~Tamia~

I did not speak to Leo throughout the drive.

Every attempt he made to speak to me was shut down by my silence. When we arrived home, I went straight to the bedroom.

Our house had four bedrooms. We chose it so our children would have a room each to themselves, but that wouldn't be the case now. I wonder which of the rooms I will be asked to move into when Amanda moves in.

Linda's words remained on my mind, and just like hers, I knew my bed would be cold soon.

"Tamia, please," Leo said, following me to the bedroom.

"Please, Tamia," he pleaded, and I turned to look at him.

"Please, what? Everyone is talking about it, Leo. You humiliated me at the party. So what she is your fated. Did you have to leave my side, get into the balcony and make out with her? Do you know the meaning of self-control?" I asked him, and he bowed his head.

"The feeling was overwhelming," he said, and I laughed.

"Better go to Whitewood and finish what you started, Leo. Do not wait for my approval because it will never come. I will never say it is okay so you can feel good. In fact, it isn't okay! It hurts! It feels like a betrayal, and I can never get over it. So don't waste your time hoping I will see the light because I won't. I am the loser in this. Not you, not her, not the fucking pack members, just me. Me and Kaira." I said, walking into the bathroom to shower.

I stood under it while the water ran, and I was frozen. I did not know what to do. Where will I go to? Just like Linda and Avery, I was trapped. I could not go anywhere without an invite because I was his luna. I could not dream of finding love. No one would want to try with me. I was stuck.

I sat under the water and wept.

I was trying to prepare my mind for the dark days ahead, but I couldn't. My heart was too broken, and I was too afraid.

"We will have to try, Tamia," Kaira, my wolf, said, resigning herself to our fate.

"What if she is mean and evil and wants him and everything to herself?" I asked my wolf.

"Then we will let her have it. We can't fight this. She is higher than us, and she is his fated. We do not stand a chance. We just have to hope that she is nice and considerate, or a cold bed would be the least of our problems, Tamia," my wolf said, and I wept. This was all too much.

One month passed, and I watched Leo fight the bond. He never went to get her from the Whitewood pack. Alpha Ramzey sent several envoys to no avail. I knew he was trying to prove something to me, and I appreciated him for it.

We made love a couple of times, but it was different. His heart and wolf weren't in it, making it feel like pity fuck. I had never felt so low in my life until now.

He spent long hours in the office and reduced his time working from home.

I knew he wasn't attracted to me as he used to be.

Alpha Ramzey had threatened war with us if he didn't take his daughter, and word had spread that he was soliciting help from others. Because of this, we were summoned to the council meeting.

The meeting was where Alphas in our region met and decided on issues. Every Alpha had equal rights in the council, and the judgement was binding. Every council consisted of all the alphas in a region. Every Alpha in the council represented their pack.

I was nervous about the verdict, but I dressed to go anyway.

While we sat in the car's back seat, Leo squeezed my hand gently.

"Don't be worried, Tamia. You will always be my Luna. I promise you," he said, and I nodded and smiled at him. I had somehow learned how to pretend I believed him. The truth was the only reason I was still with him was that I had nowhere to go.

A lot of issues were discussed at the council.

Alpha Sylvester Volkov of the Dark Wolf pack, and Lord of all werewolves was one issue that troubled people the most. He conquered an entire region and was heading for ours.

Some people argued that the Dark Alpha never attacked unless someone offended him. Still, most believed he was a bully, and we needed to prepare ourselves.

Being an Alpha from another region, I had never met him before, so I could not judge his character or decide whether the rumours about him were true or false. One certain thing was that the man was powerful, and he was feared.

After discussing how evil the Dark Alpha was and deciding what to do on the matter, Ramzey's issue with Leo was tabled.

"Why have you refused to do the honourable thing, Alpha Leo?" Kyle asked him, and I knew he would see kicking me to the curb for a fated as honourable since that was what he did to Linda.

"Your chosen cannot leave you unless you reject her. It is wrong to have relations with you fated and then abandon her," he said sternly, and Leo shook his head.

"I did not go all the way with her, I swear," he argued, and Kyle shook his head.

"Not according to Amanda," he said, and Leo frowned.

Either he was lying, or she was lying; whatever the case may be, people would likely believe her because of her ripped dress.

"We do not want a war among ourselves, Leo, do the honourable thing," Alpha Gabriel said and looked at me.

"You should not hold him back from his fated, Luna Tamia. It is cruelty," The chauvinistic bastard said to me. What was my crime in all this?

"Do not blame me for this, Alpha," I warned the man, and he took offence.

"I am not the one under scrutiny. Do not get me involved." I warned him, and he growled.

"It is because of you he hasn't taken Amanda in. We can't have two powerful Alphas go to war because you don't want to share. Fate has made it, so deal with it," the man said, and I did not bother to respond because there was no point arguing with the bastard.

"You are expected to take Miss Amanda Richford in by the end of the week. Or the council will be against you. You might be powerful. You might have more land and wealth than all of us, but together, we are stronger than you. Do not force our hands. You have hurt Alpha Ramzey and should make reparations by doing the right thing." Kyle said, and the case was closed.

We did not stand a chance against the entire council, so I knew we would welcome a guest into our home soon.

I returned home with Leo fuming with anger.

"I will move my things out of the master's bedroom tomorrow morning," I told him, kicking myself out of the room before he did it.

"No," he said.

"We will remain together. Since Amanda is hellbent on coming here, she will sleep in the other room," he said and looked at me.

"I swear to you, Tamia, I did not sleep with her," he said, and I nodded at his empty words and went to the bedroom.

I tossed and turned most of the night because I knew my life would be different in the morning.

Morning came, and Amanda arrived.

People stared as they moved their things into our home. I pointed to the guest room, and they reluctantly moved her things there. It was as if they felt she should not be there.

After they had arranged everything in her room, the people she came with left. I avoided speaking to her and decided I would leave the house when she chose that moment to speak.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience this is causing you, Luna Tamia. Know that if the rejection was an option, we would have done it in a heartbeat, but a powerful Alpha like Leo would not want to be weak neither do I. I promise I will not try to replace you," she said, and I knew she knew it was only a matter of time.

"Thank you," I lied and stepped out of the house. I walked to the woods, shifted to my wolf form, and ran.

I remained in my wolf form all day, until nighttime. I returned home and noticed that Leo's car was parked in front of the house. It was times like this I wished we lived in the packhouse; they would never have privacy.

I entered the house and heard their voices coming from Amanda's room. They were arguing about something. From the discussion, it was clear she had lied against Leo that they had relations, but they only made out. At the end of it all, she won and now is currently living with us.

I went to the master bedroom to shower.

Two weeks passed, and Leo treated Amanda like a ghost in the house. I began to feel sorry for her. I could see his efforts to stay away. She had asked for rejection several times already. I knew she did not mean it; she was only doing it to get a reaction from him. I wondered how long he would hold out on her.

I woke up with a sharp pain in my chest. I felt disoriented, but the pain soon made me focus. Leo wasn't beside me, and I did not need to guess where he was. This pain was different; it was draining and excruciatingly painful, and soon it stopped abruptly. I did not understand what had happened but was grateful that it had stopped. I laid back down to sleep but couldn't. Tears of fear, betrayal and sadness streamed down my cheeks, and I knew that my life had been altered completely.

Sleep eventually came in the morning's early hours, making me wake by noon. I could not take my normal morning runs because the sun was up, so I opted to shower. I left the room and went to find something to eat in the kitchen, and there they were, laughing and talking. They were silent when I entered the kitchen, and I had to cover my hurt.

"Please ignore me," I said and headed for the coffee maker.

"Good morning, Luna Tamia," Amanda said too nicely, and I looked at her. She turned to face me so I could see Leo's mark on her neck. It explained why the pain stopped abruptly, as Linda had told me.

I began to laugh immediately. That was the response that came out of me. I laughed and nodded.

"Congratulations," I said, lifted my mug and left the kitchen.

"Tamia, Tamia!" Leo called out, and I stopped walking and turned to face him.

"Please, Tamia. It doesn't change anything. You are still Luna," He said, and I laughed. There was no way I was going to let Leo use me.

"No, Leo. I am not the only Luna anymore," I told him, and he frowned at me, wondering what I meant.

There was no need for me to elaborate now. I will do so when the opportunity presents itself. I looked at his clothes, and it did not seem like he had anywhere to go, which meant they would be together all day. It was time to start planning my exit. Yes, he won't reject me, and now that he has claimed her, I won't feel pain when they are together again. It was time to start searching for places I could move to. I might not be able to settle down again, and I might have to move to a different region and lie that my mate is dead, but I knew whatever I needed to do needed to be quick. Amanda didn't seem like a nice woman, and I did not want to find out.