[T/W: mentions of rvpe and Assault. If you're not comfortable with the above topics, please do not read this chapter]
[GRANT]
Coming back to Acrod after the rejection by Alanor was something that would forever haunt Grant. He had been officially cast aside and the only person he could come home to was a useless omega of a mate who couldn't help him with shit.
He hated Nour and it wasn't even a lie anymore. He despised the man in ways that even the devil would have to take notes on. He was so obvious with his hate and it was ruining them and whatever they had.
They had gotten to a point where everyone in Acrod had known how rocky their relationship was. It was eating them up, but Grant was relentless. While Nour had chosen to come and given Grant a second chance, hoping the man would change, Grant was the same.
If anything, he had grown crueler. It was like the only thing that he could think of was the rejection. Delbert had tried one too many times to tell Nour that this wasn't a healthy relationship, but the crown prince was a desperate man.
He wanted to be better. He knew Grant was hurting because of Alanor and he hoped that maybe, if he was there for Grant, maybe his mate would look at him, but it never was like that for the both of them.
Of course, Delbert had taken a step back on his courtship of Nour, but he was there like a shadow, lingering and making things right when he felt like his erasthai was being treated unjustly. But then there were just some times when he was always going to be useless to Nour.
And today was one of them.
The king's enforcer and his mate, two men who were meant to live for each other, but also two men who were up against each other, had been battling themselves again, and while it broke hearts, no one knew what to do.
"Why is it so hard for you to listen to me? It's been months since the damn mating ball and you're still as cold. What the hell do you want from me?" Nour asked angrily as he looked at his mate. This was the first time he had really gotten fed up with Grant.
He knew there were consequences to this, but then nothing would be worse than enduring what he didn't need to.
Grant had grown distant even more ever since he came back. If anything, he had gotten crueler towards his mate who didn't even know what he had done wrong. The werewolf king's enforcer was distracted and more than anything, the constant fights between him and Nour were being a nuisance to the kingdom.
Everyone in Acrod they weren't on good terms and were hoping they would reject each other, but then it seemed like that was just another fantasy for the wolves too. However, no one had the guts to spell it out loud.
Hell, even the king Cassius had turned a blind eye to it, despite the complaints by Delbert about the enforcer's cruelty. King Cassius argued that he had no reason to come between mates paired but the goddess, as long as that didn't affect Grant's productivity, his shit was to remain secret.
Well, Delbert called bullshit on that because he had seen the king hold back on banishing Grant because Nour had begged him not to. It was strange really, how love had proven to be so toxic for his young son, but maybe there was a way for Nour, right?
"Why? Huh? You find it hard to be with me? Fine, fucking reject me then! It's not like I wanted a mate in the first palace! Do it!" Grant shouted at his mate who instantly faltered at the mention of the rejection.
Nour knew that was what Grant wanted so he could go back to being single and free. He wanted to avoid the bindings of their bond and frankly, Nour wished he would simply reject Grant, but that wasn't a walk in the park for him too.
Grant spent most of his free time in the bars with the older women even though he knew he didn't like women. He didn't care because it was the only way he could forget Alanor.
Most people were given second mates to heal the pain of their first mate's rejection or loss, but it seemed like Grant was projecting his blatant rejection by Alanor on Nour and it was affecting their relationship.
A relationship that had been held on by a thread and one that Nour had tried so many times to save, yet each time, Grant was adamant in making sure it never worked for the both of them. It was not fair, but did the prince quite have a choice really?
"Really? That's what you've been pining for all this time, no? Who is it? If you want me to reject you so badly, then tell me who the other man or woman is," Nour said slowly. He was tired of fighting with Grant.
He wanted to hear Grant spell out Alanor's name for him. Sure, it would rip his heart to pieces and probably affect his relationship with his best friend, but Nour knew that this was probably it for them.
He was sick of fighting for a bond that didn't want anything to do with him and only caused him more pain. It seemed like the more he persevered in his relationship with Grant, the worse their relationship got.
Maybe rejection was okay, right? But Nour didn't want that. He believed that they could fix their relationship. And that should have been easier, if Grant had been easier to deal with.
Nour loved him with all he had and didn't have and Grant, he was still stuck up on Alanor's rejection. It was like the enforcer loved the illusion of Alanor choosing him so badly that he ignored the gem that was before him.
Grant Hindley despised his mate, and it seemed like every breath that Nour took, was a trigger to him. He hated that Nour was never going to have the rainforest scent that Alanor had and that pissed Grant even more.
"You really want to know that bad, huh?" Grant asked coldly as he walked towards his mate, they were currently in the bed chamber of their shared house, but even then, there was nothing Nour could do.
Nour had tried to seduce his mate, but Grant had been adamant; it was like he had expectations that Nour couldn't fulfill. He made it impossible for them to reconcile. But that didn't even matter now.
'He really is going at it again,' Nour said to himself as he felt the air get out of his lungs with every step his mate took. He was painfully aware that the man before him had changed, but nothing Nour had done was the motivation for such a change.
If anything, Nour had done nothing but love Grant, and nurse him like every mate did. He was the ultimate mate and anyone who wanted one, would have used him as a reference, but the werewolf enforcer didn't think so.
"What are you doing?" Nour voiced, though his voice came out as a whisper, thanks to the horrified face he was making and the blood whirring in his ears as Grant walked closer to him. He could fight the enforcer and win, but this time Nour was truly in shock.
He had endured abuse one too many times, but today, the eyes that looked at him were different. Faced with the choice of calling Delbert for help, changing into the Ruby wolf and fighting like the prince he was, Nour didn't know what to do.
For the first time in so long, he was just a shell.
Perhaps the abuse had gotten way too far into his head that he couldn't think straight. Maybe that's why the young prince didn't understand what the hell was happening each time. The steps were the same, the air was the same, yet each time, his heart shattered a little more.
"Giving you what you want. You want affection, right? You've been begging for it for the past two weeks right? Then I'll show you affection. I'll give you what you want so badly,'' Grant growled at his mate as he increased his pace towards Nour.