A few tears cascade down my cheeks as I face Aldo and the others. Zen avoids my gaze, while Marlon gazes vacantly at his hands. I have never experienced such profound solitude until this moment.
“N-no,” I whisper, drying my eyes and attempting a faint grin. “No, I do not.”
Elder Allen regards me with pity as he sets the pack pill before me.
The pack tablet is a substantial black obsidian slab adorned with wolf engravings and featuring a small central aperture. This tablet served to induct new members and confer titles upon current members. It was the very stone that embraced me as their Luna and unified this pack… and today, it would expel me from it.
You will first return your title to the Blood Night pack’, he states, gesturing for me to raise my hand. “Do you, Laura Ahmr, acknowledge that you have failed to fulfil your responsibilities as Luna of the Blood Night pack?”
My veins seethe with rage. I have never failed the pack before. Never. If anything, I have consistently exceeded the expectations of my job to serve this pack, rendering it unjust to label me a failure.
However, my emotions are inconsequential. I require this rejection before it becomes too late.
“Yes,” I nearly said between clenched teeth.
“Yes,” I nearly spat between clenched teeth.
“Do you acknowledge that you have neglected your responsibilities to your Alpha as his Luna and Wife?” he persists.
I scowl at Aldo, certain that he recognised the true failure. However, I suppress my pride and refrain from speaking. My desire for independence outweighs my need for a title.
“Yes,” I murmur, fearing that I may shout if I raised my voice more.
“By the authority conferred upon me, I hereby absolve you of your title and responsibilities to this pack.”
Elder Allen used the blade to create a little cut on my palm, then applying it to the tablet. A brief gust of air sweeps by, severing whatever connection I had with this pack.
“Gamma Marlon,” Elder Allen proclaims. “A gamma bond, once established, is indissoluble. You may opt to accompany your ward wherever she ventures or remain here with your Alpha.”
“I select my Alpha, sir,” Marlon responds, exhibiting no doubt in his tone.
He evades my gaze as I disregard the muted apologies he utters. Now liberated from my responsibilities and no longer under the guardianship of my mother, I direct my focus to Aldo. He is not even regarding me, preoccupied with leering at my sister, who is unabashedly laughing at him.
It was yet another affront to see their flirtation while I was deprived of my status.
Elder Allen casts another sympathetic glance at me and coughs to capture Aldo’s attention. “Alpha, you may commence the rejection whenever you are prepared.”
Aldo appears utterly repulsed as he glances back at me. My chest constricts, and for a fleeting moment, I contemplate kneeling and imploring him to love me once more, to permit me to remain by his side indefinitely. Despite all he has inflicted upon me, a small, distorted fragment of my being still yearns for the solace of his embrace as he vowed eternal affection.
However, I saw it as a falsehood. Aldo had never harboured affection for me, nor would he ever. Our time was over.
“I, Aldo Kye, Alpha of the Blood Night pack, hereby reject you, Laura Ahmr, as my mate and Luna,” he states indifferently, as though he were not shattering my heart.
Agony engulfs me, searing my chest and radiating throughout my body like a multitude of daggers piercing simultaneously. I cry out as I crumple to the floor, gasping for breath. Peripherally, I observe Marlon recoil with discomfort, tears welling in his eyes.
“Alpha,” Elder Allen commands. “Your wolf must also repudiate her.”
Aldo’s eyes oscillate between green and blue until they stabilise on green, prompting Cain to advance. For an instant, I perceive fear flicker in Cain’s eyes, but it vanishes almost immediately. The Alpha kneels beside me, a tingling sensation coursing through my arms as Cain elevates me to examine the mark on my neck. Through my tears, I cast a defiant glare at the wolf who had vowed to grant me the world, stifling my sobs.
“Proceed,” I hiss, suppressing the want to caress my abdomen and soothe my child.
He gazes into my eyes, his facial features becoming rigid.
“I, Cain, Alpha of the Blood Night pack, repudiate you, Laura Ahmr, as my mate and Luna,” he growls, tilting my neck and embedding his teeth into my flesh.
I cry out in pain as the tingling sensation of his touch gradually transforms into a searing feeling. Cain brushes his tongue across the wound, tenderly kissing it in a final farewell.
“Farewell, Tiny,” he exhales into my hair, my eyes brimming with tears as he addresses me by my pet name for the final time.
