Chapter 6

It couldn’t be.

Not this particular tree!

I swallowed, tears welling up in my swollen eyelids. How could he bring her here? This spot under the slender branches of the massive willow tree was where Malric and I had first met. That special night his arms had curled around me, behind the cascading branches that created a curtain-like effect.

We had touched each other here for the first time and that was the night that had rippled right through the normalcy of my life; the night we discovered that we were mates. That was how sacred this tree was and he defiled it by bringing her here!

That night had been the last time I experienced a romance so pure and genuine. After that, Malric had hidden our love away, locked up in the apartment he bought for me, along with his promises and sweet words

.

And every emotion, every show of passion had resulted into something sexual since then. Even on the nights that I wanted to just sit and talk, bask in the fullness and warmth of his presence, it always ended with me naked, panting breathlessly and sweating profusely with him on top of me. I sniffled and held my tears back.

‘Just leave, Aluin. This is your queue, this is the answer you have been waiting for.’ My wolf cooed softly. ‘Don’t look back.’

But I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the couple, no matter how much I tried. The excruciating pain had sunk deep into my heart, shoved in like a harpoon by Malric himself. This betrayal stung me harder than a thousand bees ever could.

Why did I always have to be on the receiving end? Did I have to swallow whatever dirt they shoved down my throat because I was of no social standing?

‘Aluin.’ My wolf called anxiously.

My emotions got the better of me; a stupid move.

My chest was burning with an inferno of anger. My glassy eyes were fixed on Malric the entire time as I stormed towards them, my fists clenched so tightly that my knuckles began to ache. I didn’t care if she was there, I had to speak to him. I wasn’t going to leave without hearing his voice!

I was desperate.

Malric’s head slowly turned as I got closer and the color instantly drained from his face. The shock etched on his face made me wonder if I was a ghost or something. Why was he so shocked to…the nickel suddenly dropped. He didn’t know I was coming. He hadn’t seen my texts at all. I thought the splinters of my shattered heart couldn’t be hurt any further, but the realization that dawned on me crushed them into powder.

Malric wasn’t waiting here for me after all.

His eyes darted with panic and veins crawled out of his temples, as they always did whenever he was under pressure. “Omega, what are you doing here?” he asked curtly, in a tone he’d use on his guards.

“Malric?” I mumbled, unable to recover from the shock.

His eyes flashed with anger and he cleared his throat awkwardly when Lyra glanced at him. The meek expression on her face fueled my rage even more, but it was quickly overshadowed by the hurt of Malric’s indifference.

His face contorted into a frown, “What gives you the audacity to speak my name so casually?” he demands and in a low tone, I scarcely hear him mumble, “what the hell are you doing, Alruin?”

He smiled suddenly at Lyra and tapped her lightly, “Can you excuse us, dear?”

She nodded calmly, “Of course.”

I regarded him with watery eyes, unable to believe that fate had subjected me to fall in love with this guy, “You didn’t get my texts, Malric. Or…” My voice quaked and I sniffled, struggling to breathe probably now due to how heavy my chest was. “Or maybe you did, b-but you d-didn’t just want to reply.”

“Stop this!” he whispered fiercely before adding, “You must be confused, Omega. You’re talking to the yoing Alpha.” He said, glancing back at Lyra who was barely within earshot anymore.

I threw caution to the wind at that point, allowing my tempestuous emotions to take the wheel. “I know that, because I am speaking as the Young Alpha's mate!” I snapped at him.

His eyes widened with shock and right before my eyes, I saw Malric shrink for a split second. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He bellowed in a thunderous voice that made my teeth clatter, “Can you just drop it for a second?”

I glared at him, daring to stand up to him for the first time, “Drop what exactly? The two years of my life…our lives that have been put into this relationship?”

“You call this pathetic fling between us a relationship?” His voice suddenly turned cold, “Are you that desperate, Aluin?”

I stared at him, absolutely speechless.

“Fine. Do you really think I owe you anything because you are my mate? I have provided everything to make you comfortable; a roof over your head, clothes, money, everything!” he snapped, his eyes mad with anger, “Are you that delusional? You thought this could ever work out? A man and a man, ruling a pack? Doesn’t that sound stupid to you? Huh?”

He suddenly grabbed my feeble arms and shook me violently, making my head snap backwards.

“Huh?”

“Y-You’re hurting me, Malric.” I cried in a low tone that was barely above a whisper.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, I whimpered like a child, each wave of pain forcing more tears to gush down my face. I sniffled and tried to catch my breath, but I was hyperventilating already.

“I have given you everything I could,” he concluded and let go of me. “And there’s nothing left to give.”

I had it coming. It was right before my eyes like an open book, but his touches, his kisses, those satisfied smiles of his after nutting in my ass had clouded my vision. I had been living alone in the delusional world I had created for the both of us…all these years.

Lyra came up beside him again, “What’s going on here, Malric? Trouble? He’s crying.” She queried in a worried voice, wearing a meek expression and acting like she had never seen or spoken to me before.

A snake in the green grass!

Malric straightened up and shook his head, “Oh, it’s nothing to worry about, dear. He’s just a schoolmate worrying about his grades. He failed and I told him I can't use my position to increase his score.”

“Oh dear, poor thing.” She said pitifully and clicked her tongue.

That familiar sound triggered the nostalgia of a ticking bomb. Little did she know that I was top of the class and had been so for three consistent years.

She curled her hand behind his neck and drew Malric in for a kiss. I watched with contempt and a torturous, consuming flame of jealousy as she pressed her lips to his.

“Come on, dear. We had better not be too late for your birthday party. I think you have kept your friends waiting long enough.” She said to him and Malric only seemed too relieved to walk away from me.

Each step he took brought a hollow emptiness into my world. When the darkness of the night swallowed his frame, I knew instantly that there was nothing left for me here.