Chapter 5

VIOLET’S POV It was my fault, they said, and for a solid eight years, I couldn’t understand how that could be. I just couldn’t get it. I was twelve back then, and I believed the words of the woman who had raised me up until that age. I followed her lead, and when she didn’t make it out alive, I was forced to take the blame for the person who was actually responsible for it. I was scorned and punished. And now, here I am, staring at the person who caused all this pain with another woman. Sam smirked from where he was, taking his sweet time to finish before redirecting his attention back to me. Sussy rested her body on his, the moment he got off her, and to say I was disgusted would be an understatement. Above all, I wondered if this was the first time she had slept with him or it had happened more than a few times. Why would she do something like that to me, even after years of friendship? I could understand Sam turning away from me, but her? What was the reason behind it? It couldn’t possibly be jealousy, because then what would she be jealous of? Me getting bitten by nasty poisonous insects or being locked in my cell for years on end? What was it? “I looked up to you for years, Sussy. I came to you when I was most hurt, and you comforted me. Yet, you do this to me? What if I had been the one to get together with your mate? Would you forgive me?” The audacity of her to laugh and she did, breaking into laughter like I had suddenly become the most anticipated circus clown. “Get over yourself Violet. My mate, whoever he is, would never get down with a rag like you. And let’s skip the whole ‘being friends’ thing. Seriously, do you have any idea how exhausting it was to constantly hear you whine like some baby? Just grow up already!” She sneered at me while Sam laid there, caressing her hair and smiling to himself, relishing in my pain. “You see, Violet, I could never be with you,” he started to say, not even bothering to look at me as he spoke. “Not in this life or the next. Because, just think about it, every time I would have to look at you, all I’ll ever see is the reason my mother is dead. Do you think I could ever forgive you for that?” How was he still hung up on that when he, of all people, knew the truth? “I wasn’t the rogue that killed her, Sam. I wasn’t the reason my father betrayed the pack….” “But your father isn’t here to pay for his crimes, Violet, is he? You don’t suppose we would just let things go just because he’s dead, do you? Someone has to pay for it, and you have that traitor’s blood in your veins. I mean, it’s only a matter of time before you find your own reasons to further betray your people. So take this - if not as you atoning for your father’s sins – you getting punished in advance.” I wanted to scream some sense into his face. I wanted him to understand that he couldn’t hate me for my father’s crimes, but who was I kidding? He had done so for eight solid years, and he was still doing it. Sam rose from his lying position and sat upright. He leaned forward, pressing his elbows into his knees as he did so, and he flashed me a mocking smile. I was still on the ground, looking like a beggar waiting for the king’s crumbs to eat. “Oh Violet, such an unlucky soul you are.” He muttered, then clapped his hands together and stood to his feet in his naked glory without a care in the world. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?” My brows furrowed at his words, and I kept my eyes down. My palms got sweaty as I waited for whatever he had planned next, but at the start of his words, it didn’t matter that he was butt naked. My head shot upwards, and my eyes widened. “I, Sam Chandler, future Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack, reject you, Violet Windsor, as my mate and future Luna. Our bond means nothing to me, and I sever it now and forever.” Was it just pain, or was I pulled right down to hell without actually dying? I screamed so loudly I could hear my voice disappear. But he wasn’t finished, and while I continued to hit my chest from the pain of my heart breaking, he spoke. “I don’t want you here any longer and like I said to you before, I would have had you killed or banished a long time ago, and this time, I mean it. I will have my father throw you out of this pack.” He pulled me up from the ground like I weighed nothing, walked towards his door and threw me out like a used rag. I picked up what was left of myself – my body only being an empty shell with no soul in it – and I ran out of the house. I ran like my life depended on it, feeling pain shoot through my body with each step. And since everywhere hurt, I didn’t dare stop even after falling several times. Somehow the pain had become a driving force. My vision blurred from the tears that streamed down my face like a waterfall that was never gonna dry up. You’d think I’d be dehydrated from all that crying, right? But enough was enough. Those tears were from all the years I spent fighting and hoping for a life that now seemed impossible. I knew deep down I wasn’t going to get far if I let them continue to decide my fate. I was done with all of it; done hoping, done holding onto words that meant nothing now. “Your mate will love you unconditionally, my ass.” I muttered in frustration as I continued to run. My heart was pounding, and I felt like I was going to pass out soon. Her words didn’t hold any truth in them any longer, but maybe if she had been alive and he didn’t hate me – well, no one did except my father – then I could have seen her words come to pass, not like they were some kind of prophecy or anything. I trusted your words Luna, I trusted you and now look at me. Eight years of pain in vain. Normally, I would see images of her in my mind, but I hadn’t in a while, and the realization that I couldn’t even remember clearly how she looked like rested on my chest like a blanket. With my face covered in mud, my legs sore, blistered and wounded, I kept on running. With my heart racing, my lungs begging for rest, I went further. And without even realizing that the sky had become completely overcast with clouds, and suddenly it started to pour down rain as if the sky had been ripped open. I ran stopping when the water touched me. The rain fell so violently, it felt like it wasn’t just pouring down but beating the living daylights out of me, as if I hadn’t suffered enough already. Resentment filled my heart, knowing that even nature seemed to hate me. “What are we going to do, Vi? Are we going to go back there?” Aria, my wolf, spoke in a voice that saddened me further. All the hurt I had felt earlier didn’t seem to matter anymore knowing that she was the one hurting the most. Her bond wasn’t just severed with her mate, it had ripped out her cords painfully. But I was shocked she hadn’t gone into hiding and that she was actually choosing to speak to me. “I thought….” “I’m never going to abandon you, V. I was already late showing up and I have no plans to ever leave you, we’re in this together.” She said firmly, and I found myself nodding in agreement to her words. I wasn’t alone after all, and I wasn’t crying anymore. I was still in pain but the tears in my eyes had dried up, and the only liquid falling was the rain that continued to pour down. The only thing I felt now was a burning rage in my chest. “Vi, I’m with you every step of the way, no matter the decision you make. But do you think we could ever continue to stay here? I can’t bear watching Sam be with someone else, Vi,” Aria asked again. “And you won’t ever have to Aria. We’ll get out of here. One way or another, we’ll find our place in this world. We’ll find a home for ourselves.” I said to her firmly, determination etching my face. The pack’s borderline wasn’t far away from us, and in a few seconds, we would have no ties with the Dark Moon Pack for whatsoever reason. I wanted that, and I knew Aria did too. So, I squared my aching shoulders, ready to move, when the bushes in front of me rustled. My breath hitched in my throat as wolves emerged from the bushes in numbers that made all the blood on my face drain out. Rogues.