002

Laura….

It was finally dawn, and I could hear Dante's voice from the other room; he was back to the pack house, and without hesitating, I rose to my feet. But I was in a deep mess and knew that I had to wash up.

Once I was done and strode through the stairs, Dante was sitting at the dining table; across from him was the girl from last night occupying the chair meant solely for the Luna.

She stared briefly at me as I stood before them, her eyes filled with resentment that she could not help but roll her eyes at me before drifting her gaze elsewhere.

My fingers trembled as I clenched my fist, the pain from the mark throbbing in sync with my racing heart; I stood before Dante, who hadn't even taken a glance at me, staring at them like a stranger.

“Laura, you are back, I inquired about you and heard you had a minor fever last night”

He spoke nonchalantly with his gaze fixed on his meal like he had no idea what had caused the fever.

“Dante, can I have a word with you?” I was trying to keep my voice steady, masking the pain with a pale smile.

“Come on Laura, can't you see that I am in the middle of breakfast, whatever this is about, we can discuss it later, for now, you should join us”

“She is on my seat”

“And there are several other places you can sit, so go ahead and find somewhere else to stash yourself!”

His expression didn't change but it took a slightly sharper tone.

Over the three years that I had married him, Dante had only spoken to me with respect and regard.

When I met him, his pack was nothing, barely depending on other packs for survival, but I was able to use my father's connection to grow his pack, and today, Night Shadow stands as one of the strongest packs in the north border.

But all it's needed for Dante to forget all about that was a mate coming into his life.

“Dante! You know fully well that traditions are guiding a pack, A Luna doesn't share her sit with anyone”

“And I am telling you that this is my mate, you just have to!” He stressed out the word ‘mate’ like he was trying to make me understand what it means.

Knowing this was not a fight that I could win easily, I sat down at the end of the dining room and watched them chat as they ate. Their eyes were beaming with smiles. One would think that they had known each other since the beginning of their lives.

I was patient enough to watch them until they were done eating and once they were through, I followed him to his office.

“What is happening, I thought you promised me that you were going to reject her?”

My hands placed on my waist as I spoke to him.

“Yes, I was going to. But Laura, it's my mate we are speaking about here. The mate bond was so strong, I couldn't bring myself to reject her”

“So what is it going to be?” He let out an exasperated sigh, rose to his feet, and strode towards me. Dante grabbed me by the shoulder his eyes piercing into mine.

“This pack is big, big enough for the three of us, so I don't see why you should be worried about her, besides you are the Luna and she is just a girl, so don't do that”

I opened my mouth to speak, but they trembled, unable to form a word. My legs seemed to have bailed on me as I froze right there and watched him walk out on me.

The next few months, my life slowly became hell; Dante and his mate had sex every night; it was not just about the sex, but the fact that they made sure that it was next to my room.

I struggled with not just the burned mark at the back of my neck, but also the sound of their moaning that filled the air every night, making it impossible for me to close my eyes.

The doctors and the nurses were always with me every night, I was slowly fading away as a result of the pain.

At first, they gave me some painkillers, and it was able to relieve the pain even for a short period of time, but then it got worse, too intense, sinking directly into my soul. The mark was spreading, burning through my skin, and I could see my life slowly flashing before me.

“What are we going to do? I can't continue watching Luna in such pain,” Sherry, who was next to me, cried out to the doctor.

“Please you need to speak to the Alpha about the implications of what is happening to her, at this point, she might lose her life”

“And you think that I haven't done that, we have tried every possible way to get him to come to visit him, but it doesn't seem like he cares about what happens to the Luna now”

“I hear that his Mate, Lady Violetta, is pregnant!” One of the nurses chipped in, and they all motioned her to be quiet, knowing that I might be listening. 

But I shut my eyes, I no longer have any will to live. My father had disowned me because he didn't agree with the marriage; he was a traditional man who believed so much in the mate bond.

And now, I was starting to think that he was right. I begged Dante to reject me; that way, the pain could ease up, but no matter what I said, he wasn't ready for that; he only looked at me with fake sincerity and spoke.

“I need you, Laura, I need you by my side” There was a time when those words meant so much to me, but now, they crushed me into nothing 

And not to mention that the news of Violetta's pregnancy made it worse; rumors began to go around as they regarded me as barren, claiming that it was the reason I couldn't give Alpha Dante a child for three years.

The pain continued, his mark burning deeper into me, and at this point, I knew that it was going to be difficult to get rid of the mark, but I had to make a decision, and I didn't care about what the consequences were going to be.

The next morning, even with the pain and how pale I had become, I rose to my feet, got ready, and trudged towards the kitchen.