There is a saying that love is blind but in Ella's case, it ripped her eyes out, completely leaving her without the organ.

As tears shimmer down her eyes and blood continues to stain her hands, she does not relent, sitting under the Great Oak tree at the back of the Pack's hall, ripping her wedding dress apart with a razor.

It is not a wedding dress she sees however as the razor slices, it is Derek's face, it gives her a little satisfaction, having a fruitless vengeance on him for the pain he has inflicted on her.

It was here she was sitting on the day of the mating ball, unable to attend, just watching others meet their mates with little to no anticipation in her heart to meet hers when Derek found her as his mate and here under this very tree, she gave herself to him.

After getting that text from Rose, she couldn't even bring herself to continue packing, she just brought the dress here, where it all started, with the intention to rip it to shreds and burn it.

She leans her head against the bark of the tree for a moment, wondering exactly how or where she went wrong with Derek.

She knows she has been ignoring the signs, too blinded by her love for him.

She heaves a truly sad sigh and takes the dress a few yards away from the tree and sets it ablaze.

She stares into the fire with sadness in her heart, her eyes holding a look of regret and despair in them.

Burning this dress is not just the end of their three year relationship, it's the end of a longtime crush, the loss of the only man she has ever loved.

She still finds it too painful and horrible that he left her at the altar to go to his ex for any reason whatsoever but she knows it can only be for one reason, he never loved her, his love has always been for Rose.

She thought time would make him change, make him warmer, romantic and affectionate towards her but that obviously is not the case.

The only time she feels any kind of love and affection from him is when he's inside her, plunging her depths and only tells her he loves her during sex.

She is nothing compared to Rose in status, sophistication or beauty. Derek can go ahead and be with Rose.

She will reject him and get back on course with her life and future.

It's time to go back to chasing the dream that she gave up to prepare herself to become his Luna.

It is her fault that she lost herself and her sense of independence just because she finally got to fall in love with her long-time crush.

She should never have done that, making Derek the one and only priority in her life, the centre of it all.

"I don't want to call you dumb out of respect but this is a dumb thing to do, even for you."

Ella's heart leaps in shock when she hears a thick male voice behind her and she turns quickly to see the owner, her face falling in disappointment when she sees it is Gabriel, Derek's beta.

For a moment, she hoped- thought it was Derek.

"My business is not your concern," she replies, turning away from him.

She crouches and picks up a small pouch from the floor. Gabriel's eyes follow her hands suspiciously as she stuffs it inside her dress before he scoffs, brushes past her and stomps out the fire with his heavy boots before turning to her with a cold, dangerous sneer on his face.

"Then you are indeed dumb if you think burning the Alpha's gift is of no concern to me. Do you even know how much the dress you just ruined cost?"

Ella doesn't reply, she just glares at him, bitterness swirling in her gut.

"It's mine, is it not?"

A mean scowl covers Gabriel's face. "You're lucky the Alpha is forgiving you. I would have you locked in the black hole for some days if it were me, just move it, he wants you back home. Right now."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Ella snaps, feeling even more anger that Derek couldn't come for her himself, he had to send his Beta but he could run from their wedding to be with Rose.

"Don't make me force you. Come home and all will be forgiven."

Ella furrows her brows at him, giving him a nasty look, bitterness engulfing her heart.

Forgiveness? For what exactly? She was the one left stranded on the aisle, the one who was treated like a worthless scum and she deserves forgiveness?

"Tell your Alpha. I'm enjoying my honeymoon, alone," she sneers at Gabriel, brushing past him.

Derek steps into the pack training ground, coming out of the gym, he's wearing a black joggers and a sleeveless top soaked in sweat, which hugs his delicious muscular frame tightly.

Everyone stops the moment they see him enter, all baring their neck to him.

"Carry on," he says, his eyes searching the crowd for Ella but he doesn't find her.

This is the third day in a row that she hasn't shown up to training and he can see most of the new shifters who she is responsible for training just messing around.

Is she still upset? This is the first time she ever throws a tantrum.

"Gather round," he frowns at the group of first shifters, "make a circle. I want one on one physical combat. The loser does 500 pushups with the winner standing on his back," he orders coldly and the group quickly do as he instructs.

He walks a distance away but not too far so he can continue to observe the first shifters and he mindlinks Ella but she blocks him.

He scoffs, a tiny smile tugging the corner of his lips.

Who would have thought his little bullet had it in her?

"Alpha! Alpha!" His Delta, Ethan, runs towards him, holding out his phone, "you need to see this."

Derek frowns, not liking to be disturbed during training sessions.

"What is it?"

"It's better if you take a look," Ethan replies, bowing slightly.

Derek yanks the phone from him and an even deeper frown contorts his face, his eyes bulge in shock and he looks sharply at Ethan before looking back at the phone.

It's a video of Ella burning her wedding dress. What has gotten into her?

"Who else has seen this?"

"It's gone viral Alpha, it's everywhere."

Derek sneers, "make it disappear," he says, shoving the phone against Ethan chest.

"I said fucking combat, not sparring! Put some fucking weight behind your punch!"

He yells at the two people fighting in the centre of the circle and he mindlinks his Beta, stepping closer to the circle.

'Where are you?'

'Just outside the-'

'Training ground. Now.'

He cuts Gabriel off, takes out his phone and dials Ella's number but it goes straight to voicemail.

He grinds his teeth, wondering what has gotten into her. He's not used to being ignored by her, this feels....strange.

"Alpha," Gabriel says, bowing slightly as he appears behind him moments later, "you sounded like it was an emergency."

"What are you doing? You don't give the enemy a chance when he's down, you finish him off," Derek says to one fighter in the group before turning to Gabriel with a cold glare in his eyes.

"Ella is not here. Did you deliver my message to her?"

"Yes Alpha," Gabriel nods.

"And...?"

Gabriel huffs, bringing his face close to Derek's ear to whisper away from the hearing of the others. "Well, she.....she said she's on honeymoon leave and she's not coming back."

"She said what?" Derek cocks his head and looks at Gabriel sharply, "without having a fucking wedding?"

"Yes. When I tried to confront her over her attitude, she wouldn't listen. That woman, she's something else," Gabriel replies, an undertone of spite in his voice.

"Huh," Derek replies in a low tone, thinning his lips.

What could have gotten into her to that extent? He knows she has a stubborn, ill tempered side to her but never towards him.

"And you made it clear that I sent you?" He asks, his tone still full of disbelief.

"As clear as day," Gabriel replies sharply.

Derek scoffs, finding the whole thing rather amusing. "Does she know plans are already in place to get her a bigger wedding as I promised?"

"I told her everything Alpha, I tried my best to convince her, she just wouldn't listen."

"Obviously not your best, I'll go see her myself," Derek sneers at him, feeling an uneasiness within.

"You have more important things to worry about, let me try again, I'll bring her home this time," Gabriel interjects.

"Fine," Derek grunts.

****

Ella in bed, watching old videos of her and Derek on her phone, sometimes smiling, mostly crying, when she hears the hurried footsteps of her mother coming towards her door before she hears the woman yell.

After moving out of Derek's house, she had nowhere else to go but to move back to her parents house.

"Honey! Honey! Come out! The Alpha Just parked outside," her mother knocks frantically on her door. "Hurry up and come out. Wear something nice. The man misses you so much he had to come get you himself," her mother chuckles.

Ella's heart immediately races, hearing Derek is here to get her.

He came? He really came?

For some reason, the gloom she has been feeling lifts off.

She just wants to hear what he has to say, what excuse he wants to give her this time.

She lazily makes her way out of her bedroom to the living room, only for heart to sink when she sees Gabriel standing in their living room and not Derek.

Ella does not hide her displeasure at seeing Gabriel, a frown immediately contorting her face, knowing the reason why he is here.

"Have you seen the video of you that's trending?" Gabriel asks in a curt voice, his eyes cold, a nasty frown on his face, "have you seen what people are saying about the Alpha because of you?"

"What video? What are they saying?" Fiona, Ella's mother asks frantically, her fear filled eyes darting between Ella and Gabriel, clearly hearing from the tone of Gabriel's voice that there might be trouble.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ella replies in a cold tone, crossing her arms against her chest, "if this is some-"

"You may want to get off your high horse, woman. This is serious," Gabriel cuts her off, takes out his phone and shoves it in her face.

Ella freezes, staring at the video of her burning her wedding dress with shock in her eyes and her heart thuds.

She had no idea there were cameras on her that day.

A pang of guilt slices through her heart knowing this will indeed look bad for Derek's image and that was not her intention at all, she was only giving an outlet to the rage she was feeling that day.

No one knows how she felt when she got that picture from Rose with Derek in Rose arms the same day he called off their wedding.

She scrolls through the comments and surprisingly, the slanders are for her and not for Derek at all.

[Needy Bitch]

[What a waste, she was never fit to be Luna.]

[I hope the Alpha rejects her, she doesn't deserve him.]

She scoffs bitterly and thins her lips. Well, the people are saying a lot more about her than Derek even if she is the one who was wronged but of course, no one will see it like that.

"What is-" Fiona impatiently snatches the phone from Ella.

Fiona's eyes widen and she gasps, clasping her hands around her mouth at the sight of the video.

"You silly child, why would you do this? Why?" Fiona asks in a shaky voice, glancing at Ella with shock and disappointment in her eyes.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry about this," she turns to Gabriel with fear and worry deeply etched in her eyes, "I don't know what must have come over her."

"I'm not the one owed an apology," Gabriel replied coldly, "it's the Alpha but he's willing to forgive everything as long as she returns home with me right now."

"Really?" Fiona asks in a hope filled voice, "she'll come with you, she'll come with you right now."

"I'm not going anywhere with him," Ella replies.

She does not owe Derek an apology nor does she need his forgiveness and since this video already went viral, Derek has the perfect excuse to leave her and go be with Rose, the woman that he actually wants.

"Give us a minute," Fiona pulls Ella forcefully into the corridor, away from Gabriel.

"Have you gone mad Ella, what the hell is wrong with you? Have you suddenly forgotten everything Derek has done for us since you got together? This house that we live in, your siblings getting scholarships to study in the best schools, your father's business getting back on its feet, it's all because of him. Do you want to throw all that away? Think about your family my dear," Fiona says in a slightly raised tone but her countenance is more sad than angry.

Ella looks at her mom in the eyes, hating how she has to be the one to sacrifice her peace and happiness for theirs.

She never wanted any help from Derek when he offered, she refused to allow him buy her parents a new house as her engagement gift but her mom went behind her and accepted it and now she has to suffer for it.

She never wanted the wealth, fame or power that came with being the Alpha's fated mate, all she wanted was a man that would love and cherish her, not one who would treat her like she barely mattered.

"Ella, you have to go back," Fiona says in a much calmer voice, gently rubbing the side of Ella's arms.

Ella looks down at her arm and then at her mom. For once she wants this woman to see things from her perspective, to take her side but it's never going to happen, her mother seems to care more about status than her own daughter.

She peels away from her mother, goes into the room and comes out with a single bag to see her mother standing beside Gabriel.

"Let's go," she says to Gabriel in a cold voice.

He stares at her bag and then at Gabriel before looking back at her, disappointment and anger shifting in his eyes.

"Cla-"

Her dad puts his hands up. "You can go but this door will not open to you anymore. I thought I raised a daughter with some self respect."