Her Alpha’s Choice by Lily Pen

Chapter 5

Gabriella’s POV

I stepped into the room and felt the air leave my lungs.

There were at least two dozen people, all gathered around Irene, who sat in the center like some kind of queen bee.

The room buzzed with excitement, and I could feel everyone’s eyes on me as I stood in the doorway. I have never seen so many people in one place before, and I wasn’t sure what to do. I felt like a fish out of water, and I longed to escape the stares and the noise.

I stood frozen in the doorway, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.

Why were so many people here? And why was my family here, too?

Had something happened that I didn’t know about? A million questions raced through my mind, and I felt like I was going to burst. I needed to know what was going on, but I didn’t know how to ask.

The room went silent as a voice spoke up from the crowd.

“We’ve all heard about your encounter with Lucas,” the voice said. I turned to see my step-sister, Irene, standing in front of the crowd, a look of disgust on her face.

“You should be ashamed of yourself for seducing my husband,” She spat.

“You’re nothing but a home-wrecker.” I felt the blood drain from my face as the words. sunk in. How had this happened? How had my life spiraled out of control so quickly?

I struggled to find my voice as I stood in front of the crowd. “Lucas is my mate,” I finally managed to say, my voice shaking.

But the words fell on deaf ears. “You’re lying,” Irene accused. “There’s no way Lucas. could be your mate. You’re nothing but a liar and a cheat.” She replied.

My heart sank as I looked around the room and saw the faces of my family and pack members, all staring at me with a mixture of disgust and pity. But the worst was yet to

come.

Lucas stood up from his seat in the crowd, and everyone turned to look at him. I held my breath, waiting for him to speak up and defend me. Yet, the words that came out of his mouth were the last thing I expected.

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“Gabriella is not my mate,” he said, his voice loud and clear. “I don’t know why she’s lying about this, but it’s not true. I’ve never felt a connection to her like that, we are just. Childhood friends.”

My heart shattered into a million pieces as the words echoed in my head as the reality of the situation sank in, I felt a wave of hopelessness wash over me. I was lost, and I didn’t know what to do.

The thought of facing my pack after this humiliation was unbearable. I needed to get away, to be alone with my thoughts and figure out what to do next.

So, with a heavy heart, I decided. I would run away from the pack and start a new life somewhere else. It was the only way to protect myself from the pain of rejection.

The thought of Lucas denying our bond was like a knife to the heart. I had put so much faith in him, had trusted him with my heart and soul.

And now he had rejected me, leaving me to pick up the pieces of my shattered heart. I had loved him so deeply, and the thought of never seeing him again was almost too much to bear.

But I knew I had to do it for my own sake, I had to leave. I began to pack my things, my hands trembling as I did so.

Streaming down my face. The trees,

As I ran through the forest, I felt the tears the birds, the wind it all felt familiar, like home. But as much as I loved the pack and the land, I couldn’t stay. My heart was too broken, and couldn’t face the people who had once been my family.

I thought back to all the times I had spent running through the forest with the other wolves, playing in the snow and chasing butterflies. It seemed like another lifetime, and yet it had only been a few short months ago.

As I stood there, my heart pounding in my chest, I felt overwhelmed by emotions. The anger, the sadness, the confusion it was all too much. I felt like I was on the edge of a cliff, about to fall into a dark abyss. I couldn’t take it anymore.

And then, I heard it. A sound like the wind, like the rustling of leaves, like the beating of my heart. It was a sound I had never heard before, but it was oddly familiar.

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. The sound was coming from within me, from my heart.

It was my own inner strength, my determination, my will to survive. I had been

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looking for it outside myself, but it had been there all along. I took a deep breath and felt myself begin to calm down.

Likewise, I had the strength to keep going, and not give up. I could still remember the moment I had first laid my eyes on Lucas. He was so handsome, so charming. I had thought he was the one, the man was meant to spend my life with. I had never felt a connection like that before.

But now, as I fled the pack, I realized I had been wrong. All the moments they had shared, all the looks and touches they meant nothing to him.

All our years of friendship meant both to him.

1 felt the heartbreak welling up inside me, threatening to overwhelm my very being.

Replaying the memories in my head, over and over again. The way he had smiled at me, the way he had held my hand, the way he had whispered in my car.

And then I remembered something he had said to me once, something that had always stuck with me. “Love is an ocean, not a puddle.” I had imagined I understood what he meant, but now I realized I had been mistaken. Love was not something that could be found in another person, but within oneself.

I realized I didn’t need a man to make her happy.

I stopped and looked around. The trees towered above me, and the wind blew through the branches, making them sway gently. I breathed in the scent of the forest, the earthy smell of the soil and the fresh scent of the leaves. Closing my eyes as I listened to the sound of the wind, to the rustling of the leaves.

Not only that, but I felt a sense of peace wash over me, a calmness I have never felt before. Slowly, I began to walk again, but this time, I walked with purpose. I was not fleeing, but moving forward.

I kept walking, one foot in front of the other. The forest seemed to go on forever, but I did not feel lost. I felt like I was finding myself.

And as I walked, a new sense of strength began to grow within me. I could feel it in my bones, in my muscles, in my very soul. It was as if a fire had been lit within me, a fire that could not be extinguished. I knew I would not give up. I knew I would not go back. I would keep moving forward, no matter what.

As I ran through the forest, I felt the darkness closing in around her. The thought of never seeing Lucas again, of never having a mate it was too much to bear. I had

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always believed that mates were meant to be together, that they were two halves of a whole.

But now I know that was

just a myth, a fairy tale. Mates could be rejected, just like I had. been. I felt like my life was over, like there was nothing left for me to live for.

I remembered something else Lucas had said to me. “The soul is like a river, always flowing, continually changing.” I had always thought of the soul as a static thing, a constant that could never be altered.

Nevertheless now, I realized that was not true. Just like the river, my soul was always moving, continually changing. It was like a wave in the ocean, constantly in motion. I knew that just because Lucas rejecting me made me truly worthless. I was unworthy of love, still unworthy of life.

As the compulsion to end my life became stronger. I hear a shrieking sound of pain at the far side of the forest. The shriek pierced the air, a sound so intense that I felt it in my bones. It was a sound of pure agony, of pure despair. I had never heard anything like it before, and it terrified me.

Without thinking, I ran in the direction of the sound, my heart pounding in my chest. I had to find out what was causing it, had to find out who was in pain. As I ran, I could feel the darkness closing in around me, but I pushed it away. I had to help whoever was in pain, no matter what.

SEND GIFT