She Eyed My Spot, My Alpha Let Her

Chapter 16: The Breaking Point

Leia’s POV

I did not stop running. I did not care who was watching, who was calling my name, or what they were thinking. All I knew was that I had to get out. Out of that hall, out of those eyes and out of that moment that kept replaying in my head over and over again.

Pete, the applause for Sharon, his recognition of Sharon on what should have been my day. And me… standing there like I did not exist. Once again, he sided with her. He was on her side and the so-called birthday party was a disguise to humiliate me and elevate her. Everything is clear now, it’s her he wants.

My chest burned as I pushed through the corridors, my vision blurred by tears. I could not hold back anymore. I reached my room and shut the door behind me, my hands shaking as I turned the lock. The silence hit me instantly, it was heavy and suffocating.

I staggered back, my legs giving in as I sank onto the floor. For a moment, I could not even cry properly. It felt like something inside me had shattered too completely to even form sound. Then it came. A broken sob tore through my chest, followed by another, and another, until I could no longer hold anything back.

Everything I had been carrying for months poured out at once. The neglect, the humiliation, the waiting, the hope. All of it. “I cannot do this anymore…” I whispered through the tears. Tania whimpered softly within me, her pain mirroring mine, but even she had grown quieter over time. We were both tired.

“I kept waiting,” I said, my voice shaking. “I kept believing that he would come back… that things would change…” But they had not. If anything, they had only gotten worse. I pressed my hands against my chest, as if I could hold together what was breaking apart inside me. “My own birthday…” I let out a hollow laugh that did not sound like mine. “Even today I was nothing to him.” I was not his Luna, not his mate. Not even someone worth acknowledging. I was just a presence to be ignored.

A weight settled over me then. It was not sharp like pain or burning like anger. It was just heavy and final. Something inside me went still and in that stillness, a thought formed clearly. I have to leave.

My breath caught, but I did not push the thought away this time. I held onto it. I explored it. If I stayed here… what would be left of me? I felt like day by day, piece by piece, I was disappearing and no one was stopping it. Especially not him, my mate, the one who should love and protect me. Clearly he didn’t want me.

There was a dilemma though. My father’s pack is very traditional. They wouldn’t accept a “mated” she-wolf back into their pack if she was supposedly mated outside. To them, it is a disgrace to their values. I would have nowhere to go but nowhere is better than the hell I’ve endured here. I will have to be a loner if I have to be or live amongst humans or anywhere other than here.

A knock sounded at the door. I froze. For a moment, I said nothing. Then it came again, firmer this time. Pete was the least I would want to see at this moment. “Leia.” It was Derek. Another voice followed. “Open the door.” It was Zadok! These were my childhood friends who had been quietly watching my life drown on the sidelines.

I wiped my face quickly, though I knew it made little difference. Slowly, I pushed myself up and walked toward the door. When I opened it, they both stood there, their expressions serious, their eyes searching my face. Neither of them spoke immediately. They did not need to, they had seen. Everyone had.

“I am fine, please give me some space,” I said automatically, though my voice betrayed me. Derek’s jaw tightened. “No, you are not fine.” Zadok stepped forward slightly. “Can we come in?” he asked. I hesitated for only a second before stepping aside. They entered, closing the door behind them.

The room fell into silence again, different silence this time. The atmosphere was heavier. Derek ran a hand through his hair, clearly holding back more than he wanted to say. “We should have stepped in sooner,” he muttered. ‘Oh! So they really were watching from the sidelines?’

I wanted to speak out loud and say, “Oh, but then you saw and didn’t help, you just watched me suffer. I thought I was no longer worthy of being your friend, since you were now ranked members of the pack,” but I held back. Now wasn’t the time. I wanted them to say whatever they came for and leave me to my thoughts so I could plan my exit quietly.

Zadok shook his head slightly. “That would have caused a scene.” So he thinks if they intervened earlier it would have caused a scene? “A scene?” Derek let out a bitter breath, resonating with my feelings. “What do you call what just happened?” he asked Zadok. I stood there, listening, feeling strangely detached from their words. It was useless to bicker now when the damage had already advanced to this. “Pete crossed a line tonight,” Zadok said, his voice calmer but no less firm.

I swallowed, my gaze dropping. “He did not even look at you,” Derek added quietly. That hurt more than anything else, because it was true. For a moment, none of us spoke. Then the door opened again. I stiffened. Pete stepped in.