Chapter 16
1531 Words
Alpha Duncan left Lily feeling relieved but surprised. Her reaction tinted the relief he felt from clearing the air between the both of them.
The Lily he remembered had bawled her eyes out when he would not mark her. How come she was now taking this calmly? He thought.
“It is a good thing that you came back to your senses.”
“Idris?”
“Were you expecting someone else?”
“How could you desert me for weeks?” Duncan grumbled at his wolf as relief washed through him.
“How could you mark someone other than our mate? I refuse to be a part of it.”
“So you will allow your pack to fall instead?
“Stop being a fool. I was only silent, but have been here the whole time. You will certainly know if I were to be totally cut off from you.
He argued cheerfully with his beast counterpart until he got to his office. Those that saw him knew something about him was different. The cheeriness on his face was something they have not seen since he lost his family.
************
April woke up from a fretful sleep. She did not feel rested as she had woken up severally during the night. Her discomfort had nothing to do with her bed, but with alpha Duncan’s pack. She knew that something was wrong with him because she could feel his restlessness through their mate link. It irritated her so much that she waited impatiently for morning to come so that she can reject him and be free.
After a quick shower, she got dressed in a black tank top and a blue knee-length shorts and refrained from applying any makeup because of the heat. She frowned at the high temperature so early in the morning. How can this place be this hot? The downpour last night obviously did nothing to cool the atmosphere. She muttered to herself.
She already had her day planned out. Her first point of contact is going to be the alpha. She will seek him out, reject him and then carry on with trying to see as much of the pack as she can. With that decision made, she left her room.
The sight that greeted her when she opened her door had her stopping right in her tracks.
Alpha Duncan stood there with hand raised, as if he was about to knock on her door. They both stood there, staring at each other. April did her best to ignore how ruggedly handsome he looked. His clean-shaven jaw was firm and set, making him look even more breath taken.
“What are you doing here?” She asked.
Her face and voice devoid of any form of emotion.
“We need to talk,”
“You should have sent for me.”
“I couldn’t wait another minute to see you.”
April thought the urgency had to do with his pack.
“Let’s go to your office and talk.” Standing here in front of my door is not the right place to have this discussion.”
Alpha Duncan nodded his head in agreement and led her to his office. They walked in a tensed silence, and the alpha could not help but feel a little apprehensive.
He offered her a sit as soon as they walked into his office. The sparks that flew between them electrified the atmosphere so much that April was desperate for any form of distraction.
“I would like to address this bond between us before your mate arrives.”
“Lily will not be joining us.” Alpha Duncan responded gruffly.
His response surprised April because her own parents had run their pack together, taking decisions and executing plans together.
Her expression was not lost on the alpha.
“She is not my mate.” He said, clearing his throat as if he was suffocating.
April was confused by what he just said, because she remembered the pain that shot her into dark oblivion when he marked Lily. In fact, the dull ache on her shoulder was a constant reminder of his action.
“What do you mean, she is not your mate? You already have her marked as yours.”
“H-how?” he stuttered.
“You mean how did I find out that you already marked her?” April asked, unable to hold back the bitterness in her voice.
“Yes”
“Because your action that night almost killed me.”
April recounted the event of that night, how she had passed out from the pain, and how she still carried a residue of that same pain ever since.
Alpha Duncan could not believe what he just heard. He explained how the attempt to mark Lily had failed, and how he now regrets that decision. The sorrow he felt from his guilt was so heavy that it caused his shoulders to slump. He was afraid to find out more, but knew he needed to ask.
“Was that the only time you ever felt pain because of my, erm… actions?”
“No.”
His shoulders slumped even further at her curt answer.
“I am so sorry.” He said in a voice leaden with regret and remorse.
He was in so much pain, and even his wolf was whining like a lost kitty. He wished he could just evaporate into thin air.
April could not understand his reaction, but it made her uncomfortable.
“Look alpha, you do not owe me any apology. You have made your choice and I would like to move on with my life just like you have.
Her statement scared him. The feeling of fear was alien to him. He felt like a fish out of water.
“I do not want you to move on from me. Please stay and give me a chance to make amend. I want you back, please.”
The statement caused April to look up at him. She looked deeply into his eyes and at that moment; she fought their mate bond as if her life depended on it.
“I will never, ever come back to you as a mate.”
Alpha Duncan stood up from his seat and walked round the table to where April sat. He tried to take her hands in his, but she was quick to snatch them away. Her reaction increased the pain in his heart. It was as if someone had plunged a silver knife through him.
“I will do anything to win you back.” He pleaded.
However, April was beyond angry. How could she be mated to such an insensitive brute? she thought. It infuriated her that the alpha would pick and dump ladies as he saw fit. Not in the least bothered about the pains his actions were causing to these ladies.
“I, April of the full moon pack here and now reject you, alpha Duncan of the crescent moon pack as my mate.”
Shock and pain knocked him off the edge of the table where he perched. He felt to his knees. One hand clutching his stomach while the other clutched his heart. He could hardly see through the haze of pain that engulfed him.
April stood there watching him and waiting for him to accept her rejection. The pain that was radiating through her was nothing compared to what she had felt from him in the past.
“I alpha Duncan of the crescent moon pack refuse your rejection.”
“Please let us not move in circles. I will never accept you back as my mate. Not after attempting to mark another.” April said in a low but steady voice.
Alpha Duncan shook his head and promised both her and himself that he would do all it takes to win her back.
******
As soon as April left his office, alpha Duncan rushed down to the clinic to see the doctor. He wanted to know if there was any other way to cure Lily, aside from rejecting his mate.
The doctor affirmed there was one other way, and that is for him to mark his fated. His venom in his fated mate will neutralise the one in the other female.
The alpha heaved a sigh of relief at this new information, and with that, he renewed his decision to pursue April till she forgives him.
******
While he was seeking a solution to his problem, Lily was busy seeking out April. She plastered a sweet smile on her face when she found her at the training ground.
“You know you are intruding into my relationship,” she blurted as soon as she got to April’s side.
“How so?” April retorted. Plastering her own fake smile to match the one on Lily’s face.
Lily dropped all pretence as she faced her opponent.
“The alpha is mine and not even you can take him away from me.”
“You can have him for all eternity. I do not want him.”
April left a shocked Lily as she strolled out of the training grounds.
- Writer
