Cursed Bonds

Pack's Runt {Irvine}

My heart dropped. I moved closer and held his hand tightly; my watery eyes searched for sympathy in his cold ones. “P-please, don’t do this to me. Please, anything but this. P-please, I beg of you, don’t say it, please, do-” he yanked my hand off his wrist and pushed me so hard that I lost balance and hit the floor. I knelt on the ground and grabbed his right leg. “Please, don’t do th-”

“I, Brian Ashborne, Controller of the wind, commander of the blue moon pack, hereby reject Ellevindale Irvine as my mate!” he declared, breaking my heart into pieces. A short gasp left my mouth as I released his leg and slumped to the floor on my butt. Everyone cheered like it was something worth celebrating while my heart hurt like it was dipped in acid. I began to heave uncontrollably; it became harder to breathe. Another episode struck again at the wrong time; I gripped my vest at my chest.

My eyes met Brian's cold ones, pleading for help with my mouth opened, gasping for air. He simply smirked and walked past me with Mary by his side. She looked down at me with pity and mockery as she waved a fake sorry. A loud ringing went off in my head; I covered my ears with my hands but it didn’t make it stop. I felt so weak, abused, and humiliated. Nothing prepared me for this pain.

When I looked up, everyone had gone except for the ginger-haired boy that stood at the balcony with a broom in his hand. The son of the stable keeper. He took care of the garden and was probably waiting for me to leave, but when I tried to get on my feet, my knees gave out, and I fell back down. “Are you...alright?” I looked up to see his bright hazel eyes worriedly gazing down on me with his hands on my shoulder, but they burned. An aftereffect of the rejection. I should skip training; I won’t survive it. “Hey, Irvine,” he called my name. He called my name? I looked up at him and frowned.

“You know me?”

“I know your name now,” he chuckled nervously, “You helped me with the horses this morning, thank you,” He added and helped me get back on my feet. I remembered helping him chase the horses back into the stable.

“Oh, it's fine,” I tried to smile but it came out as a grimace instead. He released me when I stood on my feet. I muttered a small thanks and dusted my brown slacks. My eyes really burned, but tears refused to fall down my cheeks. I composed myself and dragged my feet up the stairs back into the training, and of course, Brian was absent and so was Mary. Well, Mary never came to train; she is a princess after all. Seraph pack has been our greatest ally for years now, and Mary is Alpha Raid’s only child. Rumors said that Alpha Raid is dying of an unknown illness, so it makes sense now that he is giving his daughter to Brian. Not only is he the son of an Alpha, but he is gifted. He will rule both the blue moon pack and the Seraph pack in the future. I am so slow.

The field got quiet when I entered, but they soon began to whisper and snicker. They made it obvious what it was that made them whisper and snicker. I was the topic of their mockery, and this isn’t the first time they mocked me, but now feels more different, more…

“Hey, Runt! Quit dragging your feet; you’re late already,” Alana, Brian’s favorite fighter shouted from the small hill she sat on. Anger fueled me. I don’t know how, but when she called me runt, I felt the sudden surge of anger run in my blood. I glared fiercely at her. The scowl washed off her face, and she looked shocked for a second before she recovered and sneered at me. “You're glaring at me, huh? Want to fight?” she appeared before me with the lighting speed of a wolf but it didn’t make me blink, talk less of falter. She scoffed, “Come on then, let's fight.”

The field got quiet again; they circled us, waiting to watch Alana beat me to a pulp. I knew I could not stand a chance against her, but I was mad, I was livid, and I needed to let the steam off. So when Alana charged at me, I held my ground and anticipated her first move, which was always… a jab. I evaded it just as quickly as she sent it. Without pause, I grabbed her outstretched hand and brought her above my back to land her back on the ground, but Alana did not become Brian’s favorite fighter for nothing.

She kicked the back of my left knee before I could bring her back down, and I went down on my left knee. A kick to the jaw is the next thing I know. I winced in contrast to how bad the pain radiated through my body. With a grunt, she went for another kick at my head, but I brought my hand to block and protect my head. She kept hitting my arm shield repeatedly with amazing speed; she left no room for me to recover, so I could only stay down and receive her kicks repeatedly. They laughed at me; I wanted to cry, but no tears came. Is it my fault that I am without a wolf? I didn’t choose this life for myself.

Alana laughed like a maniac, “What’s wrong runt? You don’t want to fight anymore? I left you in peace because you were Brian’s mate, but now that you’re not… I'm going to make your life miserable than it ever was!” She sent another hard kick to me; it was so intense and fierce that my face got affected too. The metallic taste of my blood filled my mouth, but it didn’t stop the anger that coursed in my veins. I looked up and glared at her.

“Don’t call me that.” I warned with bloody gums and a bruised face. They went silent again. Alana appeared shocked, but the shock turned into a nasty condescending look