The car ride did nothing to calm my thoughts even with the calm and beautiful view.
I knew Lucas was a son of a bitch but to threaten me with the death of my sister was a new low, even for him.
I had been in the Pack House since I was a kid, but something about them set me on edge. Even thinking about standing in their presence made my instincts recoil. My fingers curled slightly as if bracing against something unseen.
I couldn't even stand to be in his presence after cheating on me with my best friend. Tears sprung to my eyes immediately, and the thought came, unbidden. It hurt. I never loved him, but my dignity could not let me let it go.
The trees grew thicker as we drove, the land itself seeming more alert, more aware.
Half Moon territory felt alive in a way that made my skin prickle. I straightened without realizing it, shoulders back, chin lifted, because I was still a Silver in blood. We never slouched. We were akin to pack royalty after what our ancestors did to create the dome.
My thoughts drifted, unhelpfully, back to Lucas. He had always been a piece of shit, even when we were kids. He had been the kind of boy who smiled right before pushing you into trouble, who tested limits because he could. Time had polished him, given him restraint, but it had not softened him.
Sitting beside him now, I wondered if his parents saw that same cruelness in him.
I was always a victim of his harmless pranks. I never liked him, nor did I ever think I would be his fiancee, then his ex fiancee.
I inhaled and exhaled. I would make them see what kind of person they wanted me to marry. I wasn't sure if I could carry Alpha Cedric along, but maybe Luna Brienne would understand. I was like the daughter she never heard.
"We're here," Lucas announced, snapping me out of my thoughts. I breathed out through my nose. I couldn't even feel my legs anymore.
How I managed to stand up and came down from the car was a miracle. Inside the halls of the pack house, I almost crumbled. I could hear it. Astra's laugh. How we used to play around, chasing each other and getting scolded by Brienne. Goddess, it had been so long. I blinked the tears away trailing after Shawn.
When we got to the large hall, the Alpha and Luna were already waiting for us, and my parents. As we walked closer, it took all of my willpower to not let Cassie convince me to tear of Nesta's face. "What the fuck is she doing here?" I asked Lucas, spitefully.
"Now now, Chloe, let's be civil. You are in the presence of your alpha." My mother cautioned, and I almost laughed at the incredulity of the situation. How dare she?
Alpha Cedric stood behind his wife, my mother, and father standing together with Nesta hiding behind my mother.
"Chloe, I apologise for taking you from your class, but the situation was dire."
I scrunched up my nose, an old habit I had taken from Astra. "Dire? What's dire about the situation?"
"You can not break off this engagement with Lucas. You both need this marriage because the last thing we want is for him to die before he becomes Alpha." Brienne explained in her warm, kind voice. I almost went back to those times she would braid my hair and tell me the best stories. So I shook my head. Nothing would distract me from my goal.
"The situation is not dire, Bri. He loves Nesta, so let them marry. This has nothing to do with me." I insisted, firmly, my eyes glaring at the brunette haired girl.
"What do you mean it has nothing to do with you!? You killed your sister! You took her from my arms, but we still let you live! We still took you in! We raised you, and this is how you chose to repay us!?" My mother ranted, desperate.
I clenched my jaw. "I don't fucking care! This mutt," I started pointing at Shawn, which earned me a warning growl from Cedric, but I couldn't care less, I advanced, "cheated on me! His fiancee! I will not marry this scum! And if you truly think I am wrong, then tell the entire pack what he did and see who would want to marry him if you think me unreasonable! Your son is a low cunning, cursed coward!"
The speed at which Brienne moved, I could not comprehend. All I remembered was the punch and my body sent flying across the room.
Gasps erupted in the room, everyone staring wide-eyed. Those were the same hands that wiped my tears, the same hands that braided my hair and the same hands that held mine, no matter what.
The tears started streaming down my face, as laughter bubbled from tightened throat.
'No matter what, my Decker, I'll always be here for you.' The words rang hollow now.
But when I stared into her eyes, only rage and disgust were apparent. Was it all a lie? The kisses? The love? The... I swallowed the bile and stood up, the metallic state mixed with my spit, I spat at her feet.
With a smirk and aching cheeks, I said finally to my father, "I will not be a pun in your stupid games anymore."
While to Nesta, I said, "You are just a tool to them. Both of you truly deserve ."
Finally, to Brienne, I narrowed my eyes and sneered, "And the next time you hit me, I will forget any relationship we once shared."
Cedric stepped in front of his wife, "How dare you threaten your Luna!?"
I gritted my teeth, "And how dare you threaten me!? How dare you use me!? I trusted you, Bri! I trusted you when you told me to marry Lucas I have always trusted you! But it seems I got the wrong idea."
"Do not speak to my mother that way!" Lucas spoke, anger visible in his countenance.
I laughed in his face, "Nessie, come put your dog back on his leash."
"You... you..."
I didn't turn around and kept walking out of that place, my chest heavy, nausea taking hold of me. When I was away from the house and in the car, I let the tears fall free.
Nesta and Bri. It hurt. I needed to leave them behind forever.
I looked up, eyes reddened and my heart hardening. The decision was already made.