He let me to collapse onto the floor and departs as I writhe in torment. My neck radiates heat, Cain and Aldo’s repudiation erasing our imprint. Breathing becomes increasingly difficult, and I open my mouth wide to frantically inhale, my moans diminishing.
“Laura,” Elder Allens kneels beside me. “You must accept his rejection to finalise the ceremony.”
I gasp intensely as anguish courses through me, clenching and unclenching my fists to cope with it. I nod at the Elder and, after a struggle to breathe, manage to articulate my response.
“I, Laura Ahmr, accept your rejection,” I lament, the agony deepening on my mark.
Aldo abruptly bends over and moans in agony, while Nina hastens to his side to massage his back and provide solace.
I despise her even more for providing him solace instead of me.
Following many minutes of torment, the agony diminishes, although the burning sensation on my mark persists.
Elder Allen elucidates, “Your body will persist in rejecting the Alpha’s mark for the subsequent three days, after which it will vanish.”
I nod while rising from the floor, brushing off dust and wiping away my tears. I had formally asserted my independence and was no longer wed or affiliated with this pack.
Content that my ruse had succeeded, I pivoted to depart when Aldo’s voice halted me abruptly.
“I hereby declare Nina Ahmr as my selected mate and Luna,” he proclaims to the Elders. “Formalise it, Elder,” he instructs.
“What?” I retort, clinging to my sanity by a thread. “You intend to designate her as your Luna?”
Aldo shrugs without remorse. “My current actions are no longer your concern,” he smirks, gesturing towards the door. “Depart at once.”
Nina intertwines her arm with Aldo’s and silently conveys a feeble apology to me.
My head is inundated with several malevolent ideas, yet I stoop into a deep bow to conceal my tears. “I wish you both a lengthy and joyous reign together,” I murmur icily, still grasping the foolish rings of our marriage and partnership.
A little part of me wishes this was really a cruel jest on his side and that he was not genuinely ending our relationship for my sister; however, that notion swiftly dissipates as he kisses Nina.
Nina reciprocates his kiss with a gasp, leaping into Aldo’s embrace and around his waist with her legs. Tears uncontrollably cascade from my eyes as I dash out of the room, unable to endure the sight any longer.
I stifle my weeping until I reach the guest room, swiftly retrieving the concealed bag from the closet, my throat aflame with the cries I yearn to unleash. I carry the bag to the master bedroom, only to see the suitcase Aldo had prepared for me still resting on our bed.
I want no association with the items he had bestowed to me. Collecting all the designer apparel and footwear into a bag, I discarded it out the window and into the underbrush. I was indifferent at this point. I was prepared to attain liberation.
I commence searching for my remaining belongings when the sound of the door opening startles me, prompting me to turn around and see Nina standing behind me.
My body tenses with rage, necessitating many deep breaths to maintain composure and remain still.
“You must be distressed,” she states softly, a little grin remaining on her lips as she glides her fingertips over a dresser.
During our upbringing, we were never close. In fact, we were diametrically opposed and shared almost no commonalities; still, she remained my sister, and I would never betray her in such a manner. How could she possibly inflict this onto me?
“However, I merely wished to express some thoughts before your departure,” she remarks, showing a slight improvement in her demeanour.
I remain silent, redirecting my attention to my luggage and placing my passport, licence and birth certificate into it.
“I adore Aldo,” she persists, disregarding my silence. “I have always felt this way… and you usurped him the day I introduced you both,” she states, her words tinged with resentment. “He was meant to be with me, and you simply intruded and claimed him!” she retorts. “Therefore, I express no remorse,” she asserts, shaking her head. “It is high time you understood that he and I are in love.”
I am compelled to giggle at her recent comment. To what extent was she delusional?
“We are to be wed in one week, and for clarity, you are not invited,” she states nonchalantly. “It is my time to receive affection. You have perpetually been the focal point, the pride of our family, the one whom everyone desired to love, while I have always been relegated to second place!” Tears well in her eyes as she smiles mockingly at me. “Not any longer! I triumph! I shall have the prince, and you shall have nothing!”
I gaze at her, completely astonished by her revelation, as it is the antithesis of reality. Nina epitomised vivacity, being the more attractive sibling, the object of everyone’s admiration. She was, after all, the Prom Queen! In contrast, I was the studious introvert, overlooked by peers while she basked in adulation. How could she ever conceive that I might eclipse her brilliance?
