I don’t understand.
Back then, those rogues threatened Gideon, promising to use me as their pawn for revenge. Yet, he walked away without a second thought. Why is he bringing this up now? Does he seriously think I could have escaped unscathed from their claws?
In some way, I kind of did. Eventually, I was so battered and bruised from the alley that even the rogues didn’t want to touch me, and instead, I became their punching bag. Remembering that all this was because of Gideon makes my stomach churn with disgust. My wolf whined softly in the back of my mind, a faint echo of the pain I’d buried deep.
I didn’t linger in the living room. The air felt heavy, suffocating, like the weight of the pack’s hierarchy pressing down on me. Instead, I retreated to the study, a small sanctuary away from the suffocating dominance of the Alpha’s presence. I called my mother, the Luna of our pack. The call connected quickly.
“Mom, it’s me,” I said, my voice trembling.
“Ellie? What’s got you calling today, run out of money?” she asked, her tone light but laced with the usual distance. Still, it was comforting to hear her voice.
“No, I just wanted to talk to you,” I replied, biting my lip hard. “Mom, I don’t want to love Gideon anymore.”
There was a pause on the other end, and I could almost feel her stiffen, her Luna instincts kicking in. “What happened?” she asked, her voice softer now, the maternal warmth breaking through her usual aloofness.
“I’ve loved him for a full decade, clung to him for ten years,” I confessed, my voice cracking. “But in all those years, all I’ve received is pain, only humiliation. And in the end, he shoved me into hell with his own hands. The cost of loving him was too high.”
My mother’s sigh was heavy, carrying the weight of years of unspoken words. “Ellie, you’ve always been strong, even when you didn’t feel it. If Gideon can’t see your worth, then he doesn’t deserve you. You’re my daughter, the daughter of an Alpha. Don’t let anyone make you feel less than you are.”
Her words, though rare, were a balm to my wounded soul. For a moment, I felt the faintest flicker of hope. Maybe, just maybe, I could let go of the boy who had once been my everything and find my own strength again. My wolf stirred within me, a quiet but resolute presence, urging me forward.
