REGRET— the shadow wolves

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mika

The rest of the mating ceremony became a haze in my mind. Trying to hide my broken heart was exhausting, yet Dante stayed close at my side and kept me away from Lucy and Brandon. I could sense their pleading gazes through our mental bond, but I ignored them. Even when people excitedly distributed congratulations for the newly mated pair, Dante made sure he deflected them away from me. I was thankful for him—we’d bonded over our shared love for literature and architecture. He knew how deeply the situation hurt me.

My best friend.

My forever friend.

If not for his presence, I might have revealed my vulnerability and asked to undo the mating between my mate and my sister. But it was too late. They had probably bonded a week ago, and without the emergence of my wolf, I couldn’t sense their betrayal.

I wouldn’t wish this feeling on anyone else. It was as if my soul had been torn apart, leaving nothing behind but an emptiness in its wake.

I was doomed to be broken forever. If they had read more or learned more, then maybe they would understand the pain they were causing me.

Loneliness.

Emptiness.

Hate.

My father and mother allowed for this situation, knowing full well who Brandon was to me.

As Dante left to get us, some drinks, my mother approached me.

“Mika, there you are darling.” My eyes shifted from the ground up to my mother as she spoke.

Everyone said I looked like her—long dark hair and a small frame that wasn’t very physically strong.

“Mika..?” She asked in a concerned voice. “Darling, I understand your unhappiness with this, but we can talk about it more tomorrow at breakfast. Plus, Brandon and Lucy have a surprise for you: they arranged an exhibition of your paintings at the regional museum! Isn’t that wonderful?”

“You really think that offering an exhibition in exchange for my mate is going to excite me? Do you believe sharing a table with my former mate and family tomorrow is going to fix things?”

“Mika, what’s going on? You know that our responsibility for the pack is much bigger than our own feelings, right?” Joceline asked.

“As far as I’m concerned, I am no longer part of this pack. You know the rules of our pack, don’t you? Didn’t you write them?”

“That’s not what this is about,” Joceline countered.

“I have no desire to stay here. I won’t be sitting down to share a meal with liars, thieves and cowards." My voice was filled with venom; the bitterness tasted like acid on my tongue.

“Mika, please. We can discuss this further tomorrow. You need to be there to support your sister and her chosen partner. Put your own personal feelings aside for now and try to understand the larger implications of the situation. The influential packs in our area are growing bigger by the day, and it's important that we stand together as one unified group in order to keep them away from us.”

I snicker involuntarily. Why did everyone insist on believing that strength meant physical power and not mental capacity or strategy? And why couldn't Lucy have chosen some other Alpha? I was certain there was something more than met the eye here.

“I won’t be around for tomorrow's conversation, or any other conversations after that. I'm leaving the pack. Surely you don't expect me to stay, right? You mustn't be that naïve.”

“Mika, watch the way you address your mother! Grow up and stop acting like a child. We have duties towards our pack – nothing more, nothing less. Brandon is an excellent pick for leading us; that's why we chose him above all else. He is a strong Beta, and she is a powerful female–it's the perfect combination if we want to make it out of this situation intact."

The pack had come up with an inadequate solution to deal with the danger they were facing, and I was seeing a pattern. They had excluded Dante and me despite our intellect. Did they think we would stay to support their foolishness?

I looked around the room one last time, trying to recall what I found so appealing about living in this pack. Did everyone share the same values or was it only me that didn't know about it? And two weeks ago when I gave myself to Brandon for the first time, did he know he'd be breaking my heart and taking my life away after he made love to me? My sister who had always been supportive of us—was she aware of this plan as well?

The crushing realization that they must have known all along tore right through me. Did Brandon think he still had any kind of authority over my body after what he'd done? Only a truly ignorant man would want that.

My parents were embracing, and my mother's tears kept spilling out as she reached for me, desperate to pull me into her arms. I couldn't bear the thought of their betrayal. I made up my mind: I was leaving and never coming back.

Lost in thought, I didn't notice Brandon and Lucy standing behind me until it was too late.

"We never meant to hurt you, Mikayla," Brandon whispered. How dare he call me by my full name; only my mate could call me that now, and he was not mine anymore. I stayed still and pretended as if I hadn't heard anything. My back was facing them all.

"We must be careful with how we approach the other packa. We can't show any weakness," Lucy said, her words carrying no weight in the air. It was like talking to a pet—there was no response from me. I pretended to not understand. Maybe I should have purred like a kitten too, so as to emphasize my response to nonsense. She didn't know anything about strategy or diplomacy. What little Brandon knew, I thought him.

What did she know about compassion and giving up your mate for the “greater good”. Had she ever been denied of something in her life?

She looked like our father; with her athletic build and golden hair, she was beautiful, yet her appearance didn’t match what lay inside her heart, which seemed darker than the night itself, or even death.

“Please, Mikayla,” Brandon begged.

But my imaginary helmet muffled his voice, and the turmoil inside me threatened to swallow me up. I refused to listen; I was done talking to them. I would mourn them as if they had passed away, but it wouldn't be tonight.