Chapter 6

EMILIA POV

“What… What is…” I couldn’t form a fully comprehensive question. My mouth was opening and closing repeatedly, and I was trying hard to wipe the image out of my head, but it didn’t help that my mate was standing there, putting his shorts back on as if he just couldn’t care less.

For a second, I wondered if my genuine surprise was validated. If my mate was cruel enough to take me to the Omegas’ quarters, why should I be surprised about him being with someone else?

“Emilia…” He sighed, rubbing his eyes and walking towards me, taking me by the arm and leading me out of the room.

“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice low.

“What are you doing?” He countered as if I was in the wrong, taking me aback. “You should be in the Omegas’ quarters, why are you out here in the middle of the night?”

“I came here because I thought you could help me.” I hoped he could hear the disappointment and hurt in my voice. I hoped it would do something to him, but it only hurt me more that he didn’t look as remorseful as I wanted him to be. “I was almost taken advantage of by one of your soldiers.”

“They wouldn’t dare.” He sounded sure until he saw my face and saw just how serious I was. His brows furrowed and drew together. “Which one of them was it?”

Somehow, I knew he wasn’t angry because he cared about me. His ego would take a punt if he let it go, and that was the only thing making him mad about what I had told him.

“I don’t know his name, but I can identify him if given the chance,” I replied.

“You can return to your quarters,” he commanded, waving me off. “We’ll sort this out tomorrow.”

As he was about to return to the room, I grabbed him by the hand with a look of confusion at how he was handling the situation.

“What do you mean by that? I just…I just found you in bed with another woman. I told you what just happened to me, and you’re telling me to return? You’re not even going to try and explain anything?”

I could feel the tension seeping into his arms, causing me to let him go.

He turned to me with his eyes narrowed.

“Are you serious about this right now?” he questioned, and I got terrified for a moment at the tone of his voice. “You’re offended that you found me in bed with someone else, and that makes sense to you? Why would you even feel bad about that?”

“You’re…my mate, Lucas,” I reminded him, watching his frown deepen. “When I was running all the way here, I felt the mate bond react strangely. I believe it’s because of your actions. It’s not right for you to be in bed with someone else, and I find it sad that I have to lecture you about it.”

I heard Lucas scoff as he looked at me in disbelief.

“Have I ever acknowledged you as my mate this whole time?” I was scared of looking at his face as he spoke, not wanting to see what kinds of emotions were swirling in them, so I settled for staring past him and at the door to the bedroom, where the other woman was still in.

“You took every opportunity you had and tossed it aside, stepping on it. You cannot be my Luna. I think you’re making the mistake of thinking we’re still mates because I have not rejected you all this time.”

This was like an electric shock in my bones, forcing me to look at him.

“What does that mean?”

Before he could give me an answer that could clear his name, he sighed and turned to me.

“I, Lucas, Alpha of Moonclaw Pack, reject you—”

“No.” I shook my head.

“—Emilia as my mate and the Luna of the pack.”

Snap.

Something separated in my chest like a rope that had been pulled on both ends for so long that it couldn’t bear the strain anymore and just…snapped.

The last thing I was expecting was the sharp pain that accompanied the breaking of the mate bond.

I stumbled backwards, my back crashing into the wall behind me as I clutched my chest and tears welled my eyes.

“Lucas…” I gasped, in complete denial. “You can’t…”

If anything, I was the one with the right to reject him after what I had just caught him doing, but of course I couldn’t. I was the weak one.

“You can sleep in one of the rooms tonight if you feel unsafe in the quarters. By tomorrow, you should resume your work as an Omega. You can’t just return to Fangsbane Pack; recall that you’re here as my prize for the fight.”

Without any more words shared, he turned around and walked into the room, slamming it in my face.

Now, the tears were falling freely. I didn’t know where to go from there or what to do. I had been trained in combat and practically everything else that came with being born a werewolf, but nobody had thought to prepare me for the pain that came with being rejected by the mate and how to handle it.

I slid down the wall, my heart pumping loud and fast as I tried to fix my mind on just one thing; the soldier who had chased me down from the Omega quarters, the rejection I had just been through, or the thought of what Lucas was probably doing in the bedroom with the woman.

As if reading my thoughts, the door to the bedroom opened and the lady walked out with an annoyed scoff, muttering to herself.

I picked myself off the floor and found an empty room to sleep in as that would be better than returning to the drunk soldier who would most likely not hesitate to go after me again.

I slumped against the bed, forcing my eyes closed and going to sleep after much difficulty.

~

“You’re up. Good,” Katarina commented as soon as I opened my eyes and found her standing by the bedroom window.

I sat up, rubbing my eyes and looking around. I wondered for a split second if everything that had transpired the night before was a lucid dream, but the dull ache in my chest was a reminder that it was no such thing.

“Why are you here?” I asked Katarina, exhausted.

“To train you,” she answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sensing that I was still confused, she walked up to me and started to explain: “I heard what happened from Lucas. Even though I haven’t experienced it before, I have to say that I understand how painful it must be right now.”

“So, what now?”

“I want to train you now, start all over from the beginning. You were only training before because you wanted to be the Luna. Now you’ll be doing it for yourself. It’s time to see how far you would go without any external motivating factors, don’t you think? I also think it’s the best way to make my brother regret rejecting you.”

Before I could politely decline, the door opened, and one of the soldiers rushed in.

“Where’s Alpha Lucas?” he demanded.

“I don’t—”

“You have to see this,” he announced and ran off. Katarina and I shared a look before we ran behind the soldier. My heart hammered fast in my chest, and my stomach twisted.

Whatever it was, I could sense that it would be bad.