Chapter 7
681words
"This is New Moon Pack territory. I'm sure you don't want to make things uglier than they already are."
Michael's tone was sharp, a clear challenge from one Alpha to another.
Jacob had never been defied like this. He trembled with fury, let out a guttural snarl, and swung his fist at Michael.
"It was you, wasn't it? You're the mutt who seduced her!"
I moved without thinking, throwing myself in front of Michael.
With a strength I didn't know I possessed, I shoved Jacob hard.
He stumbled backward, lost his balance, and fell to the ground.
He looked up at me, his eyes suddenly turning red.
"You pushed me?"
"You pushed me for another man! You were never like this before! You've fallen in love with him!"
Jacob was practically screaming, but I ignored him, turning my attention to Michael.
He was my mother's choice for an alliance, and I couldn't let him get hurt.
Michael just shook his head and gave me a small smile.
"I'm fine, don't worry."
Jacob scrambled to his feet, looking disheveled from the fall.
His gaze flickered between me and Michael, and a bitter, pained laugh escaped his lips.
"Emily, you've changed."
He looked at me with an expression of helplessness and confusion.
I had never seen him look so lost before, and for a fleeting moment, my heart twinged.
But I just took Michael's arm and walked right past Jacob.
"I didn't change. You just stopped loving me."
"Go live your life with Olivia. Don't come looking for me again. I'll have my own pack and my own life now."
From the moment he rejected me, there was no going back.
...
I thought Jacob would finally leave me alone after that, but he didn't.
Instead, he rented a house in the town near my mother's estate.
After getting a new phone, I blocked everyone from the Blackwood Pack except for a few close friends.
They told me that after I left, Jacob had been losing his mind.
He had taken Olivia to the medical center, only to find out there was nothing wrong with her—she had been exaggerating.
When he found out I was truly gone, he had used all his resources to find me, turning the country upside down.
"I think, deep down in his wolf's heart, Jacob still loves you," one of them said.
I listened quietly, saying nothing.
The old me would have been ecstatic, unable to sleep from sheer joy.
A small crumb of his affection used to be enough to make me happy for days.
But now, all I wanted was for him to go back to his own territory and leave me alone.
It wasn't just me. My mother had noticed Jacob's strange behavior too.
She often saw him lingering at the edge of our territory when she came home.
"Honey, we have plenty of pack properties. If you're uncomfortable here, we can move to the manor deeper in the estate. It's protected by ancient wards. How does that sound?"
My mother watched my expression carefully.
I knew she was worried that one soft word from Jacob would be enough to make me go back to him.
I smiled at her.
"Okay, Mom. Whatever you think is best."
Her face relaxed, and she spoke with a new sense of urgency.
"That boy Michael told me he's had feelings for you for a long time. Maybe you should consider forming an alliance with him..."
I knew what she was thinking.
Jacob's presence had made her feel threatened.
She was terrified of losing her daughter all over again.
But after everything with Jacob, the thought of love was just... exhausting.
I didn't tell anyone we were moving.
The day we left, I saw Jacob still waiting outside our old house.
He probably thought I was just out for the day and would be back soon.
My mother saw him too.
She scoffed and muttered under her breath, "Serves him right."
