Astridâs POV âI am not just a warrior in this Pack, Killian. I am also your wife and your Luna. Why should I apologize to your mistress that is not even a part of this Pack,â I blurted out as I pointed an angry finger at Giselle.
Killian only scoffed in response. He looked at me mockingly like I was a joke to him. âYou are so delusional!â He answered back frustratingly.
âWhen have I ever seen you as my mate and Luna?â He questioned taking me aback and causing a sharp pain in my chest. âIf it wasnât for you, Giselle and I wouldnât have separated.â
My body ran cold when I heard his blunt response. I never thought that he was blaming me for what happened between him and Giselle.
âKillian⦠Iâm your mate,â I retorted with my lips quivering.
âA mate that I never wanted!â He yells back and shatters what is left of my broken heart.
âK-Killian, the moon goddess chose us to be together. How could you choose someone else over me?â I asked back as my wolf whimpered inside of me.
His rejection caused a fatal blow to my heart because of the mate bond.
âI donât care! All this time I never cared! You are just a mere Pack Warrior. If you hadnât manipulated my father into forcing me to mark you, I would have marked Giselle as my mate and Luna instead.â
I held myself together as I locked gazes with him. Looking into his eyes, I knew he was telling the truth. In the years that we have marked each other, I knew that he never liked me, but it hurts as hell to hear the truth come out of his lips.
âI never manipulated your father, Killian. I never asked him to force us into this marriage,â I rebutted to clear my name.
âReally? Why would my father force me to mark a mere warrior if you havenât deceived him?!â
Killian shot back, turning me speechless.
Even if Iâm telling the truth, it was hard to prove my innocence with his question.
âGiselle had already suffered so much because of you. You do not have to punish her anymore,â
Killian hissed with menace making my body turn rigid.
I fell quiet as I stood still in front of them. Killian thinks that Iâm bullying Giselle. Killian thinks that Iâm the reason why he and Giselle broke up. Killian thinks that I manipulated his father to force him into marking me.
In short, he thinks that Iâm a manipulative woman who wormed her way out to become the Pack Luna and separated him from the love of his life.
To him, I am the villain that ruined his life.
âGiselle, are you okay? Does anything hurt?â Killian asked softly, his anger vanished instantly as he fussed over Giselle worriedly.
I blinked as I felt tears pricking my eyes. Killian crouched down and looked at Giselle with concern etched all over his face like she was a fragile doll. Killian has never looked at me like that.
âIâm okay, but Iâm afraid,â Giselleâs eyes watered as she looked into Killian and gripped his sleeves for comfort. âI badly fell on the floor. What if something happened to the baby? I need to go to the hospital and have it checked. I wouldnât be able to sleep until I know that the baby is fine,â Giselle muttered with her lips curled downwards.
âDonât worry, I will take you to the hospital,â Killian comforted her and carried her in his arms without questions.
They left the room and rushed to the hospital leaving me behind like I wasnât even there.
My lips stretched slightly as I looked at the calendar. Today is our anniversary. No one even remembered it, not even him.
I was planning to tell him my surprise that I was pregnant with his child, but I was the one who got surprised instead.
Before my thoughts could spiral down and cause me to gloat, I cleaned Killianâs office knowing that he would be expecting it to be clean and spotless when he arrived.
I cleaned up the mess that Giselle made and organized his things in his office while I was at it. His office was as good as new when I finished.
Only when I was done with cleaning, did I finally tend to my wound.
My wound on the leg is long and deep and I have to tend to it myself. As a Pack Warrior though, Iâve seen wounds much more grotesque than this, and Iâve had some uglier wounds myself. Most of my wounds, I had to clean on my own to avoid infection.
This shouldnât be a big deal, but I couldnât help but overstate my situation because of Giselle. It is still clear in my head how Killian was worried sick about her and how he brought her to the hospital for nothing.
She had no injuries, but Killian was so worried. Meanwhile, he couldnât care less about me.
When I was done applying ointment on my wound and wrapping it in a bandage, I finally walked out of Killianâs office and locked his door closed.
âAstrid.â
I turned around in surprise when I heard someone call my name. My brows furrowed, not expecting anyone to be still outside at this hour.
âDrystan?â I called back when I saw Killianâs uncle standing in the dark, smiling at me.
The wrinkles on my brows straightened and I beamed happily when I saw him. Drystan is a kind guy who has always been nice to me. What is he doing here?
Drystan is the Alpha of the Nightsong Pack. He was originally the powerful heir of our pack but was excluded because he wasnât the eldest son. So, he set up his own Pack which is very unique from the others.
His Pack is the only Pack that doesnât follow the status class. In the Nightsong Pack, everyone is equal like in human society. The members are not classified by the level of their power.
âWhat happened to your leg?â Drystan frowned when he saw my leg wrapped in a bandage.
Nothing really escapes his eye. Even in the dark, he still noticed my leg wound.
âI got it during practice,â I lied in between my teeth. I know that if he finds out what truly happened, he will get angry. Drystan could be too concerned about me than his own good.
Drystanâs brows knotted together upon hearing my answer. Itâs in the middle of the night and my wound is still fresh, I also just came out of Killianâs office. How could I have gotten my wound on a practice match?
âIs everything okay?â He asks me with concern in his face.
I forced a smile on my face. âOf course Iâm fine, Iâm just tired,â I waved him off.
Drystan wasnât the least convinced of my words.
He knew I was lying. He knew I was hiding something, but he also knew when to trust me.
I know whoever Drystanâs mate is, she would be so lucky to have him as her mate. Itâs so tragic that Drystanâs mate had already died. She died a long time ago and until now, Drystan still hasnât met his second chance mate.
âAstrid,â Drystan called my name when I was about to leave.
I turned around to face him.
âHappy Anniversary,â Drystan greeted me softly, surprising me.
My mate did not even remember that it was our anniversary, but he remembered. I just stood there with wide eyes until Drystan turned his back on me and left.
Why did I see sadness in his eyes when he greeted me?
My phone suddenly rang, interrupting me from my thoughts. Seeing the caller ID, my heart raced in anxiousness. It was a call from the hospital.
âHello?â
âMrs. Sullivan, please come to the hospital quick, your grandmotherââ I didnât wait to listen to the rest of her words. I instantly shifted to my wolf and raced to the hospital.
My grandmother has been seriously ill. I always knew she only had a little time left, but I didnât expect it to happen this sooner.
âMrs. Sullivan! Youâre here! You must hurry while your grandma is still alive,â a familiar nurse instantly recognized me when I arrived.
âAstrid?â Someone stopped me.
When I turned around I saw Giselle. âWhat are you doing here? Are you here to cause us trouble again?â She taunted with an angry look in her eyes.
I did not expect that Killian would bring Giselle to the same hospital where my grandmother was admitted.
I only had little time left so I ignored her.
âHey! I was talking to you. Didnât you hear what I said?!â Giselle yelled after me.
I bit my lower lip in anxiousness when I saw that the elevator was still high up and I had no time to wait so I sprinted for the stairways instead.
âAstrid!â Giselle yelled my name repeatedly as she chased me.
âHow dare you?! You canât just ignore me like that!â I gasped when Giselle suddenly grabbed me by the arm and forced me to face her making me nearly lose my balance.
âGiselle, I need to go,â I spoke firmly as I looked directly into her eyes.
I harshly took my arm away from her hold, but I did not expect that she would use it as her chance to fake her fall.
Giselle suddenly yelped as she rolled down the stairs. I stared at her in shock not knowing what to do.
âG-Giselle,â I stammered as she writhed on the ground, but before I could even turn to help her, someone suddenly arrived.
âGiselle!â Killian yelled as he rushed to her side.
âK-Killian,â Giselleâs voice trembled as blood trickled down her dress.
Killianâs breath hitched when he realized that their baby was in danger.
After seeing the blood, he slowly looked up at me with a murderous glare in his eyes.
My body ran cold as I locked gazes into him. Iâve never seen Killian look at someone with this much hatred.
âI-Iâ my voice quivered.
âKillian, she pushed me! She tried to kill me and our baby,â Giselle teared up as she held on to Killian. âDonât let her leave! What if something bad happens to the baby and she tries to get away with it?â
My mouth fell open at Giselleâs words.
Killian nods his head. âAstrid, you must stay until I make sure that Giselle and our baby are okay. As for what you did to Giselle, you must be punished accordingly.â
âKillian, my grandmother is in danger. She needs me.â I blurted out as I rushed towards him.
âStop making excuses! You will not leave us until I say so.â Killian asserted.
Doctors and nurses arrived to rush Giselle into the emergency room.
âKillian, my grandma is waiting for me. Sheâs dying.â Tears streamed down my eyes as I pleaded with Killian, but he didnât even bother to look at me.
His eyes were only on Giselle.
Desperate to be with my grandmother, I dropped to my knees and lowered myself before Killian.
âKillian, please just let me see her before she dies.â
âYou know who else is dying here? Itâs Giselle and itâs all because of you,â Killian responded coldly.
âYou are not leaving until I say so, Is that clear?â
Tears blurred my vision as he pushed me, making me fall to the ground.
While my grandma was dying, I was there forced to stay with them for nothing.
âGiselle and her baby are safe,â the doctor announces after having a thorough examination on Giselle.
Hearing this, I finally rushed to my grandmotherâs ward hoping to see her alive one last time.
âG-Grandma,â my lips quivered when I entered her room only to see her lying on the bed coldly.
I felt the world stop as her beeping heart monitor filled my ears. The flatline was a reminder that I came too late.
âGrandma!â I wailed loudly as I hugged her lifeless body.
All I could do was cry because sheâs gone.
Because of my mate, I wasnât able to see my beloved grandmother for the last time.