Too Late To Want Me: His reject, Her rising

　　Mara

　　I held back a sniffle. Even after spending hours walking alone and wandering the pack, Dresden's harsh words were still ringing in my ears.

　　An hour before that, we'd had a meeting with the pack elders who congratulated us while I had to force a smile. Dresden's grip on my hand felt more like a vice.

　　I knew that he wasn't happy with us being mates, he'd never made it any more clear from the moment it was announced. From that moment, he looked at me like I was disgusting. Like I wasn't even human.

　　I'd borne his insults and abuse. How he always seemed to punish me by gripping my hand or waist harsher and more painful while we were in public. I could only feign happiness while his gaze promised nothing but anger.

　　This time though, I was at my limit.

　　Shortly after the Elders meeting, he'd outright thrown me to the ground once we stepped out. The shock and pain of my knees being scraped against the ground made tears sprout from my eyes, but what felt even worse was when I looked up to find him smirking at me.

　　"This is where you rightfully belong." He huffed before stepping away. He never failed to remind me how much he hated our bond. Hated me.

　　Thankfully he didn't stay long enough to see me cry.

　　Now, the scrapes only stung. Yet my eyes and heart were still raw, but I could bear it as I walked through the quiet hallways. It was already past midnight, nearly an hour after I finally got up to return to the pack house.

　　I favored this solitude. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to see me in this state.

　　My room was now placed only a few doors away from his, meaning I always had to go through seeing it. it didn't matter, this time everything would be alright.

　　"Ah~"

　　My heart skipped a beat at the muffled moan. Disbelief shook me.

　　Horror and heartache panged as I stared at the door. Dresden's door.

　　It wasn't just that. There were slapping noises and groans emanating and it was coming from his door. That meantMy mind blanked out. I rushed into the room, and opened the doorThe world could have stopped right then.

　　Dresden, my mate, my future husband, laid on the bed with someone. Not just anyone.

　　Bella.

　　Bella Thrawford. The belle of the pack. His childhood friend. The girl he loved.

　　I had a feeling because of the way he looked at her. How he always let her snub me and how both of them seemed to gang up on me. But now I saw it. He was inside her, cheating on me.

　　And dear Goddess, they were still moving.

　　"Dresden!" She moaned, gripping his back.

　　I snapped.

　　"What are you doing?!" I screamed so loudly, I couldn't even recognize my voice. They finally stopped and looked my way. It was as if they hadn't noticed me before.

　　And Dresden didn't even look sorry. Why? Why was he like this?

　　I flinched at the noise when he moved away from her, shutting my eyes. When I opened them again, he was covered in sheets, sitting up on the bed while staring at me smugly.

　　"It's clear what we're doing? Don't act like you haven't seen this before. You want to act like a prude now?" He snickered.

　　"It suits her," Bella chuckled, shamelessly laid bare.

　　Tears burned in my eyes. Even now, they shamelessly made fun of me.

　　Why? What did I do to deserve this?

　　"Shut up! And how dare you, Dresden? Don't you know what you've done?" I cried out.

　　He disrespected our mate bond. He cheated on me. He… he broke my heart.

　　"Why are you surprised?" He asked, "I thought I'd made it clear that I never wanted anything to do with you."

　　A sob broke out of my throat. I knew it. Of course I knew it. but I thought… thoughtWas he really so heartless?

　　"The- the Elders. They'll know about this…" were the only words I could muster.

　　"Ah yes, the Elders." He sneered. The covers slipped from his body as he got off the bed. The sight of the hickeys and scratches on his chest made my heart shatter.

　　My heart raced as he neared me, his gray orbs piercing. His smile chilled me to the core.

　　"Why don't you go back to them, since they are the only thing you can depend on?"

　　"Wh-what?" I asked.

　　"Don't act coy now." He tutted. "Weren't you the one who informed them of our mate bond?"

　　What?

　　"I bet you wanted to be Luna so badly. It was a good move, else I would've never acknowledged our bond." He chuckled mockingly before sneering,

　　"But know this, nothing and nobody can make me marry a manipulative bitch like you." He spat out.

　　I couldn't hold the tears back anymore and I felt burn as it streamed down my cheeks.

　　"Now get the hell out. We're busy."

　　Before I could think, he pushed me and I stumbled and fell on the hallway. Before I could recover, the door slammed against me, followed by a lock and giggles. I remained there as the muffled groans and moaning began.

　　Any pieces of my heart shattered. I listlessly stood up, walking numbly to my room. The moment I entered, I couldn't hold myself anymore. My knees collided with the cold floor as I broke down and cried.

　　Why Goddess? Why was this happening to me? I cried.

　　It hurt, not just because he was my mate but because above all, I had fallen in love with him a long time ago.

　　I adored him from the moment I first met him by chance. Ever since then, I have admired him from afar. Even as a teenager, while everyone else was getting crushes, I couldn't get over him. There was nobody else I felt that way for.

　　I was ready for my love to be unrequited. He was older than me and would find his mate and so would I, so I buried my feelings.

　　He would never love me and I would never be his mate.

　　Yet the impossible happened. The moment I realized our mate bond, I was overjoyed but couldn't say anything especially when he never looked my way or acknowledged it. It wasn't until our bond was publicly announced that everything changed.

　　The announcement caught me by surprise. At first, I thought that it was he who had done it. It meant that he had accepted me. Yet the moment we were alone, he glared at me and I faced hatred for the first time.

　　I sniffed, wiping away my tears. I took off my clothes before curling onto the bed.

　　What was I going to do now? What would happen to our marriage? What was he going to do?

　　Those were my last thoughts before I sank into sleep.

　　Waking up the next morning with the memories still fresh in my mind was torture. I wanted to curl up on the bed and disappear into sleep but I couldn't. There were duties I had to fulfill.

　　I forced myself up and took a bath, changing my clothes before stepping down and preparing myself.

　　As the future Luna, all the attention was on me and despite it being weeks, people still came to talk to me. I had to prepare for that too. When the pack members would flock to me to congratulate me on the upcoming wedding, I would have to smile and pretend I wasn't dying inside. I had no choice but to keep up this ruse.

　　When I stepped into the Pack hall, I was prepared to face just that. I didn't expect to see a crowd.

　　"What's going on?" I whispered. As I entered the pack hall, murmurs and stares followed me but the crowd covered everything. I finally reached the end, stepping out to see the commotion and my heart stopped.

　　Facing the Elders, Dresden was standing there and with him, hand in hand, was Bella.