~Aurora.
Standing on my ten toes, I carefully yet quickly scanned the hall in search of Ethan or rather, Alpha Ethan. It was his birthday and coronation today and the hall was already filled with distinguished guests from our pack and beyond, but I hadn’t a sight of the celebrant, chuckling softly, I left the hall and made for his room.
He told me the previous day that he was nervous about his coronation, about his kingship, and I tried as much as I could to assure him that everything would be fine. Ethan, my boyfriend, was a king and a leader and with me by his side as his wife and Luna, I had no doubt that he would lead our pack to success.
I was heartbroken and in pain, since Ethan and I discovered, not too long ago, that I was not his mate, but my pains were quick to heal when Ethan proposed to me three days ago.
‘I love you, Aurora, and I don’t care what the moon goddess says about you not being my mate because I choose you, Aurora. I want you by my side, always and forever.’ those were exactly his words.
I bit my upper lip to hide my grin from widening, Ethan was the sweetest man ever, and I loved him too.
Upon approaching his room, I paused in my tracks to fully identify the sounds I heard coming from his room. The sound was pretty recognizable yet strange because it was the last thing I expected to hear today, at least not from my boyfriend’s room. Narrowing my eyes at the door, I padded my feet closer to the door, and a noise that sounded like a breathless moan filled my ears. I needed no soothsayer to know that the moan was from Ethan because I knew what he sounded like.
“Yes, baby! Yes!” I heard him scream. I felt the blood on my face drain as I froze in front of his door and my hand around his doorknob. That definitely was Ethan in the room with another woman, his moans, and screams were enough confirmation but, I wanted to see it for myself, to see that I was not jumping to a deadly conclusion. The Ethan I know would never cheat on me, I was certain, I needed to make sure he really was the one inside the room.
Drawing in a deep breath, I turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, and I saw him thrusting in and out of a strongly recognizable face. My heart dropped to my stomach as my vision turned hazy, the remainder of the blood on my face flushed. I was nauseous, the food I had that morning churned fiercely and threatened to escape through my mouth. I pressed my palms against both sides of my temples and widened my eyes to make sure they were not deceiving me, but alas! They weren’t, Ethan, my boyfriend was in bed with Isadora, my sister, my elder sister who was to me the mother I never had. Who was very supportive of my relationship with Ethan.
I wanted to run, everything in me told me to turn and run away without daring to look back, but, I stood there, watching as she arched her back, watching as she dug her nails into Ethan’s back, and moaned into his ear, watching as Ethan chuckled in content before plastering kisses all over her body.
“The moon goddess has made me the proudest man in the whole world.” He kissed her forehead, “I am the luckiest man in the whole world,” he kissed her lips, “he gave you to me,” he kissed her shoulder and she chuckled, “she gave you, Isadora Aldrich, the most beautiful lady in our pack, to me as my Luna and my mate.”
I scoffed, loudly, and chuckled in disbelief as I pushed the door open, the creaking of the hinges coupled with my chuckles was loud enough to distract them.
“Did you need something, Aurora?” Isadora asked in a mocking tone as Ethan pulled out of her with a groan and fell to the bed. “ Aurora,” she called in a tone that told that I was a disturbance to them as she sluggishly gathered the duvet to cover her bare chest while Ethan did nothing to cover himself. Had he no shame?
Playfully, he whispered something into Isadora’s ears that made her chuckle and slap his chest playfully before he turned to me and I saw it; the emptiness in his eyes. The deep blue eyes I knew were now void of emotion, not even the faintest glimpse of remorse was in it. Tears clouded my eyes as all the words he said to me three days ago began swimming into my head.
‘I love you, Aurora.’
‘I choose you, Aurora.’
‘I want you.’
‘Always and forever.’ Had he not meant any of those words?
I watched the both of them watch me standing before them like I was some comedy show, wiping my tears, I shook my head in response to Isadora’s question.
“No, I just came to inform Ethan that his guests are waiting.”
“Information gotten, now begone,” Isadora said with a wide smile as Ethan chuckled softly.
“Aurora,” Ethan called and sat up on the bed, “we really did not plan for you to find out like this. We were supposed to make an announcement today after my coronation but, I guess, we got carried away by excitement.” He turned to look at Isadora with a wide smile on his face. That was the same smile he used on me, heck! He and I made a ‘we’ and not Isadora.
I sniffled a scoff back and blinked to push back the tears threatening to roll down my cheeks, “do you even hear yourself?” I tried to speak in a nonchalant tone, but my emotions took a huge hold on me, making my voice come out in a whisper, “you want to announce to the pack that you are cheating on me with my sister.”
Isadora laughed. “What? No,” he scoffed and pulled the end of the duvet to cover himself, “I was going to announce Isadora as my mate and Luna.” He turned to Isadora and cupped her face, “the moon goddess has shown me mercy and has given me a goddess like herself as a mate.”
“Bu…but you…you said you didn’t care.” I stuttered.
“Please, Aurora, I am the to-be Alpha of this pack, how can I not care? I decided to go with you because I thought the issue of me getting a mate was a lost cause, but now that I have Isadora,” he turned to me with a grin.
Now that he has Isadora, he has no other option but to discard me, and in an embarrassing way too. Ethan lied to me, he only proposed to me because he had nobody else, he didn’t even love me.
“You said you loved me,” I was fighting against my tears and undoubtedly, I knew they were winning.
“I do care a lot about you, Aurora.” He now cares, he no longer loves.
“You said you do not care about the mate bond, Ethan.”
He sighed and pushed off the bed, reaching for his boxers and swiftly fitting it around his waist before coming to stand in front of me.
“Tell me you meant all you said to me, Ethan, tell me you are not leaving me for anybody, tell me Ethan. Look at me and tell me you love me.” I could not believe that I was pleading, pleading that the man I love, the man who used to love me, would love me once more.
“Enough, Aurora, just stop it.” he groaned ad he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “ It is high time you came to terms with this,” he was standing at akimbo. “I was hurt when it was said you weren’t my mate. For the goddess sake, I am the Alpha of this pack and I needed a mate. I had to suppress my desire to have a mate because of you, just to make you happy, and now that I have one, why can’t you let me be happy with her?”
“What about us?”
“I am with Isadora now, make peace with that. Isadora is my mate and Luna and I love her and come what may, I will always choose her.” I saw the fire in his eyes, when he looked at me, his eyes were void of emotion but, I saw the fire of burning passion in his eyes as he spoke about her.
My tears won our battle and I let them roll down my cheeks. The two people I loved most in the whole world had betrayed me, and they weren’t making it easy for me. I shifted my eyes to loo at my sister, and she was looking back at me with a smirk. She carried her head in her hand which was supported by elbow, creating a hole in the bed. I tore my gaze away from Isadora and back to Ethan to see the fire gone from his eyes and was replaced by rage. He was angry and at me too. I pressed a palm against my mouth to stop myself from screaming.
How could he? He had no right to be angry. I was the one who was hurt, I was the one who was betrayed, I was the one who should be angry.
“Ethan,” I called out in disbelief.
“Alright now, show time is over.” Isadora said sitting up on the bed, “Ethan, love, I no longer want her here, please send her away.”
“Out the door now, Aurora.”
I scoffed, “You can’t be serious, Ethan.” Clenching his jaw, he grabbed both my arms and squeezed them by my side, “It’s Alpha Ethan to you now, Aurora and Isadora is your Luna and I forbid you to show her any form of disrespect. Now leave, before I do something the both of us will turn out to regret.”
I stared back at him in shock as he shoved me out the door. That was not the Ethan I knew, that was not the Isadora I knew. Having grown up without parents, Isadora and Ethan were the only ones I knew but now, I had no one, and I was alone in the whole wide world.
“Toddles,” I heard Isadora sing after me before Ethan slammed the door in my face.
