LUISA

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I didn’t want to sign it.

The contract felt like a trap.

Especially with Trevor’s words pounding in my head. “I have something important to tell you,” he had said. But it wasn’t just the words, but how his body tightened.

But before he could say more, his phone rang and he left. I

My insides curled. And then my eyes flicked to Trystan and guilt filled my chest.

I had shortened his life span. It was my mistake and now I had to undo it.

I signed it, and as I handed the paper back to Trystan, the crease around his eyes softened.

He dropped the paper in his drawer and shut it with a sharp click. My body tightened like I had worn an invisible collar.

Pushing himself up the seat, Trystan said with a flat voice. “Now, your quarters.”

My stomach knotted. Aside from being reduced to the Alpha’s side piece, another thing I despised about being a consort, was that I’d have to live with other women in a building. It was like a girls' boarding house just with older women.

“I’ll take you there.”

My eyes almost bulged wide. “By yourself?”

Trystan arched one of his brows. “Would you prefer if someone else did?”

I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed by the question or not.

“It’s just that, I thought,” I began, “Never mind.” I rose to my feet.

A short silence, and with long strides, he rounded the desk. Trystan stood before me—just inches apart. Tara reacted, her fur rising in excitement.

Why did he have to be so tall? Now I have to crane my neck to stare at him.

“You might be my doctor. But everyone here sees you as my woman,” Trystan said, his voice had a tinge I couldn’t discern.

My woman—it rang in my ears, and something flickered in me. Something I wish I hadn’t noticed.

“Everyone knows how possessive I am about what’s mine.” His lips twitched. “So I can’t have another man escorting you, can I?”

Without a response, I followed him out of the office and headed to the quarters.

—————-

The quarter was a luxurious bungalow, with a beautiful garden. It had a fountain in the middle, water trickling down.

“This is yours?”

I gaped. Without thinking, the words threaded out. “Do all your mistresses get a building for themselves?”

“Just you,” Trystan said, so casually. Then he stared at me, his eyes glinting like he liked whatever reaction on my face. Then he added, “We have a secret, remember?” He headed towards the door.

The soft flutters in my chest stilled. Of course, I couldn’t treat him with people around, that would only expose our secret.

The inside was well furnished. White expensive sofas, luxury artworks hanging on the wall.

I snapped around, about to tell Trystan this was too much, when the door burst open.

Her fragrance filled the room before she walked in.

Her beautiful gold hair. Blue eyes. My breath caught as my eyes fell on her.

It was her. The woman who was having an affair with.

Something dark and ugly slithered down my spine, and I balled my fist. She was even a pack member. Guess I was really the fool.

“Cora, what are you doing here?”

She said to Trystan, “I didn’t come here to complain about your new consort. I came for something important.”

“Couldn’t it wait?”Trystan’s brows were still furrowed. “You're supposed to be heading the women's festival?

She was the Luna. The woman having an affair with Trevor was Trystan’s Luna. My shoulders tightened at the realization.

And then her words slipped out, hitting me like a rock.

“What if you find out a rogue is hiding in our pack?” Cora paused, observing Trystan’s reaction. “Not just any rogue, one that has been severed from the moon goddess.”

A chill tore down, from my head to my toes.

Instantly, Trystan’s face screwed into a frown, anger brimming in his eyes, as clear as the sun on a sunny day.

A grin fell on Cora’s lips. “Your new Consort is a rogue and has been severed from the moon goddess.”

My eye got bigger and bigger till it hurt.

Trystan’s eyes sliced to me, the intensity of his gaze pulling the air out of me.

My heart pounded like it was on the verge of ripping apart.

As the thick silence stretched, his gaze held me and then it flicked back to Cora.

“Is this one of your stupid games?” Trystan’s voice deepened. “You know how much I hate lies.”

“But…I’m not lying,” She stuttered.

“Enough, Cora!” A vein throbbed at his temples. “Do you have any proof that she has been severed?”

“Do you have proof she hasn’t?” Cora shot back.

“Severed wolves can’t be mated.”

“She’s your mate?” Her voice broke.

Just like mine had cracked a few days ago and I recognized the pain behind it.

“Yes.”

For a moment it looked as though her eyes might burst from the weight of what she’d heard.

My stomach shrank from the tension that brewed between them.

Cora’s gaze hardened and so did her voice. “You know what to do. You remember the deal our fathers made?” She faced me. “I’ll be back with proof sooner than you think.”

She turned around, slamming the door behind us.

The air lightened, but my body was still tight.

Trystan exhaled. “Sorry for the drama,” he said, “let me show you your workspace.”

In silence, we moved down the passage, and at the end of the corridor, he pushed open a door.

Books lined the shelves. A large oak table and a bed tucked in the corner.

“This is your workspace,” Trystan said, “The herbs and equipment are in there.” He pointed at a long cupboard across the room.

I strode across the room, checking the books on the shelves and the equipment in the cupboard. My fingers quivered lightly—it had been a long time since I touched anything related to healing.

“If you need anything, you can ask,” Trystan said.

Anything I want, I said internally.

How could I ask for forgiveness? I remembered his words—I hate lies.

I wanted to tell him Cora was right but I have been severed. But the thought of the punishment here sealed my lips.

We returned to the living room. He stopped at the door, his fingers twitching by his side.

Trystan turned around. “Now you’ve settled in,” he said, “let’s reject each other.”

My insides clenched. “Now?”

“It is better this way.”

Better for whom?

My chest ached. “But you’re not healed. Your mate’s pheromones can hasten your healing. Your body might not be able to take—.”

“I don’t care.” His voice came out sharp. “You're going to have to heal me without the mate pheromones bullshit.”

He didn’t wait for a response before straightening his spine. “I, Trystan Silver, Alpha of the Silver pack, reject you, Luisa Beckham, as my mate.”

The same words I had heard days ago. The same face. But a different pain. It felt deeper this time.

I had just met him. It should be easy to say it back. Easy to let him go. But I couldn’t. Even when my lips parted, my tongue remained stuck to the floor of my mouth.

Tara wasn’t making it easier. She whimpered for him.

“Luisa,” Trystan called out my name instead of ‘Doctor’, his voice soft but firm. “Say it.”

I shook my head. “I can’t.”

I didn’t want to end up in a bar again. Drinking to drown my pain again.

Trystan’s jaw ticked. His soft expression was replaced with that cold anger. “Don’t tell me you’re about to beg for a man’s love.”

His words stabbed me like a knife to my heart. Pain bubbled at the back of my throat, so tangible I could taste it.

‘Not enough.’ That voice again. The one that haunted me for years. When my father left. When my mother died. When Trevor left. When I failed my patients. And now…Him.

The voice told me. ‘You’ll never be enough for anyone to stay.’

“I’ll reject you on only one condition,” I said, my voice thin and airy.

Trystan raised his brow.

I held his gaze with my teary eyes. “You’ll never call me by my name. Within the walls, you’ll call me Doctor. Outside the walls, Beckham.”

A flicker, too brief for me to name, passed through his eyes.

Trystan’s jaw flexed. “Fine, Doctor.”

I bit my lips until they tasted salty. “Fine.”

Tara whimpered low. I wondered which of us I was punishing more.

“I, Luisa Beckham, reject you, Trystan Silver as my mate.”

We both held our gaze, neither of us breathing, both of us waiting for the snap, for the mate thread to tear and vanish like it never happened.

The mark on my body flared hot and then…