Chapter Twenty-Nine: No Forgiveness

Chapter Twenty-Nine: No Forgiveness

The stares of everyone around followed the sound of Mr Lou’s voice until they landed on where Ember sat. She felt herself shrink, suddenly feeling small under the pressure of all their gazes. 

Aside from the loud beating of her own heart, Ember couldn’t hear anything else.

She wondered what Mr Lou wanted with her. Why did he have to put her on the spot like that? As the only child of her parents, she had always been constantly put on the spot, and yet she still could never get used to it.

Ember wished she could go back to the times when she was nameless and just another werewolf in the background. She wished she could rewind time and go back to the days before that mating night.

When she thought about it, everything that was happening to her right now was as a result of that night. She found it funny how just a single night could create such a huge impact in her life.

Before she could stop herself, Ember was up on her feet and dashing out of the rec room. She could not bare the judgmental look she was receiving anymore. She had to escape the weight of everyone’s stares before they made her lose her mind.

She paced around the hallway and took in deep breaths in rapid motions until she felt her heartbeat steady again. 

“I don’t think running away from uncomfortable situations will solve them for you”, Pete’s voice echoed through the empty hallway. At first, Ember thought she had imagined the sound of his voice, but as she slowly raised her head, she realized he was standing there.

His lips were curled up, forming a half smile. He approached her slowly and didn’t stop until he stood just inches away from her.

“Hi, Ember”, he said softly. Ember’s name coming from his mouth sounded fragile. Her words got stuck in her throat and all she could manage to give him was a weird smile. All through her arrival back to the academy, she had waited for this moment and now that it was here, she couldn’t even say anything to Pete. 

Pete, on the other hand, noticed that Ember was struggling with her words, he asked, “Why does Mr Lou want to see you? He has never requested to see anyone, at least not in public like that”

Ember shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m just as surprised as everyone else”, she told him truthfully. Pete nodded, looking everywhere but at Ember. A part of him was still mad at Ember for ditching him right there in the mating circle.

“Um… how’s your head? Hope it doesn’t hurt that much”, he said, but it was a very weak attempt at making small talk.

Ember’s hand reached for her head instinctively. She had even forgotten all about the beating she received from Lyra. She replied, “My head is good. Thanks to you and our speedy healing abilities, you can barely even tell that I was almost beaten to death”

Pete chuckled a bit, and Ember felt her heart spill everywhere inside of her. She was genuinely happy that she and Pete were having a conversation and sharing a laugh. 

The silence that followed hung over them like a thick, dark fog. Ember cleared her throat. “I… I’m sorry, Pete”, she croaked.

“You’re sorry for what?” Asked Pete. Ember wondered if he was acting ignorant or he really didn’t know why she was apologizing. She narrowed her eyes at him but his eyes were hard set and probing.

She sighed deeply, dropping her eyes to her feet. “You know, for everything that happened. I really, really did not mean for things to happen the way they did”

Pete turned away from her and Ember watched as his shoulders tensed. “You mean, you didn’t mean to run away and leave me feeling stupid on the night of our mating?”

Ember felt a sting in her heart as she realized that Pete was still hurting from the events of that night. She nodded slowly, “Yeah, I’m sorry about that night” He turned to face her again, the question written all over his face even before he asked it. “What actually happened that night, Ember? Why did you run? Where did you go to?”.

She shut her eyes tightly and tried to squeeze out a memory, but nothing came up. She hated it so much that no matter how she tried, she couldn’t remember anything.

“I don’t know” cried Ember. “I can’t… I can’t remember anything”, she sputtered and Pete scoffed loudly. He said, “You’re such a fucking liar, Ember”

Ember was taken aback by the venom in Pete’s voice as he spoke. “I’m not lying, Pete. I really have no memories of that night. The only thing I remember is waking up in the middle of the road, alone and afraid”

Even if she was thrown into the deepest ocean and asked to narrate what happened that night, she would still say the exact same thing she had said because it was the truth. 

Pete scoffed again, looking at Ember like she was the strangest thing he had ever set eyes on. “You know what? Juno was right”, he told her.

At first, she felt her ears were playing a silly trick on her. Had he just mentioned Juno and right in the same sentence? “What do you mean by Juno was right?”, Ember asked.

Pete laughed loudly, as if someone was telling a joke that only he could hear. “I can’t believe it. Juno was fucking right”. Ember felt her impatience getting the best of her, she rushed over to Pete and was now standing face to face with him.

“Juno was right about what?”, she asked, sounding fierce. Pete took a step back from Ember and shook his head, obviously disappointed in her. “She was right about everything. You ran away because all you’ve ever wanted was to be a human. A stupid and empty human”, his voice held so much disdain for Ember in that moment.

Even Ember was shocked by the ridiculousness of Pete’s accusation. She asked, “She told you that and you believed her?”. To her surprise, he nodded in affirmation. “I believe her. She also said you had claimed to lose your memories”

Ember clenched her jaws tightly and dug her fingers into her palm until she could smell her own blood. “Did she also tell you that she was on my tribunal? The same tribunal that locked me up in a dungeon for three weeks?”

Pete shook his head slowly. “No, Ember. Juno and the tribunal did not throw you in that dungeon for three weeks. You did that to yourself. The moment you decided to disregard the laws and you ran away, you threw yourself into that dungeon”

Ember felt her eyes stinging with tears. She inhaled a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm. “Who the hell are you and what have you done with Pete?”, she asked. The person standing before her now was nothing short of a stranger.

Pete clenched and unclenched his fist. “You hurt me, Ember. You embarrassed me before everyone! The only reason I agreed to mate with you was because I hated the way everyone made fun of you for not having a mate”

He sounded so vulnerable in that moment and the tears which clouded Ember’s eyes broke out, falling freely over her face. She remained silent unable to spring up a reply to him.

“I thought you came here so that we could make peace and go back to being cool with each other”, said Ember. Her voice was low and pleading.

Pete shook his head and replied. “I thought so too”. He turned around and began walking away, but Ember’s voice came behind him.

“I thought we were friends, Pete!”, she called out loudly. Her voice was thick with unshed tears.

Without looking back, Pete replied. “We were never friends, Ember”