A Luna's Broken Heart

Chapter 6: Was It Possible?

-Selene-

“I think you’ll want to hear my story.”

I stared at Cecilia for a long time, not really knowing what to say. Why would I want to hear her story? She was saying it like I had a need to hear it, more than she had a need to tell it. I carefully took a step back, before shaking my head and finding that prefect mask of mine, with the smile that said everything is just perfect.

“No need, you can just tell me your story, when you feel up for it.”

“I don’t need to tell it, but you need to hear it,” she said, her eyes glancing at my shoulder.

“I don’t think-“

“It hurts every time you look at it, right? Whenever you catch a glimpse of it in the mirror or out of the corner of your eye, it is even worse when others notice it. It hurts so much, knowing he didn’t want you, that he preferred someone else over you, even though you were his first choice.”

I felt so shocked by her words, my own had disappeared. What should I say? What could I say? No one had ever described my feelings so detailed, not even myself. I had kept them hidden, trying not to analyze them, the pain from just thinking about them was too much, and I knew I couldn’t be who I needed to be, if I let myself be overpowered by them. So, I hid them away, far away in my heart in a box that I refused to open, but now it felt like they were pouring out at Cecilia’s description.

“H-How …”

“Because I was thrown away too.”

“You were?” I whispered.

She nodded, and a soft look took place in her eyes. It was not pity, the way others looked at me, but more like an understanding, because she had been through something similar.

“I was, and he was my real mate. I would have done anything for him. All he had to do was say the word.”

“What happened?”

I wasn’t sure why I let myself be intrigued. I should be leaving right now and forget all about it, forget about her. I would let Isabella take over, I would let her have a chat with her, but I should stay away. This was dangerous territory, and I couldn’t risk breaking down. I had done so much just to keep my head up through the humiliation and the isolation, I couldn’t break down now.

“He found someone else. He wanted her more because she could give him more. I came from a lower status, and she came from a higher one. One that matched his own. So, he threw me away, rejected me.”

Sh*t … Valerio wasn’t the one who had said the words, I was, but he might as well have done it. The way he was running around after Octavia, constantly needing to be wherever she was, completely forgetting about me. We didn’t even share a bedroom, but I knew he was sharing one with her. He wanted her all the time and having her at his side was important to him. I hadn’t been that important, even though I had done my best to please him. I tried to be the queen he deserved, yet I wasn’t enough. It had nothing to do with status, because if it had, I wouldn’t have been thrown away, he just wanted her more. She was his real mate. How could I ever have competed with that?

“I’m sorry,” I said. “The king wasn’t my real mate, so I wouldn’t know how that felt.”

“But you do,” she said and took a step closer. “You do know, because the bond made between real mates or not is always strong. You’re still connected. You still hurt when they hurt. It broke you, didn’t it? Being rejected.”

“I rejected him,” I said with a voice full of power.

“But only because you wanted to say the words before he did.”

“That’s … No!”

“Yes, you knew it was coming, so you left before he threw you out.”

My heart was slowly breaking into pieces and I did the best I could to hold it together. It was like trying to hold sand, holding my heart together. It just slipped through mine hands, and no matter what I did it just kept slipping through.

“I-I should go,” I said and turned away.

“There is a way out, you know. You don’t have to be connected to him any longer or hurt from it anymore.”

I stopped in the doorway, her words forcing me to stop and listen to her. I turned around and looked at her. Her eyes were serious, her pulse steady. What was she saying? The only way I could ever be free of Valerio was if someone else marked me. His mark would replace Valerio’s and I would be free, but there was no one who wanted me, so I knew that I would never truly be free. I would always hurt, feeling a part of me was missing. This female didn’t know what she was talking about, unless she was referring to support groups, which we had lots of right here, but something told me, she wasn’t talking about that.

“I’ll let you rest now,” I said politely.

“Come find me before I leave, I’ll tell you it all. I know it is hard to believe, but I promise you, you can be yourself again. You can be free, not because you give yourself to someone else, but because you claim back your power. Trust me.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“But I do," she said.

“No, you don’t. What you’re saying is impossible!”

“Why do you think I was out alone in those woods?” she asked.

I just looked at her confused, but then she walked over to me. The grey t-shirt she was wearing was pulled slightly to the side, and my eyes grew big at the side of her pale skin. What in the Goddess’s name? I looked back at Cecilia, who was just calmly meeting my eyes.

“I had a mate. Now I don’t, so why should I be forced to carry his mark?”

“I-It’s gone,” I said, looking back at her shoulder.

There was no mark, not even a small indication that there ever was one. Was she playing me? I wondered, maybe she was never marked in the first place, but what if it really was true? What if she was marked and found a way to remove it? Could it really be done? Could I really be free of Valerio once and for all? Could I finally cut the last tie with him and finally be left alone?

“You can be free, Selene,” she said, and let her hand fall.

Her shoulder was covered again, but I was still looking at it, just like she had with mine. How? It was all I could think, as I looked at her.

“You just need to come find me when you’re ready.”