h4Chapter 69: 69 - empty promises/h4

    69

    ~Belinda’s POV

    I stood at the center of the room, heart pounding in my chest like a drum I couldn’t silence.

    I clenched my fists, swallowing down the lump in my throat. I didn’t want toe here like this, but I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I needed answers.

    I took a deep breath and finally said it.

    "When are you going to reject Lisa?" My voice cracked. "When are you going to make me your Luna like you promised?"

    They all froze. Damon raised an eyebrow. Rowan shifted on his chair, and Kael looked away like he was suddenly interested in the wall.

    "Belinda..." Kael started, but I cut him off.

    "No. Don’t Belinda me. I’ve kept quiet. I’ve waited. I’ve watched her walk around like she owns you three, like she owns this ce." My voice rose with each word. "I’m scared. I’m really scared that I’m losing you... and to her."

    Rowan sighed, his voice calm but distant. "We never said she was going to rece you."

    "But she is!" I shouted, my voice echoing sharply through the room. It cracked mid-sentence, but I didn’t care anymore. I needed them to hear me, to really hear me. "You joke with her. Youugh with her. You protect her like she’s made of gold. And me? You all yelled at me in front of everyone for killing Cecilia like I’m some monster!"

    I saw Damon’s jaw tighten. He stood up slowly and folded his arms across his chest. "You didn’t have to kill Cecilia," he said, his tone cold and clipped. "You could have warned us. You should have warned us."

    That stung more than I expected. My eyes burned, and I blinked fast, hoping the tears would just disappear. "I’m not perfect," I said, my voice breaking. "I make mistakes, yes. But everything I’ve done, every single thing, has been for you. For the pack. I’ve loved you three with every piece of me. I gave up everything just to stand beside you."

    They didn’t respond.

    The silence was loud, too loud. It pressed against my chest and made it hard to breathe.

    My vision blurred, and I wiped my tears away angrily with the back of my hand. I hated how weak I looked in that moment, but I couldn’t stop it. It was too much.

    "I didn’t kill Cecilia because I wanted to," I choked out. "She was going to attack Lisa. You weren’t there! None of you were there! She was going to kill her, and I thought..." I paused, my shoulders shaking. "I thought if I stopped her, maybe you’d finally see I was useful. That I was still your Luna."

    Kael looked like he wanted to say something, but I turned away from him before he could.

    "You all treat Lisa like she’s this perfect little flower," I spat, my voice trembling with rage and heartbreak. "But she’s not. She’s soft and sweet and fragile, and that’s exactly why she’s dangerous. You’ll choose her because she makes you feel needed. Because she cries and flinches and looks at you like you’re gods."

    I turned back to face them, standing tall even as my heart threatened to shatter inside me.

    "You don’t even see what this is doing to me," I whispered, my voice shaking even though I tried to sound strong. "Every day I wonder if you’re still mine. If I’m still yours. If I’ll wake up one day and find out she’s been crowned Luna while I was asleep."

    I looked at them, Rowan, Damon, and Kael. My mates. The ones who once looked at me like I was the sun. Now, they barely looked at me at all.

    Kael took a slow step forward, his tone gentle. "Belinda, you’re still ours,"

    "Then prove it!" I snapped, stepping back like his words burned. "Stop looking at her like she’s your world. Stopughing at her jokes like she’s your mate. Crown me your Luna. Reject her."

    I didn’t mean to yell, but the words came out raw and loud, like a wound being torn open. I was tired of pretending to be okay.

    Rowan opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but I didn’t let him.

    "I’m tired of feeling second," I said, my voice breaking. "I’m tired of feeling like I’m holding onto something that’s already slipping away."

    Kael’s eyes softened. He reached out and gently touched my arm, his fingertips barely brushing my skin.

    But it hurt.

    I flinched away like I’d been burned.

    "Don’t," I whispered, my chest heaving. "Don’t touch me unless you mean it. I’m not some fragile girl begging for crumbs. I’m your Luna. I deserve to be treated like one."

    None of them said anything. They just stared.

    That silence again.

    It made me feel invisible.

    Unwanted.

    I looked each of them in the eye, Rowan, Damon, Kael. One by one. I held their gazes even though my vision was already starting to blur from the tears I was holding back. My heart pounded so hard I thought they could hear it.

    "I’m giving you a choice," I said, my voice trembling. "It’s either me... or her."

    The silence that followed stretched painfully long. Damon blinked in confusion, like he couldn’t believe what I’d just said.

    "What?" he asked, almost breathless.

    "You heard me." I nodded slowly, trying to keep my chin up even though everything inside me was copsing. "Choose."

    I turned toward the door. My hand was already on the knob, but I paused. I needed them to hear thisst part.

    "Because I’m done waiting," I said, my back to them. "I deserve to be chosen."

    And then I walked out.

    I didn’t care how quiet the hallway was or how heavy my footsteps sounded on the floor. I didn’t care who saw me. I didn’t care if the pce walls echoed my pain.

    Tears ran freely down my face now, and for the first time in a long while... I didn’t wipe them away.

    Let them see.

    Let the walls see.

    Let the air carry my pain if no one else would.

    I had given those three men my everything, my love, my loyalty, my heart. I stayed. I fought. I endured.

    But now?

    Now I needed to see if they were ever willing to give something back. Something real. Something more than shared nces and empty promises.