Chapter 4

Tomorrow took so long to come, the darkness in her room, Quinn had laid down all night staring at it until the light from the sun slowly replaced it. She kept pinching herself, trying to see if she’d be able to wake up from this nightmare…

But every time she pinched herself, the pain reminded her that it was all real. Jeo had rejected her, and now he was mated to her sister.

The name and the respect she had worked so hard to build was now tarnished, and only the shame he had bestowed upon her remained. The pack wouldn’t look up to her like they used to, they’d now look up to Delilah; for advice and for help…

And she’d only be remembered as a luna who couldn’t satisfy her alpha.

Hugging her pillow tighter, Quinn twisted on the bed, looking towards her window. She was tired and yet she couldn’t even sleep last night…the pain kept her awake, that and the endless tears that kept floating from her eyes.

The sheet beneath her was soaked in her sorrows, and her heart was drowning; physically suffocating after being so evilly betrayed. She wished she had tried to solve the problems between her and Jeo sooner…when he had started to become distant, she shouldn’t have given him space, she should’ve pushed harder…

But what was the use of lamenting now? It was all over and there was nothing she could do about i~

Quinn looked towards the door when two knocks sounded from it. “Honey, it’s me…can I come in?”

Her father’s voice was as calming as ever…that man; he meant the world to her. “Yes dad…”

The knob twisted immediately after her response, and her father stepped inside. He was a beta like her, the past beta of this pack, and he had trained her to take his position…

But if she couldn’t succeed in being a luna, how would she be able to succeed in becoming a beta?

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes…” It was a lie to comfort him, for she hadn’t slept a wink.

“I’m sorry to be the bearer of this news, but the alpha wishes to see you…he’s requesting your presence in his office right away.”

Quinn sat up abruptly. “W-Why?”

“He did not tell me…but I pray to the goddess of the moon that it isn’t bad news. If you want, I could accompany yo~”

“No, it’s fine dad, I’ll go alone.”

Despite the pain in her endlessly drowning heart, Quinn stood to her feet, walking through the door to her room. She passed her mother who stared at her with an unreadable gaze in the living room and went straight outside.

A breath; one filled with frustration left her lips as she stepped down the porch. She was scared to hear what he had to say to her, what happened last night was already enough, if he hurt her again, then it’d probably kill her.

Her steps lacked confidence as she walked through the silent woods and towards the central part of the pack where the pack house was. Young wolves who’s yet to find their mates lived there, and beside it, were other important buildings like the house of elders, the marketplace, and the alpha’s office.

As Quinn walked into the busiest part of the land, people stared at her with eyes that judged. She could hear whispering and as a trained werewolf, she could decipher them all…

‘I don’t pity her, she’s always been a hypocrite.’

‘Right, she acted better than everyone because she was the previous beta’s daughter and the alpha’s mate.’

‘It’s good that he left her, her sister is prettier, and she’s humble as well.’

‘Oh, stop it, she helped me when the rogues destroyed my farm. She’s good.’

‘Good…? She probably did it because she wanted to be praised.’

Quinn’s hands clenched in her pockets as she pretended not to hear. She knew people would talk, but she had no idea that they’d be saying things like this…after all she’d done to keep the pack on top, after all she did so they wouldn’t suffer.

She wasn’t the hypocrite, they were.

Her teeth clenched against her jaws as she continued to walk…but one whisper made her stop in her tracks.

‘I heard the alpha’s gonna kick her out of the pack…serves her right, she’s always been useless.’

Quinn’s eyes became glossy as she pivoted on her feet, turning towards the direction where the words came from. “W-What? He’s going to kick me out?”

The entire marketplace became silent and only her labored breaths could be heard. “I’m useless? After all I’ve done for this pack, I deserve nothing but respect! Where would you all be w-without me?” Her voice broke as she spoke, the pain in it so audible as she continued. “You guys will rot without me, you have a new luna now? I hope she’ll be able to stay awake at night just to get rid of the rogues that torment your farms, and I hope every obstacle that rises, she’ll be able to get rid of it without so much as a stutter in her voice. I really hate that I was stupid enough to stress over people that don’t give a sh*t about me.”

The place remained silent until a tomato rolled its way to her feet. “Told you she was ignorant…a hypocrite indeed. We are glad we got rid of you!”

An apple was thrown next. “Your reign is now over, do not disrespect the one who took your place…that wouldn’t have happened if she wasn’t better than you.”

Another tomato sailed through the air, harshly smacking her against the chest before falling onto the floor, and then more fruits and vegetables came along with words of disrespect, hitting her and soiling not just her clothes, but her pitifully drowning heart.

She was betrayed again, first by her own mate and now by her own people. Shame; a profuse amount of it filled her chest as the tears gathered in her eyes fell down her cheeks. This was all so painful…everybody had turned their backs on her except for her father.

Was that how much everybody had disliked her?

Was that how much they had wanted her gone?

Quinn fell to her knees as the fruits continued to hit her, piling up like waste beside her. They didn’t stop throwing…not until a familiar voice boomed through the vulgar cursing. “What is going on here? Stop the nonsense and respect your new beta!”

It was Jeo’s voice…but what surprised her most was the words he said…their new beta? When had she agreed to be the beta of this pack?