The look in Nate's eyes hurriedly went from shocked and appalled to amused and unmoved. A wicked smile formed on his face, and then suddenly an outburst of laughter occurred.

The mocking sound of his laughter rattled my very being, and that made me feel quite demeaned and had my self-esteem wrecked in an instant. It went on for quite a while. And to make it all worse, he was doing all of that to me in front of Hannah, who seemed to be having the time of her life.

“Are you being serious right now?” Nate asked, still reeling from the laughter, which he was seemingly lost in. “It seems like you lost your mind from the shock.”

Yet again, I could feel myself about to break apart right in front of them. “It's clear that I'm of no use to you now, so it's only rational that you let me go...”

“You don't call the shots here,” Nate said, as he stared me hatefully in the eyes. “I do. You can't just make demands and have them done at your every whim. I'm still alpha, even though I still agreed to condescend to be in a union with you.”

My emotions were taking the biggest hit at that point, as he demeaned my worth all in one sentence.

“You're one of the worst mistakes I ever made in my life, and it's only fair I return the favor in like manner... Now you're going to know what it feels like to be stuck...” he said, as he took Hannah by the hand to walk away from me. What the heck was going on?

The humiliation from the moment was so great that I impulsively reached for Nate's arm and held him back from leaving. It almost felt like I was trying to draw back all the time I had wasted, trying to be the perfect mate for Nate.

“Are you being serious right now?” Nate suddenly sparked at me, as I held on to his arm like my life depended on it. “Don't tell me you have suddenly grown this psychotic all the while...”

“What on earth were you expecting? No one could remain normal under the circumstances you made me go through...” I held on to him tightly, even though I didn't know why my actions had suddenly grown erratic for a man that I didn't consider to be worth it. “I'm not letting you go until you reject me.”

I disregarded the fact that I was creating a scene for all to see, but then, I desired to be set free from my union with Nate, which was eating me alive.

“Let go, or I'll make a mess of you right now.” Mate threatened with his eyes flaring with anger. But somehow, they didn't seem to scare me anymore. I had gotten worse than that in that hellish marriage. “You are overstepping your boundaries...”

“You overstepped yours first,” I snapped at him with a boldness that I couldn't explain. “Just end it now...”

“Come take her to her room!” he suddenly ordered his guards to come and get rid of me immediately, like I was some sort of bothersome pest that he was so desperate to get rid of.

Before I could turn to realize what was happening, two of his guards came and obtained me as they would do to an omega who had overstepped their boundaries to touch the alpha.

“Let go of me...!” I yelled, but to no avail, as I was being hurled to my room where I had come out from. They pushed me in and locked my door on me without saying a single word to me.

Was that happening to me?

***

Nate's POV

“Serves her right...” Hannah said, clutching my arm as she walked me to the room. She seemed to have enjoyed the rough treatment I had just treated Layla to. “Next time she would learn to steer clear of us.”

“Right...” I replied, even though I was fighting the inward battle with my wolf who disliked the way I was treating my mate.

‘That wasn't nice at all...’ Rex, my wolf desired for us to be with Layla, and not with Hannah whom I had loved. ‘She's our mate, and she doesn't deserve to be treated that way—’

‘Quiet...’ I silenced him as I didn't want anything to ruin the magical moment of seeing the love of my life once again.

“It's so nice seeing you again, Nate...” Hannah's voice was soothing and that made me feel a bit better about what I was doing at the moment. “I almost felt like I would never see you again forever...”

“I felt the same way. Being in this hellish marriage felt like the end of happiness in my life until you came...” It had been a while since I sounded that real with anyone. There was no room for love in the arranged marriage between me and the daughter of the deceased beta. I wished my father could see just how tired I was of the marriage.

“I'm deeply sorry about that,” she said, as we got to the door of the room. “I should have never left you all alone. It's my fault that you had to go through this all alone. But I'm here now, and I'm willing to make it up to you...”

“Sure thing...” I walked into the room with her. Memories of the feel of her body on mine had me longing to recreate all those memories. I longed to ignite the flames of passion once more.

“Relax...” she made me lie down as she slowly came on top of me.

But to my surprise, I felt nothing when I touched her. What was happening? The flames I had been longing for were nowhere to be found. I tried to carry on with it, but it just wasn't working.

“What's wrong?” Hannah asked as she seemed to notice something was wrong with my disposition. “Are you...”

I got out from under her before she could ask the next question.

“Nate...”

“I have to go...”

It almost felt like I had the rug pulled off from underneath me in an instant. Though I despised Layla, I suddenly felt like she didn't deserve to go through that sort of pain.

A part of me desired Hannah immensely, but that part of me had suddenly died immediately I put my hands on her. I didn't have the words to explain what had caused me to suddenly need to be alone.

I just couldn't do it with Hannah. And that was it. There just wasn't an explanation for it.

“Nate...”

I looked up to see Freddie standing on the balcony where I had wanted to spend time alone. It was hard not to get annoyed at that point, as I knew just what exactly he was about to say to me.

“What is it?” I asked, trying my best not to give in to the feeling of annoyance that was threatening to break out from within me. It was quite a lot to deal with having my friend as a beta.

“Did you have to go that far with Layla?” Freddie asked with a sigh. “It's okay that you don't love her, but then, locking her up like a prisoner was quite too extreme for someone who assumes the position of Luna and—”

“Spare me that...” I interrupted, as I was tired of the lecture that he was trying to put me through. “I am not having this conversation with you right now.”

Freddie was speechless for a while at my absurd behavioral change. “You could at least order the men to open the door for her. I get that you don't love her, but she's not some sort of prisoner.”

“If that's what would make you quit bugging me, then it's done...” I said as I walked past him hurriedly. At that moment, my mind linked with my men to set her free. “Now if you would excuse me...”

At that point, I didn't care if I was sounding cold or harsh. All I wanted at that point was to be all alone to battle my contradicting feelings on my own.

“Aren’t you supposed to meet with the council of elders about the increasing threat of the rogue wolves on our borders?” Freddie was beginning to get on my nerves at that point, even though he was just doing his job.

“I will have to adjourn that. I’m in no mood to meet with anyone right now.” I made it clear in my tone, as much as I could, hoping that he would just get that I meant it.

“But, alpha… your people are in danger as we speak. You have to--”

“I will not repeat myself nicely again,” I suddenly retorted violently, and that made him back off finally. “Don’t make me do something that I might end up regretting.”

Freddie froze in shock, almost making me feel guilty for being unnecessarily harsh. But my anger didn’t give room for any other feelings whatsoever.

***

Layla's POV

Alone I sat in my room, as I wondered what exactly was happening to me at that point. I had gone from being the alpha’s wife to being a house prisoner.

I had been in there until the next morning, and I was prepared to stay for as long as Nate wanted to keep me. At that point, I didn't care anymore.

Suddenly, the door came open with Tianna coming through it. I was surprised that the door had been opened, as I had my mind prepared to stay in there for quite some time.

“What’s going on?” Tianna asked, with her eyes brimming with concern. “Are you hurt?”

I was done crying by the time she came in, and that enabled me to answer her without breaking down. I was literally out of tears at that point.

Deep down, I was hurt by the fact I was even crying because of Nate. I hated that I was hurting for someone who didn’t care if I lived or died. He wasn’t worth my tears, but there I was, out of tears and out of breath.

“I’m fine…” I sniffled as I said that lie. I was far from being all right. “It’s nothing new… I’ll get past it somehow.”

“You don’t look alright at all,” Tianna said, as she crouched beside me to have a better look at the pain in my eyes. “You look like a mess right now…”

“Because I am…” I suddenly broke into tears all over again, not knowing where the tears came from that time around. “I don’t know what else to do…”

“I’m also not sure what you need to do, but I do know that you’ve got to stop crying first. It’s not going to get anything done.” Tianna’s words hit hard even though they were true. “It’s not the end of the world, Layla.”

“But he won’t reject me…” I cried in frustration. “If he doesn’t want me, he could at least let me go. I’m tired of all this…”

“I understand, and that’s why we need to find a way to get you out of this. But we can’t do anything in your current condition.”

With that, I was able to still myself to an extent. That was more than enough encouragement to snap out of my sorrowful mood. Finally, some hope in my gloom.

“Now get up, go get something to eat, and we’ll talk about what to do…” Tianna said, urging me to get up from the floor where I had balled up myself. She put her arms around me and that gave me enough strength to stand.

***

Hannah’s POV

“How could he?” I questioned myself angrily, still reeling from Nate’s sudden withdrawal. Nate was meant to be mine and mine alone, but then, I was sure that he still had his eyes on that fool who thought me to be her best friend.

Layla was the only obstacle between me and Nate, and I was going to get rid of her once and for all with one masterful move. She totally wouldn’t see it coming.

“Where is the alpha’s meal?” I demanded urgently from the maids as I stepped into the kitchen. “He has ordered that I bring it to him at once.

All the maids stood, staring at me in shock, like someone had suddenly hit a ‘pause’ button on them.

“Come on now!” I yelled, instantly unfreezing them. Immediately, they handed me the tray. “Thank you,” I said with a forced smile, in a bid to not appear suspicious.

I headed out at once and took out the hallucinogens I had gotten from the witch. With that, I was going to get Nate to have me and do away with Layla in one clean move.

“I’m sorry Nate, but you are mine…”

……

“What…?” I almost couldn’t believe my eyes at that moment, as I saw Hannah emptying the contents of the small bottle she had in her hand. I wasn’t sure what it was, but then, I could tell that it was something harmful.

She suddenly looked around but was unable to spot me from where I had been watching her from behind a door. I watched in fear and surprise as she made for Nate’s room. It was clear what she had wanted to do from then on, but I still couldn’t tell why she wanted to feed it to him.

The jealous part of me wanted to sit and watch everything unfold, as Nate had simply abandoned me to myself without giving a definite reason for his change of behavior. He deserved it after all.

‘But we can’t just let her do anything to him…’ Ava, my wolf kept spurring me to act, even though the jealous part of me had taken quite a strong hold of me. ‘He could be in danger.’

‘He could be in danger for all I care,’ I snapped back at her even though I was mainly speaking from the hurt that had taken me hostage. ‘He doesn’t care about us and it’s only fair that we return the favor.’

With that, I ended that debate between Ava and I. But I was soon at war with myself, specifically with the part of me that had fallen hopelessly in love with Nate. I kept trying to suppress him and trying to keep that part of me from speaking up ever again.

Soon enough, I realized that I couldn’t pretend not to care no matter how hard I tried to do that. It hurt even more that I was having that struggle for someone who humiliated me in front of the woman that he claimed to love.

As though on impulse, I found myself hurrying to Nate’s room. The urgency that had suddenly surged into me was far from explainable, as I ran to his room. I was hoping that he hadn’t had any of it before I would come.

I put my hand on the doorknob and the door suddenly came open right when Nate was about to take the first spoon of the food. “Stop!” I yelled, causing both of them to stop in shock.

A part of me was relieved that they both weren’t naked like I had been suspecting them to be. I would have contemplated shoving the poison down Nate’s throat myself if they had been in the act when I walked in.

“What the heck are you doing here?” Hannah snarled her question at me.

“The more important question is, what did you put in Nate’s food?” I asked, not knowing where the boldness had suddenly come from. But for the time being, I enjoyed the shocked look that came on Hannah’s face and the suspicious look that came on Nate’s face.

“I see you’re beginning to get delusional from the fact that Nate chose me over you,” Hannah mustered a strange confidence as she tried to put up a convincing denial. “Nate, don’t believe anything she has to say, she’s just…”

Without warning, I reached for the part of her dress where I had seen her hide the small potion after putting some of it in Nate’s food. I dragged it out without any second thought, for Nate to see it.

“What’s that?” Nate asked with his brows furrowed, as he took a look at the bottle and another at Hannah who was already getting nervous.

“I don’t know what it is. But the best way we can find out is by having her taste it.” I said, taking advantage of Hannah’s silence. “Let her taste the food and we can know what exactly she had planned to do with it.”

“Are you seriously listening to what she’s saying to you? What more would you expect from someone who isn’t wanted by her mate?” Hannah still denied it, even though all the clues were pointing against her.

Nate was stuck between two tough decisions, and I could sense that from where I was standing. I was just hoping that somehow his sense of reasoning hadn’t been blinded by Hannah’s deceit.

“Taste it…” Nate said to her, suddenly breaking the silence, and filling my heart with the warmth of relief. “Go ahead and prove to me that she’s lying, Hannah.”

“What?” Hannah was surprised by Nate’s compliance with my words. I was sure that she was feeling the same feeling of betrayal I had felt earlier. “Nate… you’re kidding, right?”

“Well, yeah. I’m kidding, and that’s why I want us to prove her wrong. Go ahead…” Nate’s words depicted his dilemma perfectly. “I’m waiting…”

The tension at the moment was very palpable. Uncomfortable even. But I was silently enjoying every moment of it.

“Fine...” Hannah finally agreed as she took up the spoon. That had me wondering what exactly she was trying to prove. I was slowly beginning to get scared that I had just made a fool of myself.

She was hesitantly bringing up the spoon to her mouth, and that was more than enough to give her away. Suddenly, she slipped it into her mouth and emptied its contents without a second thought.

The deafening silence that followed had Nate looking at me like one that had come intentionally to cause trouble, as she was looking normal up until that point.

“You see...” Things seemed normal until Hannah opened her mouth to speak. “I'm alright...” she began to sound intoxicated, as she was trying to stay on her feet.

Nate looked in shock, as he saw clearly that I hadn't been bluffing one bit.

“You see...” she was now laughing uncontrollably at that point. “The plan was simple… get Nate to eat the hallucinogens and make love passionate love to me while I get him to do away with you… but now you've ruined it all…”

At that point, Nate had heard enough.