The Alpha Let Her Humiliate Me Every Full Moon Chapter 02

The Alpha Let Her Humiliate Me Every Full Moon Chapter 02

Six years earlier, at Whispering Falls, Dorian had laid his heart bare and sworn that I was the only female he would ever choose as his mate.

It hadn’t been easy for him to convince me to accept him.

When I was fifteen, my parents were killed in a rogue attack, and I was passed from one pack to another.

Nobody wanted the orphaned omega who couldn’t shift properly.

I resisted the idea of taking a mate, refused to settle permanently in any pack, and rejected Dorian five times.

After my fifth rejection, I was living alone in the Thornmire when a group of rogues cornered me.

Dorian arrived just in time and fought them off, but he was badly wounded and spent days recovering.

After the pack healer treated him, his face was pale and his eyes were unfocused with pain.

“Elara, why are you so damn stubborn?” he asked. “Can’t you just let me take care of you?”

My resistance finally gave way.

For the first time, I wondered whether being with someone strong, someone who genuinely cared, might not be so bad.

That night, he took me to Whispering Falls and formally asked me to become his mate.

When I said yes, Dorian, who was usually so controlled, lifted me off my feet and spun me around.

We lost our balance and tumbled onto the grass, laughing until we were dizzy, with his arms wrapped tightly around me.

Later, we sat on the moss-covered rocks beside the falls and looked up at the full moon.

He promised that as long as I was with him, I would never be alone again.

He swore he would never abandon me.

I had believed every word.

But now, every wound I’d trusted him enough to reveal felt raw again because he had used those wounds against me.

By sunrise, I’d made my decision.

I opened the pack transfer offer I’d been considering for five days. Dawnhaven Pack had offered me a place among them, far beyond the mountain range.

Typing two words was easier than I’d expected.

[I accept.]

I looked up at the moon fading behind the pale dawn clouds.

*Dorian, I had never been yours to control.*

*Now I was done letting you try.*

My transport was scheduled for the following afternoon, which left me very little time.

When I returned to our den in Shadowcliff territory, I showered, washing the last traces of the previous night’s prank from my hair, then stuffed my belongings into bags.

There was hardly anything in the den that truly felt like mine.

Packing up my life took barely an hour.

Everything fit into two duffel bags.

At three the following morning, I called a cab and carried my bags toward the front door.

Before I could leave, the door opened.

Dorian walked in with a thoroughly drunk Delilah hanging from his side.

He was half carrying her, and after dropping her onto the couch, he shoved a packet of sobering herbs at me without looking up.

“You’re awake. Perfect.”

He nodded toward Delilah.

“She’s hammered. Make her some sobering brew, or she’ll be a nightmare all night.”

I stood there without moving.

When Dorian and I had first moved in together, he had once come home so drunk he could barely stand, then vomited all over the den.

I felt so sorry for him that I got up at midnight to make him a sobering brew.

But I botched it when the pot cracked and sent boiling liquid splashing over both my arms.

He sobered instantly when he saw my scalded skin, his face tightening with guilt.

After that, he banned me from using the brewing station. Even when he was sick and wanted homemade broth, he ordered it from the pack kitchen instead.

For years afterward, I never went near the brewing station.

He’d even posted a note above it.

[Elara, stay away from the brewing station.]

I let out a bitter laugh, tore down the note, and tossed it in the trash.

“Not happening,” I said flatly. “If she needs something, order it yourself.”

His hand shot out and clamped around my wrist.

He yanked me back and pinned me against the door, crowding me so tightly I couldn’t move.

“All right, Elara, cut the crap,” he snapped.

His gaze dropped to the two duffel bags beside me.

“Being angry is one thing, but packing your bags and leaving? Come on. It was just a prank, nothing more than a stupid full-moon tradition. Stop being so dramatic.”

I pulled against his grip.

“Let go of me.”

Instead, he leaned closer.

“I know you want us to complete the mate bond, and I want that too. Next month, I promise we’ll hold the bonding ceremony.”

His voice softened as if he were offering me something generous.

“Deal?”

He was so close that I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

Once, that promise would have been enough to make me stay.

But this time, his words meant nothing to me.

I shoved him away and slapped him across the face.

“Dorian, I meant every word.”

His head turned with the force of the blow.

I met his stunned gaze without flinching.

“We’re done. I’ll never complete the mate bond with you.”