His Penitence

CHAPTER THREE

We stare at each other in stunned silence, the forest feels a thousand miles wide, but somehow he's still too close.

Then his eyes shifted; no teasing, no smirk, just pure undiluted guilt.

“I was cruel,” he says, quietly. “I know I was and you didn’t deserve it.”

I blinked, visibly shocked but still not trusting him, not believing him.

“Why? Why did you treat me like that?”

“Because I hated how you made me feel. "Even back then,” he pauses. “And when your mom passed I genuinely didn’t know how to face you.”

I don’t say anything. The hurt is still there, but so is the bond; tugging, pulling, burning.

He steps closer, slowly, like he’s afraid I’ll bolt.

“I’m not asking you to forgive me and forget everything I've done. I just want you to give us a fighting chance”

The silence stretches, then cracks. I move forward, and he meets me halfway.

His lips crashed into mine.

Gently and then roughly, my brain goes through a lot of emotions at once. In a moment, he puts his hand onto my body and my entire world pauses. Falling into the grass before I can process anything right under the big red moon,

And when we finished, I lay on his bare chest, not less confused than before.

Reason being that, no matter how much I hate him...

It's terrifying how much safety I feel in his unexpected warmth,

How can someone who is so cold be this warm?

The sun rising from the east, illuminating Devin's gorgeous blond hair. This feels so right,

What a daring thought, trying to suppress a giggle,

Carefully, like I’m something fragile and contagious. He slips out from under me without a word and starts putting on his clothes.

I sat up, confused. “Devin?”

Completely refusing to meet my eyes and running his hand through his hair, the veins on his neck looking like it's about to pop.

“Last night shouldn’t have happened. It was a mistake.”

“What?” I whispered. “You told me.”

“It was the bond,” he snaps. The wolf. That wasn’t me.”

Those words c***k something open in my chest.

“Don’t do this,” I say, voice breaking. “You chose me.”

He finally looks at me and his eyes are cold.

“ Choose you? “he says amidst bitter laughter,

“We made love, you took my innocence.”

“This whole thing? It’s a mistake. I don’t want a mate, not like you”.

My breath leaves me like a punch to the gut.

And then, as if the words didn't cut deep enough, he says:

“Penny … I reject you as my mate.”

“I accept” I said meekly,

My chest feels constricted, the bond we nurtured, I feel it get separated. No, cut through with a sharp blade, Ivy howls mournfully in my head.

Just forest, silence, and the pieces of me he left behind.

I sat there for a long time.

The clearing is quiet now, no birds, no wind, just me, and that final echo of “I reject you” and my acceptance.

I really thought,

I believed we could be,

He told me he would fight for us,

It shouldn’t hurt this badly. He was awful to me growing up. He called me names and made me feel worthless, but last night… he saw me. He took away my innocence and touched me like I really mattered.

And I let myself believe that even for a second I could be with him.

I feel numb, I can't even cry,

There's a lake not too far from this place. I go there and take a bath,

For a moment, I consider drowning myself in it, but I decide against it, hoping the water will wash away my memories.

By the time I reached the Pack House, everyone had gathered around. What's going on? I shove the pain down, keep my chin up, suppressing the pain like I've always done.

Devin

“Everyone, I have an announcement,” he says, standing tall like the leader he's meant to be. “The Moon Goddess has blessed me with a mate.”

My breath hitches, could it be…

“Come this way Sweetheart” he says, stretching out his hand,

The pack goes wild: gasps, screams, applause,

I remain frozen, confusion running through me.

Veronica;

She steps forward, glowing. Her smile is all teeth.

“I guess we have always known” he says, earning laughs from the pack members,

And there he is next to her, smiling. Holding her hand like he wasn't with me last night, making empty promises and spewing lies.

I want to scream, I want to run, but I can’t move.

Because the worst part is… my wolf isn't responding to me. She's quiet, riddled with heartbreak, she probably hates me.

Veronica steps beside Devin, glowing with pride, but I’m frozen in place cold from the inside out.

“She’s everything I’ve ever wanted,” Devin says, loud enough for the whole pack to hear. “And tonight, I’m marking her to prove it.”

My heart sinks to the bottom of my stomach,

No, no, no, please don't

But he does.

In one smooth motion, he moves,

He backs her hair, lowers his head and sinks his teeth right into her neck.

The cheers rise like a wave, people are clapping, smiling, celebrating. But I am being ripped apart from the inside.

The pain hits like a storm, a sharp, blazing agony that sets my entire chest on fire. My knees buckle, my lungs squeeze shut. The rejected bond can’t handle the mark, it’s severing what little thread my soul clung to.

I drop to the ground, one hand clutches my chest, nails digging in as if I can claw the hurt out. My wolf whimpers in my head, folding in on herself.

I crawl forward before everything spins, my body trembles, my breath is shallow.

I collapsed in the center of the Pack House, gasping and in shock.

And then everything goes black.

When I regain consciousness, it's dark out,

Cold stone under my cheek, dried tears crusted on my face. My body feels like I've been battered, my soul crushed. I can't even put into words what I feel right now.

I can't believe this. I'm very sure I've been lying here for hours.

No one bothered to come, nobody cared about the orphan omega who got rejected.

I refuse to live like this anymore, I'm done.

I'm done feeling sorry for myself, I'm done crying. I can't live like this anymore.

I rise, staggering to my feet, which barely supports my body weight. The very fiber of my being protests, but I move regardless.

Climbing into the window of the room, I gathered a few belongings and sneaked out.

The pack house is quiet now, laughs echo faintly inside, probably celebrating.

I shift sadness fueling me, my mom's necklace swaying in the wind.

Ivy's paws hit the ground as I ran for freedom, for survival, for air, for peace we’ll never find here.

We don’t look back.

Not once.

Managing to slip past the wolves patrolling, moving quickly and embracing my new-found freedom. I ran into the dead of the night, not knowing where to go or what to do.

It all still seems to be a dream to me. A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with mom. Now she's gone, and I'm a rejected rogue.