Matthew
"How was your first duty, Emerald?" my brother asked.Emerald's eyes lingered on me for a moment before she cleared her throat and answered Nicholas's question."It was fine."I wasn't supposed to be here, actually. There were some important matters that I should have been attending to, but I couldn't let this opportunity pass. So, when Nicholas brought this case to the table, I forced myself to join."Good to hear that," Nicholas replied, glancing at me, followed by a smirk. "If you have any concerns, you can contact me or Matthew—"The tone Nicholas used, filled with malicious teasing, made me wonder if he was intentionally trying to bait me or if he already had a hint about what was going on between Emerald and me."— but if you contact me, I may not address it immediately as I'm a busy person. If it's urgent, contact Matthew," he added.I could almost hear Emerald's slow grumble, which she eagerly hid out of respect for my brother. She glanced at me and rolled her eyes with a clear sense of disdain. From that moment, I knew exactly how much she despised me."I will, Alpha. Thanks for your concern," she replied, her words laced with a forced politeness that thinly veiled her true feelings.My gaze shifted to the left corner where the rest of the physicians were gathered, and I saw Mathilda smirking as she looked at Emerald and then at me. She clearly knew everything, and her amusement at the situation was evident, which I found incredibly frustrating."By the way, next month, you'll be assigned to the center. It will be quite different from here, so please prepare yourself," Nicholas announced.My heart skipped a beat at the thought of Emerald being on duty at the center. Excitement and horror coursed through my system simultaneously, knowing that Natasha lived kilometers away from the central hospital."Duly noted, Alpha."After the short inspection at the clinic, the homestead chief led us to the main house, where they had prepared a harvest feast for us to take back to the pack house. This was the customary routine whenever we visited.Usually, I would engage in conversation with the locals, but at this moment, my gaze remained fixed on the homestead clinic. It was as if an inexplicable force compelled me to keep my eyes on the building."Matthew! Help them carry the harvest," Nicholas tapped my shoulder. "You're spacing out."I blinked and shook off my thoughts. Something didn't feel right anymore. I should be relieved that Emerald didn't appear too affected by my rejection, but why did I feel quite the opposite?"What are you thinking? I noticed you've been out of your mind since earlier," Nicholas asked as we were making our way back to the pack house."Nothing in particular," I replied, offering a half-hearted lie.In truth, I was wrestling with the idea of whether there was a way to reverse the rejection. Perhaps there was a solution to my predicament with Natasha. I wanted to be honest with Nicholas, but the grim reality was that if Injo found out that his daughter's mate was a rogue who had impregnated her, he would likely kill Natasha. It would weigh heavily on my conscience if that were to happen."Do you like Emerald?" Nicholas asked out of the blue, catching me off guard.I hesitated to answer."No, let me rephrase my question," he chuckled. "Is Emerald your mate?"A sudden pain squeezed my heart, a strange and intense sensation that made my wolf growl."No," I admitted. "She's no longer my mate."Nicholas abruptly hit the brake, nearly sending me flying from my seat if it weren't for the seatbelt."You freaking rejected her?" he exclaimed, followed by a short pause. "Or did she rejected you?"I sighed heavily, burdened by regret over my decision the previous night. "I rejected her," I confessed, the bitterness of that truth weighing on me."Is it because of Natasha?"We arrived at the pack, and Nicholas continued his non-stop lectures. I lacked the strength to explain and justify myself because I had admitted my mistake. I had acted in haste, and now I was faced with the consequences of my regrettable actions."You are fucked up, Matthew. You know how much it'll affect you for rejecting your mate."Nicholas had already forbidden me from going to the homestead, assigning someone else to handle goods and medical deliveries there. I attempted to appeal, but his decision was final. He wanted me out of Emerald's sight completely, and banning me from the homestead was his way of achieving that.In the past few weeks, I had been consumed by heartbreak. I had no right to suffer this pain, as I had brought it upon myself, but the thought of not seeing Emerald was driving me to the edge."Matthew, can you come with me to the hospital for my monthly check-up?" Natasha asked.I wanted to decline, but she was pregnant, and I had promised to take care of her. God-damned promises!"What time?"It was 1 in the afternoon when I accompanied Natasha to the hospital. There were a few pregnant women waiting in line in the Ob-gyn section, and we were fifth in line."I never expected that you'd end up with Matthew. I remember before you were so eager to have Nicholas as your mate," one woman commented.Natasha's face turned bitter, and she seemed ready to argue. Fortunately, her number was called by the assisting staff, cutting off her angry response.I stayed with Natasha throughout the check-up, assisting her with everything she needed. The doctor even congratulated us for having a healthy baby. I wanted to tell them it's not mine, but I couldn't bear to humiliate Natasha; she was my friend."Just avoid doing strenuous activity. Although the baby is healthy, too much stress will affect your pregnancy," the doctor advised.Natasha offered them a warm smile while I simply nodded in agreement. After receiving the doctor's prescription, we exited the room and headed directly to the pharmacy to purchase all the vitamins she needed."Thanks for coming with me," she smiled, wrapping her arms around me.As I was about to smile back at Natasha, my eyes landed on a familiar face. The woman had just arrived at the hospital, and if we didn't change our course, we were going to cross paths. Overcome by guilt, I held Natasha's hand and guided her in a different direction."Where are we going? Aren't we taking our exit?" Natasha inquired.I shook my head, glancing back to check if Emerald had already entered the hospital. She was still at the entrance, engaged in conversation with a group of doctors, laughing and smiling.How could she smile like that with them but not with me?"Matthew?"What on earth am I doing? Why should I feel guilty if Emerald were to see me with Natasha? After all, she had already witnessed it the first night. There should be no issue if she saw us again. Besides, we had already rejected our bond."I'm sorry, I was just distracted for a moment. Let's take our leave," I said, holding Natasha's hand and leading her back to the exit.However, just before we passed through the glass door, Emerald's head turned, and her eyes fell on me. We shared a brief moment of eye contact before she shifted her focus to the woman next to me. Her face remained expressionless, and I couldn't discern whether she was angry or not."Emerald, let's go," Mathilda called to her. "Coming," she glanced at me one last time before she followed the rest of the doctors."Was that your mate?" Natasha wondered.Emerald Days and weeks flew by so quickly, as if time had passed in the blink of an eye. It felt like just yesterday that I had started working in the homestead clinic, and now I found myself in the center hospital. The place was bustling with people, some in white coats and others in patient attire.Yesterday, I had moved into the doctor's dormitory, and today marked the beginning of my duties. I was eager to reunite with my friends who had been assigned here."Miraculously, you're not late," Mathilda commented as she met me at the entrance, followed by some of our mutual friends."Finally, Em. I'm sorry I haven't had time to visit the homestead. We're always fully booked here," Zane uttered, hugging me."Don't believe him, Em. He's busy flirting with the hot nurses. Perks of being mateless," Jay added with a mischievous grin."I'm not like that, I'm a one-woman kind of man. I'm not like you, Jay," Zane justified himself, eliciting laughter from the rest of us. The womanizer that he
EmeraldAll the hurt I had kept in the past weeks poured out once and for all as Matthew held me. His eyes were sad and tired, but I couldn't bring myself to understand him.My emotion was utterly overwhelming."Why did you reject me?" I whispered.We were outside of the club, leaving my friends behind. It was not my character to show vulnerability, but perhaps because of the alcohol, both my weakness and my courage to face our dilemma intervened."And why do you keep coming every time I want to forget you?" I added, getting rid of his hold.He tried to reach out to me one more time, but I moved away. I didn't want to get too close to him, not when I was this weak and a slave to my own emotions."I need answers, Matthew. Closure for the relationship that we didn't start," I sarcastically said.This is the curse of a werewolf. Our fate is destined. Our lifetime partners are already chosen. If only I could freely choose who I wanted to be, I'd choose someone who would choose me over eve
Matthew"Is everything set? We're coming," Nicholas asked on the phone.After a couple of visits to the human territory to coax Aria, he finally had a chance to bring her back here. Well, it was not voluntary. It just so happened that Aria exposed herself to the human villagers, and as her punishment, she was banished. Then, my brother came to the rescue."Yes, I have everything set."The guilt within me still lingers deep in my heart. Aria was a friend, but I betrayed her by killing her parents. It was hate that drove me to commit such actions. Because I knew my brother couldn't do it."Good, we'll be there in an hour."The call ended, and I went out to check everything. My brother wanted to have a huge feast, but for sure Aria wouldn't like it, so instead, we prepared an exclusive feast among officials only.I've been so busy these past few weeks, traveling in and out of the pack, and connecting with our allies because there's a current threat to our pack, a possible war arising due
Emerald"His woman just appeared out of nowhere and yanked my hair!" I complained while Mathilda tended to the scratches on my face."She even announced Matthew's rejection of me. She wants to humiliate me so badly. Now it will surely spread across the hospital!"If only I had known that Matthew had a possessive partner, I could have prepared myself. Seriously, she acted so immaturely, causing chaos in the hospital. And with so many people around! I understand it might be due to pregnancy hormones, but couldn't she control herself, at the very least?"Oh, yeah? You should have let her miscarry instead of injecting her with calming substance," Margarita annoyingly interjected.Well, there was no obstetrician-gynecologist available earlier in the area except for me. If I had let my pride take over and acted unprofessionally, something could have gone wrong with Natasha. Though I may not like her, I'm not heartless, especially since it's my job to save lives and not the other way aroun
Emerald Instead of resting early last night because I don't have overtime at work, Zane's sudden suggestion kept me wide awake all night. Fortunately, I didn't oversleep; otherwise, I'd be late for work."You look like a panda today," Mathilda noted. "Stop minding the rumors. They'll eventually fade."Oh, no! It's not the rumors that caused it, but our stupid friend's proposal. I wondered if Zane was even thinking when he blurted those words out, or was it out of pity. Whatever his intentions, I didn't like it."It's not the issue, but the stupid Zane, Mathilda!" I exclaimed.I saw a hint of a smile on her face, which confirmed everything. I wondered if they had all planned it together and let Zane be the one to execute it alone.My annoyance reached its highest level. Though I knew they just wanted what was best for me, I didn't like their planned solution to my problem."Don't you like it? Zane is mateless; you can use him. Besides, there's nothing to lose if you do it," Mathilda t
Matthew My life hasn't improved since the last time I fetched Natasha from the hospital. Her attitude has worsened, and if Emerald's schedule isn't changed, she will continue to create chaos there.I, on the other hand, am almost at the edge of my patience. No matter how hard I try to convince Natasha that I'm not backing out from the promise I made, she won't believe me. She wants me to fully commit to her to ease her mind, but with Emerald affecting me, I can't do it."Maybe in weeks or days, Crescentius will start the attack," Nicholas exclaimed, in one of our meetings.The impending fight not only brings trouble to all of us but also adds to the frustration I have with my life. I want to put an end to everything once and for all, but with the existing complications, it all seems impossible."I've sent notices to our allies, just in case. Our top priority is our constituents and as much as possible let's minimize the bloodshed and take the high road in this upcoming war," Nichola
EmeraldMy heart was pounding as I tended to Matthew's wound. I was meant to be on duty at the homestead this week, but due to the sudden war with the Crescentius, the Alpha personally requested my help here."All done. Just apply this ointment to prevent scarring," I handed him the bottle.Matthew's eyes lingered on me while I waited for him to take the ointment from my hand. He remained still, gazing at me as if I were a piece of art in a gallery. I felt a little awkward."Matthew?" I waved my hand in front of his face. "You're all set. You can go now."The longer we stayed in the same room, the more I struggled to breathe freely. Despite the rejection and pain, Matthew still had that effect on me. I suppose it will forever be etched on me, like a tattoo etched into my body. "Oh... uhh, thank you," he stuttered, accepting the bottle.I nodded and gestured towards the door for him to leave. He seemed hesitant, moving slowly as if he were an aged man. Just as he was about to exit, so
"Welcome home, Emerald." My mouth pursed into a smile after reading the big banner hung right in front of the gate before entering the homestead. A few familiar faces are outside, waiting for me to get out of my car. It's been a decade since I left the homestead to study in the States. Now that I have been a successful doctor, the Alpha wanted me to serve Red Moon. Going here was never part of my plan, but because I missed my parents too. I took the opportunity. I said yes to the Alpha's proposal. Well, some of my friends really did convince me to come back. They didn't stop until I agreed. When I stepped out of my car, I received a flood of praise. Some are fakes, while others are genuine. Nonetheless, I just smiled at them all. I foresee their real intentions. Being away from the pack and not receiving sufficient training for my other identity does not make me inferior. My wolf's prowess is comparable to that of the majority. "How's living abroad?" Amelia, my cousin, asked. I s