Chapter 4
Ethan tightly held onto Bella, his body trembling with anger. He couldn’t believe Hazel would hurt someone, but he witnessed it firsthand when she tried to harm Bella, his mate.
“Ethan, I’m okay now. It’s just a small injury. When she pushed me, I instinctively protected myself to minimize the damage. I’m sorry, I’m just so weak,” Bella said, her voice trailing off. “I shouldn’t have followed her, but something seemed familiar about her, so I confronted her, and that’s when she pushed me.”
“What? Why would she be so angry at you? It doesn’t make sense for her to try to kill you,” Ethan inquired, trying to understand the situation.
“Alpha, I want to tell you some things, but please don’t get mad,” Bella said, looking at him intently.
Ethan adjusted to meet her gaze, ready to listen to her explanation.
“For over two years now, I’ve known you were my mate. I was planning to come and find you, but on the night of your birthday celebration, I was abducted. When I woke up, I was already being sold and taken far away,” Bella revealed sadly.
Ethan’s heart broke at the revelation, realizing that he had missed out on meeting his mate for such a long time.
“When I was drugged, I heard a woman’s voice giving instructions to my kidnappers. She wanted me taken far away. And when I met Hazel, I felt she was familiar, so I confronted her. In her rage, she pushed me down the stairs. I was terrified, but I managed to protect myself,” Bella lied, trying to make her story more convincing as she broke down sobbing.
Ethan froze upon hearing her words, shocked that Hazel had tried to kill Bella not once but twice. He now understood why Hazel had kept them apart, purposely preventing them from meeting as mates.
He remembered Hazel’s obsession with him since their teenage years, always seeking his attention and constantly being around him. However, he never imagined she would such extreme lengths to get rid of his mate. She had convinced him to marry her, assuring
go to
him and very certain that his mate was dead.
“Get some rest; I’ll be back later. I need to take care of something,” Ethan said in a constrained voice, filled with anger. Bella nodded, hiding a small smile, knowing her plan was working.
Ethan believed Hazel intentionally kept them apart and married him, which fueled his decision to divorce her. Bella felt pleased with herself, as she knew Ethan’s reaction was going as she had planned.
While he walked away, he made a call to his Beta, Chris. “Arrange a marriage annulment, I’ll be divorcing the Luna.” He instructed.
He hadn’t planned anything drastic, but the revelation of how she had kept them apart ticked him. The feeling of being a fool and manipulated by her over took all other emotions he had for her.
The documents were made ready in minutes and he drove off late that night to their gated mansion.
HAZEL
I was just settling into sleep when the doors swung open, and Ethan walked into our
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bedroom. “Sign this,” he instructed, flinging a blue document on the bed,
Curious and puzzled, I picked up the file and read the bold words “Marriage Annulment.” “Ethan, what’s this?” I asked calmly, trying to keep my emotions in check. “You’re divorcing
me? You…”
“Bella’s my mate, I’ll get married to her officially by next week. You have until then to sign that, the rejection will take place tomorrow,” he replied in a restrained voice,
My heart sank, and a knot formed in my stomach. This couldn’t be happening. “Do you love her?” I found myself asking, wanting to know the truth. “Did you ever love me? Or even come to like me?”
“No, you were convenient, at least that’s what I thought till it came clear to me that it was all your plot, keeping Bella away, staying around me while I was drunk and trying to kill her yesterday!” he retorted with anger in his voice.
My eyes widened in disbelief and hurt. “What are you talking about?” I shot out of bed, running towards him. “I never pushed Bella. She threw herself…”
“Enough!” Ethan interrupted, furiously grabbing my arm and pinning me to the wall. His fingers tightened around my arm, digging into my skin. His body was shaking with anger, and his gaze was filled with disdain. “You’re a mistake, getting married to you was a mistake. I fell for your plot. You purposely got me drunk that day and probably drugged me that night, right?”
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My head dropped slowly as tears filled my eyes, I was guilty of that. “I’ll only give you a little bit of honor because of the service of your late father, for harming my mate, your Luna, You shouldn’t be allowed to live. I need you out of my home by tomorrow. Bella will be moving in,” he said, releasing his grip on me as I fell weakly to the floor.
It’s hopeless, he believes her, even if he didn’t, I didn’t have a place here anymore, not in his heart. I’d hoped to win his love but that would never happen now.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” James, the family butler, asked, helping me up. I took a pen and signed the papers. I ran after Ethan as he got into his car and called out, “Wait! I’ve signed it. I hope you’re happy together.”
Ethan took the files, got into his car, and drove away. James stood beside me, offering silent. comfort.
I spent the night packing and organizing my things. I decided to give away most of them to the kind helpers.
Morning came, and I hadn’t slept at all. James and Martha helped me with the final preparations. James said, “Finding your mate is a happy thing. He’s so in love. The Alpha never hated or disliked you. It just wasn’t meant to be. I hope you find your mate.”
“It’s good you’re not pregnant; it would have made things messier.” He added Confused, I asked, “What do you mean? What would have happened if I was?” James explained, “The first child of the Alpha must come from his mate, not a rejected one. Having the Alpha’s first child outside of the mateship is complicated. In most cases, such children might just be aborted. If the lady had the child, it would grow up with the Alpha and his mate, though most likely as an illegitimate child by the pack, if the Luna accepted the child. In most cases, though, the child was just aborted.
James excused himself, leaving Martha and me alone. She held my hands, and concern filled her eyes.
“Oh ma’am, you didn’t ask for your ginseng dose last month,” Martha said softly. “You
usually have menstrual cramps and request those soups, but it’s been weeks now, and you haven’t asked for them. You also haven’t had your time of the month yet, have you?” she inquired, urging me to consider the possibility.
The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been preoccupied with everything that was happening, and it hadn’t even occurred to me. Could I actually be pregnant? Counting back, along with the morning sickness and tiredness I had, it seemed possible. I looked at Martha in horror, and she seemed to understand.
