Violet

"Really, Violet. How long are you going to play all dumb and naïve?" Nate asked, voice laced with venom.

Nicole shook her head and whispered.

"This is your office, Nate. Do you want the employees to gossip and talk badly about you? You have clients waiting outside. Relax, please."

So she was the one who brought new clients? For whom Nate cleared his entire schedule for today?

"Please, just accept your mistake and beg for his forgiveness, Violet. It is not that hard." She insisted, and Nate leaned back on the chair as if she were the one in charge.

"Forgiveness for what?" I shouted, hating the way she was pacifying him over something I didn't even understand yet, and he was letting her.

She turned the laptop screen around and said, "You really shouldn't have done that, Violet."

I stared at the screen in horror to see a dating profile on an app with my details and some very suggestive photos. The kind I'd never taken.

I looked from the screen to Nate. "That is not me, nor did I create the profile."

"Yeah, and you didn't have those chats either, right? Are you so desperate for attention that you were willing to sell yourself?"

He slammed his hand on the desk as he clicked open the messages containing some very explicit chats.

Nicole, meanwhile, shook her head.

"I get it. You wanted his attention, but this is really not the way to do it, Violet. We were somehow able to take down the profile and chats, but what if word got out that Nate's soon to be wife was being so desperate..."

She trailed off, and I saw Nate's knuckles turn white.

"You are being too kind to her, Nicole. If not for you, I would have thrown her out already. She makes me sick."

Nate looked at me with pure hatred, and I was taken aback by shock.

"Nate, you have known me since childhood. I would never do something like this."

I pleaded, but he raised his hand as if he had already reached a decision.

"Shut up!" Nate snarled, and again Nicole stopped him from getting up. As if she were trying to keep him from exploding.

"Is this what you wanted all along, Nicole? You barely showed up two days ago and are not only trying to drive a wedge in our relationship but also snatch my job from me. If you had any shame, you would not go after committed men."

I was furious.

But she blinked in surprise and looked at Nate, eyes growing moist.

"I told you I don't want to be blamed for anything..." She began, but Nate held her wrist.

"You aren't taking any blame, Nicole. Stay"

"I believe this qualifies as a lost chance. Last one remaining," Rain reminded me softly, but my mind was too focused on the way he held Nicole's hand to give her any reply.

"That profile is fake, Nate. Believe me! Anybody can use Photoshop to frame me." I looked at him, teary-eyed, but my pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"Pictures might lie, but videos don't, right?"

I furrowed my brows in confusion as a video footage began playing of the restaurant we were in the day before. I watched the scene replay once again as the rogues barged in and Nate rushed to save Nicole.

"I don't understand," I said, staring at them for an explanation.

"There," Nate quickly rewound the clip and zoomed in on a particular section involving me.

"Watch yourself"

It started with me looking at my reflection as I had done earlier.

But the zoomed in effect looked like I was admiring myself smugly. And it showed me sitting diagonally opposite in the line of sight of the stranger who had saved me.

It showed the brief smile on my face while watching the waitress get flustered.

To me, it had been nothing but curiosity. But when seen like this from a specific angle...it looked like longing.

Then the next seconds zoomed in on just the two of us- the brief period where our eyes had met

"I had caught you red handed right then, didn't I, Violet? Even called you a sweet girl. Little did I know what games were you playing right in front of my eyes!" Nate asked.

"I...I still don't understand what you are trying to prove here. I am barely looking at him" I said and he slammed his hand on the table angrily, making me step back due to the shocking reaction.

"How dare you pretend to be all naive and innocent, Violet? This footage was played all over the news channels repeatedly since the attack. And do you know what is common in all of them?"

"You leaving me to die alone while you run off with Nicole?" I shot back, but he roared at me.

"It shows you ogling at that man like you wanted to slip into his bed right away. And then smiling at him, slipping into his arms under the guise of attack. Maybe you even kissed him. No wonder you had taken such an effort to look good and dress up."

I almost laughed bitterly.

"I had dressed up for you, Nate. I don't even know who he is."

"Had this been your plan all along? To string me along and sleep with the next rich geezer you found. He is not even our age for fuck's sake!" He slammed the laptop shut as I whispered.

"You didn't even look back at me as you ran away with Nicole!"

"Don't you dare try to tarnish her name when you are the one who is rotten and filthy!"

I tried reaching for his hand, but he vehemently shook me away.

"Let me see you wriggle out of that," Nate fumed and forwarded the video to the moment the stranger ran towards me.

I watched as the man grabbed me by the arms.

I looked up at him, still in a daze as the man briefly checked me for injuries, touching my face fleetingly.

"Look how you let him pull you close for a passionate hug, how your eyes soften when he throws a few sweet words at you. That's how horny you are!"

"I was frozen with shock, not hugging him," I explained, but the angle changed again.

His back was now facing the camera, head tilted a little and leaning onto me while his hand was cupping my face.

"Relax Nate. You are safe and nice, maybe she wanted a taste of danger." Nicole muttered.

What the fuck?

"You are an alpha yourself but instead of fighting the rogues you hid behind the pillars like a fucking coward while he fought them all singlehandedly and saved me." I screamed, unable to hold myself back and those words did more damage than anything Nicole had said.

Nate was furious.

"Look how eager you are to defend that bastard. Speaking ill of your boyfriend to support the man you didn't even know until yesterday. Or maybe you have slept with him already..."

"How can you even say such things?" My voice cracked, raw and hurt.

"Maybe she felt suffocated in this relationship with you Nate since you were always busy with work." Nicole wasted no time adding fuel to the flames.

"We all make poor choices, Violet. I will ensure that Nate forgives you for your mistake. You only have to beg hard enough."

I tried not to let the anger flowing in my veins make me do something rash.

That would only provide her with further ammunition.

So I curled my fingers into tight fists and felt something warm ooze out of my palms.

The pain helped me focus.

"Is that what you wanted to see? Congratulations for breaking my home and heart" I said and she looked uncomfortable for a fleeting second.

But Nate was quick to rush to her defense.

"I want you gone from my life, and I don't want to see your face again. You don't deserve a second chance."

"You are the one who lost all your chances," I said to Nate, who had no idea what I meant by the last few words. I didn't care to elaborate.

But Rain had lost her cool by now.

"He was not even worth this last chance, but just let me out and I will rip his throat to pieces." Rain was furious, but I sighed resignedly.

"I am sorry for not listening to you earlier, but please let me do this my way." She noticed the raw hurt in my voice and thankfully retreated.

Then I straightened my back and stated,

"Since you have already made up your mind that I am the culprit, I don't want to waste my breath on explaining anything to you, Nate."

How could I have loved him all these years, run behind him like a devoted puppy when he could abandon me based on the words and a few carefully taken shots that could alter the perspective of what actually happened back at the restaurant?

"You want me gone from your life, right? Consider it done." I stated firmly.

"What? Are you really going to walk away without any apology?" It was Nicole who asked, sounding surprised that I wasn't pleading anymore.

"Watch me," I said and turned around without a backward glance.

Violet

I didn't let my shoulders sag, nor did I cry until I was out of the office and in my car. I rolled the windows up fast and headed straight to the place I had been calling home for all these years.

My fingers gripped the steering wheel a bit too tightly, as if I was drowning and trying to physically hold on to something.

"You know I am right here, and it's okay to let yourself feel," Rain spoke softly in my head, and I smiled despite the sadness weighing on me.

She had been nudging me to let go of Nate, but after I truly did it...she was surprisingly quiet.

No blunt reminders, no scorned words...just a calm quiet that I appreciated more than I could express.

"Thanks," I mumbled. I was lucky to have her as my wolf.

I was not Nate's official mate. He had chosen me just like I had chosen him.

But it didn't matter now.

I had promised to walk away from everything to do with Nate, so I decided to do good on it.

With an eerie calm, I drove the car into the garage, parked and dropped the keys by the stand.

He had accused me of cheating. I didn't want to be accused of robbery too.

So, I was only going to take what was truly mine.

My phone stayed oddly silent, no missed calls or texts from Nate. I bet Nicole was still there, whispering comforting words to him.

I shook my head so as to not dwell in the past and stepped into the house. I stood stiffly for a moment, unsure where to start first.

But the scent of Nate's cologne breezed towards me like usual.

Because I would use that in the scented candles to remind me of his presence when he was away. Tonight, that scent felt suffocating.

So I walked towards the side tables and threw all the candles in a trash bag. The first step had been hard, but once I started, I could function better.

The throw pillows and the soft blanket I used to hug while watching cheesy romantic movies went in next.

My attention moved to the photo frames of me and Nate hanging all around the walls, and I took them down one by one. By the time I was done with the living room, there were five big trash bags sitting by the corner.

For a moment, I simply stood there, catching my breath.

"You don't have to do it all at once," Rain whispered, but I shook my head.

"If I stop, I won't find the strength to continue"

Throwing the wardrobe open, I spent the next few hours separating the clothes I owned, those gifted by him went in one bag, ones I bought with my own money went in another.

I tore down the soft wallpaper with almost a mechanical precision, stripping down the walls of all the warmth I had infused in them.

My books, jewellery, shoes, everything met the same fate. My gaze flicked to the potted plants I had placed all over the shelves and felt a sob working its way up my throat.

I refused to cry and put them all in another box that would go in the donation pile. I moved to his cupboard and pulled out all the stuff I had gifted him- wallets, watches and shirts.

My hand stilled over a sweater I had knitted for him two years ago. It had taken me months to learn to knit.

I almost yanked it out and threw it on the floor, found a pair of scissors and cut through the clothes I had bought for him viciously.

Tears finally began to leak out of my eyes as I put all the cut pieces and waste in a giant heap in the backyard, threw in the sweater and everything else I had gifted him, doused it all in the expensive colognes I had bought for him and lit up a fire.

My feet sagged as I sat there, quietly watching the life I had built with Nate burn down to ashes.

My phone buzzed, and for a fleeting second I thought it was a message from Nate. My fingers shakily reached for the phone to see that it was from the credit card company.

There was still no call or message from him. There would never be hence forth. I pulled out my sim card, and it joined the pile of ashes too.

Wiping my tears, I pulled my purse open, grabbed all the cards that were in my name but tied to his account and cut them up with scissors before throwing them in the burning pile.

Exhale and Inhale.

I focussed on breathing and walked back up to the trash bags, throwing them all in the blazing inferno that was my life until now.

Stepping back into the room, I took one final look at the place I had called home all this time.

Then I turned off the lights and grabbed the two boxes containing my stuff along with the donation box and grabbed my car keys.

Just two boxes...that was all my life amounted to right now.

I loaded it all into the car, stopped by an orphanage to drop the books and crisp blankets somebody in need could benefit from and thought of the place I had called home before I gave it up all for Nate.

Turning the ignition on, I drove straight towards the Night Fury pack, the pack my parents, Alpha Luke and Luna Miranda, ruled.

Mom and Dad were already in their car and about to drive somewhere when Mom saw me approaching in my car.

She stepped out of the car immediately and ran towards me.

"Where the hell have you been, Violet?" She asked me and pulled me into a hug.

"Your phone is not reachable, and neither is that dumb boyfriend of yours answering the calls." She continued while cupping my face.

"We broke up. Nate and I are officially over"

"What?" Mom looked at me in shock and exchanged a confused glance with my father.

"What happened, dear? What did he do?" She asked, but I had taken all day to forget it, and was not in a condition to voice it out.

So I simply said. "I am tired and need to sleep."

"Of...of course, my child, this is your home and will always be." She patted my back while Dad hugged me too.

It felt nice to be hugged by them, like I was still their little girl who would run to them whenever I wanted to cry.

I smiled and replied. "I lost one home, but I won't lose another. I'll marry whoever you want me to. Arrange the wedding ceremony as soon as possible."

Mom and Dad exchanged a hesitant look at that.

"What is the matter?"

"Four alphas turned down your marriage proposal yesterday. Nobody wants to associate with our pack anymore. We are on our own"

"What? Why?"

Violet

That news should have made me glad. I was nursing a very recent heartache and just erased everything connecting me to the man I'd been dreaming of marrying.

But the way my mother said that line told me our pack's situation was grave.

Dad immediately fussed over me. "Ignore your mother, you have come home after such a long time."

He pulled me into a hug and said to mom. "She must be hungry, get her something to eat."

Mom hurried inside the kitchen while servants brought my bags inside. I had mixed feelings about returning to the place I had grown up in.

I recalled how I had left happily from this home, telling my parents proudly that I was creating my own pack, my own little nest with Nate.

But I had burned everything down, stripped it bare with my hands before coming here. A lump rose in my throat that I quickly swallowed to quash down the painful memories.

"Is everything alright?" I asked my father whose tense smile didn't escape my eyes.

"Nothing you need to worry about" He smiled but I shook my head. "Please dad, I am not a little girl anymore that you need to protect. What is going on?"

Dad sighed and I could see the defeat in his eyes. It absolutely crushed me to see him helpless like this.

"I am not sure what went wrong between you and Nate but it seems all the alphas are siding with him after the video went viral."

I didn't need to ask what video. Apparently, it had been widely circulated on social media and turned me into a meme.

At least, my parents already knew and I wouldn't have to cook up an elaborate story on the reason of my breakup with Nate.

"I didn't...I wouldn't" I began but dad placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I know he spun a web of lies with that girl. But they have everybody convinced you were the culprit... and now nobody wants to do business with us."

I hated the way my father was struggling for words, like he was trying to save me from the brutal online bullying and not disclose the harsh slangs people must have hurled at me.

While I was busy deleting myself from Nate's life he and Nicole spread all the negativity and lies about me in the entire community. I had still accepted my fate somehow, but they had gone ahead and dragged my family in this??

I grew furious and instantly headed outside the door, ignoring the hot plate of food mom brought for me.

"Violet, wait, where are you going? There is no use trying to talk to Nate."

I took a deep breath, grabbed my keys and answered.

"I won't"

I didn't really have a destination in mind but I was absolutely not going to sit and do nothing. Somehow a location popped up in my head and twenty minutes later, I was walking in the same restaurant where everything began-Salt & Smoke.

Luckily, the waitress who had attended me was heading outside and I knowingly bumped into her.

"Hey, I am looking for someone. The customer you served today. Did he give you a name or number?"

I didn't waste time in idle chitchat though her eyes widened in surprise.

"You...I attended you. And then there was the attack.I'm Lucy by the way..." She began but I was in a hurry.

"Yes, then a man fought all the rogues. Do you know his name?" I asked and she blinked in surprise.

"Everybody knows his name. He is the infamous Elijah Lockwood. He returned to the city last weekend."

She looked at me as if I had grown another head, as if I was oblivious to the existence of the sun itself.

"Thanks. Do you have his number?"

The waitress shook her head. "Not his personal number but the one he made the reservation with should be in the computer that got destroyed in the attack."

Shit. Now how was I supposed to find him?

I pulled up my mobile and typed his name in the search bar but nothing popped up. Didn't she say the entire city knew his name?

I was almost at my wits end when she suddenly blurted out. "I heard him talking to someone on the phone about meeting at the Players Den tonight."

Oh thank heavens! I immediately pulled out a few notes and handed them to her without counting. "Thanks for the help."

Players Den was relatively easy to find. It popped up on the search immediately and I was once again driving through the city in the dead of the night.

I was just going on a random hunt but I prayed to the Moon Goddess to let him be there when I reached.

An hour later, I parked outside a huge, half-broken sign that read 'Players Den' and stood in front of the tall dark building that looked less of a pub and more of a mafia secret lair.

A sleek black car was parked in the corner and I felt hopeful though the place was a bit creepy.

"This is for mom and dad," I repeated in my head.

I then put on my coat, grabbed my purse and climbed the small flight of stairs that brought me in front of a huge door that had seen better days. There were no guards to stop me as I stepped in and no loud music blaring through the windows.

And a second later, I realized why.

It was an abandoned building with broken furniture, scraps of metal and discarded items lying around amid a large pool of water.

My eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness and my body was on alert mode. I only wished I had a knife or some kind of weapon.

If I was lucky there wouldn't be rogues lurking around.

I crouched low and surveyed the place, wondering if I should shout Elijah's name out loud.

But then my eyes fell on the only source of light down the passageway to my left.

A single bulb was flickering in the dark space and below it I saw someone tied to a chair. The person's head was hanging down and blood was trickling down his body and mixing into the water below.

A man was leaning over him, tall, dark and wearing black. Undoubtedly Elijah Lockwood.

"Who sent you?" Elijah asked while twirling a sharp blade in his hands.

Forget answering, his prisoner didn't even move but a second later, a shrill scream ripped out of his throat, echoing through the large space as I saw Elijah press the blade into his captive's cheek, a trail of blood oozing out of the cut.

I immediately crouched behind a pillar and peeked outside, heart thundering wildly.

When the scream died down, I gulped and wondered how to run towards the exit without making a sound but then Elijah's voice echoed again.

"I was talking to you, little girl"

Shit.