Chapter 10

Harvey

It hurts.

Being rejected by the one who was supposed to be destined with me felt very hurt. And a wolf could only live with one mate for the rest of his life. Getting rejected meant the wolves should bear the unimaginable pain of being brokenhearted until he found another mate if that was possible.

Have you ever heard of a werewolf who died because of a broken heart? No? Then maybe I would become the first one.

Alice's words still rang in my ear even after a few minutes had passed. I was stunned and looked at her in disbelief. Was I wrong because I tried to keep her alive? Was her hate towards me huge to the point she couldn't even believe a single word from me? Was it all a lie that I thought she would eventually open up to me?

I was being rejected.

I, Harvey Adkins, the Alpha of the Sableclaw pack, was rejected by my mate.

I could do nothing other than take a few steps back from her while my eyes stared at her blankly. She stood and looked at me with anger that burnt her eyes as a whole. Did she understand how much it would hurt me to hear her words?

"You rejected me, Alice?" I asked her again. Still, I was trying to reassure myself that I had probably misheard everything.

But she nodded. So firmly that I believe it wasn't a hallucination.

"Yes. You're not hearing it wrong. I don't want to be your mate, Luna, or whatever that shit you just said. I just want to escape from here."

BAM!

I felt a punch in my heart. And I touch my chest because of the pain.

"Oh, please, Harvey. Don't be so overdramatic. You can find another woman who will gladly open their legs for you." She said while rolling her eyes.

Did she think I was that kind of a jerk? A douchebag who would bang any other woman with lame excuses? I even held myself so much to wait for her. I thought she would be my first, but fate did pull a harsh string between us.

After all of these determinations, it seemed my efforts would go in vain. I was drowned deep in regret and all I could do was glance at her for the last time.

"You want to go from here?"

She bobbed her head without hesitation.

"Pack your bag and Jordan will escort you home tomorrow."

And just like that, I marched away from her. Far from her sight and retreat myself back to an empty bedroom. I was lost for words and couldn't speak anything. My heart felt hurt so much and I couldn't even say it loud.

I couldn't burst out in anger and slam her to the bed. No matter how great the hatred she labored to me, she was still my mate. The destined one. And I didn't want her to be scared or even terrified of me.

Hell, it was better to feel this pain alone.

***

I had spent my whole day in this spare bedroom. Alone in the darkness while my mind kept thinking about her and how would our life turn out to be. My Luna had rejected me and I would probably become the lone wolf for the rest of my life.

Unless the Moon Goddess decided to match me with another wolf. But even I wasn't sure about that. We are truly monogamous creatures and that is something we have always been proud of. I doubt there would be another chance with another Luna.

But that wasn't the only thing that bothered me. Even though Moon Goddess chose to appoint another one to be my mate, I doubt I would have this same amount of love for her. Alice had taken the whole space in my heart and mating with another only for the sake of "ritual" would feel like a betrayal.

To me. And to that future mates.

I sighed and looked out from the window.

It seemed like the future Alpha would be inherited by my nephew then. My sister's son seemed to be a pretty good choice, though.

I heard Jacob's voice from outside. He was talking with Alice. I glanced at the clock.

Ah, I didn't even realize that I was staying up until morning without getting any sleep. It was the time for her to leave this house as I promised. I walked toward the door and eavesdropped their conversation.

"Are you sure about this, Alice?" Jacob asked her.

Without missing a beat, she said yes so confidently. Oh, to be that firm on one thing was her stubbornness.

Their steps sounded closer to my door. As if they walked passing my bedroom and stopped right at the other side of my door.

"You don't want to say goodbye to him?"

I froze behind the door. A little bit piece of my heart hoping that she would change her mind and stay with me instead. Or at least, if she did leave, saying goodbye for a second would helped. At least that way I could feel that she saw me as a human being and not just some kind of cruel monster.

"No, I'm good." She said.

Shit.

What did I expect anyway? Having her changed her mind and dashed back to my arms? No way, Harvey. You knew her better than others. She was one tenacious girl that you wouldn't be able to handle. Jeff even warned you about that.

And as if without any doubt left in her, I could hear her steps inching farther from my room. Along with Jacob's following her.

Goodbye, my love. It was nice to see you for this short time. Thank you for giving me a feeling of being rejected and heartbroken. I would be reminiscing about it for the rest of my life.

***

A knock was heard at my door. It had been three days since Alice left this house and I wasn't still able to move on from her.

What a loser.

But how could I do that anyway? It was in our nature as a werewolf. Sticking with one mate till death do us apart. And unfortunately, in my case, my mate left me heartbroken.

"Yeah?" I asked whoever was on the other side of my door. My voice sounded hoarse because I wasn't feeling good lately. Maybe because she kept occupying my mind and I couldn't get a peaceful rest ever since she left.

"You good, Harvey?"

It was Jordan. He probably checking if I was still alive.

"Go away. I don't want to see anybody now."

He silenced for a beat before continuing to talk.

"We have a problem, Harvey. You need to wear your Alpha hat now." He said seriously.

Problem? What was wrong? I already made sure everything was fine before I decided to shut myself out from the world.

I walked to the door and opened it only to see Jordan standing with a stern look on his face. With only one glance, I knew something was happening. Jordan would always try to solve every minor problem without bothering me. And if Jordan decided to bring me along, it meant this problem was borderline serious and fatal.

"What's wrong?"

"Ironmaws. They attacked one of us last night."

"Who's the victim?"

"Flora."

I froze. How could they attack her? She was the youngest in our pack. An orphan because her parents were killed in the grand fight ten years ago. She barely reached ten years old a few days ago. Those wolves were indeed the filthiest of our kind. What even crossed their mind that made them think it was okay to land a strike on a minor?

Insane.

The anger boiled inside me and I quickly rushed out from my room to check the news. Jordan followed me closely behind. We both bolted straight to where Flora was found.

And there she was.

Wounds were all over her body and blood washing over her from head to toe. She lay with her face to the ground but it didn't even take a long time for us to know her horrible condition.

When we arrived, we saw some of our members and Helen was already there. Their faces twisted in horror and some showed great anger. Because who wasn't? An innocent child was killed just because. Without any reason other than for the sake of poking my nose.

"She's been dead for at least 4 hours, Alpha," Helen said quietly.

"What happened?" I asked - trying so hard to keep my voice steady.

"Same with Alice. Deep claw marks and scratches all over the body."

I clenched my fist and groaned. Roman just crossed every line we had drawn to separate us. To separate between good and bad. And I couldn't just sit back and watch him cross the boundaries.

First, Alice. And now, Flora.

A payback needed to be done. And it should be with my own hands.

"Should we attack them now?" Jordan asked me with the same anger in his tone.

I nodded and took a step to the forest. But I felt limbless suddenly and stumbled to the front. Jordan swiftly moved and caught me before I crashed to the ground.

"You sure are okay?" He asked. A worry was plastered all over his face.

I shook my head trying to kick off my dizziness. But it was no use. My sight went blur and all I could feel was a punch in my heart.

"I don't think so."