The Alpha's Silent Bride: Seventh Time's The Charm novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44: 044: Haunted Memories

~ ROSELLE ~

The words Ronan says are gently registering in my mind... I thought I had been wolfless... I thought... I was mocked for not having a wolf... I was... all this time I have a wolf and was being poisoned? My thoughts go to the food and water they fed me while I was still locked up.

"You’re wolfless, Roselle... I can’t marry you. You can’t be the Luna, or this pack is going to crumble. And then you’re mute... how do you intend to address the pack? Doing all that sign language is not fucking enough. You need to talk, and because of that, you’re nothing but a disgrace... we can’t happen."

Warren’s voice doesn’t just ring in my head—it echoes, each word a hammer blow directly to my chest. I recall him standing so close I can see the absolute disgust in his eyes, the way his lip curls like I’m something filthy he stepped in.

His eyes, the ones that should recognize me as his mate, are cold and empty, utterly devoid of anything resembling care.

My heart pounds, shattering into fragments, each beat sending splinters through my veins.

And then Nova walks in. Without a single word of acknowledgment, she goes straight to Warren. Her hand slides down his chest before settling between us. Her fingers brush over the front of his pants, brazen and possessive.

Right in front of me.

"Warren," she purrs, her voice dripping with fake sweetness that’s really just venom, "I’ve been waiting for you all day."

My stupid, traitorous heart hammers violently in my chest, clinging to desperate, pathetic hope. Hope that he’ll push her away. Hope that he’ll tell her no. Hope that he’ll remember that I’m the one bound to him by the Moon Goddess herself.

Instead, his hands that have never touched me with anything but contempt, snake up her waist and pull her closer.

His lips claim hers. His mouth devours hers like he’s starving, and she’s the only thing he’s ever wanted. And it’s happening right in front of me.

I can only stand there, every muscle in my body going rigid with shock and agony. My body is jittering, trembling like I’ve been electrocuted. The room spins around me, reality fracturing into pieces I can’t put back together.

They kiss deeper, and I watch, goddess help me, I can’t look away, as his hand slides down her back, cupping her ass possessively, pulling her body flush against his. She moans into his mouth, the sound obscene and triumphant, and that sound is a knife being driven directly into my heart.

The bond between us screams. I can feel it, the mate bond that should be sacred, that should be a source of strength and connection, being trampled on, desecrated, destroyed. It’s like watching someone you love tear out your organs while you’re still alive, watching them discard the sacred things that bind you together like they’re nothing.

Warren breaks the kiss, and when he opens his eyes, he looks directly at me over Nova’s shoulder. There’s a smile on his face cold, cruel, victorious and in that moment, I understand that this was done purposefully. He wanted me to see. He wanted me to watch him choose her. He wanted to break me with this moment.

The pain of the mate bond rejection without an actual rejection, being forced to watch him with someone else, being forced to feel the bond’s agony as it’s ignored and trampled, is almost worse than if he’d just marked her himself.

Nova laughs, a sound like breaking glass, and she trails her fingers down his chest possessively, never taking her eyes off me. "Poor little mute can’t even speak up about this," she coos mockingly. "How sad."

Warren doesn’t defend me or tell her to stop. Doesn’t acknowledge my existence at all.

I can only stand there, shaking, my entire body vibrating with the force of my heartbreak, as they continue to kiss, as his hands continue to touch her in ways he’s never touched me, as the mate bond screams silent agony that no one else can hear.

And later, when I beg him — to reject me and end this torture, he refuses.

"You’re going to feel the pain of this bond," he says coldly, "because that’s what murderers deserve. Eternal suffering."

I snap back to reality when I hear Ronan mention going back to Westbrook. The look on his face, the frown already forming on his forehead, tells me everything I need to know. Maybe he’s finally tired of harboring a murderer and a liar under his roof. Maybe he’s decided I’ve become more trouble than I’m worth, and now he wants to send me back.

A wave of panic crashes through me at the thought. Maybe I should have told him the truth sooner instead of keeping everything bottled up inside. Maybe if I had trusted him from the beginning, things would be different. Instead, I let him believe half-truths and omissions, and now I’m paying the price for it.

I can’t go back to Westbrook. I can’t. The mere thought of setting foot there again makes my chest tighten and my stomach churn. There’s nothing waiting for me there except pain, betrayal, and memories I’d rather forget.

If Ronan truly wants me gone, then I wish he would leave me anywhere else. He could drop me off as a lone wolf. He could leave me in another territory. He could send me anywhere but Westbrook, and I would accept it without complaint.

I would fend for myself if I had to. I would work harder than I’ve ever worked before. I would survive, no matter how difficult it became. I’ve already lost everything that mattered to me. Starting over from nothing wouldn’t be the worst thing that has happened to me.

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