Clay’s P.O.V
I knocked twice on Nicolas’s door before entering. There was no point in stalling anyway. We both knew why I had been summoned here and I knew that Nicholas would be awaiting my arrival with teeth gritting patience.
“What the hell was last night about?”
So much for teeth greeting patience.
“I thought I explained everything last night itself.” I told him firmly. “I’m in love with Flora and I can’t accept Dorothy as my mate.”
“Mates are decided by the moon goddess!” Nicolas snapped at me, the veins in his neck swelling in anger. “To reject her gift is to bring a curse upon yourself and your entire pack!”
“Then I’ll leave the pack.” It was a split second decision, but I knew in my heart that it wasn’t a wrong one. “If my family, my own pack cannot accept my choice or respect my decision, then I’m afraid I’ll have to leave it all behind.”
Nicolas stared at me with wide blood-shot eyes. He hasn’t slept last night, probably because of worry and the whole pack had stayed up as well. None of us were probably in our right minds to be having such a serious conversation but it had to be done.
I had been up all night looking for Flora, trying to find her, trace her. Riley had been helping me look for his sister as well as Flora’s parents, but we hadn’t had any luck. None of us know where she had gone, but we weren’t giving up until we found her. One thing was certain; she wasn’t in pack territory anymore.
“Is she really that important to you?” Nicolas asked at last. “Does the mating bond really have no affect on you at all?”
“Yes.” Was my instant answer.
“But how is that even possible?” Nicolas leaned back against his desk, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. “How can you just choose love over the mating bond?”
“I can because I have loved only her in my entire lifetime and I know that I will continue to love only her for the rest of my life.” I told him. “For me, being with Flora is like being with my mate, because she is the mate I chose.”
“We’re not allowed to choose mates, son.” Alpha Nicolas came forward and placed his hands on my shoulders. “There’s still time…choose wisely. I know you think since Flora saved your life, you have some kind of obligation to her; but you’re wrong. She helped a packmate in need, that’s all. Go back to your mate and all will be forgotten.”
I gave Alpha Nicolas a humourless smile. “Will you have spoken the same thing if Flora had been my mate? Would you have disregarded her efforts towards our pack…towards me, if she my mate?”
“But she’s not.”
“And if she was your daughter?”
“Clay!” Nicolas roared. “You’re crossing all lines in this pointless argument! I’m giving you two options and that’s final. Either accept Dorothy as your mate and become the Alpha, or…”
“Or?” I raised my eyebrows at him, waiting for the final verdict. Because I knew what was coming next. I had known since last night.
“You leave the pack.”
Alpha Nicolas’s expression was pained and I knew coming to this decision hadn’t been easy; neither as the Alpha nor as my uncle. But he had to take a difficult decision this time and I was pained to have to put him through it.
“I’m sorry for making you choose, uncle.” I addressed him informally. “I’ll leave now.”
Alpha Nicolas’s eyes widened as he realized that I had already made up my mind. “Clay, you-”
“I can’t live without Flora, uncle.” I told him firmly. “And if that means I can’t stay in my pack anymore, then so be it.”
With that, I left the pack house and headed home immediately to get my things ready. I had already anticipated something similar after last night, so I had packed ahead. Now, I gathered my bags and car keys and told my butler to take care of the house as I went outside…only to come face to face with the person I least expected to meet at that moment.
“Dorothy?”
She looked like a mess. Her hair was matted and her eyes were swollen, she looked tired and ready to pass out but she was looking at me like she wanted to tell me something.
“Is everything alright?” I asked her despite knowing that I should be apologizing first. “Look, I’m really sorry, Dorothy…I wish I could expl-”
“The bond’s gone.” She said out of the blue.
“Huh?”
“The mating bond…it’s just gone…like it never existed.” She told me firmly. “I don’t feel it anymore.”
“Oh.” What was I supposed to tell her after this? That I was glad? That I was happy? That I could now go to Flora without any regrets?
“I know your love for Flora is deeper than the mating bond,” she continued. “She used to tell me how you were with her. And even if she didn’t go into details, I could see how you looked at her. I used to be so jealous of your bond and I guess now I realize why I felt that way.”
“I really am sorry, Dorothy.” I told her sincerely. “I don’t know what I can say to make it better… I wish I had a solution to our problem, but I don’t. I only know that I need to find Flora and talk to her a-”
“Wait,” Dorothy frowned at me. “What do you mean you need to find Flora? Where is she?”
“No one knows.” I rubbed at my eyes as I spoke. “We’ve searched for her the whole night but we couldn’t find her. She’s not in the pack anymore and her parents found a packed bag under her bed but she didn’t appear to have taken it.”
“It’s about the mating bond,” Dorothy shook her head before rubbing her hands down her face. “She didn’t want to come between us so she left. But where? Have you spoken to her relatives?”
“Her parents have spoken to their cousin down in the SilverMoon pack, but they don’t have any clue either.” I told her. “We questioned all her other friends from college but they know nothing. I have no idea what to do now.”
“Are you leaving to find her?” She asked, motioning to my luggage.
I debated on whether to tell her the truth or not but she was my ex-mate and Flora’s best friend, so she had the right to know.
“I’m leaving the pack.” I told her solemnly. “I no longer feel welcome here.”
“Leaving the pack? Are you nuts?” Dorothy looked at me in horror. “You’re the future Alpha!”
“Not anymore.” I confirmed. “Alpha Nicholas had asked me to choose, Flora or the pack.”
“And you chose Flora.” It wasn’t a question.