Chapter 3
I strode into the living room, but froze instantly.
It was Xandra.
She was weakly leaning against Darren, her face pale, yet a faint, almost imperceptible smirk lingered on her lips.
Darren, on the other hand, was gazing down at her with a tenderness I had never seen before, his fingers gently combing through her disheveled hair.
He looked up and saw me, his gaze instantly turning cold.
“You’re finally back.” His tone was like scolding a subordinate.
“Because you drove Xandra out of the pack three years ago, she’s been left with chronic illness. As the future Luna, aren’t supposed to show some basic care?”
you
“Future Luna?” I scoffed, my nails digging deep into my palm. “When you
abandoned me in front of the whole pack to take care of this sickly thing, I thought the title had already been given away.”
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway. Landon, carrying a vial of potion, rushed in and froze when he saw me.
His gaze darted rapidly between me and Xandra, before finally
settling on Darren.
“The potion is ready,” he said, his voice tight. “The doctor said this will help.”
Xandra suddenly broke into a violent cough, her delicate fingers clutching Darren’s shirt. Landon immediately stepped forward, expertly supporting her neck and bringing the vial of potion to her lips.
Their careful movements were as if they were cradling something fragile and priceless.
“Her ‘illness‘ is so well–timed,” I said sarcastically. “Of course, it flares up on the very day of our marking ceremony.”
“Enough!” Darren roared, cutting me off. “A marking ceremony being delayed for a few days is no big deal. Why are you still being so relentless? How could you be so heartless? Don’t you care about Xandra’s condition at all?”
Before I could defend myself, he immediately issued an order, “she needs to rest now. From now on, you’ll sleep in the study.”
“This is our room!” I heard my voice tremble, “You want me to give it up for such a…?”
“Watch your words.” Darren suddenly unleashed his Alpha aura, and the air became thick with pressure. “It’s just a room. If you can’t even manage that…”
He paused, and in that moment, Landon restrained my wrist.
He had always stood by my side, but now looked at me with almost disgust in his eyes, “stop causing a scene, Hannah! Xandra isn’t well.”
3/1
I felt dizzy. Three years ago, they had done the same thing, stepping in front of Xandra just as I was about to tear her throat
out.
“…Then I’ll have to reject you,” Darren finally said.
Reject.
That word felt like a blunt knife stabbing deep into my heart.
Didn’t he know what kind of pain an Alpha’s rejection would cause to his mate?
Of course he knew. He just didn’t care at all.
We hadn’t even completed the marking ceremony yet, and just a threat from Darren had already caused excruciating pain.
My wolf whimpered inside me, unable to understand why our mate would now abandon us.
He seemed to sense it too. He raised his head and looked at me, but his expression remained cold.
“You better not test my limits, Hannah. You’re just an orphan. If it weren’t for that stupid wolf of yours binding me to you, I wouldn’t want you as my mate at all.”
My wolf howled inside me.
How laughable. The two who had sworn to protect me forever- one was now threatening to sever our bond in the cruelest way possible, and the other didn’t even want to look at my eyes.
In the years my biological parents couldn’t find me, I had stayed by Darren’s side.
When I was fourteen, I protected him from other wolves‘ attacks, and he cried, promising never to leave me.
During his first heat at eighteen, he swore he would love only me for the rest of his life.
I had stood by him as he grew from a little wolf into an Alpha, but I never imagined that those sweet words would now be twisted into blades aimed at me.
“Fine.” I suddenly laughed, slowly backing away. “Then I wish your ‘patient‘ a speedy recovery.”
My abrupt change in attitude made Darren’s expression shift. He stood up from Xandra’s side, “I’ll bring you a blanket to the study. If you need anything else, just let me know.”
I let out a cold laugh and silently thought to myself, I don’t need anything from you.
Neither you nor your cheap sympathy.
Without a word, I turned and walked into the study, unwilling to waste any more words with him.
“I’m talking to you.” Darren furrowed his brow and followed me into the room. “Are you still sulking because of Xandra?”
“No,” I quickly answered, not looking at him.
“Can you stop making a scene?” Darren shoved me against the wall, growling, forcing me to look at him.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, Xandra’s gasp echoed from the living room. Darren froze for a moment, then immediately let me go and rushed out like a summoned dog.
I let out a bitter laugh and collapsed onto the cold, hard sofa.
All these years of silent devotion, and yet they meant less than a single whimper from that bitch.
There was no need for me to stay here any longer.
***
Just before dawn, I had already packed up all my belongings.
To call it luggage would be generous–it was merely a few changes of clothes, the moonstone earrings my mother had given me, and the silver moon dress I hadn’t changed out of last night.
I looked at myself in the mirror one last time. My eyes were still swollen, but there were no more tears. I splashed cold water on my face and forced a smile.
As I opened the study door, the entire house was silent.
Darren and Landon were probably still asleep, and Xandra- no doubt comfortably curled up in my bed, under my blanket, dreaming sweet dreams of replacing me.
I moved quietly down the stairs, careful not to wake anyone. Not because I was afraid to face them, but because I refused to waste another drop of emotion on any of the three.
But just as I reached the middle of the staircase, a sickly sweet voice called out behind me, “Leaving so early, Sis Hannah?”
I spun around sharply..
Xandra stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at me. She wore a sheer nightgown, her golden hair loose, her cheeks glowing–there was no trace of last night’s supposed sickness.
“What’s wrong? Not pretending to be sick anymore?” I sneered. “Or does your ‘illness‘ only flare up in front of Darren and Landon?“/
Xandra descended the stairs slowly, the corners of her lips curved into a victorious smile. “I just came to check on the abandoned future Luna.”
She emphasized “future Luna” with a smug glint in her eyes, and it took everything in me to stop my wolf from clawing them out.
I drew a deep breath to suppressed the urge, “that Luna title? I don’t care for it anymore.”
“Really?” She stopped one step above me. “Then why do you reek of jealousy? I could smell it from all the way up there.”
Her fingers lightly touched my wrist, but her grip was vice–like. “Just admit it, Hannah. You’re jealous. Jealous that Darren chose me over you–his childhood sweetheart.”
I yanked my hand free. “Don’t touch me!”
In that instant, a cunning glint flashed in Xandra’s eyes. She suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked me toward the edge of the staircase!
My footing slipped. I lost balance and tumbled down the stairs, taking her with me.
The floor below was cold and unforgiving. A sharp pain shot through my left arm, radiating throughout my body.
Ouch!
A muffled cry escaped my lips as I struggled to sit up. My right arm hung at an odd angle–clearly broken.
Xandra lay not far from me, hair a little tousled, nightgown slightly askew, but her expression was calm, not even breathing
hard.
“What happened?!” Darren’s voice boomed from upstairs, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.
Xandra immediately began moaning in pain, while I bit down hard on my lower lip, refusing to make a sound.
Darren and Landon appeared at the top of the stairs, their expressions changing the moment they saw us.
“Xandra!” Darren rushed down and scooped her into his arms. “Are you alright?”
Xandra nestled weakly against his chest, eyes brimming with tears. “I–I just wanted to make sure if Sis Hannah is okay… I didn’t think she hated me this much…”
“That’s not what happened!” I tried to get up, but the pain in my arm left me helpless. “She fell on her own!”
“Enough!” Darren roared, eyes blazing. “Xandra is still recovering, how dare you push her down the stairs?!”
“I didn’t-”
Smack!
A sharp slap cut off my words. My head snapped to the side, pain blooming across my cheek like fire. The blow was so hard I tasted blood.
I slowly turned back to face him, disbelief in my eyes.
He… slapped me?
For a bitch who was obviously acting, he actually slap me?
Darren looked briefly shocked by his own action. He glanced at his hand, then at my swelling face, his brows furrowing.
“Darren…” Landon spoke up from behind him, face full of conflicting emotions.
“I’m fine…” Xandra coughed delicately, immediately drawing their attention back to her. “Don’t blame Sis Hannah, she must be sad for giving up her room for me yesterday…”
Her timely interruption really did work.
They rushed to comfort her, fussing over her as if she were made of glass.
I sat just a few feet away–my arm broken, my cheek burning- not a single glance spared for me.
It wasn’t until Xandra “weakly” announced she needed to rest that Landon finally noticed my injured arm.
“Her arm…” his voice trembled. “Darren, her arm’s broken.”
Darren’s face shifted. He finally looked down at me seriously, brows drawing tight. “Are you alright?”
What a ridiculous question. My arm was obviously broken–and only now he noticed?
I gritted my teeth and used my left hand to push myself up against the wall. Every movement sent fresh waves of pain through me, but it was nothing compared to what I felt inside.
“Darren,” I stared into his eyes, my voice shaking from both pain and fury, “I reject you as my mate.”
The words struck like thunder. Darren and Landon froze,
and even Xandra, who was halfway pretending to go upstairs, stopped in her tracks.
“What did you say?” Darren’s voice was low and dangerous.
“You heard me,” I said, each word sharp and steady. “I, Hannah Greene, officially reject you, Darren Shaw, as my mate.”
