chapter 5
1684 Words
Chapter Five
Ana
I stood by the fire pit and looked at him without moving. My heart felt completely numb. I didn't care anymore if he shouted at me, and I didn't care about his anger.
His voice couldn't hurt me anymore.
"Alpha Desmond, you're back," I said.
I looked straight at him as I spoke. I didn't look at him as the man I had fallen in love with years ago. Instead, I looked at him as a man I wished I could erase from my past. If I could go back in time, I would have walked away and let him suffer alone.
Desmond looked down at the fire pit, his face pale. "Ana, are you okay? What is going on here? Why are you burning all this? Even our marriage bond certificate. Why are you doing this?"
I wanted to laugh out loud at his questions. So, he actually remembered that we had a marriage bond. For a long time now, I thought he had completely forgotten. I thought I was just someone who didn't matter at all anymore, especially since his first love had come back to the estate.
"Why are you back here, Desmond?" I asked flatly.
He moved forward a step, his expression changing. He was acting as if he was truly worried about me.
"What happened, Ana? Tell me, are you okay?"
He lifted his right hand, reaching out to touch my face, but I immediately stepped back to avoid him. I didn't want his hands on me.
"Why are you acting this way with me?" he asked, his brow furrowing. "You're the one who is completely at fault here, and you're still acting like this. What exactly do you want from me?"
I stared at him for a long moment. Did he really have the nerve to ask me what I wanted? I wanted out. I wanted out of this marriage bond. I wanted completely out of this hell that I had been calling a life.
I took a deep, steady breath to calm my shaking chest. "Let's get rejected."
For a moment, the entire courtyard fell completely silent. The only sound was the crackling of the wood in the fire pit. I watched his face closely as he looked at me. He stood there frozen, and he didn't say a single word for a long time.
Finally, he shook his head. "Are you seriously acting this way because of Ema? I already told you that she is pregnant. She is incredibly sorry for everything she did in the past. Can't you just forget about it and move on?"
"Forget it?" I yelled, my voice finally cracking. "What exactly should I forget, Desmond? Should I forget the way you always abandon me the second she calls your name? Or should I forget the part where you didn't show up at home for two whole days just to be by her side? You just went out and got her a brand new car and lots of expensive jewelry, and you still have the nerve to say I'm the one at fault here?"
I didn't wait for his reply. I turned around, walked over to where my bag was sitting, and pulled out one of the official document files. I walked right back over to him and threw the paperwork directly at his chest.
"This is the legal file for our bond," I said, pointing at the pages. "If you just sign your name, we can go our separate ways. My signature is already on the paper, so you don't even need to stress yourself trying to figure out how to reject me."
For a moment, everything went completely quiet again. Desmond looked down at the papers in his hands, reading the lines. Then he looked up and spoke.
"Ana, are you okay? I have given you everything a female could want. Are you seriously this upset just about a car? Fine, if that's the problem, I'll get you a brand new car as well. I'll take you to the store tomorrow to get whatever jewelry you want. Now can we please just stop talking about this rejection?"
He took a step closer to me, his voice growing annoyed.
"I told you before, my dad's birthday is coming up very soon. How will the pack or anyone else act when they find out my own mate and Luna is not close to me? Think about my reputation."
I looked at him, and a wave of disgust washed over me. I wanted to laugh in his face. He really didn't care about my feelings at all. He didn't care that I was hurting. He just didn't want to be mocked or embarrassed in front of the other packs at his father's birthday party. It wasn't like half the pack members even knew I was the true Luna anyway, since he kept our union a secret.
"Sign the paper, Alpha," I said, my voice dropping to a cold whisper. "I don't want a new car. I don't want jewelry or anything else from you. I just want out of this pack."
For a second, he just stared at me in silence. Then, his expression turned dark. He tightly folded the white paper in his hands, leaned over, and threw the entire rejection file directly into the fire pit.
"You are my mate," Desmond said, his voice rising in anger. "You are my Luna. And you actually dare to stand here and try to reject me? I have done absolutely everything you have ever asked me to do. Why are you acting so crazy? Ema just needs a little bit of care right now, that's all it is."
"Then let her go meet the actual father of her child," I snapped back, glaring at him. "Why are you trying so hard to act like the father? Or are you really the father of her baby?"
Smack.
I felt the sharp, violent slap hit my face before I could even process his movement. The force of his hand made my head snap completely to the side.
A burning pain flared across my cheek. I stood there in absolute shock, holding my face. I looked back at him, my eyes wide. He had actually dared to hit me. He had slapped me.
"Ana—" Desmond stammered, his eyes widening as he looked at his own hand. He took a step toward me, looking completely stunned by his own actions.
I let out a bitter, dark chuckle, stepping away from him. "So, because of her, you would even slap your own mate? You would strike me to defend her?"
I turned my back on him completely. I didn't let him say another single word. I ignored his voice calling out to me as I walked out of the courtyard and left the estate grounds.
Later that night, I sat alone at the counter of a quiet bar down the road, drinking straight from a bottle. My mind was a complete mess, and I could feel my head spinning from the weight of everything.
Suddenly, before I could take another sip, the glass bottle was roughly pulled away from my hand.
I looked up, blinking against the dim lights. It was Lily.
"What on earth do you think you are doing, Ana? Are you seriously trying to get yourself killed tonight?" Lily asked, sitting down heavily on the stool right next to me. She placed the bottle far out of my reach. "Don't forget that you are pregnant. Do you want to kill your own child?"
I looked at her for a long moment, my eyes filling with tears. I felt so completely broken inside, like a shell of a person.
Lily's expression softened instantly. She reached out, pulled me forward into her arms, and held me in a tight, protective hug. "What happened tonight, Ana? Did Desmond hurt you again? Tell me."
I stayed completely silent for a moment, burying my face against her shoulder. Then, I leaned in and whispered the truth into her ear.
"He doesn't want to accept the rejection. He took the papers and threw them into the fire. He won't sign it."
Lily pulled back slightly, holding my arms so she could look directly into my eyes. "Then why don't you just run away? Get completely away from him, Ana. Go to another pack territory far away from here where he can never find you. Just pack your things and go."
I looked at her frantic face and managed a sad, tired smile. I wished with all my heart that leaving was really that easy.
"You know I can't do that, Lily," I whispered, shaking my head. "Even if I pack up and leave the territory tonight, he will still be able to find me anywhere I go. Our marriage bond is still fully alive. He can track my scent and my pull. The only way I can ever truly leave is to make him sign and accept the rejection. That is the only time I can finally be free."
Before I could say anything else about my life, a cold shock hit me.
A sticky, strong-smelling drink was suddenly poured directly over the top of my head. It splashed over my hair and ran down the sides of my face.
At first, I sat there in complete shock, unable to move. I wiped the liquid away from my eyes and looked up to see who had done it.
A strange woman was standing right in front of my stool, holding an empty glass. She was glaring down at me with pure hatred in her eyes.
"So," the woman sneered loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the bar. "You're the pathetic b***h who won't let Alpha Desmond go."
- Writer
