“There you are! I’ve been searching everywhere.” Mila exclaims, hugging me tight. I cling to her desperately, craving the comfort and solace her embrace provides amidst this maelstrom of heartbreak.
“That asshole Alex doesn’t deserve you,” she growls, the rumble vibrating through her chest as she tightens her arms around me. “I’m glad this happened so you can be free of him finally.” Her words are meant to soothe, but they only reopen the gaping wound in my chest, raw and festering with betrayal.
“You deserve the world’s best mate, Hannah. And he’s out there waiting for you, I promise.” Her palm strokes my hair in a soothing rhythm. “Don’t you worry; you’ll meet him soon enough.” She continues her attempts to cheer me up, and even though I don’t say it out loud, I’m grateful for her effort, even if it does little to ease the ache that has taken root in the hollows of my heart.
“Come on, let’s get you inside. It’s freezing out here,” Mila’s tone brooks no argument as she pulls me to my feet, steadying me when my legs threaten to buckle beneath the weight of my sorrow.
We make our way back to the pack house, each step driving the jagged shards deeper into my wounded heart as the stares and whispers from the pack members bring fresh tears to my eyes.
“That’s her – the one the Alpha was supposed to marry before he was caught cheating.”
“I heard he didn’t actually cheat; he just went back to his original mate. She was the one keeping them apart.”
“So she’s the reason he left his first love? What an awful person…”
The cruel words slice through me like knives, each one twisting the blade of humiliation deeper. Mila’s hackles rise, her lip curling in a feral snarl as she rounds on the gossipers, the promise of violence crackling in the air around her. Before she can unleash her fury, I grab her wrist, pleading through the lump in my throat, “Please, don’t draw more attention. It’s the last thing I need right now.”
Her eyes blaze mutinously for a moment before softening. With a terse nod, she allows me to tug her forward.
We continue walking to the pack house, and just as we’re about to step inside, I stop her again, grabbing her hand.
“Is everything alright?” Mila asks, concern etched into her features.
“Yeah, I just…” I wet my lips, looking around once more at the curious eyes watching our every move. “I don’t think I want to stay here tonight. Do you have somewhere I could go?” The only place I know would only remind me of the two people I want to forget exist in this world right now.
She looks at me for a moment, her eyes filled with pity and understanding. “Yeah, I do. Let me get my keys, and we’ll go,” she says, running inside and leaving me alone with the weight of countless judging stares. I curl my arms around my midsection, hunching my shoulders to make myself smaller, less of a target for their censure and disdain.
Thankfully, she doesn’t take long, and we leave for her apartment in the city. I end up spending the entire week there without a single call or text from Alex. Nothing. The silence is deafening, a constant reminder of how quickly and completely he excised me from his life. I slowly start to wonder if the past months were even real because I don’t understand the complete 180 our relationship took without any warning or signs. I start to question if there’s something wrong somewhere I’m unaware of because none of this makes sense. But I also wonder if I’m just trying to convince myself that Alex was actually falling for me when, in reality, he never was. So many thoughts swirl in my head, and I honestly don’t know which are true anymore. I’m tired of trying to figure it out. The constant turmoil and self-doubt are slowly grinding me down, and I feel like something might push me over the edge sooner than I anticipated.
***
The following week, I reluctantly resume work, tired of wallowing in self-pity while eating my way through tubs of ice cream on Mila’s couch. Today is my first day back, and I steel my resolve to speak to Alex about transferring me. There’s no way in hell I can work under him after what happened. I haven’t asked to call off our wedding yet since it’s not solely my decision, but working under his authority is non-negotiable, and I won’t take no for an answer today.
I step into the building, and it seems the universe has a cruel sense of humor because why else would I be forced to witness Alex and Alice acting all lovey-dovey in the lobby? I release a deep sigh and try to pretend I don’t see them, but worse than werewolf gossip is human gossip because their whispers aren’t nearly as quiet as they think. I hear every venomous word they utter about me as I walk to the elevator, their cruel barbs slicing through me like knives.
I can’t believe the news of my public humiliation has even spread to the human world. Most of them believe Alex and I have called off the wedding because he realized he still loved Alice. Unfortunately, their assumptions are far off from what’s happening. I try my best not to show any outward reaction to their whispers as I enter the elevator, but each one feels like a fresh wound.
Alex’s office is on the highest level, so it takes a little while for the elevator to reach its destination. I prepare myself for my first confrontation with him since everything happened, but it seems the universe really does have it out for me today. Why else would I hear that bitch’s grating voice as someone gets on a few floors below Alex’s?
“Hannah, so good to see you here,” she says, her annoying, high-pitched voice like nails on a chalkboard, grating on my already frayed nerves. I turn to face her, rolling my eyes before turning away again, unwilling to engage with her poisonous presence.
“Did you just roll your eyes at me?” she demands, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to face her again. I take a deep breath and try to calm down, seeing as we aren’t the only people in the elevator. It’s then that I notice Alex is also inside, in the far corner, taking a phone call while pointedly ignoring the scene unfolding before him.
“Just leave me alone, please,” I tell her, turning away once more.
“No! Apologize,” she says, her perfectly manicured nails digging into my scalp as she grabs a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back with a vicious tug.
“What the fuck!” I exclaim, slapping her hand away in a surge of anger and indignation. “Don’t touch me, and I’m not apologizing. I did nothing wrong.” At this point, I don’t even care that we’re not alone. She can’t treat me like that and expect me to just take it. Our parents aren’t here to stop me from standing up for myself anymore.
What happens next doesn’t surprise me one bit. She starts to fake cry, crocodile tears streaming down her perfectly made-up face as she moves to Alex’s side, clinging to his arm like a leech.
“Alex, baby, she rolled her eyes at me and won’t apologize,” she tells him, her voice dripping with false hurt and anger. I realize right then that it’s better to remove myself from this toxic situation before it escalates further. I press the button for the doors to open and step out, but Alex’s commanding voice stops me in my tracks.
“Come back and apologize,” he growls, and I spin around to face him as the elevator doors begin to close, unable to believe the words that just left his mouth. Did he really just demand I apologize for her atrocious behavior?
I brush it off since they’re already gone and move toward the stairwell, intent on putting as much distance between us as possible. But just as I’m about to take a step, I hear the elevator arriving back on the floor. Alex steps out first, his expression thunderous, then Alice, clinging to his arm with a stupid pout on her lips, reveling in her perceived victory.
“I said apologize,” Alex growls again, his voice laced with a dangerous edge that sends a shiver of trepidation down my spine. I blink, unable to believe the level of public embarrassment he’s willing to subject me to once again. He wants to be with Alice, fine, but to indulge in this ridiculous game of humiliating me is a cruelty I never expected from him.
“No,” I tell him, crossing my arms over my chest in a futile attempt to shield myself from his wrath and Alice’s smug satisfaction.
“I said fucking apologize!” he yells, his voice booming through the floor as the entire room falls into a stunned silence. Something inside me breaks even more, and hot tears of shame and heartbreak spring to my eyes. Everyone stops what they’re doing and stares like they’re all waiting with bated breath to see how I’ll respond to this latest public degradation.
I stare at him, disbelief and hurt etched into every line of my face. We may not have been the most affectionate couple, but I never would have guessed in a million years that Alex would so callously and publicly humiliate me like this. It shatters what little remained of my heart all over again. The tears in my eyes escape, carving fresh trails down my cheeks as I quickly wipe them away, desperate to maintain some semblance of dignity in the face of his cruelty.
Not wanting to show the full extent of my pain by crying in front of that bitch and giving her the satisfaction, I mutter the words she’s been dying to hear, the words that will allow her to revel in her perceived victory over me. “Sorry.” I can give her these five empty letters that don’t come from my heart, but I won’t let her see how deeply her actions are cutting me, how much they’re breaking me all over again.
I rush into the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time as I flee, the sound of my ragged sobs echoing off the concrete walls. The whole way down, tears stream unchecked down my cheeks, my heart shattering into pieces so small I fear they can never be put back together. I hail a cab back to the apartment, and there, I resume my position on the couch, curling into a tight ball as I cry myself into an exhausted slumber, wishing I had never woken up to face this fresh hell.