Chapter 3: Betrayed

Maya's Pov I stood there frozen. My heart was pounding so hard against my ribs that I thought it would burst out of my chest. Ezra had his head buried in Hope’s neck. His sharp, elongated teeth were sunk deep into her skin while Hope’s head was thrown back. My wolf let out a sharp, agonizing howl inside my mind. The mate bond between us, the one we shared just hours ago shattered to a million pieces. It felt like someone shoved a knife into my chest and twisted it as hard as they could. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even move. Ezra slowly pulled his teeth back from her neck and he pulled close wrapping his arms around her waist. The silence in the hall was suffocating. Everyone was watching me. A few looked at me with pity, but most of them looked at me like I was a sick joke. The former Alpha stepped forward and beside him, his mate, the former Luna folded her arms looking at me with pure disgust stamped on her face. "Look at what just walked in" the Alpha’s voice boomed through the hall. "The runt." A few pack members chuckled behind him. The sound felt like salt rubbed in an open wound. "You actually thought you were going to stand up there beside my son?" the former Luna sneered, taking a slow step toward me. She looked me up and down like I was trash. "You're a defect, Maya. A weak, useless mistake born into this pack. You can barely shift into your own weak wolf, let alone lead a pack as Luna. Did you really think we would let a defect ruin our Alpha bloodline?" The words hit me like a punch to my gut. My whole body started to shake. "Shut your mouth" A loud growl shook the room as my father pushed his way through the crowd. My brother was right beside him, his eyes glowing with anger, his hands curled into tight fists. "How dare you speak to my daughter like that" my father shouted, shielding me with his back. "Ezra touched her. He knows she's his mate. You can't do this to her" "He's the future Alpha, and he will do whatever it takes to keep this pack strong" the former Alpha snappef. "Your daughter is a weakness we cannot afford. If you take one more step forward, or say another word against this marking, I will strip your rank and throw you out. You'll be homeless rogues by sunset." Rogues. If my father and brother were thrown out as rogues, they wouldn't survive. The nearby packs would hunt them down for sport, or they would starve out there. My dad was getting older, and my brother had his whole life ahead of him. They were going to lose everything, all because of me. My father opened his mouth ready to fight the Alpha even if it cost him his life and my brother was already shifting his weight, ready to launch himself at Ezra. "Dad, stop" I whispered. I stepped out from behind my father. My legs were shaking so badly I thought I would collapse, but I forced my back to straighten. I locked my teeth together so hard they throbbed, swallowing down the hot, bitter tears that were burning the back of my throat. I put on the fakest smile I could manage and looked straight at the Alpha, then finally at Ezra. "It's fine," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "It's completely fine." My voice didn't even feel like mine at that moment. My dad turned to look at me in horror. "Maya, no--" "I'm serious, Dad, the Alpha is right. I certainly deserve a lot more than a mate who used me and then marked somebody else the next day." The words felt like stabbing my heart with glass but the truth always hurts I turned my eyes back to Ezra. I waited for him to look at me. I waited for him to say something. Anything. A lie, an excuse, a few word of pity, even a cold glare. I wanted him to look at the girl he was in his arms just hours ago, the girl he promised that nothing else in the world mattered to him. But just stood there. His arm remained wrapped tightly around Hope's waist. His face didn't give out any emotions, he didn't move, didn't say anything to defend me, or to stop his parents from insulting me, he just stood there. “ I'm glad you did this because I actually thought that you were more for a man but you're a coward and I actually feel sorry for you because you will be miserable your whole life and I dodged a bullet with you.” “ don't talk to me like that I'm your alpha.” He finally decided to open his mouth. “So you speak.” l asked. “ for a second there l thought you turned mute.” l said. He tried to approach me but I took a step back. “ stay away from me Alpha and I'll stay away from you and your family.” I said and I was trying to be strong even though I was a subject to humiliation with everybody looking at me but I refuse to have them gossiping about me tomorrow and I refuse to make a spectacle of my parents. " I'm the one who should warn you." Hope said looking at me with so much hate that I don't understand because I didn't take anything from her and she thinks that she has the right to hate me. " I hope for your sake that he doesn't do to you what he did to me but I certainly wish the both of you nothing but the best." I said and I made sure to leave the hall with my head held up high even though I was devastated. He betrayed me.