Luna continued to watch as Talia, with an innocent and sweet expression, walked to the front of the podium with the guard's help. She came to stand beside Magnus, giving him a sweet smile before her gaze shifted to Luna. Her eyes darted from Luna's head to toe, her gaze filled with contempt — Luna was shocked again.
The crowd whispers started again and Luna blocked out the mind-link because some omegas were already projecting their hatred at her. She don't want to hear her aunt's painful voice via the mind-link — it pierced her soul. Luna didn't want to believe anything until she heard the words from the alpha's lips himself.
"Isn't this too brutal?" an omega standing at the back of the crowd whispered to her friend.
The other girl, standing close, was surprised to hear, instantly gesturing with her hands to her lips for the girl to keep quiet.
"Shhh! What if someone heard you? don't you know saying this is close to treason." The young girl said.
"I know Amber, but this…" she said and paused, "I feel bad for her. Honestly, I can't imagine my mate rejecting me so brutally — not even in private but in front of the whole pack." The girl shivered as if the thought was alarming and scary.
"Do you think the park run would still hold tonight?" the girl continued. The way she saw it, this was the first time a mate had rejected their other half — and not even a private rejection, but in front of the entire pack. The more she thought about it, the more she felt chills running down her spine. The girl shivered.
This scene reminded her of the story her grandfather told her about their ancestor who got rejected by her mate. To reject a mate bond only means the other person harbors pure, undiluted hatred for their mate, because no matter how much you hated your mate before, once you find out she's your other half… the mate bond draws you in and turns that hatred to love and yearning because of the bond's power. So, for Alpha Magnus to do this… it was really so… she thought as all the hairs on her skin stood on ends. The girl was still deep in thought when she heard her friend's voice.
"Keep your voice down."
Luna looked at Magnus, her gold doe-like eyes shaking, but she refused to give up — not until she heard his final words.
"D-d-I'd Y-y-ou… ev-er lo…ve me?" No matter how hard Luna tried to control her emotions, she could not help how her voice sounded distorted and her stutter worsened. She bit her tongue, trying to stop the stuttering. She knew how much Alpha Magnus hated her stuttering, but she could not help it — she already felt like a mess. Whenever she was tense or a little bit nervous, she'd stutter… and today it was a lot more obvious.
She wondered what he thought of her now so she lifted her head to look at him and immediately regretted doing so. Alpha Magnus's gaze on her was that of pure, undisguised contempt, Luna flinched, her self-esteem was already at its lowest ebb and this time it dropped to the ground and Luna knew any word she said now would be a mess but she wanted to be done with it.
"D-did y-ou ever tru-truly love me?" Luna asked, her words came out a little bit clearer now even though her tongue still felt stiff, she waited for his words, counting the seconds and then it came harsher, and stronger than ever, not from the alpha but from the young girl sticking close to him.
"What do you think Luna?" Talia asked her instead, a pleased and satisfied smile on her face, her tone soft like she was the angel and only trying to help Luna. Luna wanted to scream that she didn't want to hear her voice that she was asking Magnus and not her, but she kept quiet, too frightened and terrified of what they would think of her.
"Magnus never loved or cared for you, I was the one who forced him to get close to you when he had his sixteenth birthday and found out you were his mate, I wanted him to experience the spark of the bond even though he despised you to death and hated the idea of getting close to you, so you should thank me for that."
Every word dripped with venom sweet, careful, and deliberate.
"You see. Atleast, you could boast all this time just because of me." Talia added, feigning a small smile.
Luna stumbled away as the little strength that held her was gone completely, she held onto the railings of the podium for support but even that could not shield her from the heart pain that came next, it was almost as if this final words were the deal breaker, as it felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest.
A primal scream tore out of Luna's lips, the cry of heartbreak and anquish crushing the whole pack, it shook the whole place, a loud painful howl followed next. The heartbreak was vivid and the whole pack felt it. It was a cry of pain and sorrow, and then Luna collapsed on the ground of the podium.
Silence issued with the pack members wondering if the park run will still hold tonight but their worry and sorrow was short lived as Alpha Magnus made his final announcement.
"People of Shadow Howlers pack, you don't need to worry about a thing the pack run will still hold, I and my future Luna will lead the pack run tonight."
He then signaled for a guard to take Luna away from there.