Chapter 5

Layla’s POV

Daniel was dead. That was what my mother had chalked up my sudden outburst of pain that I had felt too. She had explained that losing a mate was the hardest thing that a she wolf would endure and that was the pain that I was feeling from the depths of my soul. But in all honesty, when I thought of Daniel I didn’t feel the pain of losing someone close to me. If Daniel was my true mate then I really would be better off without him in my life.

The only thought of loss I had at that moment was that I would never have a connection of a mate bond with someone and that saddened me to know that I will never feel unconditional love from someone like I was meant to. Unfortunately, I will be forced to take a mate now from my brother since we know that my true mate is gone.

Depression set in that night after everyone had left my room to leave me to rest. I found myself not wanting to get out of bed the whole next day as I mourned the loss of not ever having a true mate. Mother stopped in a few times during the day to check on me and I assured her that I was okay. That the pain had not returned and that I just needed some time to process everything.

But when night came, the pain returned with a vengeance and I knew something was definitely wrong with me. That this wasn’t because of Daniel. This time instead of screaming out, I muffled my cries and held in the screams as I took the pain on, not wanting anyone to know that the pain returned. Thankfully, the pain only lasted for an hour and I found myself exhausted from the sudden outburst of it.

The next morning mother came once again to check on me. I knew she would be concerned if I hadn’t gotten out of bed. So, this morning I woke up and showered before she came so that she would think that all was well.

“I have news for you. Your brother announced last night at dinner that he will be taking Brittany as his Luna tomorrow at the ceremony in front of the whole pack and those visiting.” Mother tells me and at that moment my heart sinks and I feel a pain washing through me. Maybe it’s because I will be forced to do the same thing tomorrow as he is doing.

“And what of me? Will I have to take a mate tomorrow too?” I asked my mother, hoping that I wouldn’t be forced to.

Mother began to pace the room before she said, “I’ve spoken to your brother about this and he thinks it is best that you skip the ceremony all together tomorrow."

“Wait, why?” I asked her confused by my brother’s choice. I was so looking forward to the ceremony tomorrow. It was the first time that I got to dress up and attend an adult event.

“I don’t know exactly why he just said that he doesn’t want you to get hurt.” My mother tells me and that sounds about right what Lucas would say, but it isn’t going to stop me from going.

Not wanting to put my mother in the middle of all of this, I decided to let it go and not tell her that I plan on not listening to his demands. To just show up to the ceremony. There wasn’t a dang thing he could do about it. Plus, there was the fact that it was my birthday and I’ll be damned if I was spending it alone in my bedroom while everyone else enjoys the party without me.

Deciding to stay in my room once again, not wanting to run into my brother and get into it with him before the ceremony. I began to prep myself for tomorrow, by doing my fingernails and toenails. The thought now of being forced to take a mate was sounding more inviting with my brother’s idea of me not attending the ceremony. If I was forced to wait another year to find a mate I would be under his roof and have to take orders from him and that was not happening.

There was always the chance that I could find someone at the ceremony that I truly could connect with. If there was a possibility of that, I was taking my chances of disobeying his orders not to attend with the hope of freeing myself from him. There was no way that I could take another year of being treated like a pup and that was exactly what he would do along with the thing he had chosen to be his Luna.

For some reason, when I think about Brittany and him together, I want to throw up as my stomach begins to turn into knots. My wolf that had shown herself slightly to me has remained quiet the last two days and I wonder if she is feeling the pain worse than me with the loss of our mate. I just hope tomorrow that she decides to show her full self to me before the ceremony and that the two of us together can find a mate that we both can agree upon.

Once again that night the pain came back like clockwork and I knew whatever it was definitely had nothing to do with Daniel. I was beginning to wonder if Daniel was even my mate. I know that my mother felt certain of this, but I was starting to believe differently. I began to look back at the night of the party to try and remember if there were any other male wolves that I had spoken to or made eye contact with. But there was only one other male and that was Lucas and there was no way possible the two of us could be mates since he was my brother. Leaving me with no idea what could be causing this continuous pain within me.

One thing I was sure of was that I wasn’t going to listen to Lucas and stay in my room for the ceremony. I had plans on making a great entrance and that was exactly what I was going to do.