Chapter 5. I married an A$$hole

**Stella's POV**

My hands grip the blanket tighter. "What kind of rules?"

"First," Cole says, holding up one finger like he's reading from a business contract, "you will step down as Luna."

For a moment, I just stare at him. Then, before I can stop myself, I laugh.

It's not a happy sound. It's harsh and bitter and breaks in the middle.

"Step down as Luna?" I repeat. "Cole, I haven't been Luna in years. Sabrina runs the pack as your beta.... She organizes the events. She handles disputes and training sessions and everything else a Luna is supposed to do." My voice rises. "I just carry the title. That's all I've ever been to you—a title on paper."

His jaw tightens. "Then it should be easy for you to give it up."

"Easy?" The word tastes like ash. "You want me to officially hand over the one thing that proves I matter in this pack? The one thing that says I'm more than just—" My voice cracks. "More than just nothing?"

"You are nothing, Stella." He says it so calmly, so matter-of-factly, that it hurts more than if he'd shouted it. "You've been nothing for a long time. I'm just making it official."

I press my hand against my chest, trying to hold myself together. "When did this happen? When did I stop mattering to you?"

He sighs, like I'm asking him to explain something obvious. "You never mattered, Stella. Not really."

"That's not true." My voice shakes. "In the beginning, you—you brought me flowers. You took me on walks. You chose me—"

"I chose a virgin bride from a weak pack," he interrupts. "I chose someone who wouldn't question me. Someone who would be grateful for whatever scraps of attention I gave her." He tilts his head. "And you were perfect for that. So obedient. So desperate to please."

Each word is a knife, cutting deeper than the last.

"I loved you," I whisper.

"I know." He shrugs. "That made things easier."

Easier.

Not better. Not sweeter. Not more meaningful.

Just easier. I scoff inwardly.

"Why?" The question tears from my throat. "Why did you let me believe we had something real? Why did you let me think—" I can't finish. Can't say it out loud.

"Because you were useful." He says it like it's nothing and he didn't just destroy six years of my life with four words. "Your pack needed protection. I needed a bride who wouldn't embarrass me. It was a transaction, Stella. That's all it ever was."

"And Maya? And Noah?" My voice breaks completely now. "Were they just part of the transaction too?"

Something flickers in his eyes too quick for me to name.

"The pups are mine," he says quietly. "They're heirs to this pack. That's all that matters."

"They're mine too." I'm shaking now, my hands fisted in the blanket. "They're our pups, Cole. They need—"

"They need a strong mother figure," he interrupts. "Someone who can teach them what it means to be part of this pack. Someone who isn't weak and pathetic and you."

Me?

What the hell have I done wrong but devote myself to Cole and his pack all these years? I can't hold myself back anymore.

"But Sabrina is perfect for you." The words comes out like poison. "You think Sabrina is what y'all need?"

"Yes."

I gasp in shock but still respond, "She's teaching Maya to mock her own mother!" I'm standing now, the blanket falling away. "She's turning our daughter against me. Is that who a good role model should b—"

"No, she's teaching Maya strength," Cole cuts in flatly. "Something you could never do."

"Strength?" I laugh again, that same harsh, broken sound. "Cole, Maya called me embarrassing because Sabrina said it first. She's five years old and she's learning cruelty from your mistress—"

"Sabrina is not teaching her cruelty." His voice hardens. "She's teaching her reality. Teaching her that weakness has no place in this world."

"Maya is a child!"

"Maya is the daughter of an Alpha," he snaps. "She needs to learn what that means. And she can't learn it from you."

The words hit like a physical blow.

I sink back down onto the bed, my legs suddenly unable to hold me.

"You really believe that," I whisper. "You really think I'm that worthless."

He doesn't answer. He doesn't need to.

The silence says everything....

"I want a rejection." The words come out before I can stop them.

Cole's eyebrows rise. "What?"

"A rejection." I force myself to meet his eyes. "You want to divorce me? Fine. But I want a proper rejection. I want the bond severed completely." My voice grows stronger. "And I want to take my pups and leave this pack."

For a moment, he just stares at me and then he laughs.

It's not the amused laugh from earlier. This one is cruel and mocking.

"You want a rejection?" He shakes his head. "Stella, you're an Omega. A rejection would kill you within hours."

"I don't care—"

"And even if you survived," he continues, talking over me, "you think I'd let you take my heirs?" His smile disappears. "Noah is the future Alpha of this pack. Maya will be a valuable alliance piece when she's older. They're staying here. With me."

Wow, that's all he thinks Maya is. An alliance piece like he claimed me.... I cup my lips and shake my head in disbelief. I married an asshole!

"They're my pups too—" I say, hoping he will agree for me to take them from here and start life anew.

"They're my heirs." His voice drops into that Alpha tone. "And they're not going anywhere."

"Cole, please—" I stand again, moving toward him. "Please, just let me take them. I'll go back to Crescent Hollow. I'll disappear. You'll never have to see me again—"

"Stella." The word is a command. "Don't."

But I can't stop. Not now.

"I'll sign whatever papers you want. I'll give up any claim to anything. Just please, please let me have my pups—"

"I said don't."

The Alpha aura slams into me like a wall.

My knees buckle. My wolf whimpers and curls in on herself. Every instinct I have screams at me to submit, to stop talking, and to obey.

"If you try to take my pups," Cole says quietly, his voice deadly calm, "I will hunt you and kill you myself. Do you understand?"

I can't speak. Can barely breathe. The aura is too strong, pressing down on me like a physical weight.

"Do. You. Understand?"

"Yes." The word is barely a whisper.

"Good." He releases the aura, and I sag forward, gasping. "Now. Second rule. You'll move out of this room tonight."

I look up at him, confused. "What?"

"This is my room. Sabrina will be staying here starting tomorrow." He gestures vaguely toward the door. "There's a room in the servants' quarters befitting you. Lena will show you."

The servants' quarters.

He's moving me to the servants' quarters to make room for his mistress.

" Cole..." I hate how my voice shakes and how desperate I sound. "Cole, please. Don't do this. We can—we can fix this. I can be better. I can—"

I reach for him, my hand landing on his arm.

He jerks away like I burned him.

"Don't touch me."

"But I'm your mate—"

"You're nothing." His lip curls. "You were a warm body I needed for heirs. That's all you've ever been."

"That's not true." Tears stream down my face now, hot and unstoppable. "Cole, please. I love you. I've always loved you—"

"Stop." He holds up a hand. "Just stop, Stella. It's pathetic."

"I can be what you need—"

"You can't." He says it so firmly, and finally, that I freeze. "You want to know the truth? You want to know why I can't stand to touch you anymore?"

I don't answer because I'm not sure I want to hear this.

He tells me anyway.

"You're a borehole, Stella." The words are cold void of any emotions. "Ever since you had the pups, you're too loose. I can't feel anything when I'm inside you. It's like fucking air."

The words hit me like a slap.

"That's not—" My voice cracks. "That's not my fault. You—your size—"

His eyes narrow. "What did you just say?"

"You have a small penis, Cole." The words tumble out in a rush. "You've always had one. That's why you needed a virgin bride—because anyone with experience would have known how small you are. How inadequate—"

"Who the fuck have you been sleeping with?" The slap comes out of nowhere.

My head snaps to the side, pain exploding across my cheek. I stumble backward, my hand flying to my face.

"Don't you ever—" His voice is a growl now, barely human. "Don't you ever speak to me like that."

"Cole—" I try to back away, but he follows.

"You think you can insult me?" His hand wraps around my throat, squeezing just hard enough to make breathing difficult. "You think you have any right to question me?"

"I—I'm sorry—" I can barely get the words out. "I didn't mean—"

"You're nothing, Stella." His face is inches from mine now, his eyes cold and empty. "A used-up Omega who couldn't even keep her own daughter's love. You're worthless."

He shoves me backward.

I trip over my own feet and crash into the wall. My head hits the hard surface with a sickening crack, and pain explodes behind my eyes.

I hear Cole's footsteps moving toward me, but my vision blurs until nothing.