Xavier quickly broke the kiss, drawing himself back. Kiara was taken aback by his unexpected behavior. As Xavier rushed through the ceremony hall and pack house, his hand sought his mouth. Every visitor was perplexed and bewildered by the Alpha's sudden departure from his wedding.
Zander worried as he noticed everyone's inquisitive eyes. He assumed Xavier had finally decided to accept Kiara for surrogacy and the child, but his brother's attitude surprised him. Even though he was inside the ceremony hall, he could hear him vomiting uncontrollably. Kiara was left alone in the middle of the room, and gossip and rumors began to circulate the hall, as if she had been abandoned by her mate.
Tyler, Kaiden, and Zander's sympathetic attention landed on Kiara, who had forced a small smile on her face when the guests and pack members questioning eyes approached her. Jennifer and Lena went to her so she wouldn't feel strange. But would that really work? Kiara did her best to act as if she was alright, even though she was in agony. This was what she'd been doing her entire life. She had been staring at the door through which Xavier had departed the room. He puked because he couldn't bear kissing her. She remembered he had assured her he would never mark a female in his lifetime. He loathed and never valued any of them.
"What happened to Xavier? Why is he vomiting?" When Stephen heard his grandchild throwing up, he became concerned. He had been worried about him, it was a period when he hadn't cared about the gossip going on around him.
"Wait a minute Grandpa," Zander immediately blocked his path so that he wouldn’t be able to follow Xavier. "Xavier already had a hangover from drinking too much last night because of us. His stomach was upset, which caused him to vomit, "Zander explained a bit loudly to ensure that everyone understood. Stephen arched his brow. Hungover? Upset stomach? Since when had Xavier started to experience that? His Grandpa was well aware of his grandson's proclivity as a heavy drinker! Why was his grandchild lying to him? Stephen had inquired as to the explanation, but he remained cool. He nodded and returned to his seat. Zander turned to face the guests, giving his pack members a deadly glare who had been gossiping. Kaiden's hand had already reached out to push that wolf out of the room. "Let's give our Alpha some time because we are the ones who forced him to drink. Let's assume responsibility. Fortunately, he did not puke on any of us, " Zander made everyone laugh, but in truth, he was buying some time for Xavier to return. The younger brother had no idea if Xavier had changed his mind or whether he would return. Everything was up in the air. "Let's dance until he returns," the Alpha suggested, gesturing to Lena and to a bustling female guest to their males. Tyler quickly ordered that one of the pack members play music to distract everyone. As soon as everyone started dancing with their mates on the dance floor, everyone forgot about the unusual occurrence that had transpired a few moments earlier. The music had covered all of the noise coming from outside, as well as Xavier's vomiting.
Zander smiled as he spoke to the other guests and Alphas, he continued to mind-link Xavier to urge him to return. Zander asked him what was wrong with him, but he had not received a response from his brother. Now that the younger brother was in command, he couldn't leave the ceremony hall since everyone would suspect something.
Beta Kaiden and Gamma Tyler were also compelled to stay in order to demonstrate that everything was okay, but all the ranked male’s heartbeats were racing as their gazes were drawn between Kiara and the door.
***
Xavier slumped onto his knees, emptying his stomach. He kept vomiting until he thought his heart was going to come out of his mouth. Kiara was his mate? How could this happen? Why was he given a second chance mate? It was unusual! His faith in the Moon Goddess was completely gone after the deceptions and rejections. He'd turned into an atheist and a monster, so enraged by the word mate that he nearly killed a warrior from another pack who had provoked him over his mate.
“Give me a baby, Orion. Make a baby with me."
“This is a rejection ceremony for Alpha Xavier Lincoln and Luna Petra Lincoln."
"I, Xavier Lincoln, the Alpha of Sirius Bright Pack reject Petra Lincoln, as my mate and Luna."
Every memory from his past began to resurface in his head. When Xavier discovered his lover, wife, and mate in the arms of another male, when she had yearned for her lover to give her a pup, and when Xavier had rejected her, everything had come back to him as soon as he stepped close to Kiara, kissed her, kissed her as his mate. When he had gone through the same memories from two years ago, the Alpha's heartbeat had become erratic, his face was red as blood, and his wolf had gone insane. Dean roared in agony over and over.
"Believe me when I say that I love you. I'm your mate. It was really an oversight."
"Please accept me back, Xavier. I love you."
"Aaaahhhhhh!" Xavier yanked at his hair, screaming and recalling the agonizing recollections of his physical and emotional anguish while he was in foreign. Dean and he used to think they were in misery because they missed Petra and couldn't live without her, but their mate had never missed them. He had been immobilized for two days once because of his wolf and he couldn't take any more suffering. Zander had kept his brother hidden in a hotel room, and no doctors had been able to save him. That had been the day that Zander had grieved, terrified that he would never see his brother again. It was the day that Xavier's bond with Petra had fully shattered due to treachery, he ceased experiencing pain after that.
Xavier raised his head to stare at the beautiful moon, recalling Petra's comments before her father had dragged her away.
“You can't live without a female, Xavier. You need me. You need a mate!”
The Alpha rose from the ground, his bloodthirsty eyes fixed on the moon. The Moon Goddess had played with him once more. She had blessed him with a betrayer, made him suffer rejection and agony, and now she had blessed him with a second chance mate! She'd been playing on Petra's side the whole time.
"But why Kiara?" Xavier gritted his teeth. "Why her!!” Xavier roared angrily at the top of his lungs. Xavier's veins had swelled up as if ready to burst. If the Moon Goddess misunderstood that he couldn't survive without a mate or female, she needed to wake up.
He would never let another female play with and deceive him. There was no way he was going to subject himself to the same pain!
***
Kiara watched the beautiful couples dancing around her. Zander had suggested to her to take a seat and wait for Xavier's return. Zander was quite furious when he returned from the back of the room to find that she had been standing alone in the middle of the stage without her Alpha. But Kiara had overheard Grandpa talking to a man who said that if the Alpha and Luna left the stage before the ceremony was over, it was a bad omen. Kiara noticed all the strange and terrifying moments as soon as she entered this marking ceremony and had no expectation of encountering any bad thing, so she patiently waited for Xavier to return.
Kiara accepted Zander's request and made the agonizing decision to leave the stage when Xavier hadn't returned after 10 minutes. Moving away from this place signified the end of everything. That was when she felt a hand wrap around her waist pulling her back just as she turned to go.
"Where are you going?" Xavier held Kiara's hand tenderly over his chest while keeping his other hand around her waist in a dance posture like other couples had. Venus shouted 'mate' enthusiastically and cheerfully in Kiara's mind once more. The young she-wolf felt alive in his embrace once more, yet she could still sense his feelings. The Sirius Bright Pack applauded loudly since it was the first time they had seen their Alpha dance. Ashe had skipped this moment with Petra, he'd never danced with her ever. Zander, Kaiden, and Tyler exhaled a sigh of relief as the cranky Grandfather smiled brightly and raised his head once again.
"We are mates," Kiara stated while just moving slightly because she didn't know how to dance.
"I know," Xavier responded as plainly as he could. Kiara stared at his chest for a few seconds before responding.
"You don't want me…" She wasn't sure if it was her query or an affirmation, she added.
"I don't want a mate," Xavier said, prompting Kiara to look up into his emerald eyes, which had been watching her the entire time. Venus became utterly silent in disbelief, while Kiara maintained her calm expression even though she was heartbroken. She had already figured out that he had no desire for a mate, but it still hurt her since it was an implicit rejection from Xavier's side.
"Is there a way to go back?" her voice seemed like a whisper, she had not permitted herself to choke and reveal how deeply his words had affected her. Alpha opted to remain mute, causing Kiara to smile sadly. "I guess, not," she explained herself.
"If I had known from the beginning then…" Xavier started to say.
"Then you would have chosen Adira, not a worthless woman like me," Kiara interrupted, shocking Xavier with the bitter truth of her existence. "Adira is the best at everything. Whether at school or in fighting. She is a wonderful daughter, a great sister, and a stunning she-wolf. She was born to be a perfect Luna. She is everything a male could want, but you made a mistake by choosing me," Kiara stated the obvious. She could understand his remorse. Her father had also regretted her birth, just as Xavier had regretted choosing her, having her sign the contract, and having her as his mate. "My father's remarks appear to be correct. I was born with bad luck, and everyone around me is impacted by it as well. You didn't want a mate, but you got me, and now I'm simply a burden," Kiara stopped dancing and pulled her palm away from his chest. Xavier noticed a little smile on her lips. "You want me to leave, don't you?" She asked. Kiara, as usual, received no response or reaction from Xavier. She simply nodded as she took a deep breath as moved away from him."It's all right. Annull the marriage, reveal my true identity to everyone and call it retaliation for your cousin's murder. I'll leave your pack right now. I'll forget all that happened between us, but you must promise to keep your word. You will not assassinate my family," Kiara asked him for a commitment again. Yet again she received no reaction, only his eyes looking at her. Should she interpret it as a yes? He would, without a doubt, find another surrogate.
Everyone had been staring at their Alpha and Luna conversing rather than dancing, which was really strange. Zander had been worried as he suspected something was wrong with Xavier. He could tell by the expression on his face. Then he observed Kiara stepping off of the platform leaving Xavier alone. Why was she descending? Why was his brother standing there, motionless?
Zander stood there watching Kiara pass by and then proceed towards the door by herself. He was shocked when he noticed tears in her eyes, which she had masked from everyone's attention. When Kiara exited the pack house's front door, everyone's gaze was drawn to Xavier. What the hell was going on? Everyone had stopped dancing. Zander dashed to Xavier.
"Where is she going, Xavier?" Zander spoke in hushed tones so that others would not hear them, but everyone had noticed that the Luna had departed the ceremony.
“Stop her, Xavier. She is leaving,” Zander kept prompting Xavier, but Kiara was gone. He had not stopped her.