Reborn of the Betrayed Luna

Chapter 6

When I dropped the bombshell, my father and Agatha immediately left my dad’s office, leaving Jay and me inside.Beating around the bush and cloaking words with more words never appealed to me, but I had long since mastered society’s habit of speaking in a roundabout manner. However, as I sat across from Jay, I felt no inclination to mask my words. With him, I had no interest in prolonging the inevitable.

"That's not a funny joke." His voice was low, almost a growl. A shadow flickered across his face, darkening his features for a second. "Being my Luna isn't something you should joke about."

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest.

"Does it seem as if I am joking?" I mirrored his movements, my gaze locking onto his.

A thick lump clogged my throat when I leaned back, and almost immediately, discomfort settled in. Unable to hold such a sloppy posture, I straightened, my spine rigid.

Jay broke eye contact first, exhaling sharply as he rubbed the back of his neck.

I curled my fingers together beneath the table, trying to still the trembling in my hands.

"What is wrong with you?" His question caught me off guard. I flinched.

"Alpha..."

His upper lip twitched. "Why do you call me Alpha now?"

"It is—"

"Ridiculous," he interrupted, shoving his chair back as he stood. He stalked toward the window, turning his back to me.

In my past life, I called him Jay. Always Jay.

I could still hear his voice from that moment, the sting of his words laced with irritation and pride: "Alpha, don’t be stupid, Melody. You must address me by title!"

He had said it in front of a crowd, and the memory made me flinch all over again.

Calling him by his name had always made me feel closer to him. So despite his promotion from an ordinary wolf to Alpha of the pack, I had stubbornly refused to be formal with him. It took years for me to convince him to call me by my nickname, years of familiarity and trust. We had been fine calling each other by our names, until that rift grew between us. A rift that caused him to sneer my name, to rebuke me when I failed to address him with his hard-earned title.

"You fought hard to earn that title," I said softly, my voice steady despite the storm within me. "It is only fair that I use it when addressing you."

His expression darkened as he turned to me. "Have you gotten cold feet?"

"No." I inhaled deeply. "I simply do not wish to burden you with this mating."

"Burden me?" He muttered the words under his breath, as if testing their weight. Then, his gaze sharpened. "Did I give the impression that I am burdened by this?"

His thick brow arched, waiting for my answer.

I swallowed hard.

"I know you wish for your true mate," I said, my voice steady despite the turmoil in my heart.

He scoffed, crossing his arms. "That was just an excuse to get the elders off my back about mating. Less than twenty percent of our kind ever find their true mates. Only an idealistic fool waits around for a soulmate they may never meet."

Yes, I knew that much. He had used the idea of waiting for his fated mate as a shield against the elders, who constantly pushed their daughters on him. But Samantha’s arrival had changed everything. She had made him realize that, deep down, a part of him had always longed for his destined mate.

"What if your mate appears one day?" I asked, searching his expression for a flicker of hesitation. "What would you do then?"

His golden eyes gleamed with something unreadable. "I never thought you were the type to entertain such idealistic notions," he mused. Then, with a smirk, he added, "It confirms my suspicion - you’re having second thoughts already."

"Alpha..." I started, but the words caught in my throat.

Ha! Why did he suddenly have that infuriatingly large smile on his lips? I despised the way it made my heart flutter. Even after everything, even after dying at his hands. I couldn’t harden my heart when confronted by a simple smile.

Ah, Jay... after everything...

When I had first woken up in my bed, confusion and dread had consumed me. I had died. I was sure of it. Yet here I was, alive. Closing my eyes only conjured up nightmares of my gruesome end - each one playing on repeat. In every dream, Jay’s sword plunged into my heart.

But this wasn’t a dream.

I went back in time.

But I couldn’t tell anyone. Not only would they refuse to believe me, but they would also call me mad. Worse, they would see me as a disgrace, tarnishing not just my name but my father’s as well.

The Goddess had granted me a second chance at life so I must live right.

"In the future, you will meet your mate, and perhaps... I will too. It is only—"

"Enough!"

His voice was sharp, cutting through the air like a blade. I flinched at the sudden outburst, my words dying on my tongue. A strange look flickered in his eyes.

Was it happening already?

Jay had never yelled at me until Samantha came into the picture.

As his best friend and his most loyal supporter, he had always treated me with a quiet reverence, a level of care that others envied. No matter how tense things became, no matter how much pressure weighed on his shoulders, he never raised his voice at me.