Broken Bonds

“Yeah. Kind of,” Rey laughed nervously.

She didn’t know how to act around her now that the truth came out. It’s not like there was a manual written on how to behave in their situation. Thinking about it, they might be the only two women in the world that found themselves in this kind of a mess. Ever.

“They do look cute together.” The new luna returned Rey’s smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “My name is Elaine by the way,” she said, reaching out her hand, “I don’t think, we had the chance to introduce ourselves properly.”

“No, we didn’t,” Rey agreed and reached out her own hand to shake Elaine’s, “I am Rey.”

“Yes, I know,” Elaine said, her hand falling after their awkward handshake.

At least, she didn’t wipe it in her clothes. That had to count for something.

“You are all I hear about this past few days actually,” she confessed.

“Oh? You do?” Rey’s eyes widened in surprise.

She expected she would be a hot topic amongst the villagers, but she thought they wouldn’t dare utter her name in front of their new luna.

“Yes,” Elaine nodded, “every day. Everywhere I move. Every damned corner of this place whispers about you. How amazing you are. How many people have you helped already. How kind. Loving. Beautiful.” Every word, that left her lips, was like a dagger piercing Rey’s heart. Because they weren’t just words. They were silent accusations. “How much you care about your brother. How ....”

“I am sorry,” Rey interrupted her when she was no longer able to bear it.

She was not the luna of any pack and she would probably never be, but if she were, she knew it would be a hard burden to carry if her own pack would praise some other woman in front of her. Especially a woman that could stand in her place right now if things went differently in the past.

“You are sorry, huh?” Elaine smirked. “If you were really sorry, you would pack your things and leave.”

“I wish, I could,” Rey said honestly. “But it wouldn’t be fair to Lia and her mate.”

“What about me then?” Elaine cried out. “How is this fair to me?”

“It’s not,” Rey admitted, “but this is all just temporary. We have to give them a chance to get to know each other better and then ....”

“Then what? What if the girl decides to stay? Can you promise me that no matter her decision, you will leave and never come back?”

Rey feared someone would ask her this question sooner or later.

She feared because she still didn’t have an answer to it.

“Well? Can you?” Elaine pushed harder.

“I can’t. But I can promise you, I will never come back here again. If I have to wait in another country to meet her again, I will gladly do it. But I won’t separate from Lia forever.”

The words came out like a flood and Rey knew they were her truth. She would wait for Lia at the end of the world if necessary. But she would never be able to give her up.

In fact, she wouldn’t be able to give any of them up completely.

Not Lia, not Brynn, and definitely not S.

Not in this life, and maybe not even in the next one.

But Elaine was not as satisfied with Rey’s answer as Rey was because she muttered under her breath: “Then maybe I can convince you to leave right now.”

Before Rey could react, long fingers sank into her shoulders, drawing blood. Rey screamed out and used her own hands to free herself.

From her previous experiences with Lia and S, Rey stood little chance to win against a werewolf with her own strength. And maybe she wasn’t as strong as she wished to be, but she was cunning.

She grabbed a huge chunk of Elaine’s hair and pulled at it.

Elaine swore and released Rey’s shoulder at the same time as a threatening growl cut through the air. The third guest joined the party.

Rey never got the chance to see him in his wolf form, but she didn’t need to. Everything about the wolf, that stood in front of them, screamed alpha. The massive body, resolute moves, viscious eyes. It really wasn’t hard to guess who it was. And it didn’t take him long to bare his teeth.

No one dared to hurt the alpha’s mate.

Not without facing the repercussions.

And at that moment, Rey was holding his mate’s hair in her hand.

He released another snarl and crouched backwards, his posture showing Rey he was ready to jump.

She closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for the fatal blow. They said the alpha’s bite hurt horribly, and Rey wasn’t looking forward to experiencing it on her own skin.

But the blow didn’t come. At least, not in the way she expected.