Chapter 2

Amelia's POV

I stood in front of Johnson's door, but his guards wouldn't let me in.

I couldn't rest throughout the night and even though it was very late, hours after the coronation ceremony, sleep refused to come. My mind replayed everything over and over again.

I needed to know why he had done that, but then there was no one giving me answers.

“The alpha is currently in an important meeting, Lady Amelia,” the guard would say each time I wanted to advance.

And for the past hour, I've been standing here.

Listening to the unmistakable sounds of skin against skin. To muffled moans, to Johnson's familiar grunts.

“Is he still not done with the important meeting?" I turned toward the guard and asked again when the noises seemed to reduce.

Now I could tell why at different intervals before, whenever I came to see Johnson and had been told he was in an important meeting with an important person, this was what it always meant.

The guard was about to say something when I pushed him aside and shoved Johnson's door open.

I stood there for a few seconds before Johnson and the woman even noticed me.

If not for the air that gushed in, and probably his guard who informed him of my presence through the pack's mind link, he wouldn't have known.

"Amelia…." He called casually as he got off the lady he was on top of.

As if nothing was wrong.

It was Jennifer Nelson. His mistress and childhood sweetheart. She had been the reason we had issues with our union before, and he had promised to stop cheating on me with her. He had even sent her out of the pack in my presence.

But today took me by surprise.

Because I didn't know when she returned to the pack, nor how she had rekindled things with Johnson for him to proclaim her as his Luna.

“What brings you here, Amelia?" he added as he sat up, staring at me as he awaited whatever it was I had to say.

His face didn't even show the slightest piece of remorse for his actions.

Jennifer Nelson sat beside him, covering her body with the satin sheets while he did none.

" You betrayed me…” I managed to mutter after a few minutes of silence.

“For how long has this been going on, Johnson?" I added as I raised my head and turned towards the both of them.

" You promised to become a good husband and father to our future pups, you—” I didn't get to finish when Jennifer's laugh cut me off.

"Future pups?” she mocked as she began to run her hand slowly over her belly, her lips curling into a smirk.

“You're an omega, Amelia. A wolfless mutt who strayed into our pack. What made you feel worthy of carrying the future heirs of this pack?" she asked, her voice dripping with contempt.

I turned towards Johnson, waiting for him to say anything to correct her and defend me.

But he didn't.

Afterall, there had never been a time he defended me from his pack.

"Alpha Johnson and I have been best friends since childhood. If you hadn't come from nowhere and stolen him from me, this wouldn't have happened!"

“This wouldn't have happened if you weren't an immoral woman, Jennifer! If you had kept yourself and stopped sleeping around in the pack with different men, perhaps the moon goddess would have made you his fated mate three years ago!" I snapped back, the words escaping before I could stop them.

The sharp sound of skin meeting skin echoed in the room.

It was Johnson's hand across my face.

The impact snapped my head to the side, a ringing filling my ears as the sting spread across my cheek.

“Don't you dare speak to my woman like that, Amelia! She is the Luna and is pregnant with my pups! I'll let you escape punishment this time because of how loyal you've been to the pack these past few years! Next time, I'll have you drafted off to the border so you can die while fighting the rogues!" he threatened.

“Jennifer is pregnant? For how long, for…” I asked, unable to believe what I was hearing, my voice barely above a whisper as it trembled.

“Did you honestly think Alpha Johnson sent me away three years ago when you asked him to?” Jennifer mocked, her lips curling into a cruel smile.

My eyes darted between the both of them, searching for denial.

"Of course not! We kept on dating despite your words because you're nobody to give him orders! I have remained in the pack since then! And when he was about to be crowned alpha, I told him I needed to be pregnant with his pups. Sad the contraceptive herbs made you barren. But did you honestly think he belonged to you once?” she mocked, the glint of victory burning brightly in her eyes.

"Contraceptive herbs?” I asked as I turned to face Johnson.

I had almost forgotten about her confession seconds ago, about how she had remained in this pack despite Johnson promising that he had sent her away.

Thinking back on it, I could recall that there had been many instances when I came to Johnson's room and I was sent out with the excuse that he had an important guest.

I recalled his meals being served to him that I had noticed were enough to feed two people, but he had told me that he developed a huge appetite and always needed to replenish his strength for pack duties.

I walked closer to him as I dragged his arm, wanting him to explain the contraceptive herbs, especially if it was also part of what he had made me take for the past three years with the promise that it would help me get pregnant.

“Oh stop it, Amelia!" he snapped as he yanked my hand off.

"You're just an omega! I've been kind enough to you to still want to keep you by my side since you are my fated mate. I didn't reject you even when I proclaimed Jennifer as my Luna. What else do you want?” he asked casually, as if everything he had done was justified.

I stood motionless as I stared at him.

As memories of all his love professions began to replay in my head. Each of them had been a lie.

Each time he had told me how much he loved me because of my character, it had all been because of what he got from me. Because I raised his dwindling pack and made him respected as a worthy ruler.

"Sure I fed you contraceptives but you should understand. I am an alpha. What alpha would want a lowly wolfless omega to birth his heirs? Do you want them to be weak just as you are? Do you want them to become the laughing stock of others?" he added.

I couldn't believe it.

All these years, I had wanted to conceive, prayed and blamed myself while not knowing he was the one who hindered it.

All my efforts to fulfill the conditions he had given me before I would be marked all down the drain.

And painfully so, he hadn't rejected me because he didn't want his wolf to weaken from the rejection. He had always had a sickly wolf.

As I stared at him, with uncontrollable tears rushing down my eyes at their confessions, something inside me began to crack.

“Why are you still here, Amelia? You should go, I have no time to waste," he added this time, his tone dismissive, as if I were nothing more than an inconvenience.

" I was about to, Alpha Johnson,” I answered as detached as I could, as I began to wipe off the tears from my eyes.

I should have done this long ago when I noticed his red flags.

Whenever he would not defend me before his pack.

Whenever he would take the glory for everything I did for his pack because he didn't want to feel emasculated by the woman he took in.

Whenever he asked me to face the pack's mockery myself even though it was caused by his indirect involvement.

When I had first noticed that no matter how much I sacrificed for him, he would never see me as a woman or accept me and cease being cold and dismissive.

“I, Amelia, reject you, Alpha Johnson White of the Moonstone pack. From this day forward, I break the bond that binds us!”