Summer's P.O.V. (Continued)
The next second a piercing pain erupted from my chest, and I clutched my chest tightly while stumbling hard on my feet, looking at William and Pearl in shock and disbelief. They kissed each other passionately in front of us. This wasn't the thing that shocked me but the disdain and mock in William's gaze directed towards me before he closed his eyes.
"Summer….. wh… what's wrong with you?" I heard Luna Ruby asking me in a panicked tone while holding me tightly from behind. I collapsed into her embrace, still my gaze glued on my mate and my sister who refused to acknowledge the presence around them.
I wanted to scream aloud in pain….. the pain of betrayal... but I refused to show any weakness…. How could he do this to me? How could she do this to me? "Summer…. Wh… what happened?" I heard Adam's panicked tone this time.
I stopped breathing because it was the most difficult task to me. My whole world was spinning hard, but that cheating pair was standing still in front of me. I felt my knees went jelly, but my body didn't fall on the ground immediately.
Suddenly I was snatched from Luna Ruby, the next embrace was also familiar to me. "Summer….. take a deep breath…. Take a deep breath, love…. You are fine… you are fine." I heard Adam coaxing me in a soothing voice while slowly squatting our bodies.
"I …. I apologize for Summer's behaviour, Alpha…. I don't know wha…. What's wrong with this girl th.. that she always find something to r.. ruin the happy occasion." Tears fell on their own accord when I heard my mother bad-mouthing once again.
"Shut up, Grace…. Can't you see why is she in pain? If… if you have to scold someone…. Scold your elder daughter….. how can she claim her younger sister's mate hers?" I heard Luna Ruby scolding my mother in an angry tone.
William and Pearl broke the kiss this time, and I gasped aloud with a muffled scream to take a breath. Ariel was nowhere to be found at the back of my mind. "T… take me away from here, Adam…. Plea….se, brother." I pleaded to Adam in a choked tone, still watching William and Pearl through tears.
"Yeah… j.. just lean on me." He instructed me in the same tone, and slowly pulled me up from the ground. "What? No…. Summer is ….. she is… she is …. Lying… Pearl is William's mate…. how could Summer be his mate? Pearl is … she is better than Summer in every aspect…. She… she is the best fit as the future beta-female, Luna….. Summer is fabricating." My mother accused me while crying bitterly.
"Enough." Alpha Adrian roared aloud, making everyone tugged their tails between their legs in fear. "Everyone…. Continue the party…. The alpha, and the beta family will shortly join you all." He announced and I closed my eyes. The pain eased, but I felt no strength in my body.
So….. now… I had to give up on my mate because Pearl deserved the best, huh? What a joke….
Yeah… th… they had made my life a joke… I was nothing b.. but a joke for this family…. And now for my mate too….
"Let's go." Adam whispered and started dragging my already worn out body somewhere with him. "Adam." I called him in a very low and choked tone. "I know, princess….. I know… you don't need to pay any heed to him. What he did is… is… jus… just not a simple crime… b.. but a great mistake." He comforted me while holding me tightly into his embrace.
Soon we reached the pack house and Adam made me sit on the couch. "Here…. Drink some water." He offered me a glass of water. I took the glass and gulped down the whole content. Adam took the glass from me and I leaned back on the backrest, and rested the back of my head on the edge of the backrest.
"Will you explain your action, William?" I heard Alpha Adrian confronting William in a cold tone. There was silence in the room, but I didn't bother open my eyes. I knew the final decision very well in my heart. If Pearl had her eyes on William, then, no matter what would be the impact on me, my mother would ask me to give up for her.
"I… I love Pearl, Alpha." Finally William spoke in a very low tone, and I felt a sharp pain hitting my chest again. "But your mate is Summer, and we all can see this." Luna Ruby interjected in a loud and angry voice.
"B… but she is not what I desire in my mate, Luna. I don't know why the Moon Goddess paired me with a worthless she-wolf like Summer, but I… I can't give up on my happiness for this." William protested immediately while showing his disgust towards me.
"How dare you insult the Moon Goddess?" Alpha Adrian roared at the top of his lungs. I slowly opened my eyes and straightened my neck. "You…. You two…. You informed us that Pearl and you are fated mates, William…. You lied to us." Luna Ruby scolded both of them, disgust clearly evident in her tone.
"I… I am sorry, Luna…. I.. I am sorry, Alpha… b… but this is my fault. I… I fell in love with William… a… and it was me wh.. who asked him to lie… he is innocent." Pearl stammered hard in fear while defending William in the most typical Pearl's way.
I chuckled bitterly and looked in their direction. All of them looked at me with different expression on their faces. I saw my parents standing behind the beta family. I could see my mother's attempt to be free from my father's embrace so that she could approach Pearl. She was desperate to defend her precious daughter but was scared of our Alpha.
"Yeah… you two are innocent…. This is me who is at fault here, right?" I asked Pearl in a mocking tone. "Yes…. This is you who is at fault here…. You tried to take Pearl's opportunity to get her happiness….. why are you so mean, Summer?" my mother scolded me with all hatred that she had for me in her tone.
My mother wanted a son, but she got me. I heard her tell Pearl once that she wanted me to abort but couldn't because of Pearl. She wanted a daughter and a son. She loved Pearl because she was the firstborn and was more beautiful than me. It wasn't like she abused me, but she never gave that much care to Pearl.
During all my life, I shadowed Pearl only to get one compliment from my mother. Was I wrong? Was it me who asked her to give birth to me? Was it my fault that she didn't get a son? Why have I had to endure all the pain all these years?
"Yeah.. you are right, Mom…. I am at fault here that she didn't get her own mate, and I got the future beta (the clear disdain and taunt evident in my tone) as my mate." I replied to her calmly but in a cracked tone.
"Yeah… I am at fault here that you got me with Pearl when you didn't want me." I continued taunting at her with a cracked tone, venting out everything that I bottled up deep inside my heart all these years.
Her eyes widened in shock because this was the first time that I criticized her in front of so many people. "I am at fault here that Pearl wants something that doesn't belong to her, but just because she is your princess….. she must get that even if it means going against the Moon Goddess's decision."
I choked on my own saliva, but I didn't move my gaze away from my mother. "You did nothing wrong, Summer. It's not us who can decide our birth, and our mates are chosen by our beloved Goddess." Luna Ruby tried to comfort me in a bitter tone, I am sure she was still glaring at my mother.
"It's not Pearl… but it's me who wants her as my mate, Summer." William opened his mouth this time, and I slowly moved my gaze towards him while tilting my head lightly. "William." His father called him in a warning tone.
"We did nothing wrong, Dad…. I need someone kind, passionate, intelligent and strong as my mate, and Pearl is everything that I want." He immediately defended his decision, and a mocking smile crept on my lips while glancing at Pearl who had her head hung low.
No one in the pack knew but my family know the difference between me and Pearl, especially my mother. Not only did she bask in the glory of my achievements all our lives but now she wanted to take my mate too.
Okay…. Fine with me… I don't have any grudge against William. In fact, I had a good impression of him in my heart, but it all shattered the very instant when he embraced my sister in front of me when he clearly knew I was his mate.
I heard a few growls erupting from the males present in the room, but I had enough of this drama. This was my brother's welcome party night, and there was no way that I would not let someone insignificant to me ruin this.
"I am sorry, Alpha… but I want your permission to reject my mate." I asked Alpha Adrian in a calm and hoarse voice while holding my chin high. Everyone looked at me with a startled look. Adam's grip on my shoulder tightened.
"But." I took a deep breath and looked at Adam with a faint smile. "Tonight ….let's celebrate our future alpha's homecoming. Nothing is more important than homecoming of my brother." I said with determination and admiration for my brother.