Echoes of Deception

Trista’s POV

“I want a divorce and to end our mate bond.” 

I didn't expect this to be the first thing my alpha husband said to me on the night of our 3rd wedding anniversary…

 -Few hours ago-

“Please, Moon Goddess, open the mindlink!” I prayed, but it didn’t work. Liam had closed it.

I prepared a fancier-than-usual dinner for this special day, but my husband turned off the mindlink to me.

It's already 9:40pm, so I scraped his plate of steak and mashed potatoes, (now cold), into a container. My maid could take it home for her children. I worked hard on that dinner. I wanted someone to enjoy it.

I squinted as I tried to snap the lid shut. I reached for my glasses. My eyesight isn’t so great, so I have to wear these thick-rimmed glasses. 

That’s more than I can say for my poor wolf, though. My wolf was born blind. There’s no glasses to help with that.

I sighed deeply and sat at the kitchen table. I’d been Luna of Blue Moon Crescent Pack for three years, but I didn’t feel like a Luna at all. Well, not a wife anyway. I felt more like a housekeeper. 

Sure, I’d heard the rumors. ‘Trista isn’t Liam’s real mate. Her wolf is blind, and she's barely blind herself, so he doesn’t love her. That’s why he treats her more like a housekeeper than a wife’.

But that’s not true! I am his real mate. I’m just not his FIRST one. I’m his second chance mate.  

I married Liam the month after my father died. My father was the Gamma to the old Alpha. Liam was about to become the new Alpha and his father sanctioned our marriage.

“Luna Trista?” My maid interrupted my thoughts. “Is there anything else you need tonight?” I flashed her a sympathetic smile. It was late and I had kept her too long.

“Of course not,” I said. “Go home and take care of those cute little puppies of yours.” She nodded her head. “Oh, and here. Take this.” I handed her the container of cold food. She graciously accepted it and scurried out the door.

I decided to change our bedding. That way, Liam would have a nice clean bed to crawl into when he came home. The sheets had spent the afternoon drying outside in the sun, so they smelled wonderful. He deserved to have a nice bed to come home to; he works so hard.

I heard the door open downstairs. Liam! Finally, he’s home! I nearly tripped on the stairs, I was so excited to see him! I could smell his scent before I saw his face, and inhaled deeply.

“Liam!” I declared, opening my arms to hug him. 

He held up his hand though to stop me. There was something about the look on his face, something that made my stomach drop.

“What is it?” I asked him. I squinted to see his face. It was expressionless.  

“I want a divorce and to end our mate bond,” he said flatly. “If you don’t agree, I’ll petition the elders on Monday.”

What? A divorce? The words hit me like a punch to the stomach. But…but why?

I stumbled backwards, reaching for the counter to steady myself. As his second chance mate, I knew that the bond between us would be a little shaky. Maybe even a little weak sometimes. But I was a good Luna to him, a wonderful wife. I doted on him and gave him everything he needed! How could he want a divorce?

“But…but I love you,” I stammered, fixing my glasses. “I’ve never done anything wrong. I know our bond isn’t the strongest, not yet. But it was blessed by the Moon Goddess.”

“I don’t care about that.” He refused to look me in the eye.

“Our bond will get stronger. I’ll…I’ll try harder. Anything you want. Please. Think about the pack, Liam.” My voice was weak and tears threatened my eyes. “You know a stable relationship between the Alpha and Luna is good for the continued development of our pack and…”

His sharp words cut me off. “Development? Good for our pack? You’re a blind wolf Luna. What good is that?”  

His words cut deep. I’ve always been sensitive about my disabled wolf. And now he was using that against me. Sure, maybe having a blind wolf Luna wasn’t optimal, but I made up for it in other ways.

“I…my family is the oldest branch of ancient wolves. My…my father was the strongest Gamma,” I stuttered. “Our children, your heirs, they’ll inherit my family’s strong blood. I know they will.”

Again, he cut me off. But this time, he looked me dead in the eyes. “What heirs?”

I blushed. True, I hadn’t bore him any children yet. But that wasn’t entirely my fault. He always came home so late. He was always ‘so busy’. Did he expect me to conceive children on my own? Maybe I could have tried harder though. Maybe if we had children…

“I will sleep in the spare room tonight.”

“Liam, no,” I begged.

“So I’m assuming you don’t agree to the divorce?”

“No, of course not. I want to be married. To you.” My voice was small and weak.

“Fine. Then Monday morning it is. We will take the Rejection in the presence of the Elders. I don’t want to see you before then.”

I was speechless. My heart was breaking. I could feel it inside me, cracking down the centre. “Liam, please. Reconsider.”

“And don’t mindlink me anymore. If you change your mind, you can go straight to Beta Jack. Otherwise, I’ll meet you at the Elders on Monday morning. I just…” he held up his hand. “I really don’t want to hear your voice anymore.”

He walked right past me, knocking me on the shoulder as he went by.

I stood in the kitchen, my hands shaking.

What just happened?

A rejection?

I couldn’t even say the word out loud.