Chapter 3

Mandy

I had no interest in playing one of her silly games, so I attempted to walk away. But before I could, Claire grabbed my arm and pressed it against her chest. It took me a moment to figure out what she was thinking until I heard her scream.

"Please, Mandy. Don’t—Ahhhh!!!"

Claire stepped backward and forcefully fell onto the nearby glass table. The impact was so strong that the table shattered. The sound of a loud bang echoed throughout the mansion. Shards of glass were scattered across the floor. Claire coughed up blood from the force of the fall.

I was about to help her when suddenly, I heard someone’s raging voice from behind.

"Mandy!!! How dare you lay your hands on Claire?!!"

As if Claire knew Matthew was coming, I saw my mate standing in the right place and watching the scene unfold. He ran toward Claire, who was now crying as Matthew helped her remove the tiny shards of glass that pierced her skin.

"You..." Matthew looked at me with such anger that I’d never seen before. He turned to Claire and asked her what had happened. At this moment, her friends and a couple of maids had already gathered around us to check what had happened.

"She... she pushed me because she didn’t like the decoration I did. She called it cheap."

Claire buried her face in my mate’s chest. I exhaled in exasperation and tried to explain my side.

"I didn’t push her! She did it to herself!" I reasoned. Matthew carefully placed Claire on the floor and then faced me.

"Claire abandoned much more important work just to help you with your party tonight, and this is how you repay her? You could have told her nicely that you didn’t like the decoration instead of hurting her. You are way out of line this time!"

I clenched my fist and shared with him a piece of my mind, “No, Matthew, it was you who’s out of line because you’re always believing that bitch’s words over your mate—”

Pak!

Before I knew it, a sharp smack landed on the side of my face. The pain was so strong that I felt my cheek stiff.

But more than the physical pain, it was the reality that my mate laid his hands on me to protect his ex-girlfriend, who was killing me inside.

And at this point, I realized that it was time to reject our bond.

“I, Mandy Willem, reject Matthew Lewitt as my mate.”

The sound of shock echoed around. It came from the nearby Omegas who had been silently observing the scene. Maybe they were surprised that I, the Luna who had done everything for their Alpha, dared to turn my back on the love that had defined me for the last few years. Honestly, it surprised me too. But when the jar of patience was filled to the brim, nothing could stop it from spilling.

“Mandy, that’s enough            !” Matthew exclaimed. He combed his hair in frustration and lashed at me. “Is this how you respond after everything you did?”

I did? So, he was pinning all the blame on me now?

Oh, well. That was not even surprising.

My truth was always too quiet next to her lies. Because when it came to choosing who to trust, Matthew would always side with her.

Always.

Every. Single. Time.

So, I continued with the rejection spiel.

“As I severed the bond I had with Matthew Lewitt, whatever existed between us is no longer my concern.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

Matthew turned to me. Eyes wide. Face stricken. He looked like I had just ripped something vital from him. And at one point, I even saw a hint of pain in his eyes.

But I didn’t care about his pain anymore. I was more concerned about how I could move on from all of this, considering that Ihad  already decided to have nothing to do with him.

And then, he laughed.

He freaking laughed!

He shook his head like my words meant nothing to him. Like I was being dramatic. Like I hadn’t spent months choking on my silence and was forced to fade in the background while he poured every ounce of himself into someone else.

To Claire.

For Claire. 

“Mandy,” he sighed as he rubbed his temples. He looked like he was exhausted with everything. Well, what about me?

Have I not been tired enough to understand him?

“We’ll talk when you’ve cooled down.”

Suddenly, Claire let out a soft little gasp and pressed her hand to her head like she was in pain.

She looked up at Matthew with wide, watery eyes and whispered weakly, “Matthew… my head… It really hurts…Help me, please…”

And just like that, all of Matthew’s attention was back on her again.

“Claire, are you okay?” he asked. His frustrated demeanor was now replaced with worry.

“Matthew…ouch!” Claire exclaimed. At that point, Matthew panicked. He scooped her up into his arms and asked the omegas to prepare the car.

Claire whimpered Matthew’s name, and he was hers all over again.

“I’ll deal with you later,” he said to my face. His voice was tight with anger. Or was it hurt? Or maybe, it was a little bit of both. “Right now, I have to take Claire to the hospital.”

Once again, he chose to be with Claire over me.

And in that moment, something in me snapped.

Now, it was time to go.

I dialed my phone and contacted Abbie, telling her that our plan would happen earlier than expected. Abbie seemed to understand and said she would be on her way to pick me up. While waiting for her,  I climbed upstairs and gathered my things. I made sure to leave every expensive thing I acquired being Luna of this pack. I only brought some essentials. No designer bags, no expensive clothes, just a few cheap things I could use as I leave this place.

I descended the stairs, determined to leave everything behind. The omegas looked worried but none of them dared to stop me. I took a deep breath and faced everyone.

“I’m sorry it had to end this way. But please know that it will always be my honor to serve as this pack’s Luna. Goodbye.”

I heard some mild sobs as I walked out of the house. A few seconds later, Abbie arrived. I wasted no time boarding her car and didn’t even dare to glance at the mansion that had become my home for the last few years.

But after tonight, Arrowville Pack would become nothing but a distant memory I was eager to leave behind.

Including my unappreciated love for Matthew.