Episode 5
845 Words
(Rose POV)
Twenty-four hours after my hospital stay, I forced myself to return to the pack house one last time to collect my belongings. Dr. Martinez had advised against it, but I needed closure. I needed to face reality, no matter how painful it might be.
The moment I stepped into the pack house, voices from the great hall caught my attention. My wolf stirred uneasily inside me, sensing something was wrong. Following the sound, I found myself frozen in the doorway, watching a scene that shattered what little was left of my heart.
Xavier stood at the front of the hall, addressing the gathered pack members. Tara stood beside him, practically glowing with triumph, her hand possessively wrapped around his arm. The sight made my stomach turn – or maybe that was morning sickness. I wasn't sure anymore.
"As your Alpha," Xavier's voice boomed through the hall, "I have an important announcement to make. Recent events have brought to light certain truths that can no longer be ignored."
I pressed myself against the wall, though I knew I should leave. But like watching a car crash, I couldn't look away.
"Tara, my true love," he continued, looking at my sister with such adoration it physically hurt, "has finally returned to us. And with her return, changes must be made. I intend to make her our new Luna – the position she should have held all along."
The pack members murmured in agreement, some even applauding. Not one of them seemed concerned about me, their current Luna. Not one of them questioned this announcement. Of course they didn't – they had always preferred Tara anyway.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it, drawing attention to my presence. Xavier's head snapped toward me, his blue eyes darkening with anger.
"What are you doing here?" he growled, stepping protectively in front of Tara. As if I were the threat. As if I had ever been the threat.
I couldn't help it – I laughed again, the sound verging on hysterical. "Don't worry, Xavier. I won't stay long enough to ruin your perfect moment."
"You shouldn't be here," Tara said, her voice dripping with false concern. "Haven't you caused enough trouble?"
Looking at her – my mirror image, my twin, my tormentor – something inside me finally broke. "You know what's funny, Tara? I spent my entire life trying to understand why everyone loved you more. Why our parents favored you, why the pack adored you, why my own mate chose you over me." I placed a protective hand over my stomach, where my surviving baby rested. "But now I realize it doesn't matter. None of it matters anymore."
Xavier's face contorted with rage. "Guards—"
"Don't bother," I cut him off, turning away. "I'm going to my room to pack my things. Then you'll never have to see me again."
I walked away with my head held high, ignoring the whispers and stares that followed me. In my room – soon to be Tara's room, I supposed – I moved mechanically, packing only what I truly needed. Clothes, personal documents, the few pieces of jewelry that had belonged to my grandmother.
Then I saw it – the drawer where Xavier kept the divorce papers. He'd shown them to me once, early in our marriage, a not-so-subtle threat of what would happen if I ever stepped out of line. I pulled them out now, noting how the papers were already filled out, just waiting for signatures. He'd probably been planning this for a while, waiting for Tara to return.
With a steady hand that surprised me, I signed my name on every marked line. Each stroke of the pen felt like another nail in the coffin of my marriage, but also like breaking chains that had bound me for too long.
I left the signed papers on his desk, right next to the gift box containing the positive pregnancy test he'd never bothered to open. Let him find them both – it didn't matter anymore. He'd lost the right to know about our baby the moment he chose Tara over his own mate, over his own flesh and blood.
As I walked out of the pack house for the last time, I heard laughter and celebrations continuing in the great hall. They were already celebrating their new Luna, eager to forget the old one. My wolf whimpered one last time, mourning the mate bond that would soon be severed completely.
"It's okay, Luna," I whispered to my wolf as I got into my car. "We don't need them. We have someone more important to live for now."
I placed my hand on my stomach, feeling a flutter of movement from my surviving baby. This child would be my strength, my reason to keep going. And I swore right then that no one – not Xavier, not Tara, not anyone – would ever make us feel unwanted again.
As I drove away from the only home I'd ever known, I didn't look back. T
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