Chapter 4 Untitled Chapter

Aeloria's POV

I woke up feeling empty, sad, angry, broken. Like someone had reached into my chest during the night and scooped everything out, leaving behind a hollow shell.

For several seconds, I simply stared at the ceiling. The memories returned. The banquet, the humiliation, the accusations, the rejection, Vaelor's cold eyes that seemed to avoid mine. My mate's voice rejecting me before an entire room full of people, people from other packs and Mildred pack. Room full of strangers.

A sharp pain pierced my chest and I squeezed my eyes shut.

"No..." The whisper came out broken.

My body felt weak and heavy. Every muscle ached.

Slowly, I pushed myself up from the floor, trembling as I did. When my gaze landed on the dried blood beside me, my stomach twisted violently. 

The dark stains covered parts of the floor, proof that last night hadn't been some horrible nightmare, It had happened. Every bit of it.

"Elarisse?"

There was no reply from her.

Panic immediately gripped me. "Elarisse?"

Nothing. I could barely feel her presence, like a distant flicker at the edge of my soul, faint and hurting.

Tears burned my eyes. "I'm sorry."

No response came. My wolf was retreating deeper into herself. The rejection had wounded both of us, most especially her.

Using the wall for support, I slowly walked towards my bedroom. The familiar room came into view. My bed, my dresser, my ugly, dull curtains, my old books. Everything looked exactly the same, yet nothing felt the same.

Fresh tears rolled down my face. I didn't even have the strength to wipe them away or cry.

I sat on the edge of my bed and curled into myself.

The humiliation crashed into me all over again. Everyone knew. The entire Mildred Pack knew. By now the neighboring packs probably knew too.

Aeloria, the Alpha's rejected mate, the bond woman.

I let out a broken laugh.

One accusation, that was all it took to set everything apart. Just one. Especially when it came from Orvian. The most respected man after the Alpha.

Who would believe me over him? No one.

My stomach churned.

I then remembered Uria. The memory made my body freeze up.

Years ago, Uria's mate had accused her of being a bond woman. No evidence, no proof, just accusations. And everyone believed him, because he was a man, because he was respected and known, but she wasn't, just a mere woman.

I remembered the whispers, the judgment, the cruelty of how it all started. I remembered watching Uria slowly lose everything. Her reputation, her home, her friends, even her children.

Nobody questioned the story, nobody investigated, nobody cared. And when Uria finally disappeared, people barely talked about it. Some said she'd joined rogues, others said rogues had killed her. No one knew what had become of her, and no one cared.

Meanwhile her mate found another woman almost immediately, like he was waiting to get rid of her. Everyone praised him, called him brave for moving on and not being hurt by the 'betrayal', called him devoted, called him a good father for providing a woman for his children. Oh how strong he was to stand such betrayal without breaking.

Now it was happening to me, only this time it was way worse. Because it wasn't just anyone accusing me, It was Orvian.

I would never clear my name. Never.

Fresh anger surged through me. My gaze dropped to the blood-red dress I was still wearing, the dress Thessara had picked. The dress that made me look exactly the way Orvian wanted me to look in front of everyone.

My hands clenched and spcs of blood drew out of my nails digging into my palms. 

"Thessara."

How long? How long had she been lying to me? How long had she been pretending to be my friend? Years?

It was as if the floodgates to my brain opened and I realised the mess I was in.

I was alone. Completely alone.

Thessara had always pushed people away from me. Every friend, every acquaintance, every chance at connection.

There was always a reason. They were using me. They wanted something. They weren't trustworthy. They were trying to use me to get to her. And I had believed her. Stupid gullible and desperate me believed everything.

Goddess. Had this been her plan all along?

I had no one to stand to testify to my character, to vindicated me. No one really knew me other than being Thessara's best friend. The coworkers at the daycare would rather be silent than plead my case, which won't be their fault. They also had families to feed with whatever little money they make in the daycare, which was barely enough for a person to survive.

A bitter laugh escaped me. I had built my entire world around one person and she had destroyed it overnight, ripped the carpet from under me.

Still lost in thoughts, the bedroom door burst open and I screamed.

A large man stood there. Broad shoulders, hard eyes and a cruel smirk. I hadn't even smelt him or heard him.

I immediately backed further into the bed.

"Who are you?"

The stranger looked around the room in scrutiny, then his gaze settled on me.

"Is this the home of the bond woman?"

My blood turned cold. "E… excuse me?"

How had he gotten inside?

It hit me... The front door. I had never locked it. I collapsed before I could lock it.

The man laughed and without warning, he tossed several bills onto the bed. The money landed beside me.

"I heard about you, alright. I'm at the right place."

I stared, confused and terrified. He pointed at the cash on the bed.

"I have paid."

The meaning hit me instantly and my stomach dropped.

"No." The word came out shaky. "No, you need to leave."

He was paying so that he could sleep with me, like I was a bond woman.

His grin widened. "You think I'm joking?"

Fear exploded through me. "I collapsed last night. I didn't leave my door open for anyone."

The man took a step closer. I scooted further into the bed.

"Please leave. I'm not a bond woman, I have never been a bond woman." I said, trembling in fear.

He didn't. Instead, he laughed loudly. "I'm not leaving until I get what I want."

Panic flooded me.

"Elarisse!"

Nothing. No strength. No wolf. No protection. I tried to shift but my wolf was unresponsive.

The man reached for me and I shoved him away.

"Don't touch me!"

His expression darkened. For a moment, genuine fear swallowed me whole. I was alone. A rejected weakling with no wolf. And everyone believed I was exactly what Orvian claimed, including this man.

My chest tightened painfully. This was how it started. This was how reputations became reality. One lie, then another, then another until nobody remembered the truth.

The stranger grabbed my arm, digging his nails into my skin.

I fought, kicked, pulled, thrashed, scratched with whatever little strength there was left in me, but he was stronger. Far stronger than I could ever be.

Tears streamed down my face. I was really going to be ruined.

"Please stop!"

The man only laughed harder, my cries getting him more excited as he laid on top of me, pinning my hands above my head and pressing his body into mine. 

I could feel his excitement on my thighs and all I wanted to do was to throw up. I was going to be defiled by a strange man who thought I was a bond woman.

"How soft your skin is, like milk." He sniffed my neck and growled.

"You have ugly eyes, that I can manage, but your skin I love. By the time I'm inside you, you will be screaming with pleasure you wretched whore. I know you will like my cock in your loose snatch."

I felt his hand move downwards, trying to get his... ding dong out.

CRASH!

The sound exploded through the room.

The man's eyes widened and he released his hold on me and stumbled away with a shout.

I turned, seeing Sylver standing in the doorway breathing hard, a shattered vase lying on the floor and blood trickled down the back of the stranger's head.

For a second, I simply stared at the vase. Thessara's expensive birthday gift as she ranted last year. The irony almost made me laugh.

The stranger spun around furiously and roared, "Who the hell are you?"

Sylver stepped forward, her eyes blazed with fury. "Who the hell are YOU?"

The man pointed at me. "She's a bond woman. I am here to get my fill."

"No." My voice cracked. "No, I'm not."

Sylver immediately moved closer. "I know."

The simple words shattered me. Because she believed me without hesitation, without proof.

She believed me.

The stranger cursed under his breath and Sylver pointed toward the door. "Take your money and get out."

The man hesitated, then looked between us. "So not only does she fuck men, she pleasures women too."

Finally, he gathered the cash. "You'll regret this." An he stormed away.

The second he disappeared, my body gave out.

I collapsed on the bed sobbing. Everything I had been holding back poured out.

Sylver wrapped her arms around me and for the first time since yesterday... I didn't feel completely alone.

"It's all my fault," I cried.

"No it's not."

"I left the door open."

"You couldn't have known."

"He almost—" My voice broke.

Sylver squeezed me tighter. "But he didn't."

I buried my face in my hands.

"Thank you." My shoulders shook. "Thank you so much."

Sylver rubbed my back gently. "I heard what happened."

I looked up. Her expression softened.

"I came as fast as I could."

I looked at her, trying to see a hint of mockery, but there was none. "But why?"

"Because someone needed to. Luckily I came just in time."

The answer nearly made me cry again.

I stared at the bruises already forming on my wrists.

My entire body began shaking. I was almost raped.

"You saved me."

Sylver's face hardened. She looked me directly in the eyes. "I believe you, Aeloria."

Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks.

"I never slept with my uncle." "I know."

"I never sold myself." "I know."

"I've never even—"

Sylver squeezed my hand. "I know."

The certainty in her voice made me sob.

Someone finally believed me.

Then Sylver said quietly, "I always had a bad feeling about Thessara. And now her brother does this?"

She clicked her tongue and shook her head, "A man who spent months bragging that he'd make you his mate."

The pieces clicked together. Thessara wanting me with Orvian. Thessara wanting Vaelor. Thessara isolating me.

"Oh Goddess."

Sylver nodded sadly. "It was never about you."

The words hurt, because they were true. It was about about her.

"She saw you as something she could control."

I lowered my gaze. "Not anymore."

Sylver smiled gently. "Not anymore."

Later, after helping me change out of the forbidden clothes and covering my head, Sylver brought me to her apartment.

It was small, not smaller than mine but warm.

Safe.

"In case more foolish men try to enter your apartment for now." she said.

She ran a bath,made food and stayed beside me.

When I tried eating, I threw everything up, even the food from the banquet. Sylver cleaned everything without complaint.

Hours later, I sat on her couch staring at nothing.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

Sylver sat beside me. "You heal."

I laughed bitterly. "Heal?"

"Aeloria."

"My wolf is gone."

"She isn't gone."

I looked at her.

"She's hurting."

Tears filled my eyes again.

"Just like you. The rejection took a toll on you both and she is weak. Give her time."

I wiped my face. "I don't know how to repay you."

Sylver laughed softly. "You don't have to."

I stared at her. "Why are you being so kind?"

She smiled. "I've always liked you."

"Liked me?"

"From afar."

"Really?"

She nodded. "You were always with Thessara, sadly."

A sad smile crossed her face.

"But you were never like her."

The words broke something inside me. "I was such a fool."

"No."

"I was."

"You trusted someone you loved."

I lowered my gaze.

Sylver's smoothed my hair, "You couldn't have known."

Silence filled the room.

Finally I whispered, "I'm ruined."

Sylver didn't answer immediately. I already knew why. Because part of her knew I was right.

"I have no money. No job." More tears fell. "No wolf. No mate."

I closed my eyes, thinking back to the time he rejected me, such coldness in his voice. Every road I imagined ended the same way.

Alone, branded, rejected, destroyed.

And somehow... The loss of my reputation hurt less than the loss of the man who should have loved me.

The man who never even gave me a chance.

Vaelor's POV 

Pain.

That was the first thing I felt when I opened my eyes.

Pure, agonizing pain.

It felt like someone had driven claws through every bone in my body and left them there.

A groan escaped my lips. "What the hell..."

My head pounded violently. My chest burned. Even breathing hurt.

I squeezed my eyes shut again. Last night flashed through my mind.

The banquet, my mate Aeloria. I had done it. I had rejected her. But the blood, the look in her eyes.

I immediately shoved the memory away. No, I wasn't doing this today.

I had spent half the night drinking, bottle after bottle, trying to forget. Trying to stop seeing those chocolate-brown eyes staring at me like I had personally ripped her heart out.

Because I had.

I sat up and instantly regret flooded me. Pain exploded through my chest.

"Shit." I grabbed the edge of my bed and wiped the sweat on my forearm with the back of my hands.

This wasn't normal. I never got sick. Ever.

A hangover? Sure. But this? No.bSomething was wrong.

"Aevryth." No answer.

"Aevryth."

Not even a growl. Not even an insult.

My wolf had barely spoken since last night, and when he did speak, it was only to condemn me or howl in sadness over the loss of the bond.

I clenched my fists. "Why can't you understand? Aeloria is a bond woman."

I was expecting him to retort but he didn’t.

"I am Alpha. I can't choose a woman like that."

He refused to respond to me.

The silence somehow hurt more. Aevryth wasn't listening anymore. He was simply... gone.

The realization left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Aevryth was supposed to heal me, but he was just absent, for me to bear the pains alone.

Struggling through the pain, I reached for my phone.

My first instinct was Orvian, but something stopped me. Instead, I dialed another number.

Thirty minutes later, Elder Healer Corvus sat across from me. The old wolf's face looked grim, very grim. I hated grim faces, especially when they were directed at me.

"What is wrong with me?"

The healer sighed. "How much do you know about rejected mate bonds?"

I frowned. "Enough."

"Clearly not."

That annoyed me. "Then explain."

He folded his hands. "The bond between you and your mate is not severed."

I stared. "What?"

"You rejected her."

"Exactly."

His expression didn't change. "Did she reject you? Accept the rejection?"

How could she? "No."

The old wolf nodded. "Then the rejection is incomplete."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means your souls are still partially connected."

I didn't like the sound of that at all.

The healer continued. "The longer the bond remains incomplete and unstable, the worse the effects become."

"What effects?"

The healer looked directly into my eyes. "The pain you're experiencing now, even worse to come for the both of you."

Worse pains? "No."

"Yes Alpha."

"That's impossible."

"It isn't."

I stood abruptly.

Bad idea. Pain shot through my body and I hissed, sitting down.

The healer didn't look surprised. "You rejected an Alpha mate bond."

The way he said it made it sound like I had committed a crime.

"You're suffering because the bond refuses to fully break."

I dragged a hand through my hair. "This is ridiculous."

"It is reality."

I turned away. So I was suffering because of her. Was she suffering the way I was?

"So what now?"

"There are only two options."

"Tell me."

"Accept the bond."

Not happening.

"Or complete the rejection."

I looked at him. "How?"

The old wolf's face remained serious. "You must face her again."

There was no way I was going to face her.

"No."

"Vaelor."

"No."

"You must."

I shook my head as the images flashed through my mind. Aeloria coughing blood, crying, looking at me as if I had destroyed her world.

I couldn't possibly face her again. Over my dead body.

"I can't. There has to be another way."

The healer's expression softened slightly. "You already did the difficult part."

"No." My voice came out rough. "The difficult part is looking at her again."

Silence filled the room.

Finally, he spoke. "Because she trusted you even if she didn't know you as her mate."

The words landed like a punch. It was true.

The healer continued. "To properly sever an Alpha mate bond, the rejection must be witnessed by the pack."

I closed my eyes. Of course it did. Why wouldn't it? What further humiliation.

"The pack must hear you reject her as your mate."

"And?"

"And reject her as future Luna and she must accept the rejection."

I felt sick again. 

The healer reached into his satchel and placed a tiny vial on the table. Blue liquid swirled inside.

"What is that?"

"A temporary solution."

I immediately grabbed it. "How temporary?"

His expression darkened. "Very."

That wasn't reassuring.

"One drop each morning."

I nodded.

"One drop." The healer pointed at me. "One. Nothing more."

I rolled my eyes. "I heard you."

"The pain will lessen."

"And then?"

"You complete the rejection as soon as possible. Your beta can easily arrange that for you."

I stared at the vial. I hated this, every part of it.

The healer stood. "Do not delay."

I didn't answer because I already planned to take the drop till I die.

One drop a day and I was going to be fine. And if it finished, I couldn't easily get another from another source. Easy peasy.

I brought out my tongue and dropped the liquid. It tasted so bitter, I wanted to spit it out. Within minutes the pain eased. Not completely but enough. Enough for me to function for now.

I dismissed the healer and tried to sleep.

---

I headed toward my office, trying very hard not to think about the fact that somewhere in the pack, Aeloria was probably suffering too.

The office door opened and Orvian entered without knocking as usual.

"You look terrible."

"Good morning to you too."

He grinned then sat down.

"I heard you weren't feeling well."

I immediately stiffened.

Did he know? No. That was Impossible. I had told no one except the healer.

"I'll survive."

"Good."

Orvian leaned back. "At least you got rid of the real problem."

I frowned. "What problem?"

His smile widened. "Aeloria of course. Your bond woman mate, well now ex mate, unofficially."

The name instantly made my chest ache and Aevryth stirred.

Orvian continued. "You did the right thing, Vaelor. Imagine if she became Luna." He pretended to shiver. "The pack would've become an absolute joke."

I stared at the paperwork on my desk pretending to listen, pretending not to hear Aeloria's name, pretending not to care.

Orvian laughed, grinning from ear to ear. "Thessara is handling everything surprisingly well."

I looked up. "What?"

"My sister." He grinned proudly. "She's ready to move on."

My stomach twisted. Something about that sounded wrong. Very wrong.

Then a thought occurred to me. "If Thessara was Aeloria's best friend..."

Orvian froze. "...doesn't that mean she knew all about Aeloria's behavior?"

For the first time, Orvian looked uncomfortable.

Interesting.

His answer came too quickly. "My sister is kind."

I said nothing.

"She sees good in everyone." He stammered, "Even when there isn't much good to see."

The explanation felt rehearsed. Like he had practiced it.

"My sister pitied her."

I remembered Thessara's face from last night. Cold, satisfied, victorious. That wasn't pity. Not even close.

Orvian kept talking. "Aeloria was a lost cause and I told her that."

Something about those words bothered me deeply. Before I could think further, Orvian leaned forward.

"Look."

I immediately hated that word.

"I spoke to the Elders."

Everything inside me went still. "You what?"

He smiled. "I spoke to the Elders."

I slammed both hands onto the desk, pushing myself from the chair. 

Orvian was taken aback by my reaction.

"You did WHAT?"

His smile disappeared. "I was helping."

"Helping?"

"Yes."

My anger flared. "You had no right."

Orvian stood too. "I did it for your own good."

"No."

"I did."

My fists clenched.

"Aeloria isn't good for you."

There it was again.

Every time he said it, something felt wrong.

"You aren't weak, Vaelor." His voice grew harder. "Don't allow a few tears to manipulate you. Aeloria will ruin you. I have seen her ruin men's lives."

The room suddenly felt smaller.

"She'll ruin the pack."

I remained silent.

Orvian leaned closer. "Is that what you want?"

The question hit harder than expected.

The pack, my responsibility, my legacy. Everything my family built. Everything I was raised to protect.

"A replaceable woman isn't worth it."

The words echoed through my head.

Replaceable. My mate was replaceable.

Then Orvian delivered the final blow. "She knew she'd find a mate one day and did that stop her? She still whored herself around. The Elders and I spoke and it is certain you have to reject her again, publicly, in front of the pack, so there is no going back."

Pain exploded through my chest and I doubled over. A violent cough tore from my throat.

"What the—"

Blood splattered across my hand. My eyes widened.

No No No.

Panic surged. Orvian couldn't see this. He couldn't.

Without thinking, I rushed out of the office.

"Vaelor!"

I ignored him. My heart was pounding wildly.

I reached my room, locked the door and leaned against it, breathing hard.

Outside, Orvian began pounding.

"Vaelor!"

More pounding.

"What happened?"

I stared at the blood on my hand. Fear settled deep inside me. This wasn't getting better, it was getting worse.

My gaze landed on the vial. The healer's warning echoed in my head. One drop. One drop a day.

I uncorked it.

My hand trembled as I brought out my tongue and too another drop.

I waited until the pain faded and breathing steadied.

Outside, Orvian kept shouting.

I ignored him.

Orvian wasn't my concern now. See that blood on my palms… I was afraid. Not of Aeloria. Not of the bond. Not even of the pack. I was afraid that I had made a mistake so massive that no amount of power, status, or authority would ever be able to fix it. And worst of all… A tiny voice deep inside me was beginning to wonder if Orvian had lied.

My beta whom I trusted with my all couldn't lie to me right?