Luna took a step back in disbelief at the unexpected word and the stabbing pain that came next after he finished his words. She was in so much pain that she didn't register the gasps of surprise that tore from the pack members present at the park territory nor did she hear the whispers that broke out. Luna was in a state of shock, her eyes widely opened as she looked at Magnus, only to see a bemused smirk on the corner of his lips.
She was still deep in her thoughts when she heard a loud voice from her side, it was the shaman, she couldn't hear him, as his voice sounded distant and distorted, but she could hear fragment and knew the man was shouting at Alpha Magnus.
"What are you doing Alpha?!"
"You can't do that, do you want to kill your mate?" the man scolded in disbelief as he felt sad for Luna when his gaze fell on her, she looked so small, her shoulder slumped almost like she was carrying the weight of the whole pack on her small, fragile-looking shoulders, but Alpha Magnus was not done.
The alpha smirked, and then his gaze flitted to look at one corner, his eyes lit up instantly, ignoring the scolding of the shaman, Magnus continued addressing the pack members, he was like a judge addressing the final verdict of a crime before the execution. Immediately the noise die down.
Magnus's blue sensual eyes turned to look at Luna, he smirked. "I have chosen to marry someone else." He announced, as if on cue, Luna turned to look at the direction of his eyes and she was left in shock when she saw Talia, the pack's princess making her way to the front of the crowd, the ink on her body was different from the rest of the young ladies of the pack, her whole body was inked with a combination of black and silver paint, leaving her different from the girls there. She wore white skirt covering her waist and like every other she-wolves, the skirts were embroidered with brown shapes of wolves. She was a beauty to behold. Luna could not help but praise in her head. But the thing that struck her the most was the necklace resting on her slender, attractive neck, Luna was a novice but she could tell when something was authentic. Compared to the rest of the girls who had on fake animal teeth necklaces, Talia had on a charming necklaces made from the teeth of a dragon. Luna was sure of it, she thought as she stared at the girl. But that was not the problem here, the problem was she was trying to understand why Talia is now walking closer to the podium.
Luna was still trying to process everything with Magnus's sudden declaration and why Talia's body looked different from the rest of the crowd, it all felt intentional. She looked around her and noticed that everyone's attention was now fixed on her, Alpha Magnus and Talia, they all had on amused expressions on their faces' it felt like she was the means of their entertainment. Luna wanted to run away from there.
'I should have stayed at home.' thought Luna, in her head, but before she could, she heard the Alpha's chilling voice behind her again.
"And I have chosen to marry Talia Moonrider as my chosen mate!" Alpha Magnus declared, before signaling for a guard to bring Talia in front of the podium, everything looked like a movie in Luna's eyes from the sudden silent that filled the territory border to Alpha Magnus words, it all looked like his words had impetus of a lit match held gunpowder, aimed at her chest.
Luna refused to believe any of his words even as she watched the guards leading Talia up to the podium gently, and safely like she was a most prized possession, Luna still refused to believe this. Alpha Magnus was only doing this out of spite, right? She didn't know, this was the man who had promised her the world just to get close to her. What did she do to deserve this? She thought, apprehensively. There was no way her fated mate would reject her no way. Luna thought to herself, but every time she looked up and saw the smiling face of Talia, she began to think otherwise.
Talia and Magnus were the two people in the pack house who had made living in this pack much more bearable for Luna. For three years she had been bullied and these two had tried to stop it the best way they could, most especially Talia. She was the daughter of one of the senior elder in the pack, she was respected not because of her father's wealth but because of her kind nature, Talia was always seen in the pack house, probably to close to Alpha Magnus now that she think about it, Luna thought but she shook her head, it can't be. Was it all a ploy?
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Author's Note: this chapter was split into two, because of how long and lengthy it was. I hope you understand ^~.