Aiden's Pov
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I was lying on my bed when I heard a knock on the front door. My heart skipped as I wondered who it was. I knew it couldn't be my friends since they had just left after spending some time consoling me.
They had heard about Jared's action just like everyone else since the news about Jared attacking me had spread like wildfire in the pack and was now on everyone's lips.
My heart began to pound in my chest as the thought of Jared returning to probably finish what he started filled my head. I was yet to recover from the beating that had been meted out on me: I could barely walk without limping and my face was still bruised.
My mother had told me I had been out for a full day and had only gained consciousness this morning. She had also told me how my friends had rushed down here some minutes after Jared left but I was unconscious and couldn't talk to them so they had to leave. It was that bad!But I was not angry, especially when I had received all this for Adelia. I would receive more if it was for Adelia to remain by my side. That was how much I loved her.
The knock came again and I jumped up from the bed, ignoring the pain that shot through my body. I walked out of the room and slowly to the door, placing my ear to it. Could it be mom?
She had gone out with some of the omegas and had said she would be returning soon since she didn't want me to stay all by myself. But it had been two hours since she left? Could she be the one at the door?
My heart was now pounding in my chest as I opened my mouth to ask who it was.
"Open up, Aiden. It's me."I heard a voice say and I sagged in relief, a heavy sigh leaving my lips as I unlocked the door. I immediately pushed the door open so Adelia could walk in and when she was in, I glanced sideways to ensure no one had seen her before locking it up.
Adelia stood at the centre of the room, her arms folded under her breast as she pursed her lips. This I found strange because she always rushed into my room when she was here but now, she stood in the centre of the living room, her eyes fixated on the wall.
"I didn't know you were coming. Besides, you know you can't be here, especially at this time. The news could get out and we could both be in trouble."
"No one knows I'm here." She replied without looking at me and I frowned.
"You can't be so sure. This does little to cover you up." I pointed to the black cloak she had worn.
She finally turned to look at me and her eyes softened when she saw the state I was in. I looked away in embarrassment, scratching my head as I sought what to say. I didn't want her to feel any form of pity for what her brother had done to me. It was in the past and I could handle it.
"What do you want? There's still some strawberry juice left. I could get that for you." I didn't wait for her to respond. I began to walk away but she held me back, holding me by the wrist and turning me around to look at her.
"I'm sorry about this. I didn't know Jared will go that far."
"It's fine. I'm okay." I told her but she didn't look like she believed me. Her eyes were clouded with sadness and I wondered if she was this sad because of what Jared had done to me.
"I'm sorry, Aiden." Her voice broke as she cupped my face, caressing my cheek a bit.
"For what?" I was confused. Her hazel eyes were holding some kind of emotion but I couldn't place what it was. This wasn't about Jared anymore. I could tell she was bothered about something else.
"For what I'm gonna say to you now." She stated, pulling her hand away from my face and turning to face the wall. It made me more confused.
"What do you mean?" I asked but she remained quiet, just staring at the wall. Then I heard a sniff, followed by another.
I whirled her around so she could look at me and I gasped when I saw tears streaming down her face.
"What's wrong, Addy?" I held her face in my palms so she could look directly at me but she shut her eyes tightly like she didn't want to look at me. It made me all the more confused.
"Aiden." She began, taking a step back so my palms on her cheeks dropped. "I, Adelia Walter, the future Luna of Blood Moon pack, reject you, Aiden Starr, as my - "
"What the fuck, Adelia!" I growled, unable to stop myself. I couldn't believe my ears. "What the fuck do you think you're saying? What Blood Moon pack?"
"I'm rejecting you, Aiden." She wiped at her tears furiously. "I'm rejecting you." She said much clearer. "We can't be together. I don't need a mate like you. What good will you be to me?"
A pang settled in my chest and my heart constricted in pain at her harsh words. I took a step back, ignoring the pain that shot through my leg as I walked. My entire body was in pain and I was finding it difficult to stand on my feet but none of this pain could be compared to the pain Adelia's words were causing me.
"I know you are not serious, Addy. This has to be a joke." I tried to laugh but she shook her head vehemently at me and my laughter died in my throat.
"You're serious?" I could hardly speak.
"Yes, I am. I've never been more serious. I don't want you as my mate, Aiden. You are a disgrace to this pack and I feel cursed to be around you. I'll rather be with Rio. He's my second chance mate and he's a better choice than you. So don't interrupt me and just accept my rejection just as my brother asked you to."
Aiden's Pov My eyes narrowed in pain at her words and I could feel my heart breaking into a thousand pieces. I don't think I had ever felt this much pain before. Even when I had been unable to shift into my wolf during the shapeshifting ceremony, I didn't feel this much pain. "So what Jared said is true. You're gonna reject me like everyone else?" My voice was low and croaky. I could not even recognise my own voice. It sounded strange to my ears. Adelia shut her eyes again, a tear slithering down her cheek. It made me wonder why she was doing this when it was clear she did not want it herself. "Why are you saying these things to hurt me when you don't even want this? Why are you bringing rejection up? Who is Rio and why are you calling him your mate?" "I want this, Aiden." Adelia wiped her eyes. "I want this. I wanna reject you because it is the right thing to do." "How? How is it the right thing to do? This won't do any of us any good! Why are we even having this conversation?"
Adelia's Pov That day was the worst day of my life. I had never felt this shattered before. It was so bad that I felt like dying. The pain still felt new, despite it being an hour since I returned from Aiden's house. It was obvious I was yet to recover from this heartbreaking experience. As I lay on my bed, staring at the white ceiling of my room, a tear rolled out of my eyes and down the side of my face. I chuckled, surprised that I still had tears in my eyes. I had done nothing but cry my eyes out since I returned yet I didn't feel any better. My silky blouse was drenched with my tears and my eyes were swollen red. Just who would have imagined that rejecting one's mate would be this painful? Jared had said it would not hurt that bad and my father had nodded in agreement, but here I was, feeling pain so great, it felt like I was dying. To be honest, I wanted to die. That was all I could think of. I wanted to get this heart-wrenching pain to leave for it was too much for me to be
Aiden's Pov I was blank, just like a stone. No matter what my friends or mother did, they couldn't get a reaction from me. It was like I had wandered away from the real world that I found it difficult to interact with it anymore. To be honest, nothing made sense to me anymore. I had always known I was useless but it hadn't really dawned on me, nor had it sank into my subconscious. But Adelia's rejection had sent that reality down to me. Being rejected was the worst feeling ever and I felt completely useless. There was suddenly no will to live anymore. Adelia had been my source of strength and she had given me hope, a hope for a better life but now that she was gone, I felt broken. It had been a week since the rejection yet I hadn't recovered, I couldn't recover. I could not even mind link her anymore since the connection had been broken. It was so disheartening. Within the week, I had tried to see her again. I had made my visitation to the packhouse more frequent, hoping that I
Adelia's Pov It was a beautiful morning and the sun was out, casting its rays on everything, creating a colourful iridescence. It was so beautiful and it made me chuckle softly as I thought about how nature held a perfect irony to the way I was feeling. My entire world was dark and gloomy, unlike this beautiful morning. I chuckled harder at this perfect contrast. "Are you okay?" Leah asked me, the morning breeze blowing some strands of her wild brown hair to her face. It was still a surprise how she was here with me even after our argument that particular night. She had not shown up at my house for days and I had already concluded that our friendship was finally over but surprisingly, she was here to bid me farewell, just as most of the pack members did. I was finally leaving my pack, my homeland, and I was going with Rio to his own pack. It was funny. It was funny because I and Aiden used to tease each other in the past, saying 'the last will be a slave to the blood moon pack'.
Adelia's Pov I didn't want him holding me but I was too weak to push him away. I was exhausted, tired of all that was happening in my life. "I'll miss you." He smiled into my face, reaching out to wipe my tears but I turned my face to the side. "Are you still angry at me?" "I hope you will let Aiden be, now that I've done all that you guys asked me to," I said and he frowned, his eyes twitching a bit. "Fine. But stop thinking of that dumbass. He isn't worth it. You have someone better now. Think about him." My brother pointed to Rio who was smiling brightly with his beta and some other gammas from his pack. They had come to take me away to their pack like the prisoner I was. "You won't tell me what to do," I spoke calmly but strongly. Jared groaned at that but he said nothing. "I've kept my own side of the promise. You guys should make sure to keep yours. I'm going with Rio now. It is your duty, Jared, to ensure that Aiden is safe." "Aw, come on, Addy. Of course, we will ke
Jared's Pov I was beyond excited. To be honest, I was thrilled and that was because everything was going just the way I wanted it to. I wanted that freak out of our lives for good and Adelia's rejection of him was not enough. I wanted him dead. So when my father asked me to go get him, I was beyond thrilled. Even when I had wanted to execute that order instantly, I had to wait for Adelia to leave, for I knew how much of trouble she could be especially when it involved that freak. I couldn't even bring myself to say his name. That was how much I hated him. One would ask why I hated him this much when we had been close friends growing up. Well, the truth was I had never really liked Aiden. I was always threatened by him. With Aiden, I was like a shadow, unseen. He was always in the limelight, always the best in everything and this made the pack members compare him to me. I was the Alpha's son, the one who would rule the pack after my father so I was supposed to be the best. I wa
"I'm sorry." He said finally but he still did not look sorry at all. Instead, he looked angry and his apology felt like an insult instead. My anger was beginning to get the better of me but I had to refrain from doing anything. Aiden was acting differently which was strange so it was only wise I didn't push things further. I would show him who the boss was when we got to the packhouse. "Follow me!" I turned around to leave. I could not wait to melt out some punishment on this prick but that would be after my father had handed him over to me. I could not wait to teach him a lesson. I was going to make him suffer, I was going to make him beg and plead, I was going to make him crawl and wish for death. But no, I would not give it to him yet, I would make sure he dies a slow and painful death. I would make sure to knock that silly smile off his face. But to my surprise, Aiden didn't follow me as I ordered, instead, he asked me a stupid question. "Where to?" "You don't get to ask m
We were in the large throne room, waiting for my father to show up. The news of our arrival had been passed across to him so we were waiting for him to arrive so we could carry on to the next step. As I sat on my chair, a smaller chair beside my father's big one, I found my mind drifting back to all that had happened at the omega's territory. I had been unable to get the day's event out of my head and it was all I had thought about all through our journey back to the packhouse. Aiden had a wolf! Aiden was not wolfless as we all thought! This realization has done nothing but bothered me all through the way back and as I stared at Aiden, I realized I hated him more. My head kept replaying the event and no matter how hard I tried to push those thoughts away, I could not. It was all I could think about and it felt like I was beginning to go crazy. How could this be? If he had his wolf all this time then why had he not shifted at the shape-shifting ceremony? It was seven years now so