~JADE~

Days blurred into nights, and nights into days. Hunter stayed true to his word by taking my things out of our bedroom. There was nothing I could say to change his mind, not even the fact that I was pregnant with his child. 

I had tried to make him go to the pack clinic with me, or even at least call the pack doctor over to confirm that I wasn't lying, but he didn't even care.

He doesn't think it's his child because he believes I had to have slept with other men aside from Darren that he didn't know about, and he is convinced that if I am truly pregnant, then the child belongs to one of them.

But the child is his, even though he doesn't believe me. I know I should've told him before this happened, but I wasn't sure that I was pregnant because getting pregnant as a beta was almost impossible. Unlike omegas, a beta wolf like myself isn't always lucky to be blessed with a child. I'm not sure what the goddess has against us, but a beta's chance of reproducing was almost next to none. That and all the weird pills my aunt had me swallowing back in Manila.

I never once pictured myself pregnant or thought I'd end up being a mother. Sure, I loved the idea, but I knew the chances of me ever getting pregnant were thin. 

I also didn't think I was worthy of being loved by any man until Hunter came along, and over the past two years with him, I've always prayed and hoped the goddess would bless me with a child, knowing I only had one shot because of his bloodline. And I knew giving him an heir would make him love me more and his parents more accepting of me.

I had been excited when I realised the sickness, and my late period was because I had conceived a child for my mate, but I still wanted to be sure and had made plans to see the pack doctor. I had even told Arya about my suspicions. I told her my plans to see the pack doctor and hopefully surprise Hunter with the news. Then she mentioned wanting to move with Darren and invited me to that party, which she claimed was a send-off party, and everything else went to hell after that.

Despite how hard I've tried to remember what happened after drinking that water, my memory keeps going blank. Nothing made sense because I knew I hadn't tasted any alcohol, so what the hell happened to me, and how did I black out? It made no sense that I blacked out from drinking water-water that my sister offered to me. Could it be that she...

No!

I shook my head at the thought-the possibility that Arya had something to do with what happened. It makes no sense; why would she drug me? What does she stand to gain? I know my sister and I have had our differences ever since I came back to the pack, and that made sense to me because we spent twelve years of our lives apart.

 I can't fault her for thinking of me as a stranger who's here to take her place in our parents' hearts, or whatever it was she said two years ago. Still, I made an effort to get along with her, even on days when she was being unnecessarily hostile. I may never understand why, but would she go to such extreme lengths as to drug me? Perhaps Darren did.

And even if he did, how do I prove that to the council when they finally call me to stand trial? It's been five days since Hunter rejected me, and I still haven't been called to stand trial. I don't know why, but a part of me hopes that whatever is delaying the trial lasts a while so I can get my mate to see reason. Even though all my efforts to get through to him have been futile.

I can count on one finger how many times he's been home for the past five days. He has been avoiding me like a plague, and when he doesn't, his words cut deeper than a knife. It's not only him; the entire pack seems to be avoiding me like I am a disease. I made the mistake of stepping out two days ago because I wanted to talk to my parents, and I couldn't shake off the disdain I got from everyone I met on the way to my parents' house.

Even my parents used the excuse of having somewhere to be to get me out of their house. I was left standing outside on the porch as the feeling of loss and being unwanted washed over me. Just like it did every time my aunt would put me out of the hostel because I didn't bring in enough tips for the night. 

I had thought coming back here was the fresh start that I needed, and for two years I had a home, a pack that I thought loved me, and a man I could call mine, only for all that to change overnight, and now my life is no more than a nightmare.

My heart ached at the thought of everything, and I wrapped my hands around my lower half as bile rose in the pit of my stomach. Another wave of nausea hit me, and I closed my eyes to push down the urge, knowing I had nothing else in me but stomach acid to throw up.

'You need to eat, at least for the baby.'

I almost jumped out of my skin at the unexpected sound of my wolf's voice.

'What do you care, Lev? Didn't you also abandon me?'

I bit back harshly, unable to hold back the bitterness in my voice, wincing as another bolt of pain jabbed at my heart.

'I would never abandon you, Jade. You know that.'

Levana's voice was small, almost as weak as mine. It confused me because I hadn't heard from her for the past five days, ever since the horrible morning that changed everything in my life. She had been silent, almost like she wasn't even a part of me, and it had just made everything worse because I couldn't shake the thought that even my wolf had abandoned me, like everyone else.

'I'm not sure if I know anything anymore. I needed you, and you weren't there. I needed you, Lev, and you just... Just like everyone else,' 

I choked up, my eyes stung with unshed tears as I manoeuvred out of the bed in the guest room and made my way down the hallway leading to the kitchen. 

'I would never do that to you; I would never abandon you. I don't know what happened; we were at the party, and everything went blank. I was thrust into darkness, and I couldn't feel you. I kept trying to reach behind our mental walls, but you weren't there. And then Hunter, rejecting us, struck so hard that I couldn't even push against the mental barriers to reach you until today. You know I'll never leave you to suffer alone.'

Levana explained, choking up as she spoke, and I sighed. I know she wouldn't just leave me on my own, yet it was hard to fight the thought that maybe she had also gotten tired of me and my problems. I would be fed up too if I were her and stuck with this useless excuse of a human who has done nothing but brought us both so much pain.

'Do you remember what happened?' 

I asked with high hopes, even though I somehow knew what her answer would be.

'The only thing I remember is Arya rushing to bring you water when you choked.' 

'Hunter caught me in bed with Darren. He thinks I cheated on him. He wouldn't listen to me, and he rejected us.' 

My voice thinned out with every word I said as I tried to fill her in. 

'I know. You're not doing so well with putting a mental barrier around your thoughts. I can hear everything; I know what happened. I'm sorry.' 

'None of this is your fault; there's no one to blame but myself. If I had been extra careful, maybe if I hadn't gone to the party and just stayed home like the perfect mate I was supposed to be, then none of this would've happened. I wouldn't have ended up sleeping with Darren and causing our mate to reject us.'

'You didn't have sex with Darren, and there's no fault in going to your sister's party when she invited you.'

Levana bites out in a low growl.

'You don't know that. I thought nothing happened, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe I don't remember because of whatever made me black out. It's not like I haven't been in this position before; back in the clubhouse, most of the pills made me black out. I'd wake up in bed with four men-five-and have no recollection of what happened. Maybe it happened with Darren, and I just don't remember. And Hunter was right-once a whore, always a whore.'

'You are not a whore.' 

Levana growled so loudly that it tumbled through my head, and I stopped short in the middle of the kitchen at the intensity of the anger behind her growl.

'You are not a whore, Jade. You were a victim, and right now you're a victim once again. Just because you don't remember what happened doesn't make you guilty of infidelity.'

She gritted out in a tight voice, and I shook my head, blinking the tears away as I walked over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water and a glass cup from the cup cabinet.

'How can you be so sure?' 

I asked, despite my resolve.

'You are a mated wolf; I am a mated wolf; if you had sex with Darren, Hunter should've felt it.'

Levana tries to explain,

'What if he couldn't feel it because we blacked out? Maybe.'

'No!' She gave me zero chance to complete my sentence. 'Stop trying to find reasons to make yourself guilty when you aren't.

I prepared to answer her when a cold shudder rushed up my body and my spine stiffened.

"What is... Dear Moon?" I let out a half-choked cry as a sharp pain pierced through my heart. The glass cup I was holding slipped out of my grip as my hand trembled, and I doubled over on my knee with a loud cry in agony as another wave of pain shot up my spine.

"Oh, goddess. Dear goddess... Arghhhh." I let out an ear-shattering cry. My knee gave out, my heart slammed so hard against my ribcage that it felt like it was trying to escape out of my body. My lungs tightened in pain as breathing suddenly became impossible.

"What the fuck is going on?" I howled as a sudden heat wave barreled down my spine and through my entire body. I let out another shrill cry as an unexplainable pain knotted in my stomach.

'Hunter!'

Levana growled in a pain-stricken voice. I crumbled against the wet kitchen floor. Pain shot up in my arm as the broken glass cut through my palm.

"Oh goddess, I can't... I can't... Why?"

I had no idea what I was asking, but I couldn't form coherent words anymore. Not with the sudden flame of pain burning through my entire body. Nor could I keep back the tears that flowed freely down my cheeks. My other hand wrapped instinctively against my stomach while I writhed against the kitchen counter in agony. 

'You didn't accept his rejection. Hunter's having sex with someone else.'

Levana whispered so lowly that I could barely hear her.

He had told me this morning he'd make me suffer because I refused to accept his rejection. I was foolishly holding onto hope that we could work things out and that maybe the council would prove my innocence and make Hunter take back his rejection. Or that my mate would finally believe me and change his mind. I knew it was foolish, yet I held onto what was left of our bond, refusing to accept his rejection.

Another bolt of pain and a searing heat flashed through my body. My stomach felt like a hundred and fifty pins were stabbing through it all at once, and I coiled into myself.

"My baby," I whispered weakly, hot tears rushing down my cheeks as the pain shot through my head and darkness consumed me.

~JADE~

My eyes blinked open. My vision was hazy, as I tried to focus on the shadow hovering above me while at the same time trying to make sense of where I was and what had happened.

"Get up and get out of my kitchen." The rough sound of Hunter's voice had me blinking into focus, the fog in my vision and pain in my head gone as I took in his appearance.

A groan slipped past my lips as I pushed away from the cold kitchen floor, my eyes taking in the broken glass around me, and an onslaught of headaches barreling in as memories of the pain I had felt before passing out.

'You passed out from the pain.' Levana, my wolf, mumbled as I stood up.

"Quit stalling, stand up, and clean up your mess." Hunter boomed above me, and I winced.

 "Why?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, even if I knew his answer would only end up hurting me more, yet I still asked because a part of me still hoped that the mate who had loved me was still there somewhere and that he would come back to his senses and see that he was hurting me.

 "Why what?"

"You slept with someone else." It wasn't a question; it was a statement, one I hoped he would deny even though I knew better. "Why are you hurting me? I would never intentionally hurt you, Hunter. Yet you had sex with someone else despite knowing what pain it would cause me."

"I warned you, didn't I? I told you to accept my rejection or face the consequences of still being attached to the bond. You got what you asked for." He snarled in anger before stalking past me into the kitchen.

"I got what I asked for, really? All I asked for was that my mate at least show some fucking trust in me." I spat, unable to put a hold on my outburst of anger. I was never one to raise my voice, but the ache splitting through my head right now and the pain in my stomach had me fuming.

"Is it so wrong that I wish you would just listen to me and fucking see that I am telling you the truth? Why are you so eager to get rid of me? The day you brought me into this house, telling me it was my home and promising to shield me from the rest of the world, was it all a lie? Answer me, Hunter, because you seem so eager to throw it all away." I yelled angrily, pulling his arm as I yanked him back to face me.

His bloodshot eyes pinned me with a glare as he snarled in my face. "You want to stand there and play the victim like any of this is my fault?" He yanked his hand out of my grip.

"Unfucking believable." He sneered, wiping his palm down his tired face.

"The audacity you have. This is all your fault. You destroyed us; you destroyed the home I worked so hard to give you, and you are fucking ungrateful." He snarled, stalking closer to me, and he jammed his finger into my chest as he continued, "You came back to this pack, broken and used. Even though you thought no one wanted you, I did. I was willing to love you despite your past; even though I was still recovering from a bad heartbreak, I focused on you. I tried my best to make you happy and give you everything I thought you deserved because I fucking loved you and I thought you were better than the whore in your past. And all I asked-all I ever asked of you-was your loyalty, I told you. It was the only thing I'd ever need from you, but what do I get in return? I get cheated on, yet you dare to yell in my face like I am the one who destroyed us. This is all you." Hunter bellowed, his voice bouncing off the kitchen walls, and the items against the wall rattled violently.

I stood stock still, his words hitting me like a wrench to my guts, and my throat burned as I struggled to find the words to say.

"I was never ungrateful to you for your love, even though I knew it was too good to be true. It is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I always made sure to tell you that and show it in my actions. So to think you won't even give it a thought for a single second that I might be telling the truth, you won't even try to find out why I blacked out and I don't remember a fucking thing. Besides, if I did cheat on you, if I truly had sex with Darren that night, shouldn't you have felt it? You should've felt the pain the same way I did hours ago when you were fucking another woman. Or maybe you already know that I am telling you the truth, and  you are just so eager to get rid of me so badly."

Perhaps I shouldn't have added that part, but I was so far done with giving a shit because nothing I say will change his mind. If begging him to see the pain behind my eyes won't work anymore, I better just hurl my heart at him.

"Yelling at me didn't work, so now you want to gaslight me?" Hunter scoffed, shaking his head.

"It's always the same fucking thing with you Dimaano girls, always gaslighting and manipulating men to make yourselves the victims. Stupid me, I should've known better than to trust or fall in love with another Dimaano daughter." The obvious pain in his expression and the resignation in his voice had me wincing in pity for him, and it took me a moment to finally register what he just said.

"Wait, what do you mean?" I asked just as he turned to walk away, "You should've known better than to fall in love with another Dimaano daughter, Hunter; what does that mean?" I asked, my voice strained in apprehension.

"Ask your bloody sister, Jade." He sneered, turning his back on me as he stormed out of the kitchen, leaving me to pick up the scattered pieces of his words.

~HUNTER~

 "What is this about you embarrassing yourself and tarnishing the family name that I've been hearing?" Father lashed out the minute he walked into his office. 

With a loud thud, the door closed behind him, and the harsh sound of his boot hitting the floor announced the presence of his anger as he walked over to take a seat behind his desk. 

 "I don't know what you're talking about, father." I pretended not to know, even though I was fully aware of what he could be talking about. 

A passive expression crossed his face as he fixed me with an icy glare. "Do not take me for a fool, child." His glare was unyielding as he snapped. "Reports of your foolishness have gotten back to me, and I do not like what I am hearing." 

 "Why do you have people snooping on me, father? I'm a grown man; I can do anything I want." 

 "Your penchant for misbehaving is the reason I have people spying on you. I do not generally care what you do with yourself, but what I care about is when your actions begin to affect this family name. You were not raised to turn into such an embarrassment; what has gotten into you?" He reclined into his seat as he asked. 

 "Nothing has gotten into me. I am simply a man with a torn heart. Forgive me for trying to seek relief for my pain. How else am I supposed to deal with this? I am hurting, and just because I decide to deal with it the way I know best, you call me an embarrassment." Father snarled at me as I hissed my response. 

 "You are not the first man with a broken heart, Hunter. Having issues with your mate is not enough of an excuse for you to go out there and be seen with different women, and men, I might add, hanging off your arms. That right there is a bad image for this family's reputation; I did not work hard all these years; your grandparents and great-grandparents didn't work their asses off only to have their names smeared with nasty rumours of adultery."

 "I am not the one who ruined the family's reputation to begin with. Also, you and I both know this is not just any issue that can be shoved aside like it didn't happen. She cheated on me. My mate, the one woman who was supposed to be loyal without a fault, cheated on me, and I'm doing my best to deal with this constant anguish in my heart. These past years, I have loved and respected her in all the best possible ways that I know; I stayed faithful and gave her a home. How else am I supposed to deal with this? Go home and pretend like we are a happy couple. Laugh and smile with her as if I hadn't discovered her completely naked with another man." 

An aching tightness wrapped around my heart in a vice as I was taken back to that morning. 

The night before, Jade had told me that she had no plan to stay long at the party. I didn't want her to go when she told me about Arya's invitation, but she insisted. She had complained that her sister was leaving, and she wanted to send her off.

I didn't even understand the need for a send-off party. I knew there was no reason for the party to stretch late into the night, yet I waited for Jade's return until late at night and ended up giving up and going to sleep. I had contemplated going over to Arya's place to bring her back home, but then I realised that would only upset Jade and possibly cause her to say I was too controlling and trying to split her and her sister apart. 

What did I do wrong? I trusted her too much; I should've listened to my intuition. I knew something was odd, and there was always that nagging feeling whenever I would get cheated on in the past. I had that nagging feeling but shoved it aside because I didn't want Jade to tease me about being insecure. I chose to trust her, only to end up finding her in bed with another man. 

A knife stab couldn't compare to the pain I felt that morning, seeing the woman I loved with another man, the woman I had made solid plans for the future with, and she wasn't just any woman; she wasn't merely my chosen mate but my fated mate. No, the feeling of a knife pushing into my heart was nothing compared to the pain I felt when my heart constricted at the sight I was met with. It was nothing compared to the pressure I feel in my heart every time I think of that morning. 

 "What I expect is for you to act like the Alpha that you are, not some high school boy going through his first heartbreak." Father lashed out, uncaring for my feelings, and I sighed. 

"I wouldn't expect you to understand; you weren't the one to witness your mate with another man," I replied, rolling my eyes as he scowled. 

 "Do you think you are the only man on this planet to ever get cheated on? To ever have his heart broken?" He asked with a serious expression on his face. 

 "I do not say I am; every man handles things differently. This is how I choose to deal with my pain." I murmured begrudgingly. 

 "Here is the thing, Hunter." Father leaned forward; his expression hardened, and his brows pinched. "You are not just any man; you are an Alpha Heir with responsibilities. You are an exemplary figure, not just a commoner who can do as he pleases; you fail to realise that you are respected by how you carry yourself. How you choose to present yourself to your pack determines how they see you and how much respect they will accord you." He continuously stabbed the paper before him with the pen in his hand as he spoke.

 "I did not raise you to become a pup who sulks around his pack members over a broken heart. I thought I raised a better Alpha than that, one who knows that putting his duties first is more important than anything else." 

 "So you expect me to be a robot who doesn't feel? I should just act like I am okay when I am not." I gritted out, and my father shrugged. 

 "I expect you to act like an Alpha. You are not a teenager; you are past the age where you make stupid decisions or let your emotions control you. You are an Alpha with responsibilities, with a pack waiting to be led.  How do you intend to lead the members of this pack if you are emotionally driven and lash out when things don't go your way? This situation with your mate could've been kept under wraps until the council gave their verdict, but it has now become a topic of gossip amongst pack members because you couldn't keep your emotions in check. If you so badly needed to cope with your pain, you could've waited until she was proven guilty, or at least did so in private. But you chose to act out shamefully in public, before your subjects."

I sighed as my father continued to drill words into me. 

'I told you the same thing; I told you not to do anything rash. If she truly cheated on us, we should've felt the extremity of it through the mate link.'  

Alaric, my wolf, grumbled with disapproval, and I shut him out before he could continue.

 "I am sorry, father." When he gets like this, it is better to concede and accept defeat.

 "Do you see the importance in my words? Do you realise the wrong in your ways?" He asked in his usual stern voice that's always coated with a fake sense of concern, and I nodded. 

 "Yes, father, I see that now." 

 "Someday this pack will be yours to lead; a good leader leads with logic, not with his emotions."

 "Of course, father," I replied stiffly. 

 "Good. You wouldn't want me to remind you of this again, would you?" He asked, I shook my head but proceeded to open my mouth to offer an answer as his eyes narrowed. 

 "No father." 

 "Good, you are dismissed."