FOUR

Eden pov

There were no words in my vocabulary I could use to describe the pain I felt while my so-called mate stood there with a grin across his lips. Didn’t he feel the pain? Why didn't it affect him like it did me?

As I stood there, everyone’s eyes on me, I felt like a claw was forced though my ribcage, clutched my heart and set it on fire. I could feel the invisible thread that connected us weaken. 

The kind stranger’s words echoed in my head. He saw it coming, I kind of did too, but I had nowhere near enough time to prepare myself for the moment of disaster. 

Although my initial reaction was complete shock, something within me moved and I nearly gave into the instinct to drop to my knees and beg him. Beg him to reconsider and take me away from this awful place. 

The sad part was that my pleas wouldn’t do anything but make me look weak in their eyes. Weaker than they already taught me to be, definitely not a woman worthy to become one’s Luna. 

So, I closed my eyes and sucked in a sharp breath to ground myself. Everyone expected a reaction from me, something I refused to give. 

With nothing to lose, I opened my eyes, met his gaze and spoke up. “I, Eden Larue, the daughter of Aman Larue, accept your rejection, Alpha Asher Williams and hereby announce I refuse the rightful place as your Luna.” 

The smug look disappeared from his face the moment the last word left my lips. His face twisted in an expression of pain as a loud gasp left him, the glass slipped from his fingers and he threw his hand over his heart. 

Kayla was there, at his side, to comfort her lover while tears streamed down his cheeks and I found an odd pleasure in watching him double over in pain. 

“You never told me Aman Larue was her father!” The Alpha snarled at my step-mother, struggling to breathe through the pain. 

So that was what his shock was about? My father’s name? I suppose the big, bad Alpha wasn’t the brightest star in the sky if he didn’t see the connection of a last name we shared. 

“I- I didn’t think it was of importance,” my step-mother stuttered. 

“Of course, it was! He was my father’s best friend!” 

As the commotion grew louder, I slowly stepped back and disappeared in the kitchen before anyone noticed my leave. This was worse than I thought. Without a wolf, I could easily survive the rejection, but the fact that this man came from the pack that my parents escaped, the pack that wanted me dead was truly terrifying. 

Now, he knew where I was. He knew who I was, so I had to get out of here before he tried to fulfill the sick plans his pack had all those years ago. 

No one bothered to acknowledge my absence, so I ran downstairs and hid in the cell. I had little to no belongings, a set of change of clothing and a photo of my parents, so I shoved those in a torn-up backpack and hid the bag in the darkest corner of my room. 

As I paced the small cell, I kept running my hand though my hair like that could help me come up with an exit plan. I had to do it tonight. I knew the patrol schedules by heart, I knew how often the guards walked through the premises and when I could sneak out unnoticed. 

Besides, since I wasn’t a part of this pack, no one would feel it when I left. I could get out of the territory and no one would notice until someone came looking for me. 

I had so many chances to escape over the years, yet I never used them in hope to find my mate and fear of the outside world. The pack members might have been abusive, but I knew it was worse out there. Rogues, criminals, vampires and even humans - all of them were to fear. 

Suddenly, I froze in my step. Why was I scared of humans if I was one of them? Shifters had to fear hunters, but I didn’t have to. I didn’t have a wolf and the last connection I had to supernaturals was destroyed in that dining room when my mate rejected me. 

Just as the thought of him crossed my mind, the door to the cells opened and someone ran down the stairs. My heart nearly stopped as I thought of my step-mother or her husband coming here to show me my place, but instead, the man who had rejected me stood in front of the cell. 

Like a man on a mission, he stalked towards me, grabbed my shoulders and forced his lips on mine. I tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge and spoke in-between the forced kiss. “Tell me you still feel it, Eden. It’s not fully gone, we can repair the bond, tell me you fucking feel it!” 

When he finally released me, I stared at him in horror. He stole my first kiss. I can’t believe this is how it happened. Tears brimmed in my eyes as I tried to back away, slapped a hand over my mouth and shook my head. 

He destroyed the bond, there was nothing to repair anymore. 

“No! You can feel it, I can and so can you! It’s still here! Get your shit, you’re coming home with me!” He screamed at me. 

The crazed look in his eyes made him look like he had lost his mind. I was too scared to speak up, so I kept shaking my head in denial. I didn’t feel the sparks, the bond was gone and there was no way I was following him to a pack of murderers.  

I knew Alphas were known for having short tempers and anger issues, but I didn’t expect the slap he delivered. He used so much force, I fell back, hit my head against the concrete wall and tasted blood in my mouth. 

When I looked up at him, tears streamed down my cheeks while he was pointing his finger at me and screamed. “I will return in a couple of hours, I highly suggest you rethink your decision while I’m gone, because next time, I won’t ask. When I return, you’re coming with me, like it or not.”