Two

A sharp stinging ache bloomed on my cheek when his palm connected with my right cheek. My balance wavered but I caught myself before I could fall. I could feel the burning sensation on my cheek, tears brimmed at the corner of my eyes as I looked at Alpha Ares in disbelief. This is the first time he has ever raised his hand on me. My gaze flitted to Myra, shamelessly watching the drama unfold from the bed, smiling. 

“Don’t you fucking dare ask for divorce again,” He warned, his eyes blazing with fury. My heart clenched in pain and my stomach twisted in agony at the sense of our bond weakening. Alpha Ares is cheating on me. He is hitting me. But I am the one bearing physical pain for it along with the emotional pain. Why is the Moon Goddess so cruel? 

“Why not? Because it bruises your ego to know your Luna won’t tolerate your betrayal? Or because you fear losing your punching bag?” I spat back, the anger bubbling beneath the surface, desperate to be released or I would combust with these overflowing emotions. 

His jaw grounded together, eyes blazed with fire when he warned, “Watch your mouth, Ira.”

“Or what? You’ll hit me again? Go on then, Alpha. Prove to yourself how powerful you are by breaking the woman you vowed to protect.” I shot back, barely containing the fury raging within me and the strong urge of my wolf to inflict pain upon Myra. 

A few beats of silence passed between us before Myra stole me of it as well, “Ira, don’t make this worse. Alpha Ares was already so stressed because of you. I was only trying to help him—”

“Help him?” I cut her off, laughing bitterly, “By crawling into his bed? By kissing the man you knew was mine?”

Her eyes glistened with moisture and for a minute, I dared to hope that she regretted her actions that somewhere her conscience woke up but I was proved wrong when she spoke, “You’ve always hated me. You never wanted me around. Maybe this is your way of punishing me.”

“Punishing you?” I stepped past Alpha Ares, looking at the audacity of her to even say so, “I pulled you out of hell, Myra. I gave you a roof, a second chance, a home. And you repaid me with betrayal wrapped in lip gloss and moans.”

“She was there when you weren’t. She understood me. She didn’t question me every damn minute of the day like you did.” Alpha Ares chimed in, his eyes hard and brows pinched together in annoyance. 

His words twisted in my heart like a knife and my eyes, once again, went to my twin sister. A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips but when Ares turned to look at her, she feigned innocence, batting her lashes like she is a freaking saint.

Swallowing the saliva in my throat, I met Alpha Ares’ gaze before saying in a deadly calm voice, “She didn’t question you because she didn’t care. I questioned you because I loved you. I trusted you. But you turned that trust into ashes.” 

“You’re overreacting, Ira. If you’d just be a little more understanding—” Ira started in her honey laced poisonous voice. 

“Understanding?” I scoffed in disbelief at her words. “My sister is lying naked with my husband. I was slapped for demanding basic respect. And, you expect me to stay silent? No. Not anymore.”

“Oh, you think you are so strong now?” Alpha Ares mocked, “You would never survive out there without me.” The arrogance dripped clear in his voice as his lips tugged in a cruel smirk. But if he thinks I am going to stick around despite all the disrespect then he needs to think again. 

Standing tall with my spine straight, I looked at him, “I already survived the worst, Alpha Ares.” I paused, a few beats of silence passed between us as I looked at him, steadily and unblinkingly, “I survived loving you.”

Before either of them could say anything else, I turned around and walked out of the room which was starting to suffocate me. Tears brimmed at the corner of my eyes but I wiped them off with the back of my hand before entering my room and closing the door behind. 

The images of Myra sprawled on the bed like Ares’s next mean flashed in my head and I felt my stomach clench with unbearable pain. When I stormed out of the room, I had half expected Ares to follow me but feeling the pin drop silence, I felt my heart drop further. What had I not done for Alpha Ares? I trusted home with my pack. Worked all day-night like a slave. Increased his business by sixty four percent in the span of the last three years. I didn’t only help him grow financially but emotionally and physically as well by training the members of the pack. For what? To be deceived like this?

Burying my face in my palms, I let my emotions consume me as a few tears slid down my cheeks and before I knew it, I was crying like mourning someone. The mix of physical and emotional pain was too much, making me feel like I was at the brink of death with no saviour. 

Morning rays filtered through the thin curtains, caressing my face, making me stir in my place. Rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand, I opened my eyes and the pain from last night returned as bile rose to my throat. Without wasting any more time, I rushed to the washroom and kneeled near the toilet seat, throwing up until my head felt dizzy and my system felt empty. Holding my head between my palms, I tried to steady myself. 

“What’s wrong with me?” I spoke more to myself, my mouth feeling like sandpaper. 

But my breath hitched in my throat when a sound came from within me. ‘Nothing’ my wolf whispered, ‘You are not alone anymore.’

I frowned, confusion washed over my features as I tried to make sense of wolf Ravah’s words before it finally sank in. My hands trembled at the thought alone, subconsciously, my hand moved to my belly, caressing it softly. 

“It can’t be, right?” I murmured, “I can’t be pregnant. Not now.”