Chapter three

Bella's POV

Ronan almost fell to the floor as he coughed up blood, his body folding in on itself as if he were weakly—no, even weaker than I was ever supposed to be.

“How dare you, Bella?” He snapped, his voice hoarse yet filled with disbelief. As if the idea of me rejecting him first was something foreign and impossible.

Jennifer Lupin noticed how he was coughing up blood and didn’t seem to like seeing him in pain, so she walked up to me, stepping in like she had the right to stand between us.

“Why are you so adamant?  Ronan has already decided to keep you in the pack as his fated mate. Why are you not satisfied by what he has offered you?” She asked, her tone edged with irritation, as if I were supposed to be answerable to her.

I knew it was all useless and they were trying to get me to stay in the pack because it would benefit them.

I have just rejected him first, which meant that the decree could not be used against him any longer.

“You're just an orphaned omega. Did you think you would be able to survive without me?” Ronan added, straightening slightly despite the blood at the corner of his lips, his pride refusing to let him crumble completely.

“The clothes you're putting on, the shelter and food you eat—everything you have, I have provided. Do you think you would be able to survive outside without my help? That anyone would be willing to accept a weakness like you into their packs?” He continued.

I was at a loss of words to say. The weight of his voice and his certainty, pressed down on me like chains I had willingly worn for years. Had I made the wrong decision in rejecting him? I asked myself. Had I been in such a rush that I forgot to notice that without him, I would be nothing? The thought crept in, threatening to take root before I could stop it.

I couldn’t be like this.

For the past four years, I’ve done everything possible to prevent Ronan from seeing me as unworthy of him. I’ve done everything for him to see me as a woman… as his mate.

I sacrificed my time and my own dreams, trying to build his pack which had been wallowing in debts and disasters, all so he could one day acknowledge me, even if it was just once.

But what did I get? In all those years,  only cold shoulders and his indifference, as if I was nothing more than air he tolerated breathing. He always openly flaunted other women and even hurt me through the mate bond that we shared, even though he refused to mark or claim me. He always humiliated me, again and again, without hesitation.

But I had always been patient, clinging to hope like it was the only thing keeping me alive, believing that I was also at fault for the way he treated me. Believing that if only I were to give him an heir so he could be crowned as the alpha, then maybe he would finally see me.

How wrong I had been. Because the second his ex-lover returned, he didn’t even recall any of my sacrifices. He didn’t hesitate nor look back and was quick to call it quits with me, as if I had never mattered at all.

“Stop throwing a tantrum, Bella. Ronan has his reasons. If you're angry I’m already pregnant for him, then you need to discuss it. It's not his fault that he had the servants feeding you the contraceptives to make you unable to conceive. I mean, you're an omega… what alpha would want their heirs to be borne by one?” Jennifer Lupin added.

Ronan immediately shot her a cold glare, as if she had just revealed a truth he had wanted buried and hidden so deep that even I would never find it.

Time seemed to stop.

I forced a smile across my face as I stared at him, disbelief clinging to my skin like something suffocating, something I couldn’t peel off no matter how hard I tried.

I couldn’t believe it.

And neither did he try to deny what she had just said.

All these years, I had faulted and blamed myself. I had carried the shame of something that was never mine to bear, thinking I was the reason we were childless.

And all this time, my mate—the one I had been suffering for, the one I had given everything to, was the reason for my ruin.

“If you leave the pack, Bella, I will pronounce you a rogue! You'll be hunted like a traitor the remaining days of your miserable life! You'll suffer! You'll—” Ronan went on, his voice cracking with rage and something darker as he saw me walking away from the room, pulling away each layer of jewelry I was wearing—each piece he had claimed was the reason I could wear them at all.

“Bellaaa!!!” He continued to shout as he followed me, his footsteps heavy, desperate, echoing behind me like a past I refused to turn back to.

Jennifer Lupin tried to pull him back, but he shrugged her hand off with force. “Why are you acting this way, Ronan? Haven’t you always wanted to get rid of her? Why are you acting like a wounded lion now that she is about to leave the pack on her own accord? Accept her rejection so that her pain will double! She is only a weakling, I wonder how long it will take until the pain from rejection finally claims her life!”

“Shut up, Jennifer!” Ronan shouted at her, his voice slicing through the air.

“Bella has been the one in charge of the pack all these years. If she leaves, who do you expect to handle the pack then? You? You know nothing other than how to spend money lavishly! You and I are both incompetent when it comes to management!” He added, his frustration spilling out without restraint.

I scoffed as I kept walking away, not stopping or turning back.

All these years and this was the only reason why he didn’t want to let me go. This was the only reason why he didn’t want to reject me or accept my rejection, not because he valued me, but because he valued the work I did for his pack.

How ironic.

The realization left a bitter stench in my throat, something sour and suffocating that refused to go down.

“Under my command as the Alpha-in-waiting of Moonstone Pack, I proclaim Bella Moonhaven a rogue to be hunted by others! She will wander without a pack from now forward for disobeying the Alpha of her pack!” Ronan’s voice blared behind me.

In his mind, he thought that would make me come back. That I would run to his feet, trembling and begging him to take me back into the pack, into his control.

But this pack hadn’t been able to protect my late parents from dying. And for the past four years, there had been nothing I was able to gain from it either.

So what use was it if I continued to stay?

It wasn’t a question I needed anyone to answer because I had gained nothing but disrespect and humiliation from them.

I hadn’t even been recognized as a respected member of the pack because of my status as an omega, and the daughter of omega warriors who had lost their lives while protecting Ronan.

Now that I thought about it, he had always known. He had always known that everyone saw me as someone he should get rid of—someone with no political family that could strengthen alliances, no value beyond labor.

And yet I had believed I could overcome all of that through the mate bond.

How foolish.

“Whoever captures Bella and brings her back to me alive, I will reward them handsomely with houses and gold!” Ronan’s final order rang out, sealing my fate in the ears of everyone who heard it.

This time, I told myself something I had never allowed myself to accept before.

Escaping was no longer an option.

For a wounded, prideful man like Ronan, one who wanted me back only to continue enduring his abuse, running wasn’t just survival anymore.

It was my lifeline.