Shattered
1739 Words
Cassandra couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Her world crumbled before her. She looked around, disbelief in her eyes as she looked at everyone's wide eyes.
The look of sympathy in their eyes for her, the same sympathy she was shown when her father had died...
No. How could this be? Caleb loved her. He was her husband for two years, and had been together for four years.
This has to be some classified nonsense. How could he find a mate? And why didn't he tell her anything about it? What the hell was going on?
Tears streamed down Cassandra's face. She looked at the couple on the stage, her gaze wavering when she saw Caleb placing his hand around Harmony's waist.
This was supposed to be her day. This was supposed to be the day when her father's long dream of seeing her as the Luna of the pack was supposed to come true.
She won the trophy for the best Gamma in the tournament just for its sake.
Then how come the girl given the title of the Luna of the pack was someone else?
This wasn't right.
"You can't do this to me," Cassandra finally said after some time, her voice resolute, hiding the atrocious pain she felt in her heart.
Her body trembled. She could barely hold herself up.
She blinked her eyes repetitively to clear her vision, which blurred with her tears.
Caleb looked at the woman and sighed pitifully.
"I am sorry, Cassandra. I wanted to tell you about it a long time ago. However, Harmony had the lowest level of omega with no wolf. No one would've accepted her if I had introduced her just like that. Please understand," Caleb said.
Cassandra looked at the man before her in disbelief.
Understand? What was there to understand? This was the dream her entire life revolved around. This was her father’s only wish for her!
Was this the same man she loved for four years and even went against her father to marry?
Not only did he remove Luna's position from her, but he also wanted her to be the understanding one.
"Miss Cassandra, you are angry now, but it's not Beta Caleb's fault. He did it all for me. His wolf can't stay without me and —" Harmony rushed forward, trying to hold Cassandra's hand.
"Don't touch me!" Cassandra jerked her hand away.
Harmony widened her eyes and fell backward, landing on her butt and twisting her foot.
"Cassandra Eleanor!" Caleb rushed behind Harmony.
Seeing his mate in pain, Caleb's eyes turned dark, and he raised his hand before slapping Cassandra hard across the face.
Everyone's eyes widened at the turn of events.
They did not expect Caleb, who always appeared like a doting husband, to slap his wife in front of everyone.
"Caleb, ahhh, please don't hurt Miss Cassandra. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have returned to this pack with you. It was better if I were dead," Harmony wept.
Caleb's gaze softened at his mate's words, and he crouched down.
"Don't talk like that, Harmony. How can you even talk about dying when my wolf can't stay without you? Do you want me dead as well?" Caleb asked, pulling Harmony up bridal style.
"No. Please don't say that. I would rather die a hundred times than see you in misery," Harmony cupped Caleb's cheeks, and the man looked at Cassandra.
"How can you attack such a good girl, Cassandra? Has the win of the tournament gotten to your head? You clearly know she is weaker than you," Caleb said.
He shook his head. There was a look of disappointment in his eyes.
Cassandra felt numb. She kept looking at the man before her, the stinging pain in her cheeks a glaring truth that she had been neglecting all this while.
Around three months ago, Caleb went to the South Lakes. He went there to solve the issue with the Trinity circle packs and the rogues on behalf of their alpha.
However, when he returned, he brought Harmony with him. She was one of a kind of Omega, the lowest level, since she couldn't turn into her wolf form.
Since she looked innocent but was severely bruised, they gave her a space in their pack and accepted her when they learned she was an orphan, but...
Who would've thought that her pity would come back and bite her hand in a way she hadn't ever thought?
"If she is your mate, what about me, Caleb?" Cassandra asked.
She knew it was pathetic of her to ask that.
After being thoroughly humiliated before the entire nation's alphas, lunas, betas, and gammas, it was pathetic to ask this question, but she still wanted to know.
"Don't overreact, Cassandra. It's natural for Harmony to become Luna since she is my true mate. However, you are still my wife. She is here because my wolf can't stay without her. I still love you," Caleb said.
A self-mocking smile appeared on Cassandra's face.
This day was supposed to be the day of their glory.
This wasn't just about her. It was about the honor of their Aberdeen pack.
The alpha of the Aberdeen Pack, whose sole heir was murdered in a rogue attack a couple of years ago, promised Cassandra he would honor her and her husband as the new Luna and Alpha of the pack if she brought any prestigious award as the best Female warrior to the pack. And for her father, she wanted to achieve it.
But who would've thought that even after trying so hard and getting what she aspired to all her life, had promised her father two years ago would be taken away from her within a few seconds?
Seeing their pack becoming a joke before the entire nation, Thomas Maybach felt a weird ache in his heart as his sickness reacted, making it impossible for him to breathe.
He coughed loudly before falling to the ground.
The pack members rushed to his aid and took him to the hospital.
Cassandra watched everything unfold, but couldn't find herself moving for some reason.
Thomas was like a father figure to her, but even after that, the pain in her body that was spreading and only increasing made it impossible for her to move.
"Miss Cassandra, are you alright?" Betty rushed to Cassandra.
Hearing the same 'Miss' word from Betty's mouth, Cassandra couldn't help but chuckle in sadness.
"I am fine. Go with the alpha," Cassandra said.
Everyone left one by one, leaving her on the ground as no one knew what to do to support her.
As disgusting as the truth was, Caleb was their alpha now, and opposing him would mean opposing the alpha and embracing the chance to become a rogue.
As soon as Cassandra noticed everyone had left, the emotions she had been bubbling inside her finally spilled.
She cried.
Pulling her knees close to her chest, she cried.
"I am sorry, Dad. I... I couldn't fulfill your promise. Even after trying everything, I couldn't. You just asked one thing of me, that you wanted to see me as the Luna, but I just couldn't," Cassandra hiccuped.
"You warned me against marrying Caleb, a man who didn't even belong to our pack, but I insisted. After that night, I thought he was the only one who could handle me, but... I am a failure, Dad."
Cassandra, the proud Gamma of the Aberdeen pack, honored as the strongest Gamma female, crumbled to the ground as she wailed in agony and misery.
“I am so sorry…” She cried loudly.
The pain in her chest only seemed to increase as it became hard to breathe.
She was all alone here. No one to place their hand on her back and tell her everything would be fine.
Then again, what would be okay?
It was common knowledge among werewolves that when a true mate shows up, all the previous relationships are nullified and considered void until the mate is rejected.
However, Caleb made her the Luna of the pack. What did it make of her?
She was now the second woman. The proud dignity she held, the image she had built by working hard all those years, and all the respect she had gained crumbled before her.
Cassandra cried in frustration, scratching her arms helplessly, wanting to take out some pain because it was unbearable.
The self-deprecating thoughts about what kind of a blind woman she was were starting to make space in her mind.
After crying for what felt like an eternity, she finally stopped.
Cassandra tried to stand up from the ground, not wanting to stay here where she was humiliated like this.
However, as soon as she stood, her body gave up, and she fell to her knees.
The fatigue of the tournament was catching up to her with the pain, and she felt helpless. Her body didn't seem to want to move, and another trail of tears rolled down her face. However, this time, she didn't make a sound.
Someone was watching her. She could feel it. But she had no heart to face anyone.
"Hey, let me help you," Cassandra heard a voice, and turned to Michelle, the woman she had fought in the end.
"What a bastard husband you had? What are you going to do now?" Michelle asked.
Cassandra looked at Michelle with a tear-stricken face.
"What can I do in a situation like this? He is now the Alpha of the pack. Alpha Thomas can't do anything, either. The council won't step up because he was made an Alpha legally. She is his mate. I am all alone in this. I will just have to serve him or choose a rogue life," Cassandra said in self-mockery.
Michelle looked at the girl in pity before shaking her head.
"When I fought with you in the ring, this wasn't the woman I met. I met a fierce Gamma who came with a plan and a dream, was hard to beat, and was ready to take down even the heavens if they came between her and her dream. You can't let go of it so easily. You have to find someone to help you."
Michelle said that before she helped her in the taxi, she had asked the driver to take her back to her pack.
Cassandra leaned on the windowsill, Michelle's words echoing.
- Writer
