Chapter 2

Lilian’s POV. 

Elm Square. That’s where I was. 

Even without staring up, I could tell. I could tell because I’d walked this path over and over for hours, pacing around this side of the Pack like someone caught in a loop. 

I felt dead inside. Dead, hollow, hurt and angry. 

I looked up to see my suspicions confirmed, towering glass buildings with people shuffling in and out of it even after the sun was already setting. I was in Elm Square. 

Aaron’s office was just down the lane as I sat by one of the benches, hoping he’d come by and take me home or something. But that was unlikely because he’d passed me by earlier without sparing me a glance. 

I could feel my wolf’s anger and hurt radiating off my skin like heat, whimpering in my head. That was enough to shatter me. She was hurt, just like always. 

The truth was, Aaron had always cheated. Somehow, I could always feel it through the mate bond like a dull knife driving through my chest, hurting in a dull way but still hurting regardless. Then he’d apologized after I confronted him until he snapped at me. Making a friend of the betraying sensation, I couldn’t fathom why I was unable to deal with this as one of his escapades. 

Perhaps, because of my baby. Proof of our shared love. My hand casually caressed my belly and I felt a smile tug on my lips—a bitter one. I still never told him about my—our—baby. Maybe he’d change his mind after hearing, retract his words, maybe. 

Hope flickered in my mind like a candlelight and I did my best to hold onto it, seeing the light even in the bleakness of our marriage. A small smile tugged at my lips as I gathered my gown—now soiled with dust—off the bench and walked towards the road. Hailing a cab, I ordered him to drop me off at the pack house. 

Moonstone Haven came into view too soon. I hadn’t gathered my thoughts yet, but I alighted from the cab while the guards stood aside for me. My thoughts rushed through my mind wildly, imagining how it’d all play out. 

Entering the house, I soon found myself in the hallway opposite my room and fumbled with the knob, finally taking a deep breath before entering. 

“For my baby,” I chanted. “For our love.” I repeated like it was a mantra as I entered the room. 

There, Aaron sat calmly by his reading table, eyes scanning me. Even under the dim lights, I could make out the contempt and coldness in his eyes. 

“You’re back. Finally,” he drawled, words holding no emotion as they stabbed my chest. 

I moved closer to him. “Aaron, I–”

“Sign it,” he said coldly. I moved closer to the table as my heart skipped a beat. Divorce papers. 

Tears pooled in my eyes as I went on my knees, beginning to plead. Divorce?! “Aaron, Aaron please. You don’t want to do this.”

“Lillian, let’s not do this. Sign the forsaken papers and leave my fucking house!” He fired as he snatched his thigh away from my my grip. 

“Aaron, if this is about you cheating—what happened in your office, I can overlook it. I can”—my breath hitched in my throat in a miserable attempt to speak while tears poured from my face—“It never happened. I can forget it all happened. But Aaron please, don’t cast me out.” 

Aaron scoffed. “Cheating?” 

He turned to look at me, malicious intent evident in those blue eyes of his as his legs found my stomach, continuously kicking it. I yelped in pain, screamed for help that would never come but my arms guarded my belly. I couldn’t afford to lose my baby. I need to keep my baby safe. 

“That wasn’t cheating, Lillian. I was spending quality time with the woman I love—my mate! Like I said, you’re nothing but a pawn. I needed a mate to claim my inheritance and you, nameless and helpless, came just in time. I only waited so long because I thought you could bear me a heir before I could finally kill you or banish you.” 

Something snapped in me as his words came out, hitting me and cutting deep into my skin, bone and heart. How could he say such venomous words to me? After learning his intention, I decided it was best to keep my pregnancy a secret from him. He’s a monster.

“But it turns out you’re not only an orphan, but also a useless vermin,” Aaron snorted, suddenly cackling. “I want you out of my house before midnight, Lillian. Disobey me and you’ll wish you were dead alongside your useless parents.”

I felt my wolf whimper in pain as Aaron took an elixir that sent pangs of pain into my soul. A shriek escaped my lips. Veilrend Elixir…he severed our sacred bond in the most cruel way ever. 

I felt…empty. But I fought the pain and stood to my feet. How ironic that he’s the one who cheated, and yet I had to suffer for it, beg him not to leave me. But I was done begging! I was done being weak. 

“I, Lillian Darkfire reject you, Alpha Aaron Moonstone!” I spat with every single strength I could muster, before signing the divorce papers. 

I found myself being thrown out of Moonstone Haven, near the border by guards on Aaron’s command while maids shot me pitiful glances and sneers on my way out.

Despite Arya, my wolf’s pain of losing her mate, I convinced myself that it was for the best. Rejecting him, signing the divorce papers, everything. I needed to get away from him. I’d never beg a man to treat me right, my self-respect couldn’t take that. 

My legs felt like lead as I wondered where I’d go next, standing alone in the desolate woods. I kept walking through the night. 

The sound of leaves being crunched suddenly filled the woods, as if someone was walking behind me. Then… a snarl. I glanced back to see three wolves appearing, their chin dripping with blood. Rogues!

Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I began to run through the woods, their snarls sounding closer. I couldn’t shift, Arya was too weak. I ran for my life as the snarls came closer to me. I hopped into the road hoping anyone would see me for help but a wolf came out of nowhere, tackling me to the ground. 

A groan escaped my lips as my vision turned hazy, trees blurring into a haze. I panted heavily as I laid helplessly under the weight of the wolf sniffing me with hunger in its eyes. 

Did Aaron send them to kill me?! They must be bandits, abducting elites to torture them and extort them. Am I going to die? Is this the end? 

A white wolf hopped out of nowhere, running the one on me into something that sounded like a tree while my eyelids shuttered, surrendering to the darkness that claimed me.