His Rejected Mateless Luna



Tormented

Nathan

I strode through the clinic doors exactly thirty minutes before Terra's shift ended, earning curious looks from staff and patients alike at my punctual arrival. But after a week apart, I refused to miss a single possible moment in her presence, however brief.

Derek trailed after me, amusement crinkling his eyes as I made directly for the small waiting area by reception I had staked out as my own over the past days.

"Eager today, are we?" he remarked wryly, lowering his bulky frame into the chair beside me. "Most men only pine so for their actual mate."

I narrowed my eyes in warning, not appreciating the implication. "I merely wish to show Terra I intend to keep my word this time. Being here when she's available proves my reliability."

Derek held up his hands peaceably, though his grin remained unapologetically knowing. "As you say, Alpha. I'm sure she'll be positively thrilled at your dedication to loitering outside her workplace every day."

I bit back a sharp retort, not wishing to attract unwanted attention from nearby patients. But his joking barb hit painfully close to my own gnawing doubts.

Would Terra interpret my persistent presence as a comforting sign of my commitment to rebuilding trust? Or as the possessive hovering of an obsessed suitor unable to relinquish his claim on her?

In truth, my own motivations likely blurred somewhere between the two extremes. The mate bond between us throbbed as painfully alive as the day Terra first disappeared, though she refused yet to acknowledge it.

And seeing her with another man, however innocent, twisted me with a primal jealousy no logic could defeat. But until she welcomed me at her side again freely, I had no right to interfere in her choices.

Brooding uneasily over where the line lay between protective mate and domineering scoundrel, I paused mid-pace at the sound of Terra's voice rising lightly down the hall. My inner wolf perked up instinctively at our mate's nearness as Terra came into view, clutching a thick folder and speaking intently with a blonde nurse about proper post-op care for one of her patients.

The fierce intellect and compassion that made her an exceptional healer shone through with each precise instruction and word of encouragement for her staff. Though I remained the interloper peering wistfully through glass here, witnessing Terra in her element stirred profound pride. The pack would surely come to love her as a Luna as deeply as I always had.

When she glanced up and noticed me waiting, Terra's determined stride faltered briefly. I offered a small smile, hoping to appear nonthreatening despite my imposing presence in this world that was rightfully hers. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded politely in return before turning her focus back to her colleague.

"You've got this covered, Rose. Call me anytime if you need guidance. Otherwise I'll see you tomorrow." With an encouraging pat on the nurse's shoulder, she dismissed her and approached me, curiosity mingled with wariness in her intelligent gaze.

"Nathan. I wasn't expecting you again so soon." Her tone held a note of accusation.

I scrambled to explain. "Apologies for the intrusion. I only wished to confirm the travel arrangements I've made in preparation for your arrival tomorrow. If any details are unsatisfactory, just say the word."

Terra's expression remained aloof and distrustful. "My assistant has already reviewed everything thoroughly. Your presence here is unnecessary."

The blunt dismissal stung, but I forced an understanding smile. "Of course, forgive my pestering. I'll leave you be."

As I turned reluctantly toward the door, Terra added indifferently, "I'll be taking dinner at a restaurant in town tonight. Please have your own meal without me."

My footsteps faltered, hope kindling anew. "In that case, might I persuade you to allow me the honor of your company tonight? I would be delighted to treat you to dinner and recommend local fare, as you mentioned before."

Terra eyed me coolly. "A kind offer, but I'm dining with a colleague and prefer to keep it intimate."

The blunt rejection winded me painfully. So she was romantically involved with someone here after all. I had feared as much, noticing her easy rapport with a particular brown-haired doctor.

To have my suspicions so baldly confirmed felt like a dagger twisting in my gut.

But I merely bowed my head, keeping my roiling emotions masked. "I understand perfectly. Please enjoy your evening, then."

Without waiting for a reply, I exited the clinic hurriedly, desperate to escape before my thin facade of poise crumbled. Derek's heavy footfalls followed, but thankfully he held his tongue during the tense ride back to our hotel. In the darkened suite, however, he broke the heavy silence.

"So, shall I have the cooks prepare you a special meal here tonight?"

I stared broodingly out the wide window dominating one wall, watching night fall over the glittering city below." Just have something light sent up. I seem to have lost my appetite."

Derek sighed but obligingly went to place the order. Alone again, my traitorous mind tortured me with vivid imaginings of Terra's intimate dinner tonight with her new lover. Laughing softly together, her emerald eyes sparkling with joy for him rather than guarded around me. His hand covering hers affectionately across the table. Terra leaning close after dessert, lips parted expectantly...

A savage snarl ripped from my throat, claws splitting through my human fingertips before I could restrain my fury. Blood dripped onto the plush carpet, crimson stark against cream, as I struggled to calm my labored breaths. Losing control served no purpose.

I had relinquished any claim on Terra when I chose Jade under the mate bond's spell. Her right to choose her own future was the agonizing consequence.

By the time Derek returned, I had reigned in my inner beast, slipping back into my shift once more. But he took one look at the smears of scarlet on the ruined carpet and understood regardless. His heavy hand rested on my shoulder briefly in unspoken empathy. We ate dinner in silence, the rare steak sitting like ash in my mouth. I had to release this torment somehow before it utterly consumed me.

After the interminable meal, Derek announced gruffly he would be out for the remainder of the evening. I envied his freedom to escape these suffocating rooms that had become my self-inflicted prison. The city's dazzling nightlife held nothing but bitter reminders of the happiness cruelly denied me. But remaining alone with my corrosive thoughts would surely drive me mad.

"I'll join you," I declared abruptly, grabbing my discarded jacket. Derek's brows lifted in surprise but he merely nodded and led the way downstairs. I welcomed the bracing chill of the night air after feeling trapped all day. Together we strode directly toward the garish neon beckoning through the dark like a tawdry mirage. I craved the refuge of noise and anonymity for a few reckless hours.

The pulsing lights and pounding music enveloped me as we entered some crowded club recommended by our hotel's clerk. Here power and prestige meant nothing. The press of heated bodies and cloying perfumes drowned out conscious thought. Alcohol burned away reason until only primal instinct remained.

The night passed in a blur of faceless drinks and dancing partners. But their voluptuous curves and coquettish laughs brought me no pleasure. No amount of meaningless sensual indulgence could fill the ragged void in my soul, or erase the memories of one delicate flame-haired mate seared into my being.

Near dawn we finally stumbled back upstairs, the walk sobering me slightly. Safely in my suite, away from indiscreet eyes, I sagged back against the door, bleak despair crashing down on me anew. All the distractions and denial could not alter the harsh truth - my very spirit felt sundered without Terra. Her rejection had shattered me utterly.

Derek's gruff voice cut through the haze of drink and gloom still fogging my mind. "Drowning sorrows never washed any away, Alpha. Believe me, I know."

I turned hollow, bloodshot eyes up to meet his. The ghosts haunting his dark gaze told me he spoke from experience. We had never discussed the tragedy that took his family years ago, but in this moment our shared

understanding of love's agony connected us.

"I don't know what else to do," I admitted hoarsely. "The pain is crushing me, yet I'm powerless to regain what was lost."

Derek clapped my slumped shoulder bracingly. "Any battle can be won with patience and resilience. Yours will come again in time."

I shook my head despondently. All fortitude had deserted me. "She despises the sight of me now. I ruined the most precious gift fate ever bestowed."

"She is still here, is she not? That alone proves the spark between you yet lives. Keep faith, and tend it gently."

Wise counsel, though in my despair it barely penetrated. I needed rest from this ceaseless torment. But even in my dreams, Terra's reproachful emerald eyes followed me unrelentingly. A fitting punishment I richly deserved. Over the next days, I maintained a polite facade in Terra's presence, never betraying the raging tumult within. She remained aloof, speaking to me only as necessary about my father's treatment plans. The affectionate ease we had begun rebuilding between us retreated again behind walls of courtesy. My rash jealousy had only driven her farther away.

During her scarce free hours, Terra often disappeared to dine with the brown-haired doctor I now knew to be her lover. Just glimpsing them together, his hand alighting casually on her lower back as they laughed over some private joke, made my claws threaten to burst free. But I kept my volatile emotions ruthlessly leashed. She would not see me falter.

Tonight they sat tucked discreetly in a corner booth at an elegant restaurant where Derek and I stopped for a morose drink after another useless day.

I tried ignoring their presence, but my traitorous gaze kept drifting back to admire how Terra's fiery curls caught the low light. Her companion leaned close to whisper something that brought an alluring flush to her fair cheeks.

With a guttural curse, I tossed back the remains of my whiskey. Derek eyed me warily as my hand snapped the heavy glass down. "Steady on. She'll only retreat further if you make a scene."

"So I should just accept this constant torment?" I growled. Every instinct roared to confront the interloper threatening my mate claim.

Derek shook his head. "Accept it or not, lashing out will only worsen the hurt. Patience and understanding are your only weapons now."

I raked a hand roughly through my hair, grappling for fractured composure. Derek spoke wisdom, but rational thought stood no chance against the raging creature snarling and clawing inside me.

"I need air," I bit out abruptly, throwing down a wad of bills. Before Derek could respond, I stormed outside into the bracing autumn night. Even the icy wind could not cool my fevered skin or clear the red haze clouding my mind. Nothing but the sweet coppery tang of blood would satisfy this savagery.

I scarcely registered shifting, my fine clothes shredding away snarling jaws and razor claws took form. Then I was racing down abandoned alleys, giving my fury free rein. In the quiet industrial district, none would mark my passage as anything more than a stray dog's shadow.

By the time my pulse finally slowed from its frantic hammering, my massive paws stood planted amidst shredded and mangled debris. Crumpled metal sheeting bore jagged claw marks, Dumpsters were overturned savagely, their contents strewn across cracked asphalt. I had no memory of the destruction, lost in the scarlet fog of rage. But seeing the evidence sent ice through my veins, calming the last simmering embers.noveldrama

Another feral outburst like this in a public place would reveal my true nature irrevocably. Terra already considered me little more than a monster from her past, unworthy of trust or tenderness. Such unhinged violence would only prove her harsh judgment justified.

Shame cooling my blood further, I turned and loped back through the silent streets, my fury's aftermath lending clarity. As desperate as this separation felt, becoming the very beast Terra feared would only drive us farther apart. I had to master myself and remain patient.

Nothing worthwhile ever came easily, after all. The moon had granted Terra and I a second chance, however narrow the path back to her graces. I could not fail now.

No matter the anguish, I would endure until she turned her kind heart toward me once more.