The Luna’s Second Chance Mate

Larissa’s POV

It had been forty eight hours since the best day of my life was ruined, and I was still clad in my wedding dress. Since the day I had been carried out of the hall a crying mess, I locked my chambers and curled into the bed, sobbing until my throat was dry and hoarse. I cried myself to exhaustion, and by the time I awakened, it was dawn.

I wanted to get up and peel the dress of my body, but my limbs would not cooperate. So I lay there, my chest aching as I waited to get the strength. But I never did. I drifted in and out of consciousness as different voices sounded outside my chambers. I heard Gwen, knocking and asking if I was okay. I wanted to get up and open the door, but I was so weak, and I just wanted to be on my own.

When I heard Kaden at the door, my heart broke. He had stood there, begging and asking me to open up. But I couldn’t bring myself to get up. The tears streamed down my face and stained my pillow, but I did not move an inch. I didn’t want to see him, not now. I wasn’t ready to face him yet. Everything we planned had just shattered right in front of us. I didn’t know how to feel. Deep down, an unreasonable part of me wanted to be mad at him. She was his ex wife, after all. Why didn’t he tell me they never got a divorce.

Because she eloped, another part of me reasoned. I knew it was true. If she hadn’t run away, he would have sorted everything out and completed it with a divorce. And because she eloped, he probably assumed she would never be back. And it was a valid assumption. After a betrayal so great, no one else would have had the guts to show up unannounced. But not Amaya. She had strolled in like she owned a place.

The moment when she walked in flashed through my head again, and I suddenly filled up with bitterness. Every single thing that had caused me pain in my entire life was of my own doing or due to circumstances and people I had unknowingly trusted. But with Amaya it was different. I didn’t know her from anywhere, nor had I ever come in contact with her. So it hurt that she’d been the one to ruin my life for the second time.

So I ignored Kaden and lay curled up in my bed, waiting for the pain to go away. It never did. And before I knew it, it was dawn again. I was still too tired to get out of bed, so I stayed in. My wolf, as heartbroken as I was, still tried to speak to me, but I did not wish to have a conversation, so I ignored her.

The hollow feeling in my chest did not go away hard as I tried. But I knew I had to get up even if I didn’t want to. I had hid away for long enough. I realized that Declan must have noticed my absence by now, and I suddenly felt guilty. He had played no part in this so there was no reason to abandon him. He was like a son to me. The thought of Declan was the only thing that kept me going, so I took a deep breath and pushed myself up from the bed.

I looked down at the dress that had been the most beautiful dress I’d ever laid eyes on. Now it was all rumpled, matted and reeked of musk and tears. I reached behind me to undo the string, but my hands were too tired. After a few fruitless attempts, I was so frustrated that tears formed in my eyes again.

I couldn’t do this alone.

I managed to get up and walk to the door to unlock it, and then I called Gwen through the mind link. She burst into the room almost immediately and jumped at me in a hug.

“Oh my goodness, Larissa. I’ve been so worried about you, we’ve all been.” She pulled away to inspect my face. “Please, talk to me.”

I gave a slow nod. “I’m fine.” My throat was scratchy and my voice hoarse, and I realized I hadn’t said a word in two days. All I did was cry myself to sleep.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

“Are you sure?” Gwen looked concerned. “You can be honest with me, Issa. I know you must be devastates but–”

“Please help me take this dress off,” I cut her off. The mention of the failed wedding had brought tears to my eyes and and the last thing I wanted was to discuss it. Gwen silently undid the strings until the dress fell free. I inhaled deeply. It just dawned on me that I had been wearing this dress for nearly three days straight. As I pulled the dress down my body, I could see the redness around my ribs and waist from the friction of the dress.

Gwen gripped my arm and hugged me again. “I’m so sorry, Larissa.”

I only nodded and gently moved away to go into the bathroom.

“Wait,” Gwen called out to me. “I’ll run a got bath for you. Just sit here and wait.”

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. “You don’t have to do that, Gwen. I’m not your Luna.”

“Don’t say that. To me, and to everyone else, you are the Luna. Anything else is nothing but a minor setback.”

She pulled me back and made me sit on the bed while she ran the bath. Afterwards, she helped me scrub my body as I say face down in the bathtub. When I finished, I got dressed.

“I want to see Kaden,” I told her. “Is he home?”

She nodded. “Yes. He has been worried sick about you. He’ll be very glad that you’re doing better now.”

Gwen insisted I eat something before leaving my room. After I managed to, I left for Kaden’s room. I hesitated at the door before knocking, wondering if I was ready to face him again. For the second time, I tried to kill all thoughts of blaming him. It wasn’t his fault. I was still at the door when it suddenly opened and I faced Kaden.

“Larissa?”

The first thing I noticed was the darkness around his eyes and how dishevelled he looked. Immediately, all the bitterness I had been harboring melted away. He was just as broken about this like I was. When he pulled me into a hug, I shut my eyes tightly and let myself find comfort in his embrace.

He pulled me into his room and led me to the bed where he cupped my face in his hand and began to inspect. “Are you okay? Do I need to call a doctor to check on you? Have you had something to eat?”

“I’m fine, Kaden,” I assured him. “I’m a little tired, yes. But I’m okay now. And yes, I’ve had something to eat. Gwen made sure of that.”

The worry never left his face. “Are you sure? It was two days, Issa. I didn’t want to barge in on you and disrupt your alone time. I know you needed time to process everything, that’s why I ordered that no one should force entry into your chambers. But I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t worried sick about you.”

Again, guilt pricked at my chest. I didn’t mean for anyone to worry.

“But it’s fine. What’s important is you’re here now. That’s all that matters.” He pulled me in for another hug which I returned. From then, a strange silence hung in the air. The elephant in the room was obvious, but neither of us were willing to call it out.

“Issa..”

“Kaden..”

We both started at the same time. I paused to let him go first.

“I don’t know where to start, Issa. I am so sorry for everything that happened. I wish there was some way to make you feel better, but I don’t know. I still can’t believe Amaya showed up out of nowhere. And in the most important day of our lives. I’m so sorry. I…I know your previous wedding in the past was a terrible period for you, and this should have been the moment that scratched it out entirely from your memory. So, I’m sorry. I’m sorry the wedding was ruined. I’m sorry everything fell apart. I feel like I have let you down, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

He paused, shaking his head as if in dusbelief. “She…she eloped with my beta. I never expected her to come back here. If I knew where she was I would have filed for a divorce. I…I would’ve file for a divorce, I swear it. I should’ve have looked for her. I should be done whatever it took to make sure I was separated from her physically and legally. I–”

“Shh,” I stopped him before he could continue. “It’s okay, Kaden,” I rubbed his cheeks, pain stabbing my heart at the helplessness and pain in his eyes. “Don’t apologize or explain to me. You make it sound like it’s your fault. It’s not, none of this is your fault. You couldn’t have known she’d show up nearly three years after she betrayed and abandoned her family. So don’t apologize.”

I hugged him tightly and let him rest his head on my shoulder. Together we sat in silence for a while. I didn’t know what to do or what to say. We were both hurting. I just wished we could get past this and get back to our normal lives.

“I guess we can’t do anything about it now. The wedding has been ruined. What we can do is to fix this and get on with our lives,” I said. “Have you signed the papers? I know she had some demands. What were they?”

Kaden stiffened. “No, I haven’t signed the papers yet.” He hesitated before he continued. “She asked for money. Ten million.”

“What?!” My jaw clenched. After everything she did, she still had the guts to blackmail him? I couldn’t believe how evil and heartless she was. It was disgusting.

“Yes,” Kaden confirmed. “I told her I’d have it sent to her.”

That should have been the solution to have her out of her hair, but there was something in Kaden’s expression that troubled me. “That’s not all, is it?” I asked, scared of the answer he would give me.

He nodded.

A tense silence hung in the air before Kaden finally spoke up. “She wants Declan.”

I jumped from the bed in shock. Did I hear him right? “What do you mean?” My heart was pounding.

Kaden slowly explained their entire conversation to me. When he was done, I was shaking with fury. “How dare she?!” I thundered. “She abandoned him when he was a baby. Who’s to say she won’t do it again? That woman has no idea how to care for a child. There is no way we’re letting her get close to Declan.”

Kaden nodded in agreement. “That’s what I said to. She left after threatening to keep coming back until she got what she wanted.”

I was silent. Why did this have to happen? It was unfair to us. We had both been through so much in life already. We deserved this shot at happiness, but now it was slipping away right in front of us. Kaden and I sat in silence, neither of us knowing what to say or do. Right now it looked hopeless, like there was no way to fix it.

Finally, I stood. “I think I’m gonna go. I need to get some rest, and so do you.”

“Issa, stay please. I haven’t seen you in two days and–”

“Kaden. I’ll see you later tonight, I promise. Have you had anything to eat?” When he didn’t respond, Ieaned in and kissed his forehead. “I’ll see you later.”

I walked out of his room, heavier than when I walked in. I was about to climb up the stairs when a guard approached me. “My Lady,” he bowed. “Sorry to disturb you, but there’s a visitor here to–”

I waved a hand to stop him. “All visitors are for the Alpha and should be directed to him.”

I continued my ascent up the stairs, hating that everyone was treating me like the Luna when I wasn’t. I didn’t deserve it.

“My Lady,” the guard called out again, causing me to turn back again. “The visitor specifically asked for you.”

I frowned. Someone was asking for me? That was strange. I didn’t know anyone who would want to see me, after all, up until three days ago, I was a serving omega.

Still confused, I followed behind the guard and headed down to the front gates. The figure of a man was pacing around the courtyard. As I approached, he turned around.

I lost my footing and nearly staggered down the stairs as I stared at the familiar head of hair and blue eyes that had haunted my memories. A face I never thought I’d see again. The face of my ex husband.