Chapter 31: Chapter 31
Maria’s POV
I opened my eyes slowly. My breathing was heavy and the air around me seemed cold. I rubbed my clammy hands together. I grabbed my head as pain throbbed through it. My chest felt like it was pressed with something heavy.
Alas I had accepted his rejection. I winced in pain, unaware of the fact that it would hurt this much.
A knock sounded on the door. Before I could answer it, Jada entered with a tray of food.
She placed it on the bed. "I asked your mom to allow me to bring your food so that we can talk. How are you feeling?"
"I’m..." I stuttered, bringing a hand to my chest. "I’ve never felt this sort of pain before."
"It’s perfectly normal. It will be gone soon." She said, before placing her hand on mine.
I took several deep breaths and stared at the meal. "I’ve already eaten."
"You have to eat again. The rejection takes all your strength."
I brought the food closer to me and forced a spoonful into my mouth.
"Would he also feel this pain?"
Jada shrugged her shoulders. "I’m not sure, everyone handles rejection differently."
I set the plate aside and stared at the wall, hoping to see the shadows appear. "Why can’t I see them yet? Didn’t I do the right thing by accepting the rejection?"
"We have to be patient." She took a quick glance at the open window. "It’s night. In the morning, we’d head back to the library."
I let out a deep sigh. "Okay."
"Goodnight." She said, before going out of the room with the plates in her hand.
My gaze still lingered on the walls, hoping for the guardians to appear and bless me instantly.
Thoughts of Triton settled in my mind. He told me he had been searching for me since our one night stand. Tonight, he sounded like someone who deeply wanted me, so why did he behave so harshly during our first meeting? I wondered what caused him to have a change of heart. Did he also feel the same pain in his chest like I did?
I brushed these thoughts away. Unlocking my seer skills were far better than giving a second chance to a man who hated me on our first encounter.
The sky was pitch black, and from a distance, I could hear howls in the night. Pack members had begun going for the night hunt. Only men and women who had unlocked their abilities were allowed to go out at night. A light smile appeared on my face as I knew I would soon be allowed out at night.
I was about to put the candle off when I heard my door creak. My mother walked inside.
"Good thing you’re awake." She muttered, before sitting at the edge of the bed. I sat upright, wondering if she had come to check up on me or if there was something else she wanted to talk about.
"How are you feeling?"
"I’m much better."
I noticed her take a deep breath and stare into the empty space on the bed. It was obvious that she came to tell me about something. I just hoped she wasn’t still fretting about my lack of abilities.
"You know you lost your wolf after the accident. I’m trying my best to see how you can recover."
I straightened myself in bed, seeing that her eyes contained a lot of worry. The way those hazel eyes of hers darkened to a murky shade was enough to tell me that something was wrong.
"I know I lost Aria. I haven’t felt her since I recovered."
Mother fidgeted with the hem of her dress, tugging it at intervals, and then closed her eyes.
"Is there a problem?" I asked, also getting worried.
"Maria, we don’t have a male child and you were the only option for the alpha position." She paused to look at me for a moment. We never had such a conversation and I wondered where it was leading. "Your father is getting old and has to retire from alpha duties, but we’re not sure if you can take over."
"Why can’t I?" My voice shook as I spoke, clouded with a heavy sense of realization that my parents never saw me as a potential leader. "I can’t take over because I’m not a man?"
"That’s not the case. A ruler needs a wolf to be able to lead. Without a wolf, the people won’t accept you, and you’ll be no different from a human to them."
It then dawned on me. The reason my mother had been so invested in me taking my medicine to get back my wolf was all because of this.
"I’m not a human," I said to myself. I had only heard of the human world, but never gone there.
"Maria, are you still listening to me?" Laura asked as she noticed I had been silent for a long while.
"Mother, I don’t know why you’re worried about this. How would people even know that I don’t have a wolf?"
"There’s always a ritual during the alpha coronation. Your wolf has to participate. If you can’t shift, then everyone would know. Maria, there are other options, you can get married. Don’t you like Triton?"
"What?" I said in a tone that sounded like I was shouting. The only conclusion that she could arrive at was marriage.
"Maria, I know it may sound sudden, but this is the best time for you to get married."
I looked at my mother in disbelief, my mouth slightly widened and both hands folded across my chest.
"How is marriage going to solve my wolfless issue? How would it make me an alpha?"
"Triton is already an alpha. Marrying him would help you keep your alpha legacy. You would still be a Luna, respected and protected. Trust me Maria, we are doing this for your good."
My hands trembled in my lap. "And who would take over father?"
"Someone else would." She brought her hand closer to touch me, but I brushed it away.
I shook my head as I looked at her. "What makes you think that I’d never get my wolf? Why can’t you be patient?"
"You’d never get it. It was exchanged for your soul."
"Exchanged?" I repeated with a frown etched on my face.
She proceeded to tell me everything that happened while I was unconscious. I learnt about how the witch said she can only bring back my soul without my wolf.
Even after my mother left, I found it hard to sleep. My mood grew melancholic and I twisted in bed. I wouldn’t become the alpha of Veilwood, and my parents think that arranging marriage to another alpha is the best option.
I tossed in restless silence, her words echoing in my head. I would never marry just for status. I wasn’t an object to be traded. If my wolf was lost, I would bring her back, no matter the cost.