Chapter 3
1095 Words
One month after
Bianca's POV
To say the last thirty days were difficult to face will be a monumental understatement. Most days, I spend my time holed up in my room, much like an abandoned dress in a closet. I go into a deep depression phase, sleeping through the day, or just lying awake, and only finding the strength to crawl out of bed at night.
They say out of sight is out of mind and so, I feel the less I see Dimitri, the more he will fade away into nothingness, but he persists. My attempts to keep him out of sight doesn't do anything to help me to forget him. He still haunts my memory in every waking hour and sleeping hour.
At the end of each hauling day, Stacy will always come to visit me. Her light feathered knocks are usually my cue to crawl out of bed, and tonight is not any different. Groggily, I rise and saunter towards the door, which is only about ten feets away from the bed. I complete the door's multi factor authentication, first by unbolting it and then turning the key twice to unlock it. I pause, forming a human obstacle on the doorway briefly, before stepping aside for Stacey to enter.
My eyes follow her as she walks over and flops onto my bed, covered with a rumpled white sheet adorned with flowers of various kinds. “Will it ever end?”
I lean on the now locked door. “What are you talking about?”
“The self loathing, and self inflicted punishment.”
“I don't loathe myself, neither am I punishing myself,” I reply firmly.
She tuts. “Then what do you call this?”
“Call what?”
“Locking yourself up all day like a prisoner.”
“Discipline.”
She cackles and holds her side. “Yeah, right. Listen, for generations, it has been a norm in our pack that Alphas were allowed to reject their first mate if they felt she wasn't fit to be a Luna. It was rare but it happened. Rejection didn't start with you and neither will it end with you.”
“Hmm, are you finished?”
She sits up. “Not quite. On the contrary, I am just getting started.”
“There's more?”
“There is.”
“No offense, but there's nothing you could say to me—”
“That you haven't heard before?”
“Exactly, Stace.”
“Ding! Ding! Newsflash, Dimitri is marking his mate tomorrow night. The mating ceremony is going to be so big, he invited other packs to come and watch.”
The words hit me like a sucker punch. "Marking his mate?"
My knees go weak, and I gradually slide my back down the smooth door until I'm sitting on the floor.
Stacey's expression softens, but she doesn't move from her spot on the bed. "Yes. It's really happening, Bianca. And you have to find a way to deal with it."
"Deal with it?" I laugh hysterically, covering my face with both of my palms. "How am I supposed to deal with this, Stacey? Dimitri was my mate. My one true love. And now he's..."
Stacey rises and comes to sit beside me, taking my hand and interlacing our fingers. "I know it's a hard pill to swallow, Bianca. I can't even imagine what you're going through. But you have to rise above."
I shake my head, tears streaming down my face. “Rise above? My entire life I thought I've risen above everything I could think of. I rose to the point I was supposed to be Luna and got knocked down in a heartbeat. One doesn't merely ‘rise above’ such an unexpected and unprecedented fall."
“You are right," Stacey says softly, tightening her grip on my hand. “It’s a gradual process. But if you did it before, you can do it again.”
I wiggle my hand free from hers. “Where do I start from? What do I start with?”
“That’s the thing, Bianca. Unlike losing tangible stuff, you already have everything you need; it is within you."
Her words are meant to soothe me, but right now they feel empty. I know she's right, logically, but my heart isn't ready to fully accept it. Not yet.
“I wish I could at least have Kema back, you know. I think she would've helped me move on faster.”
Stacey sighs and pulls me closer, resting her head against mine. "You don't have to go through all of this alone. You've got me pending when Kema returns."
“Yea, and when will Kema return? After I find another mate, right?”
“Boom! Boom! Boom! Accurately said.”
We laugh and I sniffle, wiping away my tears with the back of my palm. “What is boom?”
She bops her head and shrugs. “You know, boom, like you drove home the point.”
“Gawd, grow up, Stace. So, who's the new b***h that'll be taking my place?”
She stares at me and blinks rapidly thrice. “It's a surprise mate. Tomorrow, we'll find out.”
“Surprise, surprise. You said ‘we’”
“Yeah, aren't you coming?”
I laugh and shake my head disapprovingly. “No, I don't think I have the stomach for it.”
“So, you are just going to miss it? Sit in here like you do all day. Who knows if tomorrow is when you're destined to find another mate among the packs that would be coming?”
“Jeez Stacey, why are you so insistent about me finding another mate?”
“Insist–”
A loud knock on the door sends us scrawling away from it.
“Yelp! Who's that?” I say, turning to glare at the door.
I perceive his scent before he answers. “It's me, Ansel, open up.”
My heart leaps in fear as I unlock the door because I know that whenever Ansel comes, it is usually because Dimitri is sending for me.
“He is calling you,” Ansel says.
“Ansel, I don't want to see him, especially not the night before his mating ceremony.”
“I wasn't referring to you,” Ansel replies.
I turn to look at Stacey in surprise. “You? What does Dimitri want with you?”
“I don't know. Can't the Alpha send for anyone he wants?” Stacey replies, hurrying past me.
- Writer
