Chapter 2

Layla's POV

The look in Nate's eyes hurriedly went from shocked and appalled to amused and unmoved. A wicked smile formed on his face, and then suddenly an outburst of laughter occurred. 

The mocking sound of his laughter rattled my very being, and that made me feel quite demeaned and had my self-esteem wrecked in an instant. It went on for quite a while. And to make it all worse, he was doing all of that to me in front of Hannah, who seemed to be having the time of her life. 

“Are you being serious right now?” Nate asked, still reeling from the laughter, which he was seemingly lost in. “It seems like you lost your mind from the shock.”

Yet again, I could feel myself about to break apart right in front of them. “It's clear that I'm of no use to you now, so it's only rational that you let me go...”

“You don't call the shots here,” Nate said, as he stared me hatefully in the eyes. “I do. You can't just make demands and have them done at your every whim. I'm still alpha, even though I still agreed to condescend to be in a union with you.”

My emotions were taking the biggest hit at that point, as he demeaned my worth all in one sentence. 

“You're one of the worst mistakes I ever made in my life, and it's only fair I return the favor in like manner... Now you're going to know what it feels like to be stuck...” he said, as he took Hannah by the hand to walk away from me. What the heck was going on?

The humiliation from the moment was so great that I impulsively reached for Nate's arm and held him back from leaving. It almost felt like I was trying to draw back all the time I had wasted, trying to be the perfect mate for Nate. 

“Are you being serious right now?” Nate suddenly sparked at me, as I held on to his arm like my life depended on it. “Don't tell me you have suddenly grown this psychotic all the while...”

“What on earth were you expecting? No one could remain normal under the circumstances you made me go through...” I held on to him tightly, even though I didn't know why my actions had suddenly grown erratic for a man that I didn't consider to be worth it. “I'm not letting you go until you reject me.” 

I disregarded the fact that I was creating a scene for all to see, but then, I desired to be set free from my union with Nate, which was eating me alive. 

“Let go, or I'll make a mess of you right now.” Mate threatened with his eyes flaring with anger. But somehow, they didn't seem to scare me anymore. I had gotten worse than that in that hellish marriage. “You are overstepping your boundaries...”

“You overstepped yours first,” I snapped at him with a boldness that I couldn't explain. “Just end it now...” 

“Come take her to her room!” he suddenly ordered his guards to come and get rid of me immediately, like I was some sort of bothersome pest that he was so desperate to get rid of. 

Before I could turn to realize what was happening, two of his guards came and obtained me as they would do to an omega who had overstepped their boundaries to touch the alpha. 

“Let go of me...!” I yelled, but to no avail, as I was being hurled to my room where I had come out from. They pushed me in and locked my door on me without saying a single word to me. 

Was that happening to me?

***

Nate's POV

“Serves her right...” Hannah said, clutching my arm as she walked me to the room. She seemed to have enjoyed the rough treatment I had just treated Layla to. “Next time she would learn to steer clear of us.”

“Right...” I replied, even though I was fighting the inward battle with my wolf who disliked the way I was treating my mate. 

‘That wasn't nice at all...’ Rex, my wolf desired for us to be with Layla, and not with Hannah whom I had loved. ‘She's our mate, and she doesn't deserve to be treated that way—’

‘Quiet...’ I silenced him as I didn't want anything to ruin the magical moment of seeing the love of my life once again. 

“It's so nice seeing you again, Nate...” Hannah's voice was soothing and that made me feel a bit better about what I was doing at the moment. “I almost felt like I would never see you again forever...”

“I felt the same way. Being in this hellish marriage felt like the end of happiness in my life until you came...” It had been a while since I sounded that real with anyone. There was no room for love in the arranged marriage between me and the daughter of the deceased beta. I wished my father could see just how tired I was of the marriage. 

“I'm deeply sorry about that,” she said, as we got to the door of the room. “I should have never left you all alone. It's my fault that you had to go through this all alone. But I'm here now, and I'm willing to make it up to you...”

“Sure thing...” I walked into the room with her. Memories of the feel of her body on mine had me longing to recreate all those memories. I longed to ignite the flames of passion once more. 

“Relax...” she made me lie down as she slowly came on top of me. 

But to my surprise, I felt nothing when I touched her. What was happening? The flames I had been longing for were nowhere to be found. I tried to carry on with it, but it just wasn't working. 

“What's wrong?” Hannah asked as she seemed to notice something was wrong with my disposition. “Are you...”

I got out from under her before she could ask the next question.

“Nate...”

“I have to go...”