A Christmas Wish

CHAPTER 2: HEARTBREAK.

The smell of the tree began to mix with the scent of freshly cut roses and chocolate. My breath caught in my throat as I inhaled the scent. That was Michael's scent. I didn't need to turn around to know that he had just entered the room. “Dawn,” his voice sent a warm feeling rushing through me. I turned, the smile still on my face. The sight of him only made it spread wider. “I didn’t know that you were coming home. I thought that your visit wasn’t due to end until tomorrow,” I said, surprised but happy to see him standing in the doorway of the Alpha quarters living room. He glanced at the tree behind me, and the sad smile that his lips curved into made my heart ache. “Did things not go well at the Waning Moon pack, my love?” I asked. “Would Alpha Coleson not agree to the alliance?” I added. Michael looked down at the ground. “No, the alliance was made, just not in the way that I expected it to be,” he said. Something about his tone made me feel uneasy. "What does that mean?" I asked, wondering about the cryptic nature of his words.

“Look, there’s no easy way to say this, but something happened during my visit to the Waning Moon pack. Something that I was expecting, and now because of that, things have changed,” he said. “What do you mean? What’s changed?” I asked. What could possibly have happened in the two days that he was gone that would be big enough to change anything? He motioned to the sofa, “Maybe we should sit down,” he suggested. I followed him over to the big, forest green sofa that I had picked out when we took over as Alpha and Luna from his parents. The soft, plump cushions usually felt like heaven to me, but right now, I may as well have been sitting on bricks for all the comfort it brought me. “What’s the matter?” I asked him. A feeling of dread spread through me at the thought of what his answer could be. Whatever it was, his face made it clear that it wasn’t good. My stomach was churning, waiting for him to answer.

“You know that I love you. I will always have a special place in my heart for you,” he said softly, reaching out and touching my knee. My chest began to tighten. Please, no! I thought to myself. There was only one conversation that I could think of that would require these words. It was a conversation that I had been silently fearing from the moment that David had made that comment about me not being his mate. “The thing is that while I was at the Waning Moon package, I met my mate, my true mate,” he continued. I wanted the sofa to swallow me up, my face burned, and my eyes stung with the tears that I knew were going to spill. There it was, the words that could destroy my happiness. “Ally is the daughter of Alpha Coleson. I intend to accept her as my mate and unite our two packs in the way that the Moon Goddess intended. I am so sorry that I have to hurt you to do it, but who am I to deny the wishes of the Goddess herself. I hope that you can understand,” he finished.

I sat silently for a few moments, a single tear running down my cheek as I took his words in. “What about us? What about me?” I asked, though I was pretty sure that I could figure that out. Once again, I would be surplus to requirements, an unwanted addition. “Well, obviously, we will need to get a divorce, and Ally will be my new Luna. But, I want you to know that the Blood Moon pack is your home for as long as you want it to be. We will find you somewhere to live and a job if that is what you wish,” he said. A strangled laugh escaped my lips. “What I wish!” I said. He looked at me apologetically. “I’m just trying to navigate a bad situation. I didn’t ask for this to happen. I will always care for you, Dawn,” he said.

Before I could respond, the door opened, and a pretty redhead came bustling into the room. “Mikey honey,” she began, stopping when she saw me sitting there. “Oh sorry, I thought you would have dealt with all of this by now. It’s just that I was getting lonely downstairs, and I was excited to see my new home,” she said. I stared over at her in disbelief. This woman was here to take my whole life, and she was acting like it was nothing, just an inconvenience to her. I looked back at Michael, expecting him to tell her to have a little decency. To my surprise, instead, he gave her a small smile, looking at her the way that he used to look at me.

“Ally, sweetheart, this is Dawn. I was just explaining the situation to her,” he said. She grinned at him and ran over to sit on his knee. “What’s to explain? We are true mates. We are meant to be. I’m sure that she can understand that,” she said happily. She leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips, not caring that I was sitting right there. Was she too stupid to realise that they may have their newfound mate bond to enjoy, but I had only my love for Michael, or was she just oblivious. He was leaving me for her, and she showed absolutely no sign of understanding what that must feel like. Maybe she was just that cold-hearted. I watched as he held her tight, and I felt the bauble that I had been clutching this whole time slip from my hand. As it crashed into the floor, I looked down at the shards spread out like the shattered remains of my broken heart.