Fabian!I cry out into the link with my friend, praying to the Moon Goddess that it works and he can hear me. Nothing comes, and I muster as much strength as I can to call out once more, feeling the link slowly fade from my mind.
Help me!I plead, curling into a ball, hoping to suppress the pain spreading through every inch of my body from the rejection, thebanishment, and the beating I received. Did King Julian hate me so much because of the rumors that he was blinded by them and could not recognize me as his mate outside of his rut-induced haze?
Fuck, Hannah. I have been looking for you for the last three days. Where the hell have you been?Fabian asks, his voice filled with concern and worry. The link comes back to life, and I sob with relief. I still have Fabian by my side.
In Julian’s room,I answer, my voice a pained whimper, unable to say much more as my strength begins to give out.
Shit. I am on my way,Fabian says, closing the link. Panic takes over, worried that I won’t be able to feel Fabian in my mind, but that panic settles as soon as I feel him still there, warm and bright in my mind.
Time ticks by agonizingly slowly, but the sounds of the door opening and closing, followed by the scent of toasted coconut, make me smile.
“Fabian?” I whimper, my voice sounding hoarse.
“Here, Hannah. I’m here.” His deep baritone voice is a soft whisper, and my friend scoops me into his arms, holding me tight.
“What happened?” he asks as he rises to his feet with me in his arms. He carries me away from King Julian’s room, and I whimper, sadness seeping into every part of my heart.
“I thought you said you found your mate?” Fabian continues, his question making me sob harder. He isn’t judging me, just tryingto understand what happened from the night of my birthday to this morning.
“It’s him,” I sob out, my fingers curling into Fabian’s shirt. “My mate is King Julian, and he rejected me. He didn’t even recognize my scent, all because of those rumors.” The familiar scent of my room reaches my nose. Fabian doesn’t say anything; he just holds me tightly while I cry as he sits on my bed.
“I… I am so sorry,” he whispers as I cry harder, letting out the pain and sorrow I feel. Pain because of the rejection. Pain because of the banishment. Pain for the beating I received because King Julian believed I was lying. But most importantly, pain because of the rumors that circulated, causing all of this to happen in the first place.
Suddenly, Fabian stiffens, his body shaking with anger. My crying slows, and fear creeps inside me. Fabian gently sets me on the ground, his eyes fixed in a grim glare.
“He just linked the pack, forbidding everyone from talking about you to him,” he says through clenched teeth.
“The order goes into effect as soon as you leave the pack territory, so we only have twenty-four hours left,” Fabian adds, making me whimper.
Without warning, my friend storms out of my room, declaring he will be back in an hour and for me to lock my bedroom door until then and start packing. Unsure of what is happening now, I carefully climb from my bed, limp to my door, and lock it securely.
With little strength left, I find myself sliding down the wall beside me, curling up once again as pain ripples through my heart. I need a moment to breathe, to let the pain settle before I can pack up my life. Fabian said he would be back in an hour. For what? I do not know, but I do know he is planning to help me in any way he can.
Taking a few deep breaths, I push myself onto my hands and knees, pausing to breathe again. My body wants to give up, to fall over and wallow in despair, but I need to move. Gritting my teeth, I push myself off the floor and stand, leaning against the wall for support. Suppressing a whimper of pain, I carefully limp toward the bathroom, needing to wash away the scent of my mate from my skin.
He doesn’t want me. The man who waited so patiently for his mate doesn’t want me. So, I will wash away every trace of him from my body before I begin to pack my things and be gone before the twenty-four-hour time limit is up.
10
Julian
The door to my office slams open, and a furious Fabian storms in, his amber eyes dark with rage. Waiting for him to say something, I watch him with a glare firmly on my face. Instead, Fabian surprises me by going to my safe, punching in the code, and swinging open the door. He rummages through it before pulling out a large manila envelope.
“What are you doing?” I demand as he closes the safe door and locks it.
“Grabbing Hannah her inheritance. It rightfully belongs to her now that she is eighteen,” he answers curtly. I snarl at the bitch’s name, watching Fabian flinch from my rage.
“The fuck you are. She isn’t a pack member anymore,” I snap, getting up from my desk.
“So help me, Julian, if you try to take what her parents left for her, I will tell the whole pack about your greed and force you from power as alpha king,” Fabian threatens, snarling back at me. “You have no claim to her inheritance, and our lawyers will agree with me on this,” he continues, snarling as I try to take a step toward my friend.
“Why the hell are you taking her side? She did something to my mate and won’t tell me anything about her!” I shout back, feeling my anger rise inside me once again. “For three days, I was blissfully wrapped up in my mate’s embrace. That sweet scent of vanilla custard was the drug that held me together during my rut. Waking up to see Hannah in my bed instead of the mate I expected had enraged me. I know that bitch did something to her, but Hannah was adamant that she was my mate.”
“Have you maybe thought that Hannah is your mate?” Fabian asks, glaring at me. “She was missing for three days, and no one knew where she went. If she hadn’t reached—”
“Enough!” I snarl, slamming my fist onto my desk and hearing the solid oak wood split. “I am sick and tired of you defending that whore in front of me. Hannah is not and will never be my mate!” I shout back, my body shaking with rage. Fabian lets out a resigned sigh, shaking his head as he looks at me with pity.
“I hope you don’t regret today, Julian. One day, you will see how foolish you were to believe those rumors, and when that day comes, I hope you grovel for forgiveness from her,” he says sadly, his voice filled with pity and disdain for me.
