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1462 Words
Everything wonderful we had lived during those few weeks of marriage had crumbled in an instant. And though Ethan was there trying to justify himself, I knew there was no combination of words that could fix what was already broken.
“I should’ve told you, love,” he began, launching into a rehearsed apology I only tolerated out of basic courtesy. But deep down, all I wanted was to leave that house—now reeking of her. “I’m sorry. You weren’t supposed to find out like this…”
That was enough.
Even he still carried her sickening scent on his skin.
“Like this, Ethan? Tell me—how, then? With a card tucked into a box of chocolates? A picture of you two, freshly finished with your filth, slipped into a lovely basket of orchids? Is there even a decent way to find out something like this?”
“I should’ve told you before the wedding. I should’ve been honest. But I was scared, Nell. I love you so much… I was terrified you wouldn’t accept it, that you’d reject me before we even made it to the altar.”
Unbearable.
With every word, he only made it worse.
“You’re only talking about yourself, don’t you see that? About your fear. About how you would’ve felt if I had rejected you. But not once did it cross your mind how I would feel when I found out about this—because I was always going to find out, Ethan. Sooner or later I was going to realize what’s going on between you two. And apparently, everyone in this house already knew.”
Ethan sighed, dropped his head, and slumped his shoulders. For the first time, I saw what a vulnerable Alpha looked like.
“I know there’s nothing I can say to justify myself, love. I get that now. But… is there any way you could forgive me?”
Seeing him lower his pride made my stomach twist, and suddenly all the anger I’d been holding in began to melt away and seep into the carpet. His remorse felt genuine. He had made a grave mistake, but it was a mistake tied to a commitment made in his youth. I didn’t want to excuse it—but I could understand it. I searched my heart, and a voice I was growing used to echoed in my mind.
“Forgive him, Nellie,” Clarissa said, having reappeared. “It was only a mistake—and he regrets it now.”
I crossed my arms, eyes glassy with tears, and accepted the sincere remorse of my mate.
“Fine. I’m willing to forgive you. But you have to promise me—no, swear to the Goddess—that you will never sleep with her again. From this moment on, she’s out of your life. You will choose a new Beta, and it has to be a man.”
I had made the decision to give him a second chance. Ethan was my mate. His pain was mine, and I longed—with all my heart—to leave this behind and return to our afternoons of chocolates, flowers, and meadows filled with love.
I waited for his answer. It didn’t take long.
“Give up Serena? Tell her she can’t be my Beta anymore? Are you serious?”
I nodded.
What other condition could he possibly expect from me?
That I open my arms and welcome them both?
Apparently…
“Nell, what I’m asking for in your forgiveness is that you understand how sorry I am for not telling you before the wedding—or for how you found out. But I didn’t expect conditions. Especially not asking me to give up Serena.”
What the hell was he saying?
“No, love. I can’t do what you’re asking. Let me explain—Serena and I made a pact…”
“I know about the damn pact! You don’t need to repeat it!” I shouted, unable to believe what I was hearing. Ethan seriously expected me to let it slide—worse, to accept his affairs with his Beta and smile at them when they asked me for drinks after screwing in my bed. How could he be so damn cynical?
“You don’t get it. If you’re not going to do what I’m asking, then this is over, Ethan.”
“No, Nell. You’re the one who doesn’t understand. You can’t pretend, as an omega, to impose conditions on an Alpha.”
That was it.
If there had been the slightest hope of reconciling and healing this wound, he had thrown it out the window with that last sentence.
“What did you just say? Do you really believe I’m not your equal, even though I’m your mate? That I’m still ‘the omega’ and you’re ‘the Alpha,’ and I’m supposed to accept all your filth and mistakes?”
His silence was all the confirmation I needed. Then, he tried to justify it.
“You owe me obedience, Nell. Even if we’re mates, I’m your Alpha. I’m the Alpha of this pack. And yes—though I don’t want it to interfere in our relationship—you’re still an omega. The natural hierarchy still applies.”
I couldn’t believe it. I nearly laughed.
“I have to give your mother credit on one thing, Ethan: our wedding was rushed. Even as mates, we should’ve taken more time to get to know each other.”
“Oh, now you say that? But it was you who—”
I raised my hand and looked at him like the Luna I was.
“Don’t you dare say I threw myself at you—as your mother already implied.”
Ethan went silent, but I saw—and felt—the fury burning inside him.
“We both felt the mate bond. We knew it from the first moment we were near each other—when you were clinging to life on that surgical table. If anyone ‘threw themselves’ at the other, it was you, Ethan. You clung to that bond like it was your last breath. And this is how you repay it? With betrayal?”
My words hit him like a silver arrow—worse than the magical wounds that nearly killed him. I saw it in his eyes… in his silence.
“I’m going to ask this only once more, Ethan, and I want you to answer with the honesty this relationship deserves.”
He clenched his jaw.
“Are you going to give up Serena… or me?”
“Nell, love… we can find a middle ground…”
“No!” I cut him off. “There is no middle ground, Ethan. Her or me—say it!”
He hesitated. And that hesitation shattered my heart worse than any silver bullet ever could.
I tried to hold myself together, but I couldn’t.
Tears streamed down my cheeks uncontrollably.
I thought about my parents, about the consequences of what I was about to do.
But I had no choice.
I couldn’t let Ethan humiliate me like this.
I wouldn’t be the joke of the pack house.
I wouldn’t let her defile our marriage bed.
“Ethan Blackthorn, Alpha of the Moon’s Fang pack—
I, Nellie Moore, Luna of the Moon’s Fang pack,
your mate by the Goddess’s will,
marked by you on the night of our wedding,
and betrayed by you,
reject you.”
Ethan fell to his knees on the floor. He crawled toward me and rested his head on my abdomen.
“No, Nellie—my love, please don’t do this. I beg you. Reverse the rejection. You still can. Let’s talk this through. I know we can fix this.”
I placed my hands on his head.
A few tears dropped onto his forehead,
but it was already done.
And I knew he wasn’t going to give up Serena—not out of love, but out of pride.
Because to him, I was still “the omega.”
And I would be even more so if I let this offense slide.
I had to show him—and myself—and the entire pack—that I was a Luna.
A woman worthy of the title.
Not an impostor, as they believed.
“Goodbye, Ethan.
Thank you for these weeks—
they were the happiest of my life.
I hope that, someday, we’ll see each other again…
and by then, there’ll be no resentment left between us.”
“Nellie, please, don’t go. Let’s take a break, give it some time—don’t leave.”
I kissed his forehead and walked out of the Luna-Mother’s office
before the pain could consume me.
- Writer
