AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ireallydon’t like where this is going.
My Alpha turns to me, and the hatred in his eyes makes me flinch. “Nora, you’re not a suitable candidate to run this pack with my son.”
“But—” I attempt to protest, despite the sudden rush of anxiety. We’re told as kids to never argue with our Alpha, it’s one of the first rules we’re ever taught, and I’ve just broken it.
And I don’t regret it.
My mate might not seem willing to fight for me, but I’m going to fight for him. For us.
“Shut up, Nora” my dad hisses, and I can hear him grinding his teeth.Shit.Neve reaches for my hand, squeezing it gently, trying to offer comfort.It’s not her reassurance that I want.
“Dad,” Kennedy says, and my wolf yips in my mind at the sound of his voice. It’s a smooth baritone with a strong Northern accent. “I understand what you’re saying.” Wait… what? I’m sure my betrayed, pained look is affecting his wolf, but the man doesn’t seem to notice.Or care.“But if not Nora, then who? We can’t have a pack without a Luna—she needs replacing.”
Only moments ago, I was elated. He was touching me, bonding with me, and choosing me. My blood turns cold, or at least that’s how it feels, and tears spring to my eyes.
How can he willingly throw me away?
“If I can’t have my fated mate, then I get to pick my replacement mate,” he decides. He sounds like a brat, like his favourite toy has been snatched away and he’s got to make do with second best.
But am I just imagining that?
“It’s nothing against you, Nora, but you’re weak,” Kennedy tells me. A minute ago, he was so excited…what changed?“I need a strong Luna who can handle the job. You’re too fucking nice, and the pack don’t respect you. They’ll never be able to respect you. This”—he motions between us both—“won’t ever work.”
“He’s right, honey,” my mum says softly as she tucks my hair behind my ears, and uses the most patronising tone I’ve ever heard. “You can find a new mate, and you’ll have the full support of your parents. Do this one thing for your pack, give up your mate, and we’ll help you achieve your goal.”
“No,” I whisper, biting my inner cheek so hard I draw blood.
This is a joke, right? They can’t seriously be telling me to give up my mate. I glance around the room, and other than my brother, who is far too immature to be present for this conversation, they’re all eager and expectant.
What kind of sick person would suggest leaving my fated mate and be this happy about the idea of it?
“Lunas are there to help the Alpha, and that includes making the tough decisions,” Luna Newitt says softly. Like my mum, she’s using a patronising tone, treating me like I’m stupid. “There’s no time for compassion because you need to be objective.”
“You cried when I killed a spider earlier,” my dad reminds me, and tears spring to my eyes as I remember the way he stomped on the eight-legged arachnidfor fun. “You’re not cut out to be Luna, Nora. Don’t fool yourself into thinking otherwise.”
The gleam in his usually dull brown eyes shows me how proud he is of me. But I’d be a fool to think it’s because I’ve mated above my current social standing. No, he’s proud because he thinks I’m going to do this one thing for my pack. He’s proud because he thinks I’m going to willingly give up half of my soul.
I’ve always been the selfless daughter, but this time, they’re asking for something I can’t give.
They’re asking me for something nobody could give up.
“Fate thought I could handle it,” I say, crossing my arms and sitting up straight. Nobody is on my side. David’s too young to care, but even Neve, my sister who was holding my hand, doesn’t believe that I can do this.
How have things gone wrong this fast?
Their lips continue moving, but the words don’t register in my mind. I physically can’t grasp that they’re doing this to me. My parents, who are meant to love me, to support my dreams, to want the best for me. My Alpha and Luna who are meant to be the ones to support their pack members, to make sure that their pack is thriving, to be the example that we all need.
My mate, the man who is meant to cherish me, to love me, to be the other half of my soul.
These people are meant to want the best for me, yet all they want to do is destroy my life. They’re hurting me, and they don’t even care.
A stinging sensation hits my cheeks, and I look into the furious face of my mother. Her amber eyes are glaring at me, and as a ringing sound echoes in my ears, sound returns. My cries fill the room, an action I didn’t even realise I was doing, and anger is the only emotion I can smell.
They’re all furious at me.
“I, Kennedy James Newitt the third, the future Alpha to Riverstone, reject my mate, Nora Nouvel Hart. I willingly sever all ties to you and your animal, and I understand that this will permanently renounce you as my mate.” The clinical tone, the disinterest in his gaze, and the smell of disgust from the man that is meant to be my mate causes my sobs to increase in volume.
Searing pain shoots through me, a burning sensation in my chest. I fall to my knees, my head banging on the seat in front of me, as my wolf loses it within me, and when Alpha Newitt howls, it washes over me.
