Chapter 7

My feet dragged across the grass, each step heavier than the last as if the ground itself were pulling me down. Their words circled in my brain like a hungry kettle of vultures around a carcass, yet my brain was still reaching out to them.

I blamed the blood that still ran through my veins, the one that made my steps slower while the bond tried to reach out to them.

For a second, I let myself imagine that Father would rush out to me, that Mother would come running to me, seeking forgiveness and reassuring me that all they had said was a plot to just get to me.

I should have known it was always like before—false hope.

My breath was ragged, each one like I was pulling air from a clogged straw, and it was never sufficient enough to fuel me.

I gathered myself, like I had always done, maybe for the last time, straightened my shoulders, and made my way to the pack house, my comfort in Thalia.

Ignoring the whispers that followed me was harder than anything, their taunts now a rhythm in my head. Strength failed me to defend myself, not when they were actually right.

I was a whore.

There was no way that truth could be sugarcoated. I knew I should have waited for my mate, but I was too desperate to feel something, eager to fill up the longing that the familial ties had failed to do, and now it was coming back to haunt me.

I reached Thalia’s door, pounding on it with so much force, and I flung myself into her arms when she came out, taking comfort in the only place I could trust.

“Raya, are you alright?” She asked, her voice muffled by my tight embrace. “I have been looking all over for you. You just disappeared with your mate and forgot about the rest of us.”

Her scoldings were immediate, the worry seeping out of the reprimand, but she had me sniffed, and she stiffened against me.

“Are you alright?” Thalia asked, leaving my embrace, her searching eyes all over me, and I shook my head. The words were still lodged deep inside of me, and I couldn’t find ways to tell how much I was hurting inside. “What happened?” She prodded, leading me inside.

I only managed to reach the bed before the dam gave out. The tears flowed freely, my eyes burning as I let it all out. The sheet was getting wet fast, but there was no stopping it anymore.

The fact that my family could do such things to me was almost unfathomable.

“It will be alright,” Thalia’s voice broke through the dam, her hands rubbing small circles on my back. Still the knot inside of me tightened; not even her kind words and gesture could soothe the pain inside of me.

Their words have been so brutal, the effect one that would haunt me for years, yet a fear was snaking in my heart. If what my parents had said about his pack was true, if truly they still uphold the archaic beliefs and ancient laws, then I was doomed as a non-virgin.

And the tears only increased.

Vaguely aware of Thalia’s hands continuing their circling motion on my back, I cried until it gave way to exhaustion and I fell asleep.

I woke up before the crack of dawn the next morning with dried trails of tears on my face. My eyes were swollen from the cries, my head disconcerted, but I refused to think of anything else.

Today I would be leaving with my mate, a day I had always envisioned. Though it had been different from how I had imagined, it was happening nonetheless, and I wasn’t going to let anything disrupt it.

My legs slowly met the cold tiles, my hands gripping the bed frame firmly as I heaved myself up, and my eyes found Thalia in the dark, her frame bent from what little space was left after I had occupied the bed.

A flash of guilt gripped my heart, pricked that I had to be a disturbance until the last moment, but it ends today.

I shuffled to the bathroom with what little vision I could manage. My finger found the switch and turned it on, and I almost recoiled when the lights came on.

My eyes adjusted to the brightness, and I bent over a sink; however, the sight that greeted me wasn’t one that should be seen. My eyes were bloodshot, my hair matted and tangled everywhere. I had dried saliva at the corner of my mouth.

I headed for the bathroom, scrubbing until I was red and raw. There was no way I would be going to meet my mate in such looks.

Taking another look at the mirror, I gave a small nod, satisfied with the result. I padded back to the home, packing the little bag I had left with her.

It contained some clothes and every basic toiletry I was going to need until I was settled enough to shop, as I was not stepping foot in that home anymore.

I folded everything neatly, snagging some of Thalia’s product she wasn’t going to use anymore, and I zipped the bag, satisfied with what I had done.

It was almost 6 when I decided it was time, and I slipped the note I had written for her under her pillow. I took another look at her, all of our moments we had spent together replaying in my mind.

I was going to miss her.

My chest expanded as I inhaled deeply, my nostril flaring as I picked up her scent, letting it seep into every pore in me.

Tears burned my eyelids, but I blinked them back, trying to be strong. “Goodbye, Thalia.” I whispered, my voice hoarse, and I turned to go.

But her voice stopped me before I could take a step. “Are you really going to leave like that?”