Chasing the rejected Luna novel Chapter 17

Sophia

"Why…why…" I stopped to look at her with confusion. It was hard to believe her. Alexander was cruel but going as far as killing his best friend to frame me for it was not something I thought he could do.  

"I know it's hard to take in. But I do hope you'll forgive him," Dianne's mother squeezed my hand and I looked away from her, unable to look her in the eye. 

"But why?" I asked no one in particular and turned to face her back. Tears were brimming in her eyes and I couldn't understand. I tried to come up with different reasons but none made sense to me. I never hurt Alexander so why does he hate me so much?

I began to believe what Dianne told me about Alexander getting me back for a silly bet. It made me want to scream out to the universe for making my life so pathetically hard. I never offended anyone and tried to be in everyone's good books. 

But all they ever did was make my life hell. Maybe I was never meant to be in this pack. Maybe the moon goddess made a mistake in placing me here. I never felt like I belonged and I was glad I would be leaving the pack. 

That's what I told myself. But deep down, I knew I wanted to be acknowledged, to be felt, and to belong here. I wanted to feel what it's like to be loved by people around me. 

I sucked in a shaky breath and ran a hand through my hair. Some knots gave me a burn on my scalp when I pulled harder. But the pain was nothing compared to knowing my mate had broken me over the years without my knowledge. Someone who I wanted to please and get back to. 

Dianne's mother squeezed my hand again, bringing me to the present. I didn't know when she moved forward to me and held my hand. 

"I don't know why he did it. But I knew he didn't make you intentionally go through so much pain. He was probably scared of what would happen if people got to hear about it. And being the omega, it was easy for him to pin it on you," she said while rubbing the back of my hand with her thumb. It didn't bring me any form of comfort that it intended to bring. 

"How can you still defend him when he killed your stepson, Rudolph?" I asked her with surprise. She was a woman of great value. Someone I admired so much but I just couldn't understand how she could be so calm about all of it. 

"I was broken when I found out about it. But soon, I learned to let go of it. It was of no use."

"At least, you should have said something!" I yelled and turned away from her, my anger simmering at the edge. 

"He would have come for me. I didn't want to leave you or Dianne behind. He was the Alpha's son and it would be his voice against mine. I wasn't so confident I would win the case against him. He is manipulative and sinister," she whispered behind me, her voice breaking at the end. 

I felt guilty for shouting at her and took ten breaths to calm myself down. It worked but my anger for Alexander didn't subside.

"I understand that you did what you thought was best for everyone. I can't be mad at you because maybe I would have done the same if I were in your position," I said and hugged her tight, my chest constricting painfully from the hurt and betrayal I experienced within a day. 

It was too much to bear for anyone. But this was me. Someone who had seen worse days. And I knew I would be fine. For the first time in a long while, I looked towards the future - what it holds. 

"Thank you for your understanding. Now, go meet Ryven. He's a good man and I know he will take good care of you," she said and patted my back. I disentangled from her and walked away without looking back. 

I feared that if I looked back, I might not be able to bring myself to leave the pack without her. She had been my anchor. 

I walked over to Alpha Ryven's house - the place he was staying in the pack. But as soon as I got there, I met his Beta instead who told me Alpha Ryven had gone away

"I don't understand. I thought I belonged to him now?" I asked him and he smiled at me. He was a handsome young man in his thirties with blond hair that fell to his forehead, coffee-brown eyes, and a straight nose. 

He was heavily built, unlike Alpha Ryven who was moderately built. 

"Yes. You belong to him now. But you will be coming with me instead to the pack. An emergency came up and he had to leave early. I'd suggest you start packing up now as we would be leaving in the next hour," he said and I nodded my head at him and left.