Derek's POV
I was currently looking at Selene in front of me. She was sleeping by my side. Her hair was spread out all over the pillow, and she was snoring quite loudly. Sure, she was pretty and great in bed, probably the best I've ever had since I came back, but ever since I saw Tiana, no one's beauty was good enough.
Still, she came the closest, and since I rejected Tiana as my Luna, I plan to make her my Luna. Selene is quite respected in our pack; she has a wolf, and she's the daughter of our former Gamma, so taking her as my mate was going to benefit me and the pack.
I know that it is going to hurt Tiana when she finds out, but I have already told Selene of my plans, and when my father returns, I'll inform him that I just found out she was my mate. My thoughts returned to Tiana. The fact that she knows my wolf name and didn't feel the pain I felt after the bond was broken still amazes me.
Every second of the day was filled with thoughts of her now. She was constantly on my mind. Lately, I've been thinking of how to get her to actually love me and how I would spoil her with riches. But I was scared, I guess. Now I was no longer sure if it was because she was wolf-less; that was why I rejected her.
I think it was because I was scared. Thinking about it now, I can't even believe that I rejected my mate after waiting and searching for her for four years.
“You idiot!” Ryder yelled at me.
“You let your pride and power get in your head. We should have our mate by our side right now. But you had to screw it all up, didn't you? You had to go and make love to this sl*t right here! I hate you!” He said and shut me out, although I could still hear him whimpering for our mate.
“Alpha!” Viktor mind linked me.
“What!” I groaned back.
“She-she’s missing! She ran away!” His voice sounded hesitant and scared as he stuttered out his words.
“Who's missing?” I asked looking confused.
“Tiana!”
Tiana is missing? Oh… Wait. Tiana!? Shit! Where did she go?
“Send out our best warriors to look for her. ASAP.”
“Already on it Alpha.”
I jumped out of the bed and ran out of the room. “Viktor!” I called out. “Where is her room?”
“The little wooden cottage downstairs.” He yelled back his reply.
I rushed downstairs and burst into the cottage. The door slammed open and rebounded off the wooden wall. My eyes were frantic as I searched the cottage. She might be hiding somewhere in this place, right? She wouldn't be able to run away since she doesn't have a wolf, right?
Sprinting out of the cottage, I thought about my princess. Where could she be? Has she been kidnapped? Or did someone hurt her, and she has been sent to the doctors for treatment?
“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” Ryder screamed at me. “OUR MATE IS GONE BECAUSE OF YOUR FOOLISHNESS!”
I shook my head as Ryder continued to rage. I began checking all the maid's rooms one after the other. The maids looked scared as I slammed open their doors but quickly closed them when I didn't see Tiana inside. Finally, I got to the last room, but Tiana was nowhere to be found. I rushed back to her cottage again and began searching, then I found a note on the floor that I seemed to miss the first time.
Dear Moonstone pack.
I have had enough; I'm done being your slaves. You can try to, but you'll never find me. To my dear family, thank you very much for the way you treated me after my mother's death, and good luck to Selene on becoming the future Luna by lying to the whole pack. Say goodbye to your slave; I am leaving.
To my “MATE” Derek.
I only have a few words for you.
I, Tiana Ealy, accept your rejection!
No, no, no, she must still be here in our territory; there is no way she would have left so fast; she doesn't even have a wolf, so how could it be possible that she has left the pack? She must still be somewhere around in the pack. But, as difficult as it is for me to believe, Ryder and I both knew she had left the pack. She's gone. She has left the pack for good, and she will never return. I stared at the note in shock.
I slumped down on the ground when Viktor entered the cottage. “Derek,” Viktor called out before rushing to where I was.
“What happened?” he asked. Quietly, I handed the note over to him while silently preparing for his fury.
He read the note over a few times, then he looked at me with pure anger. Red glints of fire seemed to appear in his eyes as he looked at me. Tears had bubbled up, but none slid down his face.
“How could you reject your mate? How could you harm my sister like this? I'm sure you are the reason why she left us. Rejection is the worst kind of harm a werewolf can receive, and you know this! Some have their heart broken so badly, that they commit suicide and you know this too. Yet you rejected her as your mate and now you want to mark Selene as your mate.
Do you know how heartbroken she must have felt when she found out about your stupid plan? You even had the audacity to lie to me that Selene was your fated mate! If my sister dies out there in this cruel world, I will never forgive you. And I'll personally kill you with my bare hands.” Viktor threatened as tears slowly began to slide down his face.
“I rejected her as my mate and my Luna, but what about you, Huh? You rejected her as your sister, as your family, your own blood. You and your father blame her for a crime she didn't commit. Is it possible for an eight-year-old girl to intentionally kill her mother? She didn't even kill your mother; your mother died protecting her child, something that she could have done for you too, something that any parent would do for their child.
Instead of you treating her nicely as the only sister that you have, you abused her and treated her badly, just like everyone in the pack. And yet here you are trying to act like a saint, acting like you are any better than me.” I replied, trying to control my rage. “Maybe if you and your family had treated her nicely, I wouldn't have rejected her.”
He stormed out of the room, shaking in anger and grief as tears continued streaming down his face. I could see that his wolf had already started the transformation, so I let him go. If I were in his position, I would probably have killed anyone who did such a thing to my sister, Sheila. I knew he was challenging my position as Alpha and was also blaming me for what happened to Tiana, but his situation was understandable.
Plus, Ryder was too busy yelling at me and crying to really acknowledge the fact that by walking away and telling me off, Viktor was challenging him. I knew what he was feeling because I was also wallowing in my own pain and grief. But the most surprising thing was the fact that I didn't feel the pain of rejection like the first time. And it is very surprising. Who knows if Tiana is in pain now, or maybe she isn't even feeling any pain like the first time?
Tiana, my princess I'll find you no matter what, and when I find you, I'll protect you and never let you go. I'm sorry for rejecting you. I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you when you were here, but now I have learnt my lesson. When I find you, I'll kill anyone that lays a finger on you. I promised in my head.
My wolf Ryder growled angrily at my seemingly empty promises. “Only if she will accept you back. And princess? Ha, ha, ha, like she will ever believe that she's a princess after the way she's been treated here. You didn't even care for her when she was here, and you wanted to make that her sl*t sister, our mate. And now you are acting like you really care. I hate you for making us lose our mate! I hate you!”
I ignored him trying and blocked him out of my mind totally. I needed to think; I needed to come up with a plan to get Tiana back. I can't risk my father finding out about this. It won't be nice if he finds out about my plan to mark Selene. But how am I going to keep it a secret? I know that the news must have gone viral now, and it will be only a matter of a few days before he finds out.