Atticus POV
Varied emotions fill the room, but only one is sticking out. Brittany's heartbreak is flowing through the mate bond. She had hope that I was here to reclaim her, but now she knows the truth.
I turn to her, and she pleads to me silently. 'Don't do this,' she begs me through the mate bond.
I don't let her sway me. This is three years in the making.
"I, Alpha Atticus, reject you, Brittany, a rogue, as my mate and my Luna." The pain that rips through my heart is nothing compared to the betrayal that I have felt from her over the past three years. I don't flinch or wince in pain.
Brittany, on the other hand, is clearly suffering. She sets the little boy on his feet, and he runs into Theo's arms. She is clutching her chest in pain.
"Atticus," she whimpers. "You don't have to do this."
Theo growls loudly at her words, but he doesn't speak. He clutches his son to his chest, and I fight back the feelings of jealous that surge through my body.