Chapter 3

• I opened my eyes in a sterile white room. The room was cold and unwelcoming, and the smell of disinfectant was strong in the air.
• “You’re awake.” I turned my head to the side to see Rosie sitting in the only chair in the room. “You dumb fucking bitch.” She shed the layers of nicety she always wore when around others.
• “Rosie,” I swallowed thickly as her name felt bitter on my tongue. “What are you on about?”
• My precious little sister. She ran off with a wealthy older man over five years ago, leaving behind a simple letter about finding love and that no one should look for her. We searched for her for a long time but her lover was quite meticulous in hiding her. Even Elijah, with his wide network, could not find her. Now, here she was in my hospital room, her blue eyes darkening as she gazed at me with eyes that spoke of deep hatred. It was as if I had been transported back in time to five years ago when all I could do was try not to cower as I gazed at this snake.
• “You scheming bitch!” She flung the magazine she’d been reading. “How dare you mate with Elijah in my absence!?”
• “I didn’t think I needed your permission to accept my mate’s proposal.” I sat up in bed. My sweet sister was dangerous so I couldn’t afford to be caught in an unfavourable position pending when she lost her marbles.
• “Your mate?” She scoffed. “You’ve always coveted everything that belonged to me, from my family to my man. I’m supposed to be the Luna of this pack. You know Elijah loves me and you took my absence to snatch him away from me!”
• “I didn’t do that.”
• Although I felt frustrated to the point of pulling my hair, I desperately tried to maintain a false sense of calmness. One wrong line and Rosie could and would do something dangerous.
• Five years had passed but the woman before me was the same girl I’d always known. A sneaky, two-faced, evil girl who took out all her frustrations on me. Someone whose superiority complex touched the sky and who could not rest until she made me feel terrible for simply existing.
• “What did you do then?” Her eyes were red already, her temper short. “What the fuck did you do to become Eli’s mate? Tell me the fucking truth!”
• “I didn’t do anything!” I shouted out of frustration. “You knew he loved you but you ran off with some rich guy. Did you even consider how miserable he would be? How can you be so selfish? Did you really think he would sit back for five years and wait for you to return from goddess knows where you have been?”
• “Is that it?’ She took several threatening steps towards me and I had no choice but to get out of bed despite my vision wavering. I held onto the side of the bed and stood my ground. “So you took my absence as an opportunity to seduce him?”
• “Elijah proposed to me. He chose me!” I emphasized. “I didn’t have to do anything because he came to me himself.”
• “You knew I’d return but you didn’t think twice about stealing him from me!”
• “How did I steal him? You ran off with another man!”
• “I’d always return because Elijah is my destiny. Mine!”
• “He was never yours. You abandoned him and now he’s my mate. I’m his Luna so I guess you have to deal with it.”
• “This little bitch –“ She raised her hand at me.
• It had been five years. Five years without having to worry about anyone raising a hand at me. Five years in which I thought I would never have to deal with Rosie and her temper tantrums anymore. Yet, five years later, she raised her hand at me and I froze. Once again, I was nothing but a little girl who had to deal with abuse for no reason. I hated it. I hated how I froze, raising my hands on instinct and protecting my head. I hated how I feared this woman. I hated myself for being this way.
• The door opening saved me. I lowered my hands as fast as Rosie lowered hers.
• “You’re funny, Ri.” She threw her head back as she laughed. “We’ll see won’t we, Luna?”
• Her words were a clear threat. She was telling me to count my fucking days as the Luna of this pack. I wish I could say her threat didn’t faze me but it did. My mate was in love with her, after all.
• “Luna, the doctor will be with you shortly.” The nurse had pity in her eyes.
• It made me feel even more pathetic. I didn’t want to be pitied but I smiled anyway. Over the years, I had learnt to be generous, to be forgiving, to turn a blind eye to things I didn’t like because the world seemed out of my control. There was not much I could do and as the days passed, I found I could do less and less.
• “Your stress levels have skyrocketed recently.” The doctor informed me. “Your heart rate and blood pressure are concerning and since you’ve collapsed once, we have to keep you here for at least twenty- four hours to monitor you.”
• “No, I want – I want to go home. I can rest at home.” Hospitals made me uncomfortable so I could never rest well here.
• “Not a chance.” He didn’t bat a lash. “The Alpha already has a lot on his plate. It won’t be good to add a fainting Luna to his plate.”
• In the end, the doctor called my mate and they both agreed that it would be best for me to stay. The hospital held me for twenty-four hours and there was not a single call from my mate, no call from my family and no visit from either of them.
• **
• I was only twenty-five years old with a long life ahead of me. If I continued like this, how much longer would I live? Was there any chance that Elijah would love me? Would l continue to fight for his love?
• When I got home the next day, the scent of food cooking permeated the entire house. It was too early for Elijah to be back so who was in my kitchen? My stomach growled, reminding me of my hunger. I walked to the kitchen and met Rosie in my kitchen wearing my apron.
• “Oh, you’re back.” She greeted me with a flippant smile.
• “What are you doing here?” My words were weak, tired.
• “I’m making Eli’s favourite meal!”
• I knew the minute he entered the kitchen. My wolf perked up and suddenly, the scent of the food on the stove faded away and all I could perceive was his mouthwatering scent.
• “You’re back.”
• These were the only words my mate had to say to me.
• “Are you disappointed?” I asked with thinly veiled sarcasm.
• “Not now.”
• His lips turned down as he turned his gaze away from me. His eyes settled on Rosie who was playing the role of housewife. It was subtle, oh so subtle, but his lips turned up as he watched her move around.
• “Spicy chilli?” He asked in a tone that was a lot calmer than what he used with me seconds ago.
• “Yes, I know it’s your favourite,” Rosie said with a light laugh and a bright smile at him. “Ri, I hope you don’t mind that I’m here. Since you were hospitalized, Elijah agreed that it’ll be okay for me to move in and help with his meals. You’re glad I didn’t let your mate go hungry, right?”
• “He hates spicy chilli,” I blurted. “He won’t eat it.”
• Elijah didn’t care for spicy food. This was something I learnt within one month of being mated to him. He wasn’t a picky eater but I noticed that if I served anything even slightly spicy, he didn’t eat well.
• “No, Eli loves it,” Rosie refuted. “Don’t you? You always ate well when I made it.”
• “Yeah.” His tone was gruff. “I like the way you make it.”
• “Eli, we need to talk,” I said.
• At first, it looked like he would refuse but he nodded after a final glance at Rosie. The two of us left the kitchen and went to our room.
• “Eli-“ I started but he didn’t let me finish.
• “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “Do you want to go with me to the villa in the south? It will be good for you to get a break from what’s happening in the pack. The doctor said you collapsed because of stress.”
• “R – really?” I stopped myself from gawking at him. “You want to go to the villa with me?” The villa where we spent our honeymoon? The same one I’d been begging him to take me back to for years now?
• “Yes, didn’t you always talk about going? This is a perfect time to go. I’ll clear my schedule for the weekend.”
• Despite not wanting to get my hopes up, knowing that Saturday was our five years anniversary, I couldn’t help it. Did he remember or was this a coincidence? Either way, it was a great opportunity to leave behind the madness in this pack and get closer to my mate. It was all I ever wanted so I beamed at him.
• “Yes, that’ll be great!” I couldn’t help it as I launched myself at him, hugging him with a tight grip.
• Elijah may be cold but I couldn’t say he didn’t care for me. He was taking a break for the first time in five years because of me. Even if he loved Rosie, the five years we spent together must mean something to him and this weekend, I’d try my best to make him look at me differently.
• The next day, I went shopping with a grin on my face. Nothing could put me down, not even the whispers that followed me. On Friday evening, Elijah drove the two of us to the villa in the south facing a private beach.
• “We are going to have so much fun!” I said to him as I hugged his bicep. “What should we do first? Do you want to –“
• It was early evening and this part of the pack was silent and serene. The sound of a car approaching made me shut up. I thought I imagined it until I saw a familiar car pull up behind us. From inside the car came Rosie, my mother and then Reese.
• Cold gripped me and the smile on my face fell. Then and there, I lost all reason.