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 sheâd be able to wake up from this nightmareâŚ
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 wouldnât look up to her like they used to, theyâd now look up to Delilah; for advice and for helpâŚ
And sheâd only be remembered as a luna who couldnât satisfy her alpha.
Hugging her pillow tighter, Quinn twisted on the bed, looking towards her window. She was tired and yet she couldnât even sleep last nightâŚthe 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 soonerâŚwhen he had started to become distant, she shouldnât have given him space, she shouldâve pushed harderâŚ
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. âHoney, itâs meâŚcan I come in?â
Her fatherâs voice was as calming as everâŚthat man; he meant the world to her. âYes dadâŚâ
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 positionâŚ
But if she couldnât succeed in being a luna, how would she be able to succeed in becoming a beta?
âDid you sleep well?â
âYesâŚâ It was a lie to comfort him, for she hadnât slept a wink.
âIâm sorry to be the bearer of this news, but the alpha wishes to see youâŚheâs requesting your presence in his office right away.â
Quinn sat up abruptly. âW-Why?â
âHe did not tell meâŚbut I pray to the goddess of the moon that it isnât bad news. If you want, I could accompany yo~â
âNo, itâs fine dad, Iâll go alone.â
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 itâd 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 whoâs yet to find their mates lived there, and beside it, were other important buildings like the house of elders, the marketplace, and the alphaâs 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 allâŚ
âI donât pity her, sheâs always been a hypocrite.â
âRight, she acted better than everyone because she was the previous betaâs daughter and the alphaâs mate.â
âItâs good that he left her, her sister is prettier, and sheâs humble as well.â
âOh, stop it, she helped me when the rogues destroyed my farm. Sheâs good.â
âGoodâŚ? She probably did it because she wanted to be praised.â
Quinnâs hands clenched in her pockets as she pretended not to hear. She knew people would talk, but she had no idea that theyâd be saying things like thisâŚafter all sheâd done to keep the pack on top, after all she did so they wouldnât suffer.
She wasnât the hypocrite, they were.
Her teeth clenched against her jaws as she continued to walkâŚbut one whisper made her stop in her tracks.
âI heard the alphaâs gonna kick her out of the packâŚserves her right, sheâs always been useless.â
Quinnâs eyes became glossy as she pivoted on her feet, turning towards the direction where the words came from. âW-What? Heâs going to kick me out?â
The entire marketplace became silent and only her labored breaths could be heard. âIâm useless? After all Iâve done for this pack, I deserve nothing but respect! Where would you all be w-without me?â Her voice broke as she spoke, the pain in it so audible as she continued. âYou guys will rot without me, you have a new luna now? I hope sheâll 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, sheâll 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 donât give a sh*t about me.â
The place remained silent until a tomato rolled its way to her feet. âTold you she was ignorantâŚa hypocrite indeed. We are glad we got rid of you!â
An apple was thrown next. âYour reign is now over, do not disrespect the one who took your placeâŚthat wouldnât have happened if she wasnât better than you.â
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 painfulâŚeverybody 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 didnât stop throwingâŚnot until a familiar voice boomed through the vulgar cursing. âWhat is going on here? Stop the nonsense and respect your new beta!â
It was Jeoâs voiceâŚbut what surprised her most was the words he saidâŚtheir new beta? When had she agreed to be the beta of this pack?