Chapter 4

It confused me when he didn’t breathe a sigh of relief as I had thought he would when he heard of our broken bond.

Instead, he looked panicked, disbelief filling in his eyes as muttered; "No… That’s impossible… I never meant to really severe the bond with you…"

Hearing Luke's words and seeing his reaction, Doris realized I had really broke my bond with Luke. Glee filled her eyes but she still put on a calm front, her voice laced with mockery.

"Well, at least you have some self-awareness. Splitting up is the best thing for both of you," she said.

Luke on the other hand, did not seem relieved. He looked panicked.

"But since Luke didn’t look at the papers too closely, who knows if you tried to sneak something shady inside to betray the pack?" Doris asked.

And suddenly, it all made sense. Luke was not panicking because I was no more his mate, he was afraid I had used this opportunity to betray the pack and have him sign something shady.

To him, I was such a mate without integrity,, who could betray them at anytime.

Realizing that, I lost the will to argue. I turned to pack my things and leave.

But Doris stepped forward and blocked my path.

"What? Feeling guilty and trying to run? Don't even think of just leaving. Before you walk out of here, you must sign that any document Luke signed apart from the bond breaking document was done under your trick or don’t blame me if things get ugly," Doris declared.

My inner wolf growled with rage. A need to explode filled me, but I held it in and glanced at Luke, who had been silent this whole time. To my surprise, there was something complicated in his gaze.

I could not understand the look in his eyes. Was it reluctance? Or disappointment?

Maybe he really thought I’d be the kind of she wolf who schemed against him and his pack.

I could not believe that he who had betrayed our love had the audacity to play victim as though I could not be trusted.

He could not be trusted, but I stayed for seven years.

His parents had also caught on. They grabbed the fate string and flung it at me.

"Doris’s right! Either you sign as she said, or we’ll take this matter up with the elders and temple."

"Enough! All of you shut up!" Luke exploded the next moment.

His sudden outburst stunned all three of them. His voice echoed through their inner wolf and made them trembled. The arrogance on their faces vanished, and they began mumbling awkwardly:

"Luke, we’re just thinking of you… What if she tricked you…"

"Alice isn’t that kind of mate!" he declared to my utter shock. Then he turned to me with a sorrowful expression.

"Alice… I don’t care about any of that. I just want to know… why did you have to go this far?" he asked softly.

His words gave me a headache. Was he still acting innocent? Did he not know what he did wrong and how much he hurt me?

"So what if I took Doris back to the mountains and didn’t go with you to visit your parents? Was it really worth breaking our bond over that?" he asked. He still did not think he was wrong.

"I won’t blame you for signing the papers without telling me. We can go to the temple right now and cancel the broken bond. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you." Without another word, he grabbed my hand and dragged me out..