Chapter 110

Elara's POV

I used to catalog my heartbreaks like others collected seashells. Each heartbreak was unique, adding to my growing collection. The silent heartbreaks haunted me most. Like watching other children walk home to loving families while I returned to an empty house as an orphan. Then came the loud heartbreaks. Fists connecting with flesh, my face stuck into mud. Jeers echoing through hallways. Gum yanked from my hair piece by piece.

After finding my first mate, Matthew, heartbreak came with rejection. It wasn't after he called me to his room that night and propositioned me to become his sex slave that I felt insulted. But still, it didn't come close to this. Standing here now, listening to Lucas speak, I understand something new. All my previous pain feels like gentle rain. This moment is the hurricane that teaches me what it truly means for a heart to break.

I realize now, I've never known what heartbreak truly feels like until Lucas.

He stands in the center of the room, looking at me like I'd just been demoted. His Beta, Gamma, and several warriors are behind him, forming an unmoving wall. Aurelio can't even look at me in the eye. His heart breaks, he looks like he'll cry. I don't blame him. He had a duty to obey his Alpha.

I force a small smile. "Lucas?"

He doesn't respond. Just stares at me with dark, blank eyes.

My heart pounds. "Lucas, please, tell me what's going on?"

"Once, you begged me to reject you. Don't act so surprised that I'm granting your wish. I should have done it the first time we met.''

No," I whisper, barely able to speak through the pain. "Before, I was foolish. The first time I begged for your rejection, I was only scared for our baby. And you…''

"Don't you mean, your baby?'' He asks, coming close to me. The look in his eyes puts fear into me. It's not even his Lycan wolf. It's nothing but blank.

"You cheated on me," Lucas says.

My breath catches. "What?"

His gaze darkens. "You think I don't know? That I wouldn't find out? The child in your womb isn't mine."

Tears blur my vision. "Lucas, that's not true."

He lets out a bitter laugh. "Matthew told me everything."

The name makes me flinch. "Matthew?"

He nods. "That day you were 'kidnapped' by witches? You weren't kidnapped at all, were you? You went to be with him. You and the witches have been working together all along. They're your family, after all. Your mother and aunt. All this time, I thought you loved me. All this time, I thought I could trust you. But instead, you've been working with Matthew and the rest of the witches to conspire against my father and I."

The accusation nearly knocks the air from my lungs. "What?"

Lucas doesn't even blink. "You and Matthew. You've been together all this time, haven't you? The night we met, you told me that Matthew rejected you. Then he called you to his room and offered you a deal to be his slave.''

"Yes. And I rejected it..''

"Liar!'' He roars, scaring even the warriors behind us. A crowd was beginning to form. "Matthew told me the truth. You didn't reject the offer, you took it. You were so madly inlove with him you'd take whatever scraps he gave you. Overtime, Matthew offered you a second deal. That he'd make you his Luna, not just some worthless omega. But you'd need to come to me. Seduce me. Betray me.''

I look at him with wide teary eyes. The man I knew is long gone. Nothing he says makes any sense. It's not the lies, that hurt me, it's that he believes them. There's not a spec of doubt behind his eyes. He's a soldier to this new hatred he has for me.

Stepping forward, I reached for him. "Lucas, you're my mate! I would never-"

His hand jerks away before I can touch him.

I freeze.

"You expect me to believe you?" His voice is dangerously low. "After everything? After everything you did?"

Tears spill over my cheeks. "I didn't do anything! Lucas, you know me. You know I would never-"

"Matthew told me you used me. How you laughed behind my back while carrying another man's child. How you entered the war room, stole battle strategies, pack house stagger, everything that could cripple this pack, you gave to him. "

"NO. No!'' I scream, feeling like I'm going mad. "Matthew is dead, Sabrina killed him. This is a nightmare.''

"Wake up Elara!'' Lucas taunts me. "I know the truth now."

"No! Sabrina killed Matthew with the silver dagger, remember? Whatever this is, whatever spell the witches have you on…''

"This is not a spell. This is me, without all your bullshit lies.''

I look around, fighting back the tears. I'm standing at the gate of the pack, my clothes and belongings thrown at my feet like I'm nothing. Lucas' warriors have formed a barricade, ensuring I can't go back. This is it, I'm being kicked out.

"Sabrina, where's Sabrina? She killed him herself. Don't you remember?''

"Just Go! Elara GO!'' His tone gets higher, startling me. Behind him, his father stands with a wicked victory smirk. "You're not welcome here anymore."

I shake my head, the words not making sense. "Lucas, please. The baby-it's yours. You know it's yours."

His lips curl. "I don't trust you anymore, Elara. If this were anyone else, I wouldn't hold back. I'm giving you a merciful exit. GO!''

My whole body trembles. "You told me you loved me. You told me I was your Luna, your mate, your queen-"

"I was wrong."

The breath rushes from my lungs.

His next words shatter me completely.

"You're nothing." He lets out. "Just a worthless omega.''

For a moment, the world stops.

*"Worthless omega."* The words echo, not just from Lucas, but from a lifetime of voices.

I see myself as a child, standing in the corner of my old pack's dining hall, clutching an empty plate. The Alpha's mate sneered as she walked past. *"Why do we even feed her? She's just a worthless omega. A burden."*

High school hallways. Older wolves shoved me into lockers. *"Know your place, omega."* Gum in my hair. Fists against my skin. Always the last chosen. Always the one left behind.

Then the memories flood. I remember the first time Lucas' father met me. He called me, ""An inferior omega. You'll never be worthy of my son."*

Then Sabrina, the first times we'd met. *"You're not worthy to be with my brother."*

Lucas' mother, holding a knife over my chest. *"You're an inferior creature. You don't deserve to be with a Lycan king.''

Matthew's room. His proposition. *"You're just an omega. Be grateful I'm offering you anything."*

And now Lucas. My mate. The one who promised to be different. Standing there, his eyes cold. *"You're nothing. Just a worthless omega."*

I've been called that word a thousand times. By strangers, by enemies, by those who never cared to know me. But never by him. Never with so much hatred.

Not after everything we've been through.

Not after the nights we spent under the stars, his arms wrapped around me. Not after all the declarations of love. After the pain I went through in the clutches of his Lycan wolf, after fighting so hard for him to believe he was my baby's dad. Not after all we've been through. *"You're strong, Elara. Stronger than anyone I've ever known."* He'd said. "I love you.'' He'd declared. Does any of it matter?

Every morning he touched and kissed my belly. Every time in the shower he talked to the baby, and they kicked.

Now, those moments feel like someone else's life. A dream I've been ripped from, forced to wake up in a nightmare.

This. This is what true heartbreak feels like.