Chapter 38 Betrayal
“I know you’re angry,” Mia gasped as she tried to keep up with Kian.
He didn’t even bother to wait for her. His fury and rage were running hot. Sebastian didn’t even bother saying anything as he continued at his pace. His Beta even knew not to speak, but Mia had always thought she could soften him. Raina’s words of coddling little fragile flowers came barreling into his mind.
He had coddled her. He had suppressed that dark ferocious side of him, because Mia was too fragile for him. If it hadn’t been for Raina showing him exactly what he had been missing for years, he would’ve never admitted it to himself or anyone else.
His fated mate.
His Luna.
They weren’t fragile.
“This isn’t the right time,” he growled at Mia, hoping he’d get the hint that he wanted nothing to do with her.
Mia sighed, grabbing his wrist trying to get him to stop. She gasped when she flew forward and fell to the ground. Shouts roared from in back of him as footsteps echoed in the hall, getting louder as they approached.
“Don’t take your anger out on my sister,” Octavius hissed, pushing at Kian.
Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Your sister was foolish enough to grab at him when he’s storming off.”
“It doesn’t mean you--”
“He didn’t mean it!” Mia gasped, cutting in as she quickly got up from the floor to try to push off Octavius. “He’s just angry with good reason.”
Octavius growled. “I suggest you calm down before you do something stupid.”
Kian got into Octavius’s face, startling him. Mia tried to get between the two of them, but Sebastian thankfully grabbed her, preventing her from doing so. Kian’s eyes flashed a warning — the only warning he’d give him. He was going to kill him soon, very soon. His blood would be spilled over this soil.
By the end of all this, Raina would have Octavius’s blood. She’d have all their blood soaking the ground. His hand wrapped around the younger wolf’s throat and squeezed.
“You’re going to regret coming back,” he told him simply before releasing him.
Octavius chuckled. “You’re mating with my sister, Kian. I’ll be your brother-in-law.”
Kian’s eyes looked straight into Mia’s eyes, dropping down to a glittering moonstone necklace that was draped over her slender neck and hung between her breasts. He had never seen it before and he had never gifted it to her.
Her eyes drifted down to the necklace and she toyed with it, knowing it slid against the soft skin there.
“It’s a family heirloom,” she told him. “If you’d like to see it personally, we can have that arranged.” She walked closer to him so she could go up on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear. “If it’s the only thing you’d like on me, I’ll be sure to entertain.” She pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Tonight.”
With that, she turned on her heel and walked off. Octavius smirked then followed after her. Kian watched the sister and brother pair fall in step with one another until they reached the rest of their family members and the World Council members. Both he and Sebastian watched them until Sebastian turned to face him.
“Why did you agree to make her your Luna?” Sebastian asked in confusion. “Raina is your fated mate.”
Kian nodded. “Exactly. There is no way the World Council can deny a fated pairing, but I needed to buy us some time,” he told him as he gestured to him follow. “I need to talk this over with Raina. I don’t want to force her into claiming the bond, but I won’t have anyone but her as my Luna.”
Sebastian’s eyes widened in realization. Kian knew that they would have pressured him to claim Mia tonight, but he knew if he threw a grand feast for the World Council members, their pompous egos would be fed long enough for him to slip away.
Keeping Raina away from the festivities tonight was for the best. When she had told him that she wanted to stay at the cottage through their mindlink, he wholeheartedly agreed with her. It was the perfect place for her to hide out in and for them to talk.
He hated that time wasn’t on their side. He never wanted to push her into this. They had been making progress, speaking about all the obstacles in their path. Now, an obstacle was threatening to once again come between them and he wouldn’t have it.
Everything would be fine, he kept telling himself. Deep down inside, there was an anxiety building up within him. A fear that he wasn’t ready to surface. What if the biggest obstacle was never Mia and the World Council? What if the biggest obstacle was Raina?
Raina wanted to return to the pack house to gather some things from the Luna Suite. She was certain that she could get inside and out without being seen. Meri had frantically chased after her, trying to thwart her from returning. It wasn’t like she was planning to stay. She just need to a few things.
Meri finally relented and she had been her literal shadow. Meri’s strange behavior was causing warning bells to go off, but she was trying to brush it off. She had made it upstairs to her suite and walked in.
Everything felt off. It didn’t feel right. The smell was off in here. A rich floral fragrance wafted. There were suitcases that weren’t hers that were lined up by the sectional. A sensational arrangement of freshly cut flowers were displayed in the vase. There was a pretty jacket draped over the side of the armchair overlooking the coffee table. The candles next to the vase were lit as if someone was already here, making themselves home in it.
“What’s going on?” she whispered, turning to Meri.
Meri swallowed hard. Her eyes were quickly scanning the room. “There’s something going on that I can’t explain. Alpha Kian will. He says you need to go back to the cottage right now.”
Raina frowned at that. Her eyes narrowed before she finally decided to storm through the Luna suite. She went to her bedroom and saw even more suitcases there. There was jewelry that wasn’t hers on the nightstand. Her eyes went to the ornate box that Samson gave her still sitting there. She quickly rushed over to grab it.
Next where the box had been, she spotted a picture frame of Mia and Kian and she knew then. She knew what was going on. Her heart shattered at what it meant. Tears filled her eyes as she continued to stare at the picture. Her fingers snatched it up and she gazed down at it before she threw it to the ground.
Meri tried to stop her from going into her wardrobe where she found full trash bags lining the space. All her clothes were gone instead fancy, beautiful clothes were in its place.
Tears escaped down her cheeks. “I-I hate myself for believing he actually wanted me.”
“Raina,” Meri gasped, begging her to stay calm. “Kian said he’s coming here right now.”
Extreme fear fired through her at the thought of seeing Kian right now. She wasn’t strong enough yet to accept his rejection. After finally giving into it and accepting their bond, her heart couldn’t take anymore of this right now. She knew she would eventually need to come back to accept his rejection, but not right now when she standing in a Luna suite that her fated mate promised would be always be hers.
She ran. She had to run and she knew Meri would follow her, because Kian would want to know where she went. She couldn’t fault Meri’s loyalty. As she ran, she didn’t bother to head back to the cottage. She ran straight for the part of the wall that had yet to be built that led out to rogue territory.
Voices were attempting to speak into her mind, but she blocked them. Kian’s voice tried to push through and eventually he would get through when it was just too much mental strain, but she would be far away from the pack house. She ran to the only safe spot left where she could find some reprieve.
As she ran through territory boundaries, the rogue wolves didn’t even stop her, knowing who she was. Meri continued to track her, shadowing her still, as they ran. Raina ran until she felt like her entire body would collapse and when it did, her wolf missed a step and tumbled to the ground. Meri’s wolf instantly rushed to her side. Her nose sniffed at her, nudging her as if trying to make sure she was okay. Her wolf body draped over hers as if she was trying to protect her.
Meri’s wolf growled threateningly at the people beginning to surround them.
“It’s okay,” Samson told her aloud. “We wouldn’t hurt her.”Meri’s wolf hesitated before she got off of her. Raina watched Samson kneeled down before Meri in her wolf form as he laid a blanket over her. “You’ve done a good job, but we can take care of her from here. You need to rest too.”
Two feet came into view, distracting her from the small exchange between Meri and Samson. Voices called out around her. Through watery eyes, she glanced up and saw her brother as he kneeled down before her with Jacqueline quickly following suit.
“Raina,” Mack said her name as Jacqueline wrapped a blanket around her body.
It was only then she howled. Her pain echoed in the forest and she hoped it reached Kian’s ears. She hoped he felt her pain. Her howl transformed into her crying hysterically as she shifted into her human form. Her hands grabbed at the blanket, curling it around her like a pathetic shield.
“Why couldn’t I be enough?” she asked her brother desperately. “He promised me he was mine. He-He promised. But her things are there. I-I’m thrown out like trash.” Mack immediately drew her into a tight embrace. “I-I don’t understand. Why would he build me up only to let me fall?”