"Betrayed by the Alpha, Chosen by Fate"

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Elowen’s POV

Rejection stories were never told without being told as warnings--low tones around fires, stories of hurt that never went away, wounds that never were closed. I thought I was ready for it. I figured I had set myself stout.

I, Elowen Ashford, take your rejection.

My tongue uttered them in a steady stream, but my heart was knocking at the windows like a hammer. He opened his eyes a little; he had not supposed I was going to submit without resistance. He believed I would beg. He thought I would cling. All the girls in the **Ravenshollow Pack wanted his mark, and once I wanted his mark also. But that illusion was gone.

The tearing hit instantly. My chest felt like the inside was raked by claws. I swayed and clenched my hand between my ribs, but I would do him no more. It stung, all right, but I had no emptiness. No loss. You never had it, so you can't lose it.

It was finished. The dreams I had taken with me since I was a kid —the bond, the family, the life I believed I deserved —all went up in flames. I was tied to a man who only learned to take, never to give.

I have no claim on you, I said, sore in the throat. “Banish me. I do not want to stay here a moment longer.

A cold, mocking smile came on the lips of **Alistair. “Oh no, Elowen. I am not letting you go so easily. You’ll stay by my side.”

Imogen already fills that place.

His gaze sharpened. “She is Luna. You will be another altogether.

“I will not be your plaything.” My voice broke like a whip. “Not again.”

Others would gladly get upon their knees To that honour, he sneered. “You? You spit on it. Ungrateful girl.”

I do not care what other people would do. You will not use me anymore. Grant it or not, I shall leave this pack. And the respect that still lingers in my name will leave with me, Alpha.

My chest ached, and numbness spread down my arms, but I refused to falter.

“Leave?” His voice changed; it was darker, muffled, more cutting than a scream. “That’s not wise. Not so long as your mother is about.

The room tilted. My body stilled.

My mother.

Nothing here but a servant--washing floors, carrying water, following the command to do this or that. Only that of Alistair had she been spared the worst tasks. Not due to benevolence, but because it was a way of enjoying himself to have her beside him.

My pulse thundered in my ears. How could I have forgotten? Should I walk away? What would he do to her?

Spare her this, I thought, and struggled to keep my voice even.

“No, Elowen.” His smirk deepened, cruel. Wait, and she will stay there. Go, and I shall bring her life to hell you cannot conceive.

The tears stung, and I suppressed them. And this was the reason, right, why I had kept on so much? Not because of him. Because of her. I figured that by tying myself to him, she would be liberated. At last, she would have the life she had dreamed.

I will remain, I gaped flatly. However, I will no longer have you use me.

He bent over, and his breath was warm against my ear. “We’ll see about that. And by the way--no more Alistair. I am Alpha to you now. Get it out of your head, and you won’t regret it.

I can tell by the expression in his eyes that he was waiting to see me fall and torment me.

I brushed away the moisture of my cheeks and held my head up. He wouldn’t see me cry again. The last tear I would give him was that.

Good, he said to himself, and withdrew. “Now prepare yourself. You will come to the **Moonlit Gathering** with me.

I stared at him in disbelief. That is your and your Luna's celebration. Take Imogen.”

There will be you, he said, like steel. Before the pack, you will stand, and I will kiss her, touch her, and make her Luna. You will see her occupy your place. And when it comes in time, there's no time. I will send your mother to find something for you to wear. Fancy you have more than rags at home.

That was all, he shut the door and walked right straight to Imogen, the woman whom he was boasting about as his proper matrimonial partner.

Two weeks. It was not yet two weeks to the **Moonlit Gathering. I didn't really care about dresses and appearances. All I needed was my mother.

The ache in my bones persisted, and even more than that, the realisation came: he had not cared. Not of the baby I had lost, not of the blood which still smeared my skin. He enjoyed this. My suffering was his sport.

Minutes later, the door creaked. My mother intervened, and her face was tired, but her eyes were kind when they saw me. I fell into her arms and pressed myself up against her breast without even attempting to hold onto anything I had attempted to keep hold of.

“The baby’s gone,” I sobbed. And he betrayed me a second time and lost the baby.

She wrapped me close and touched my back as she said. “Shhh, love. You’ll be alright. You are even stronger than you say you are.

“I don’t feel strong, Mother. I feel broken.”

Weakness is not tears. Your scars don’t either.” She kissed me on the forehead, the same as she had always done when I arrived at her door and sore. She was the best wolf that I knew. She deserved to be free, like no one else.

I will liberate you one day I said, burning. “No matter how long it takes.”

Her hands cupped my face. “I know the Alpha rejected you.”

My heart clenched. “How could you tell?”

She said, A mother knows. Still, he was never right to you. He would have killed you bit by bit. You deserve better than that.”

I do not believe that I can ever trust anybody. If I’m betrayed once more… I won’t survive it.”

“You deserve love, Elowen. Real love. Though you may not think so now. You will find some who do not break you one day. But hither, end not thy heart obtuse.

I shook my head, stubborn. “I’ll never leave you here. We’ll face this together. Always.”

Her smile was weak, yet her eyes were glistening. Whatever it is, I will always love you. Bear not the burden of his meanness. If you decide to go, I will never blame you.

“No, Mother. Never. I’m staying. We’re in this together.”

The Moonlit Gathering threw its black cloud over future days. It was the night of dreams to the other members of the pack--that night, the fated bonds showed themselves. It was a nightmare to me, but I could not get out of it.

I would have gone, had he been starving and wanted me. Yet there was one thing that he was mistaken about. He had no more to take. No jealousy, no longing, no love.

He wasn’t mine anymore. And glad at last that he was not.