After the demise of our meeting, I sprinted back to my packhouse. I needed to get the hell out of here. I didn't care if I was their Luna. They didn't care about me anyway.
'Would anyone come after us knowing we were leaving?' Rexi asked in my head. I wiped the beads of tears from my face and replied, 'They wouldn't even notice we were gone.'
After packing my embarrassingly small suitcase of all my belongings, I turned to stare at the wall clock.
It was late in the night. Nate didn't even message me an apology or further intimation about Karen's health. She faked the injury. I know it.
The blood stain by her seat when she was taken away didn't even smell like hers. Was Nate being dismissive of her acts on purpose or was he truly innocently being treaded to follow her demands all the time?
I didn't care.
Zade called me a few times but I didn't pick up. He texted me as I gave into my curiosity to see if he put a word about our pack's matters to Prince Zyke. We will be in touch with royals to resolve issues soon.
Meanwhile, a text from Karen was sent after I replied to Zade.
[Hoe Karen: You're worried about Nate but he's worried about me. What a shame that no one even worries about you after I've conceived. You're useless]
Karen's words had zero impact on me. I replied flatly,
[Me: Congratulations]
I switched the phone off and started making bigger plans to escape this uninviting turf.
Several hours later as I was talking to the Beta about pack matters, Karen and Nate strutted in.
They walked past me as if nothing happened. I grit my teeth to see Karen smirking right back at me.
"I'm tired, babe. I gotta sleep. Sleep with me? I want to feel warm and cosy ~" Karen said loudly in the hallway. She and Nate were always close. I was uncomfortable with that since the beginning.
Nate chuckled and patted her hair, "I will babe. Let's go sleep."
Nate didn't even notice me, his mate, in the hallway. He walked down holding hands with her. I shuddered when he smacked her butt as she walked up the stairs. I was the only one cursed to witness it.
I was passing by my room in the evening when loud laughter was heard from the study. Nate just walked out of my study with a grin on his face.
When I walked in, I gasped loudly.
"What do you think you're doing?" I asked, my hands trembling from anger. My new wedding dress, custom-made for me with the finest fabrics for my psoriasis, was worn by Karen.
She removed a few stitches to fit herself into the dress. I was almost too close to crying and passing out. I held it all in.
"This is such a sweet wedding dress! And I look so good in it!" Karen said. She gleamed. My gaze fell on Janet, Nate's mother, sipping tea in my study. Her feet were on my desk, soiling the files below her sandals.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Formalities flew out of the window as I asked Janet.
"What do you mean?" Her tough voice replied.
"You know what I mean, Janet. She's in my custom wedding dress. Even if I won't marry your son, I would marry someone else in that dress. It cost a fortune." I said. I saved up money for two years, just to get this dress. I remember choosing between saving money and buying a decent meal for myself when we used to travel for pack matters abroad. That's how I accumulated money to buy this dress.
And there she was, opening stitches and crumbling it all up.
"Take it off. Take it off!" I went batshit and started ripping her off the dress. I didn't know what else to do. Just then, hearing the commotion, Nate flew in and pried me off of her. Karen started crying right away.
"She was abusing me!" Karen exclaimed. I spat on the dress she was wearing.
"You're always crossing limits and YOU are always letting her trample over me all the time! I hate you!" I cried loudly.
"There's no need for you to be this childish, Nova. It's barely a dress! I'll buy you a new one, dammit! You didn't have to hurt my lover!" The words slipped out of his mouth. Before he could realize it, the damage was already done.
"I see how it is." Wiping my tears harshly, I stormed out of the room.
When I walked out of my room and entered the study, I screamed at the sight.
The wedding dress was torn to pieces and a dead snake's blood was splattered all over. I turned around and crouched over the toilet bowl, throwing up on the spot.
I stormed out, my body weak and heart pulsating.
"WHO DID THIS!?" I screamed over the common dinner table.
"It's a little goodbye gift, can't you see?" Karen said, eating buttered scallops as if nothing mattered. My senses were clouded as I threw the dress on the dinner table, ruining the food with the dress and the snake carcass splashing all over.
Surprisingly, Karen screamed and rushed behind Nate. Nate was screaming his head off at me, asking if I was insane.
"I'm asking you again, Nate. Who did this?" I just wanted to know at that point.
"It was me." Suddenly, Janet stood up and presented herself. She was calm throughout the ordeal.
"I did it. The snake was a victim of my loathing for you. You're leaving tonight, isn't it? Stay away from me and my pack and never bring your infertility luck to my pack ever again." I stared at Janet as her words pierced unhealed wounds.
Nate turned to hug Karen, who was crying loudly, complaining about how I ruined her favourite dinner.
That didn't make any sense to me. Still doesn't. Where did I ever go wrong in choosing a family?
Was I being cursed since birth?
Even my parents and best friend left me alone in this world.
