~JADE~

I am not sure why I didn't move, even though it was pretty apparent that Hunter had lunged for an attack.

That's a lie. I know pretty well the reason I didn't move. My body had frozen in place when I saw him lunge, and a part of me thought my mate wouldn't ever attack me.

 It was impossible that Hunter would want to attack me, given how he has never raised a hand at me for the past two years we've been together.

But I was deluding myself. Maybe the reason he never hit me for the past two years was because I never gave him a reason to, and now. Now, I gave him every viable reason to want to hurt me, but I still tried convincing myself that he wouldn't.

The realisation dawned on me too late. Before I could get my body to move out of the way, Hunter came barreling forward, his hand outstretched, his palm striking me in the face, and his claws cutting a deep wound across my cheek.

My head swings sideways, and echoes of sounds ring repeatedly in my ear. My hands moved out of reflex to grab the cheek Hunter struck, and I let out a wince at the sharp sting that followed. I was not quite sure what happened next, as I remained stuck between getting the ringing sound in my head to stop and hoping the deep cut on my cheeks healed without leaving a scar.

I pull my hand away from my cheek, staring down at my bloodied palm, while I try to comprehend everything that has happened since I opened my eyes in this room. Also, I was trying to fathom how my mate, who had never gotten physically violent with me in the last two years, didn't even stop to think twice before lunging at me.

My eyes watered, and my head was a mess. I heard the commotion all around me but felt stuck in my daze. I heard someone scream; I heard growls; I heard someone yelling. I listened to what sounded like punches-the sound of a bone breaking. Yet I couldn't move; I just couldn't get myself to do anything as I stared at the blood staining my palm.

I think I had expected Hunter to hit me again. His attacking me wouldn't have ended with just one slap. Which was why I flinched and jumped in place when I felt a sudden slap to my back and someone grabbing my shoulder to shake me.

"Will you fucking do something?" The person yells in my face as I turn to them. It was my elder sister, the one whose boyfriend I had slept with. I stare at her, dazed and confused, for a moment until she slaps me again.

"Get your mate off my boyfriend; he's going to kill him," Arya screams again, and this time, I could make out and understand what she was saying amidst all the recurring noise in my head.

I shift on the bed, turning to look behind me to see my mate Hunter, dealing punch after punch to Darren's face while Darren actively tries to block them with his fist, but there is only much he can do to stop the onslaught. 

Hunter is an Alpha who has trained almost all his life. I know his strengths and how he is in combat. Darren was no match for him, and we all know that.

"Are you just going to keep staring at them?" Arya yells, slapping my shoulder as I stare blankly at the duo, Hunter letting out his anger and Darren doing what he could to save his face. "Do something; Hunter is going to kill him, and it's going to be your fault, you cheating bitch!" Arya screamed in my face, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me vehemently while hurling every insult she could think of at me.

She is right; this was my fault. If something happens to Darren and Hunter kills him, it will become my sin and my fault. I need to do something. I have to stop him. Another slap from my sister seemed to do the trick, snapping me out of the mess in my head. I scramble off the bed, running towards them, and I grab my mate's hand.

"Hunter, please stop. You'll kill him. Please stop; this is just a misunderstanding; nothing happened. I swear--" Hunter denies me the liberty of completing my sentence as he strikes me across the face. 

The force of his slap knocks me backwards, an anguished groan slipping past my lips as I fall sideways, and the foot of the bed frame connects with my left side. Impacting my ribs with a force that cuts all the air out of my lungs momentarily, a silent gasp of pain escapes my airways.

I wasn't awarded the liberty to process the pain spreading through my left side as Arya comes dragging me up, yelling at me to stop my mate from killing her boyfriend, once again reminding me that this was all my fault.

How is it my fault when I have not the slightest memory of what happened between Darren and me? I stagger on my feet, biting back a groan as the pain travels to my chest.

"Hunter, please... Please, you're hurting him. Nothing happened between us; I swear nothing.

I clamp my lips together as Hunter turns to me with burning hatred in his eyes. "Nothing happened? You are fucking naked; I found you naked in bed with him, and you're telling me nothing happened." Hunter bellowed; his voice bounced off the walls of the room, and it took everything in me not to fall flat on my ass out of fear.

"I swear I... Nothing..." I couldn't get the words out; he wouldn't let me speak.

"Then explain to me why you're naked. Explain to me why my mate is fucking naked in bed with a fucking Delta, your sister's boyfriend." He grabs my shoulder, his claws breaking through my skin as he shakes me vehemently with every word he says, and I stand there, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Bloody hell, man, you're hurting her." Darren's voice filters through Hunter's scream, and I shift my gaze to see him standing up on his feet to yank Hunter's hand away from my shoulder.

"How about you take that anger out on me, man to man? Uhh, what a coward you are, hitting your mate." Darren yells at Hunter, which earns him a hard punch from Hunter, and the chaos ensues again.

"What now? You're standing up for her? Do you want to prove to her that you're a competent man? You fucked her once, and you're ready to fight for her. Is her pussy that sweet?" Hunter sneers as he throws punch after punch at Darren, who tries his best to defend himself but ends up failing.

He was never a match for Hunter. No one in this pack is a match for Hunter except for his father.

Arya slaps my shoulder again, and my legs move before my brain can register anything she says. 

"Hunter... Hunter, baby, please let him go. You'll- you'll kill him, please."

"Yes, I intend to kill him, and his blood will be on your hands because it's your bloody fault." He snaps at me with blazing red eyes. "How dare you beg me to let him go? So, you're also ready to fight for him, uhh?"

I shake my head, taking fearful steps back as Hunter turns entirely, advancing toward me. "You want to take his place; how brave of you to fight for your new darling. Did you enjoy it?" He grabs my wrist, dragging me closer as I try to put more distance between us.

"I asked you a question: did you bloody enjoy it?" he growls, tugging on my arm, causing my body to slam into his chest.

"You can't speak." He grabs my jaw, gripping it with a force that has tears clouding my eyes. "Have you gone mute and can't talk back anymore? Answer my fucking questions." He slaps me across the face, and I stagger back without being given the liberty to process the pain before he yanks me close again.

"Did he fuck you that well? Is he a better fuck than I am? Is that why you're begging me not to kill him? How good was it, uhh? Did your filthy pussy suck him in good? Answer me." he snarls in my face, and I shake my head frantically, unable to keep my tears locked in.

"No... I don't.... I don't remember." I break down in tears, shaking my head as he doesn't stop shouting.

Hunter's depraved laughter echoes in the room at my response. 

"You don't remember?" he asked, laughing with a look of disgust spreading across his face. "You want him to fuck you again; is that why you say you can't remember? Did he fuck you into oblivion?"

I shake my head. No, that wasn't what I meant. I don't remember anything that happened between us. I don't even know if anything happened. How can I answer his questions when I don't know what happened and don't feel like something has happened?

"No, no... That's not..."

"How about I help you? Let me help you remember; then maybe you can finally have the answers to my questions."

"What? Hunter, what are you?" The rest of my sentence got cut off as he shoved me back with so much force, and I stumbled, falling onto the bed.

"I'll help you... Let me remind you what it's like to have your mate fucked. You spend one night with another man and suddenly lose your memory. Don't worry, I'll help."

I don't know if it is my shock that glues me in place. My body trembles with dread as Hunter unbuttons his pants and draws out his cock.

"Hunter. This is... Do you seriously think this is right?" I all but yell as he steps forward, and I scramble to get out of bed.

"The fuck you're running for." He snarls, his hands gripping my ankle, and he yanks me back. My head slams into the edge of the bed frame, and a cloud of darkness blurs my vision for a minute as Hunter drags me, turning me onto my stomach, and positions himself behind me.

"Since you've conveniently lost your memory and can't remember what happened last night, let me remind you what it's like to be fucked by an Alpha. When I am done with you, you'll tell me who fucks you better. Me or that filthy Delta?" Hunter whispers in a sinister voice that has my entire body trembling.

"Hunter..." I hear Arya and Darren call him.

"Come on, man, don't do..."

"STAND DOWN." Hunter snarls, commanding them in his Alpha voice, and I hear them whimper.

I was trembling, tears freely flowing down my cheeks, and my throat feeling clogged, unable to breathe as the stench of his pheromones permeated through the room.

"Hunter, please you... Arkk." Everything I was about to say was trapped between my airways as my mate rams into me with such force that it rocks me forward.

"SHUT THE HELL UP." He growls as his hands come forward to grip my throat in a chokehold. Even if I wanted to speak, there was no way I could make a sound or do anything against the Alpha command in his voice.

~JADE~

Everything else happened in a blur. It all felt like a nightmare, and I wished someone would wake me up so badly.

Hunter had dragged me out of Arya's place naked, and I had no will to protest against his iron grip. He believed I had lost all sense of decency, and I was so ashamed that I was unable to even ask for something to cover my nakedness as he threw me out of bed after he pulled his dick out of me. 

I couldn't even look Arya or Darren in the eyes because my friend had fucked me right there in their presence, without a care in the world, like I was no better than a cheap fuck. Humiliated and degraded me beyond words, dragged me through the street naked, and left me on the front porch of my parent's house with a warning that I would never return to our home. 

I had crawled inside my parents' house, shaking and crying. Despite how many times they asked what happened, my mouth wouldn't budge; all I could do was weep as I sank further into the shame enveloping me. 

"Is this true, Jade?" Even now, as I sit here in the presence of my parents and in-laws, I still wish this was nothing but a nightmare.

"Jade!" I heard my father snap, and I dragged my eyes away from my lap.

"Is everything your mate just said true? Did you cheat on him with your sister's boyfriend?" Dad asked, and I shook my head.

"I didn't; I didn't do it," I replied as fresh tears streamed down my face.

"Now she's calling me a liar. Your sister and I saw you in bed with him. You were both naked." Hunter growled from where he was seated across the room, and I flinched. 

"Jade." My mom's soft voice filtered through: "Tell me the truth, please." Mom asked in a shaky voice.

"I... don't... I don't remember," I stuttered,

"I didn't drink any alcohol; I was sober. All I took was water, and I don't know what happened; I woke up and..."

"So, you're saying you cheated because you wanted to? You didn't even need alcohol to whore yourself to your sister's boyfriend." 

"Keep quiet." Alpha Orion, my father-in-law and Alpha Head of the Pack growled at Hunter, his voice cutting through all the other voices in the living room. 

"You will not call your mate such degrading names while I am seated." Hunter's father muttered, glaring hard at his son. 

"She is not my mate, not after she..." 

"Do you want to be thrown out of here? keep quiet." Alpha Orion snaps at Hunter once more. He lets out a series of muffled words before falling silent, listening to his father. 

"I do not care what state you found her in or how angry you were. You should've reined in your anger and had the issue dealt with by the elder's council. Do you know how demeaning it is to be told that my son, the next Alpha of this pack, was seen dragging his naked mate back to her parent's house?" Alpha Orion bellowed at Hunter, who lowered his head. 

"I taught you better than that, did I not?" He snarls at Hunter, who nods. 

"What you do to your mate behind closed doors is no business of mine; what you do to her publicly concerns me if it shames my name and that of this family. Never in generations has such shame been brought on our family. The pack's future Luna was publicly humiliated by her Alpha."  

Shaking his head with a sigh, he points to me, then to Hunter. "You are both a disgrace." He declares with resentment heavy in his voice, and I cast my head down as shame washes over me. 

I know how much respect and love Hunter's parents have accorded me ever since I returned to the pack. Pack members called me their perfect Luna; I was my parents' golden child, beloved by every member of the pack, and in just one day, all that was replaced with reproach and disappointment. 

"This is something that we could've swept under the rug." The current Luna, Hunter's mother, said this, and she sighed heavily. 

"Your Alpha ceremony is in two months; the preparations are all set in place. All notable Alphas from far and beyond have been invited; you shouldn't have escalated this situation. Now with the stunt you pulled this morning, there's no way we can keep whatever happened in that room a secret because Pack members have already started talking." 

"Mother, I don't understand what you're saying. She cheated, she betrayed my trust and her sister's trust, and you're saying it could've been swept under the rug?" Hunter asks, the tone of his voice rising above the normal octave, and his mother nods. 

"Yes, not every union can be perfect; what is important is upholding the standards and name of this family and this pack. There is a reason why we are the most respected among all packs. If you hadn't pulled the stunt, you pulled this morning, your father and I would've solved this without having to involve the elder's council." 

"My mate cheated on me, and defiled our mate bond, and you expect me to keep it a secret?" Hunter half-yells at his mother, which earns him a warning growl from his father. 

"Yes, that is what you should've done if you had paid any attention to all the teachings of your father. There is nothing new under the sun, and no union is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes; let's say she made a drunken mistake. Punish her however you want behind closed doors. Do whatever you wish to her to show your anger, as long as your action is not displayed for the world to see. As long as your actions don't  hinder your Alpha ceremony, as long as it doesn't tarnish the name of this pack and this family, now we have no choice but to bring this before the council." 

"Which is the right thing to do!" Hunter exclaims, throwing his hands in the air out of frustration. 

"AND THAT IS GOING TO COST US A LOT. YOUR ALPHA ASCENDING CEREMONY WILL BE CANCELED, AND EVERY NEIGHBOURING PACK WILL KNOW ABOUT THIS. WE WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SAVE FACE AND SHARE IN THIS DISGRACE. ARE YOU A STRANGER TO WHAT HAPPENS TO ANY MATE FOUND GUILTY OF INFIDELITY BEFORE THE COUNCIL? THIS DOES NOT LOOK GOOD ON US; OUR IMAGE WILL BE TARNISHED FOREVER." His mother yells at him; the veins in her neck and forehead popping with every word she says and it finally dawns on me. 

They weren't defending me or trying to appease their son for my sake. It was all about them, the intervention they talked about when they first got here; it wasn't about proving my innocence; it was about their family, the pack, and their image. And here, I thought they might have believed me when I said I didn't cheat on their son. 

No one is ready to believe me; no one wants to give in to the thought that I might be telling the truth. Or even try to investigate the situation. Why aren't they asking Arya any questions? It was her party; she gave me the water I drank before I blacked out. 

"Arya, where is your boyfriend? Why isn't he here?" 

Alpha Orion, asks my sister, who has been crying buckets ever since this sham of a meeting started.

"I don't know... I haven't seen him since the incident this morning." She replies in between her sobs and hiccups. 

"Jade, can you prove your innocence? If you can, this can still be resolved." My mom asked, and I stared at her blankly, wondering how I could do that when I don't even remember shit. Perhaps they can get Darren and make him tell the truth, but what if he is telling the truth? What if I cheated on my mate?

"That is no longer necessary. She has to go before the council; it's the words of her mate and her sister against her. There is nothing she can do to salvage the damage already done. Even if we try, the pack members are already talking; we can only make sure to save the pack's name henceforth." 

"So, you're implying we make my daughter a scapegoat even if she might be innocent?" Mom grumbled as she glared at Alpha Orion. 

"She became a scapegoat the moment she woke up in bed with a man who wasn't her mate." Hunter's mother replied, rolling her eyes at my mom. 

"The council.... What... What will happen to me if they find me guilty?" I asked, amidst their banter. 

I left the pack at a very young age, and most of the pack's customs weren't taught to me when I grew up with my aunt in the Philippines. Ever since it became clear that I'd become Luna someday, I've been learning about pack customs, rites, and laws, but I had no reason to look up infidelity or anything about the council of elders. 

"If found guilty, you will be stripped of your rights as a pack member, a severance will take place, Hunter will reject you, and your mate bond will be nullified. After which you'll be branded as unworthy; you'll be paraded around the pack naked as you dance the dance of shame, and you'll be banished from the pack afterwards." Hunter's mom explained, and my eyes grew bigger with each word.

Rejected? I'll be made to dance naked around the pack, branded as unworthy, and I am not even given the chance to prove my innocence. Does it even matter if I am innocent? They'll make me the scapegoat if it saves them face.

"You can't do that. You can't reject me." 

"Why do you still believe that you've done nothing wrong?" Hunter hissed at me. 

"Because I am pregnant with your child, you'll kill your child if you reject me, and you know that." 

This was my last resort. I know how much his parents have been looking forward to having a grandchild, an heir, because, for some reason, they only ever have one child in their bloodline. Hunter is the only child, and he can only give his parents one grandchild.

I don't know why that is, but it is the first thing I was told after we became mates and why it was important for me to take care of myself and be healthy enough to carry the future Alpha.

~JADE~

I stood in the living room, unsure of what to do with myself. We were back at home, and for the first time in two years, I felt like a stranger in my own home.

I never knew a time would come when I'd feel like an absolute stranger in a place where I once found comfort and love.

I am taken back to the first time I stepped foot in this house, the day Hunter brought me here as a surprise to show me our new home. The house he built for when he finds his mate, with the hope that they'll both make it their home.

I remember the feeling of contentment and comfort I felt when he walked me into this very living room, the pleasant smile on his face when he said the words, "This is our home now, your home, for as long as you'll have me."

And in that moment, I felt like the most important person on earth; all the memories from when I was in Manila had become less painful. Because Hunter had given me a place I could call home in the first few months of meeting him and knowing he was my mate, he had shown me love like no other.

Coming back to Detroit, to the pack. I had thought I'd have to pick up the pieces of my life and start all over. Coming back to my family was my chance to try at happiness for the first time and to reclaim everything I had lost while in Manila with my aunt.

I didn't even think finding my mate was a possibility; I never saw myself as one deserving of a mate. Perhaps I didn't see the girl I was in Manila as someone deserving of affection from a mate.

Yet Hunter...

He had swept me off my feet and lit a fire in my heart that I never knew was there. He made me feel so damn important and love-able and provided me with stability.

I remember how it all felt like a dream-a dream I never wanted to wake up from, not if it meant losing Hunter. Because even when I'd told him about my past and about the life I lived in Manila, while I saw a weak and used girl, Hunter saw a strong woman who fought and worked hard to survive.

It was then that I knew he was my person, that he was my home, my everything.

Yet at this moment, standing in this living room-the same living room that had provided me comfort and served as my shield from the rest of the world-I feel like a foreigner in a strange land.

I feel lost.

That dread has returned-the same displaced feeling of abandonment and betrayal I felt the first time I found myself being shoved into that room with red and blue disco lights. My aunt's words resounded with a repeating echo in my ear. "You better do well to make them happy." She didn't need to say any more; those words were warning enough for me.

I was only given one option: to step out of the VIP room with tips worthy enough to put a smile on her face. It was either that, or I spent the next few days without food or a bed to sleep on.

For several months, I would cry myself to sleep in the corridor. Every night I got shoved into that room with disco lights, my stomach would churn with disgust and betrayal because that wasn't the life I was promised. That wasn't the promise she made to my parents when she took me from them, and for a little while, I was given a false sense of security about that promise. Little did I know she was simply waiting for me to grow a few more inches before using me like she did every other girl under her care.

"What are you doing standing there like a fucking statue?" Hunter barks, snapping me out of my stream of self-pity.

"Hunter, I..."

"Save it, Jade; I need you to pack your shit and get it out of the bedroom." He snapped, his eyes shooting daggers at me.

"You want me to pack my things and remove them from our bedroom?" I was dumbfounded, to say the least.

Won't he at least give me the benefit of the doubt? At least try to ask me what happened now that we are both back home.

I understand he was angry with what he walked into this morning, and any other person would have got the wrong idea.

I understand that he lost control and acted irrationally due to his anger, but it's been hours. No matter how angry he was this morning, shouldn't he at least have the tiniest bit of trust and ask me questions?

"Our bedroom?" he mused, snorting as he shook his head.

"There's no such thing as 'our'; the only reason you're still under my roof is because my parents won't have it any other way, at least until the trial with the council, and I will not share the same room or bed with a cheating whore." He snarled the last words of his sentence with a venom that had my skin crawling with disgust.

"How are you so quick to throw me away, Hunter? I thought you loved me. How are you so unfazed and ready to throw out two years of commitment and love? You aren't giving me the benefit of the doubt; you won't ask me what happened. I am your Mate, Hunter; shouldn't that mean something to you?" I tried to fight back my tears. I tried to rein in my voice and keep myself from yelling because I knew screaming wouldn't solve this situation.

"It meant something enough for me to spend two years with you; it meant something enough that I chose to make you my Luna, but that meaning fell off the cliff the minute you chose to spread your legs for another." Hunter bellowed in my face, gritting his teeth, and it stung my heart to watch him painfully fight back tears.

"I didn't do it, Hunter; I swear I didn't open my legs for him. Do you not even trust me at all?" I moved to grab his hand, but he yanked it out of my reach, hurrying to put some distance between us.

"I trusted you, Jade; if I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have given us a chance. I would've rejected you two years ago if I didn't trust you, especially knowing you are her sister. Despite the promise I made to myself not to love again, I broke that promise because of you. I chose to give love a chance. After all, I trusted you because I thought you were my person for life, only for my trust to be broken like this again. You know how that saying-once bitten twice shy-I should've taken it for what it is, yet here I am getting my heart ripped out for the second time again by someone I love."

He quickly turned his back to me to prevent me from seeing the tears sliding down his cheek, but I saw before he could completely look away, and the pain in his eyes ripped through my gut.

I once promised him that I would never be the reason for his pain, and I never want to be. 

"Hunter, please; I would never intentionally hurt you like this. I didn't have sex with Darren, and I would never betray your trust like that. All I did was sleep in the same bed as him; I don't even remember falling asleep with him in the room. I just... Hunter, please, you have to believe me. I will never betray your love like that; you're everything to me."

He turned, brows knitted, cold eyes scanning me. "Are you trying to tell me Darren raped you? Is that what happened?"

The question caught me off guard, and I blinked, my heart pounding in my chest as I pondered his question and contemplated whether I should say yes.

If I say yes, then that would mean that I am admitting that something happened between us, which would mean that I remembered what happened and will technically make me a liar since I already told Hunter and my parents that I don't remember a thing.

"Jade." Hunter snapped impatiently, "Did Darren rape you? Is that what happened?"

"I..." I swallowed a huge lump down my throat. "I don't know; I don't think so; I don't remember what happened." I was a stuttering mess because whatever I saw would be interpreted whichever way Hunter chose to interpret it.

"You claim and swear that you didn't have sex with him, yet you also say you don't remember what happened in the same breath. Do you take me for a fool?" Hunter growled, closing the distance between us, and I shook my head rapidly.

"No, no Hunter, I swear the last thing I remember was drinking water."

Hunter scoffed, cutting me off. "You must think I'm crazy; this isn't my first time dealing with a cheating whore who will say anything to save her ass. I should've known from your history with men in the Philippines. Once a whore, always a whore. And here I thought you deserved to be loved." He spat with so much distaste in his voice.

My leg trembled, and I staggered a few feet backwards as his words punched right through my heart.

"Hunter..." I mumbled weakly in astonishment as tears trickled down my cheeks, and I clutched the blouse mom had given me close to my heart.

How could he use my pain against me? He was the only one I ever told about the horrible things I went through in Manila-the trauma, the scars, the pain-which I was never comfortable sharing with anyone else until I met him. Because I didn't want to open myself up to anyone like that, I didn't want anyone to see that dark past, and I trusted him.

 I shared my pain with him because who else would love me unconditionally if not my mate? And he turned around to use it against me.

"I should've rejected you the moment I found you naked with another man." He growled, spitting in my face.

"You can't do that, not until trial, and I'm pregnant with your heir." My lips quivered while I whispered, and I shook my head, pleading with my eyes for him not to do this. The council will prove that I didn't cheat; they should.

"Who knows how many men you've been fucking behind my back? You expect me to accept the child of a whore, huh?"

"I am not a..." The remainder of the sentences became stuck in my throat because, in retrospect, can I truly claim not to be a whore?

It was what I was known for in the dark streets of the nightclubs; I was known as a filthy whore who accepted every hand and every dick for money.

Maybe Hunter is right after all.

How can I even claim Darren didn't have sex with me when I have no recollection of what happened.

Breaking eye contact with Hunter, I cast my head down in shame, because if I'm being honest with myself, nothing I say will change his mind. He once told me that the one thing he'll never forgive is cheating, and if he already made up his mind that I cheated on him, begging him is pointless.

"I, Hunter Hendrix, son of Orion Hendrix, reject you, Jade Althea Dimaano, daughter of Juan Dimaano, as my mate and future Luna, based on infidelity. May the energy of the moon uphold this rejection and Mother Goddess ease my pain through this betrayal." He snarled the last words, shoving me out of the way as he stomped out of our home, and I crumbled to the floor as a crippling pain shot through my spine, rushing straight for my heart.