Chapter 5

Amelia’s POV

Sarah stayed in the room while Claire went to get the vitamins.  

“I hope she hurries,” Sarah said. She pressed the back of her hand into her forehead. I rolled my eyes.  

Ronan helped Sarah to the bed.  

“What is this?” Sarah frowned. She pinched my red lingerie between her fingers and held it up.

“That’s mine.” I snatched it from her. “It’s a gift. From Ronan. For our third anniversary.”

“Hm,” she replied. “Well, we certainly do have different tastes.” She sneered. “That’s far too…revealing…for me. I prefer modesty.”

She was insulting me. Implying that the lingerie was slutty. It was an insult. Whatever.

Sarah was just jealous. Ronan wanted to be with me, not her.

Claire returned an hour later, the vial clutched in her hands.

“Thank you,” I smiled at Claire. She thrust the vial over to Sarah. Claire didn’t respond. And she didn’t look at me.

  

“I passed Sarah a glass of water. She reluctantly swallowed two pills.

“Okay,” Ronan said. “All done. Time to go back to your bedroom now.”

  

I was satisfied with Ronan’s tough behaviors tonight. Sarah wasn’t replacing me. I was irreplaceable in Ronan’s heart.

‘He’s just placating her,’ my wolf agreed. Be patient. She’ll leave soon. Then we’ll have him all to ourselves.’

I agreed with my wolf and approached Sarah. “All right. Let’s get you-”

I didn’t finish the sentence because Sarah’s body suddenly went rigid. Her jaw clenched, and a terrible moan escaped her lips.

She started convulsing.

“Oh my goddess,” Ronan said. He rushed to check her. “She’s having a seizure.”

“What on Earth?” I gasped. What was happening? I rushed to the bed. “Claire. Help us!”

Claire was in the corner of the room, wringing her hands.

“Claire,” I said firmly. “What are you doing? Help us.”

Sarah convulsed so badly it shook the bed. Ronan held her down. Her eyes rolled back in her head. Spit gathered at the side of her lips.

  

“I…I don’t feel well,” Sarah muttered.

“You had a seizure,” Ronan told her.  

Her face was covered in layers of sweat.  

“What? Oh my goddess. The baby!” Sarah clutched her stomach. “It must have been the vitamins. Something’s wrong!”

Ronan whipped towards Claire. “What did you give her?”

Claire’s face paled. “J-Just vitamins,” she stammered. “I only followed Luna’s orders.”

Ronan scooped Sarah into his arms. “Hold on to me.”

“Ronan, I’m scared. Please save our baby.” Sarah’s voice was weak as she buried her face against his neck.

“We’re going to the hospital,” Ronan declared.

Ronan marched out of the bedroom, Sarah in his arms like a life-sized doll. We ran after him.

An hour later, we were gathered in the hospital room. The doctor was giving us the test results.

“We found traces of Bloodvine Herb in her blood,” the doctor said. He was surprised by this. “It’s a very dangerous herb for pregnant women. It’s been known to harm, or even kill, baby wolf pups. Where did you get these vitamins?”

“From her,” Sarah said, pointing at Claire furiously.

Ronan’s face contorted into a look of rage. Seething, he grabbed Claire by the shoulders.

“What did you do?” he hissed.

Claire recoiled. “I only followed Luna Amelia’s instructions,” she managed to reply.

“She told you to go to the doctor to get the damn vitamins,” Ronan roared.

“No.” Claire shook her head, avoiding my gaze. “She told me to get different vitamins. She said they were in the storage cellar.”

“What?” I gasped. “I did no such thing. I swear.” My eyes locked onto Claire. Guilt was written all over her face. She was lying! She was betraying me. But why?

Ronan stared at me in utter disbelief.

“She did this on purpose!” Sarah exclaimed. “She tried to harm me and the baby!”

My mind reeled. I didn’t miss the way Sarah and Claire exchanged a quick glance.

The pieces fell into place.

Sarah had framed me.

Ronan chuckled, low and derisive. “You sure put on a good show, Amelia. You had us all fooled. I honestly thought you accepted Sarah these days. But you were scheming the whole time. How could you?”

“I didn’t do it!” My voice was high and tight. “Ronan. I would never harm a baby. I would…”

“Silence!” Ronan cut me off. He held up his hand. “Just admit it, Amelia. You’ve been caught red-handed. Confess and apologize!”

“Apologize? No. I won’t apologize for something I didn’t do.” I lifted my chin.

“Yes you will, Amelia. Apologize. Or I’ll reject you and revoke your Luna title.”

The air fell silent. The tension was thick.

Claire stood in the corner, her eyes cast down at her feet. She had betrayed me. My own maid. My friend.

Ronan glared at me. His anger was palpable.

I wouldn’t back down. I’d done nothing wrong.  

“I didn’t do it, Ronan,” I said, forcing myself not to cry. “I am your Luna. Please trust me. Sarah is lying. She’s manipulating you. She wants my position.”

I stepped closer, my voice trembling. “You need to see this for what it really is.”

“I see it all, Amelia. I see it all. Very. Clearly.”

“Then choose.” I threw my arms up in the air. “Go on. Choose. Who’s it going to be? Me or Sarah. Because you can’t have both.”

Ronan locked eyes with me. He clenched his fists. Then he said the words that severed our bond.

“I, Alpha Ronan Walton of Moonvale Pack, reject you, Amelia, as my mate and Luna!”

The bond broke. Pain surged through me. My wolf howled. Unable to face Ronan’s cruel stare any longer, I left the hospital room.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I stumbled along the corridor. When I was outside, I took a big gulp of fresh air.

Then I ran. I ran away from the hospital. Away from the women who had stolen my mate. Away from Ronan, who had broken our bond.

And my heart.  

Shattered, I collapsed in the grass in the courtyard. It was late. I was alone. The moon was high in the sky. The night air was cool and damp.

Everything was gone. I’d lost it all. In the blink of an eye. My position. My mate. My pack.

‘They don’t deserve you,’ my wolf said. ‘Don’t stay here, Amelia. You have a better place to be.’

My wolf was right. I did have a better place to be. I didn’t have to stay here. Why should I? By morning, the entire pack would know about the rejection.

Why should I stay and suffer the humiliation?

I stood up, my knees shaky. With a deep breath, I opened the mind link I hadn’t used in three years.

“Amelia?” My brother’s voice came through the link, strong and familiar. “Amelia, what is it? Are you okay?”

“Julian…”

The sound of his voice broke my heart. I missed him. I missed my father, the Alpha King. I missed my birthpack, Silverclaw.

I swallowed hard, fighting back my tears. “Julian… I want to come home.”