Chapter 3

"Quinn?! What are you doing here?"

Quinn''s knees nearly buckled at his words. Seriously? That''s what he had to say? That''s the first thing out of his mouth?

Quinn wiped away the tears streaming down her face, glaring at him with pure hatred. "I thought I''d never regret meeting you, Jeo... but I do now. I regret ever laying eyes on you. I should''ve slit my own throat instead of letting you mark me there... it wouldn''t have hurt this much."

"Quinn, I..." He took a step toward her. "I''m sorry, Quinn, but I—"

"You''re not sorry, Jeo. If you were actually sorry, you would''ve rejected me before pulling this shit. And Delilah..." She turned to face her sister. "You''re dead to me. You could never be my sister after this. I would never do something like this to you."

Delilah hung her head, her whole body trembling. "I love him, Quinn... I-I''m sorry... I wanted him... he wanted me... I... I''m sorr—"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Quinn clapped her hands over her ears. "I don''t want to hear it!"

"Quinn..." Jeovanni moved closer, stopping only when he stood right in front of her. "I''m sorry you had to see this... you''re right, I should''ve rejected you first... but I didn''t have the guts. I had to wait until you were gone."

"S-So this was your plan all along? Send me away on some mission so you could break our bond by hooking up with her? How... How could you do this to me, Jeo?"

"I know, and I''m sorry, but what I have with her became stronger than what we had. I-I don''t feel it anymore, Quinn... I love you, but not like I love her. I''m sorry, but this is something I have to do. Brace yourself—this is gonna hurt."

Quinn pressed her lips together and looked away, fighting back the screams threatening to tear out of her throat. She hated him...

For not loving her the way she loved him... She hated him...

For not even trying to fix their bond when it started falling apart... she hated him...

For choosing someone so close to her... she hated him...

For putting her through this hell... she hated him...

For everything—the bad and even the good... she hated him! She hated him! She hated him!

But damn it, that hatred couldn''t even touch the love she still had for him...

God... why did it hurt so much? She''d known this was coming, had seen it in her visions, but she still wasn''t ready for it.

This day should never have come, it never should''ve—

"I''m sorry, Quinn, but I, Jeovanni Lum, reject you, Quinn Felon, as my mate. You''re no longer Luna of this pack, and you''re not my fated mate anymore. Accept my rejection."

His words hit her like a physical blow, and she collapsed to her knees, crying out when the pain became unbearable... she didn''t want to, but if she didn''t accept his rejection, she''d die.

"I... I, Quinn Felon, accept your rejection... I''m no longer Luna, and I''m not your fated mate anymore."

The words were torture to say because she never thought she''d have to say them... she felt like she couldn''t go on... she felt so fucking empty...

The pain... it faded until it disappeared completely, and then she stood up, burning with shame. "I hope you never regret this, Jeo... you too, Delilah."

She walked down from the platform, past the pack members who just watched her go... nobody said a word, nobody seemed to give a damn... but why? These were the same people she''d protected from rogues and rival packs... these were the same people she''d spent over three years of her life taking care of... how could they just not care?

"Quinn..."

Quinn turned at the sound of her name and saw her father pushing through the crowd with a blanket in his hands.

"Oh, sweetheart..." He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. "If I''d known this was going to happen... if I''d known about Delilah''s affair... it never would''ve gotten this far."

"Dad... daddy..." Her words came out broken, just like her heart. "It hurts... it hurts so bad..."

"I know, but there''ll come a time when it doesn''t hurt anymore, and when that happens... you''ll realize he wasn''t worth it." He hugged her tighter, tucking the blanket under her chin. "The second I saw them setting up for a ceremony, I had a feeling something like this would happen. I''m so sorry it happened to you, and especially because of your own sister."

Quinn sobbed against her father as he led her away from the crowd and through the woods toward their house at the edge of the territory. "You''re strong, Quinn... I trained you myself... you''ll get through this. Some people get second chances. I pray you''ll find someone better than our alpha someday."

Quinn nodded, not really hearing what he was saying... her wolf was howling too loudly inside her head. It sounded wounded—and wasn''t it? Jeo had just ripped her heart out, leaving her chest completely hollow.

"Pull yourself together, Quinn... he''ll regret this, I promise."

Quinn nodded again, her lips trembling too much to speak.

"Delilah''s sweet and pretty, and you''re beautiful too, but you''ve always been tough. He''ll miss that about you... he''ll want you back. If Delilah was really meant to be his mate, the goddess would''ve paired them together from the start. He''ll come back... and you''ll get the chance to reject him like he rejected you."

He led her onto the porch, opening the door and ushering her inside. She turned to her father, her heart pounding hard and heavy. "D-Dad...?"

"I know, sweetheart... I wish there was something I could do about this. I wish I could just say some magic words and make it all go away, but it doesn''t work like that, and you know it." He patted her shoulder, then gently nudged her forward. "Go... get some rest. I know you''re exhausted."

Quinn nodded, pulling the blanket tighter around herself as she walked into her room—the one she used to share with Delilah before her sister moved in with Jeo. There were two beds inside, small ones, but she remembered hers being comfortable... especially when Delilah used to crawl in with her instead of sleeping in her own bed.

She looked at Delilah''s bed, then at her own. She should try to sleep, but how could she rest knowing her mate wasn''t hers anymore?