3| Don’t Leave Me!

RHONDA

I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing.

The same pup I had almost lost my life bringing into this world. The same child whose birth had cost me my wolf. The same son I had sacrificed everything for stood there, smiling brightly, calling another woman his real mother.

The pain was indescribable.

My chest burned, my heart clenched painfully, but the resentment filling me wasn’t directed at him. It never could be. He was innocent.

All my hatred was towards my so-called mate and his mistress. They had poisoned my little boy’s mind. Now I had to try with everything in me to get him back.

Unable to contain my rage any longer, I marched toward them and roughly yanked Layla’s hand away from my son.

“Hello, sweetheart,” I said, forcing sweetness into my voice as I looked down at him. “Mommy is here to pick you up.”

He looked at me with an expression I could only read as contempt. It took him a second before he finally spoke.

“Aunt Layla is already here to pick me up,” he said flatly. “I’ll go with her.”

“No!” I unintentionally yelled.

Fuck. I was trying to win him back, not scare him away.

I drew in a shaky breath, forcing myself to calm down before speaking again. “No, darling,” I said gently. “You’re coming with me. We can get ice cream on the way home.”

“No!” he insisted, his voice rising as he clung tightly to Layla. “I want to go with her!”

I tried to snatch him from her, but he started wailing so loudly that everyone’s attention turned toward us.

“Fuck it!” I cursed under my breath in frustration.

“Luna, he wants to go with me. Please allow it. After all, we are all going to the same place,” Layla muttered in a fake, saccharine voice.

“Stop it!” I snapped, glaring at her, unable to hold my rage any longer.

“Luna, what did I do?” She fluttered her lashes with fake innocence. “If you don’t want me to take him home, I could just—”

She tried to release her hand from his small grip, but he only held on tighter. The mockery in Layla’s eyes infuriated me to the bone.

“No, don’t leave me!” he shouted. A frown masked his small face as he turned to me. “I want to go with her.”

My eyes darted between the both of them, trying to think of what to do next. I could grab him and drag him to the car, but forcing him now would only make things worse.

“Fine!” I groaned.

And without another word, I quietly turned around and left the school.

Back at the Pack’s estate, I anxiously waited for Leo to return so I could try to talk to him again.

I couldn’t lose my child to those damn losers. Once the divorce was finalized, I would fight for his custody. I couldn’t do that if he felt this way about me.

Hours passed, and they still hadn’t returned. I began to panic, hoping nothing bad had happened on the way. Then I remembered something.

At the school parking lot, I had spotted one of Theodore’s cars, most likely the one Layla had taken. Fortunately for me, I had access to the tracking system installed in all his vehicles.

So, without hesitation, I tracked the car to the Blue Sea Mansion, one of Theodore’s personal properties just outside the pack’s territory. Suspicion quickly bloomed in my chest.

He always went there when he needed alone time. It couldn’t be a coincidence that she was there now with our son. All this time, he had probably been sneaking her there while I thought he needed space.

I had been such a fool.

Before I could even think, I was already in my car, driving to the mansion. Upon arrival, I saw the three of them through the glass walls, playing around joyfully.

Theodore, Layla, and our son.

Sadness overwhelmed me, and I couldn’t stop the tears that streamed down my face.

They looked like a happy family. That should’ve been me.

I jumped out of the car and started marching toward the entrance, ready to let hell loose. But halfway there, I stopped myself.

If I confronted him now, getting him to sign the divorce papers would be difficult.

With tears streaming down my face, I rushed back to the car and drove off before they noticed me.

I returned to the Diamond Moon’s estate and buried myself in work, trying not to think about everything. Tomorrow, I would make an appearance at his company and take what belonged to me.

Just after midnight, two cars finally pulled into the driveway. I rushed to the window to see both of them alighting from the vehicles.

Leo had already fallen asleep, so one of the guards carefully lifted him from the backseat and carried him inside.

Theodore wrapped his arm around Layla and planted a kiss on her temple. He seemed to care so much about her. He never showed such gestures towards me.

He hadn’t even attempted to check on me since yesterday, let alone remember our anniversary.

I chuckled bitterly to myself. The irony of life.

Anyway, I waited a few more minutes before stepping out, divorce papers clutched tightly in my hands.

Luckily, I found him in his office and not on Layla’s bed.

“Hi, my Luna,” he beamed the moment he saw me. “I hadn’t seen you all day.”

Bitter resentment surged through me.

The audacity.

I forced a smile, masking the storm raging inside me. “Hi, Theodore.”

I walked over to his desk. “I’d like to resume my job as your assistant at the company tomorrow. Would that be okay?”

“Of course,” he replied without hesitation. “You’re always welcome.”

“All right,” I said calmly. “Could you sign here, please?”

I placed the papers in front of him, my heart pounding violently as I prayed he wouldn’t read a single word.

“What’s this?” he asked as he picked up his pen. “Pack affairs?”

He didn’t even wait for a response before signing all the empty spaces and handing the papers back with a grin.

“Thank you!” I grabbed the papers and quickly walked out of the office as fast as my legs could carry me. If only he knew what ditch he had just fallen into.

“Rhonda!” he suddenly called out as I walked through the hallway.

I stopped in my tracks and took a deep breath before turning around to see him slipping out of the office.

“Yes?”

He walked closer, his hands behind his back.

“Did you think I had forgotten?” He grinned as he suddenly pulled out a bouquet of pink lilies. “Sorry it’s coming late, but happy belated anniversary, my Luna!”

A loud sneeze immediately escaped me. Then I laughed hysterically as I stared at the lilies in his hands.

It would have been better if he had forgotten. I had been married to this man for six years, and he still couldn’t register in his fish brain that I was severely allergic to lilies.

“Rhonda?” He stared at me, confused.

I suddenly stopped laughing, my face turning pale. The rage already simmering within me boiled over, and before I could stop myself, my hand connected sharply with his face, giving him a hot slap.

The pack members who witnessed it gasped loudly in shock.