V. All things related to her medical degree, books/equipment, etc.
VI. A brand-new phone, still in its box and unwrapped and untampered with.
At the bottom of that was her father and Parker’s signatures. She had not been required to sign it or even agree to it. It was a mating alliance to stop a war. Whoever the two warring Alphas saw fit to be attached to that agreement was all that mattered. Because both had to agree on the same she-wolf.
Belladonna
She stood once more and looked at all of her clothes, in that walk-in, and her one suitcase. She’d never needed anymore suitcases, hadn’t ever set foot outside this pack. That one suitcase she knew wasn’t going to fit everything in there; as she now realised that she was entitled to take it all with her.
Everything in that walk-in, regardless of if she’d bought it or Parker had sent it up to her, she wouldn’t however, there were many things in there that still had tags on them, so she didn’t consider them as hers because she’d never worn them.
She also didn’t really want to take them, she had gained her freedom finally, and standing here she knew that she didn’t want to be walking about in clothes that Parker had wanted her to wear. That would just remind her of being here all the time, they would have memories attached to them. Some of those dresses she’d worn for the pack’s Mating Balls when she’d stood or sat next to Parker danced a single dance with him, as was the pack’s tradition at the opening of the mating ball; was there to watch over them with him, as was the Luna’s duty.
Though she had to admit some of them were more than nice, beautiful and elegant, she could see he’d not really cared about the price of some of those dresses; they were very expensive. She knew so were the suits and blouses he’d bought for her to wear; money didn’t really mean anything to him, she didn’t think. His pack was large and wealthy.
She mind-linked to her personal Omega, Merideth. To please bring her some packing boxes and packing tape. Merideth had responded with a ‘Yes Luna,’ but had sounded a bit confused about it at the same time.
Bella had nearly stated “I’m not the Luna anymore.” But she guessed technically she was, even though rejected, until that separation agreement was signed, and she was actually gone from the pack. But Merideth had also cut that link pretty quickly, and she’d not had time to get it out either. Likely attending duties elsewhere.
She wasn’t one to be fussed on if someone of lesser rank cut a mind-link, though she did understand many ranked members found it to be disrespectful. She herself in her home-pack had been considered only that of Omega Rank; by her own family. Bar her grandmother.
If anyone had linked to her back then, she wasn’t allowed to be the first to sever it, had to wait until they did, or could see herself bullied by them the next time they saw her. She didn’t really get mad about things like that, saw no point in it.
When Merideth walked into the suite she called out and Bella called her to the bedroom. She was carrying four collapsed boxes and a taping gun. Stated “You didn’t say…” her words trailed off and Merideth stopped walking and stared at Bella as she was placing neatly folded clothes into her suitcase on the bed.
“How many… Luna?…” her eyes moved from what Bella was doing to Bella’s neck, and she took a deep breath in, and the boxes fell from her hands as she realised that her Luna no longer scented of her Alpha, nor bore his Mark; that she’d smelled differently.
“Bella, what happened?” she questioned right away, walking over to her and putting a hand on her arm.
“I’m certain Parker will tell you all tomorrow. Best you hear it from your Alpha.” She smiled gently at Merideth. “Everything is as it should be, now.”
“Your leaving then?” Merideth asked. She was not so dumb, seeing Bella no longer bore her Alpha’s mark, could only mean that he had finally rejected her. This whole pack knew she was a Chosen Mate, and not his Goddess-Gifted, that had been voiced in his announcement of her being his Luna, his Chosen Luna. So, they all knew that he could reject her anytime he liked. It was common knowledge, not a secret.
“Yes, by this time tomorrow, I have 24 hours to leave the pack.” she answered her.
“I’ll help you pack Bella.” Merideth huffed, she didn’t look or sound happy about it at all, but what could she do? Go downstairs and demand an explanation from her Alpha.
Merideth was omega-ranked and had no right to do that. It would only see herself come under Parkers full scrutiny, and likely be dished out punishment for showing disrespect to her Alpha. So that wasn’t going to happen.
All she could do was tape up the boxes and help her to pack them, so Bella could be gone from the pack within the allocated time frame.
“Bella, what about all the pups that are to be born?” Merideth asked as they were boxing up books and other clothing she was taking with her.
“Annette will deliver them safely, I’m certain.” Bella stated simply, “Everything will be fine, Merideth.”
“I’ll get more boxes.” Merideth sighed and stood up. “There aren’t enough.” And she’d walked from the room, and taken nearly 10 minutes to come back, and still didn’t look too happy.
She told Merideth she’d rather make sure all her books were packed up in those boxes and that she could just take the rest of those clothes that were in the walk-in and didn’t fit into her suitcase, down to the donation bin.
Asked her politely, as her former Luna, if she could clean the suite properly once she was gone, to do a full spring clean, change all the linen and air the room, so that no traces of her were left in here to be seen. That if they’d missed packing anything at all, regardless of what it was, for her to just throw it out. She didn’t at this time have a place for her to send it to.
Merideth had stood staring at “You don’t even know where you’re going?” she’d asked “How can you leave if you have no place to go? Shouldn’t you stay here until you at least find another pack to go to? Can’t Parker have the decency to send you to an affiliated pack where you’ll be safe?”
“It’s not up to him where I choose to go, Merideth. I’ll make that decision on my own. I’ll find a pack that needs a doctor and go there.” She shrugged “It won’t be that hard to find another to affiliate with.”
“That doesn’t mean you’ll be safe.” Merideth had muttered as she’d walked out the door of the suite Bella was holding open for her. Her arms were full of the clothes she was to take to the donation bin.
Though she heard her mutter something about Alpha Parker wouldn’t like seeing others in the clothes he’d provided for her, regardless of how old they were, or if she’d never gotten around to wearing them, as she’d walked down the Alpha’s hallway towards the omega stairwell.
Bella shook her head. Parker wouldn’t even notice, he very rarely even looked at her at all, only when in her bed, and there were no clothes on her when that happened. Just her necklace, it was the only jewellery she owned. It had been her mother’s. It was a fine gold chain, with a single star above a crescent moon, with a galaxy pendant that rotated on a spinner. She often turned it when thinking about things.
Freya’s eyes matched that galaxy pendant, were the deepest darkest blue and had bright sparkles like the stars were in them. Her mother’s wolf had been the same, apparently. Her grandmother had told her not to ever shift and let others see Freya. It wasn’t a good idea.
She’d not really understood that but had done as she was told, her eyes were not those of a wolf’s eyes that was a given. There was something very different about Freya but even her wolf was tight-lipped on it.
She’d never even shifted for her father; she had told him she had a wolf, but it couldn’t emerge was stuck inside of her. He’d just stared at her and didn’t believe her. So, had Alpha Ordered her to shift, rolling all he had at her, and she still hadn’t been able to, he’d nodded and dismissed her, never brought it up again.
She left the Luna Suite and headed downstairs, she could see Kane waiting for her in the Foyer, she was carrying her mating alliance he would need to mark it as void when all this was done. Though she was certain he knew what was in it. all copies of it would be pulled from the pack files and voided by him by the end of the day.
Parker
He wanted to go out there and shake that Belladonna silly, demand that she yell and scream at him, pitch a hell of a fit. Destroy furniture or toss things around the foyer for all to see, toss them at him even; over her losing her position here within his pack, as his Mate and Luna.
Because it appeared, from where he stood that Belladonna was just going to leave this pack as quietly as she arrived. Hadn’t even thought of fighting or arguing with him about it. Nope, she just issued her rejection, had him accept it and was now leaving without so much as even a goodbye.
A part of him knew that she was following their mating alliance to the very letter. It stated she had to leave quietly and willingly, but he didn’t want her to do that. He watched Shannon close the door on her retreating back, she’d strolled away from his office like any other time she’d walked out of it. Shannon sighed as he turned and looked at Parker.
“What did you get from her; what does she feel, Shannon?” Parked asked him. It was clear to him that his Gamma, her Gamma, understood her right this minute. That was why the slight shake of his head, and he kind of looked a bit dismayed right now.
“Not much, pain from the severing which is to be expected.” Shannon shrugged that off.
Even Parker had seen her pain as she voiced that rejection, and he knew it had hurt her as much as it had him. It had bloody burned like his skin was actually on fire, as that filigree she’d adorned on him with her marking of him, had removed itself from his neck.
“Then there was relief, as she got up off the floor. I’m not certain if that was because the pain was finally starting to leave her or if she was happy to be rejected.” Shannon sighed, “Confused even me on that one, maybe a bit of both, there was still pain as well and that distracts me, I’m sorry.”
It could have been both, he supposed, but he was hoping it was only relief that the pain of their bond being severed was leaving her. He didn’t really like the idea of her being relieved that they were over. Though it was very clear to him that she had come into his office without any issues about that rejection, knew it was coming and, because he hadn’t said it right away she had done so, rejected him in just a bloody minute, so who the hell knew what that relief was for.
“Then there was sadness about leaving the pack, but…”
“But?” Parker rapped out. If she was sad about them being over, even just the tiniest bit, he was going out there to bring her back into this room. He would find a way to convince her to stay, to let them try and work it out, and come back together, and he knew it. He’d send Carina home today, right this bloody minute, if Belladonna would stay here with him and wanted to be his Luna.
Shannon looked at him and shook his head. “It’s not related to you Parker, I’m sorry…she likes being here inside the pack, is sad to be leaving, that is all, thinks it’s a nice place to live. Always has done, better than her home.”
“So she hates me in other words,” he muttered. “For how we were mated to each other.”
“It’s not hate, Parker.” Shannon shook his head, “It’s indifference towards you, that is all, and yes, it stems from how the two of you were bonded to each other. That mating alliance she had no say in.” Shannon nodded.
It wasn’t the first time he’d heard it either. “Right,” he muttered.
So, there was no point in going after her, she wasn’t going to willingly come back to him, no matter what he said to her, no matter if he went out there and grabbed a hold of her and told her that he wanted her to stay, she wasn’t going to, that is what Shannon was telling him in a roundabout way.
Parker took himself out to the dining room to sit himself at the table where Axel sat watching Carina, ‘She tried twice to get up and go to your office. Did not appreciate me stopping her.’
He frowned ‘Did you have to forcibly stop her?’ Parker murmured.
‘A hand on her arm each time and told her to sit. The second time I informed her you would come out here when things were settled with Bella.’
‘And?’
‘She slashed my hand off her arm and told me not to touch her. She was the Luna.’
Parker frowned at that and turned his eyes on Carina. She wasn’t the Luna, he’d not Claimed her or Marked and Mated her, she shouldn’t throw that word around, he’d also not announced Belladonna’s leaving yet, or that they’d rejected each other.
He was looking at his Goddess-Gifted Mate, not more than three feet from him and right, this minute, he didn’t feel like he wanted to Mark and Mate her, even if Belladonna had told him to do so. He was still in pain from being severed from Belladonna.
Vex had receded to the back of his mind, unhappy and in pain himself. He may have never been allowed to mate Freya, but he had Belladonna. It was something they had both enjoyed doing for the past eight years; now that was no more.
Their new Mate, Goddess-Gifted even, looked nothing like Belladonna, didn’t dress like her or speak as softly as her, her words were clipped and angry, she showed all her impatience for what he’d explained properly, and needed to happen with his current Luna. Her eyes, had looked at him with anger and annoyance more in the two days he’d known her than Belladonna had ever done in the past eight years.
These two women had nothing in common at all. Carina’s eyes moved right to his neck, “About bloody time, you got rid of her.” She grated out.
He looked at his watch; it had been all of nine minutes since he’d gone into his office, and that was too long for this girl, for him to end a mate bond of eight years. He didn’t think that it was too long, actually thought it was way too short a time, to end something he didn’t want to end at all.
But that had been Belladonna’s doing, barely a minute had passed before she’d issued that rejection. Three minutes for her to pick herself up off the floor and five minutes for him to need a distraction from his own pain, and come out here.
He could well have taken a whole day to make his mind up, or just not decided to accept it all. She couldn’t leave this pack until it was accepted, and their bond was officially over. He’d only voiced the actual words of acceptance, because she’d told him it was hurting her, and not only could he see that it was, he didn’t want to see her in that much pain.
Otherwise, he’d likely not have voiced it right back, would have sat on it for the rest of the day, maybe even all day tomorrow. To see if she would argue with him over it, he really wanted to fight with her about just one thing. Yell and scream at each other like a real couple did.
It either wasn’t in her to do that, or she just didn’t care to argue with him at all, not even over this; him choosing someone else to take her seat as his Luna.
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