Chapter 4
CLARA POV
"Yes, the offer is still open to you. As long as you want to attend the Supernatural Academy, a place will always be available for you," Principal George said.
"I would like to attend. Please make the necessary arrangements. When can I resume?" I asked, determination filling my voice.
"You can resume in three days.”
“Will do”
For the first time in a long while, I felt a little relieved.
"Clara, if I may ask, why have you changed your mind? If I remember correctly, you refused to attend the academy three years ago because of your mate and your pack. What has changed?" he asked.
"Don't misunderstand me. I still value your awakened power. I'm just curious," he added.
I smiled bitterly.
How could I tell him that the people I had refused to leave three years ago were the same people who had betrayed me and discarded me as if I were nothing? My mate had forced me to hand over my admission to another woman, and that same woman was now carrying his child. My father and the pack had turned against me, calling me barren as though my inability to conceive made me less of a woman.
"It's nothing. I just feel like it's time for me to choose myself," I replied.
There was a brief silence before he spoke again.
"Okay."
"Thank you, Principal."
I ended the call and sat on the edge of the bed.
Three years ago, the Supernatural Academy. They had offered me a place, but I refused to follow them because my mating ceremony with Darius was only a few days away.
I had chosen love over my own future. To make matters worse, I had sealed my power for him, hiding what I could because I didn't want Darius to feel pressured by me or think I was trying to overshadow him.
And what had I received in return?
Betrayal.
The Supernatural Academy was far superior to the Werewolf Academy. It accepted different supernatural races and was attended by geniuses and those gifted with extraordinary powers, and only a fortunate few were offered admission. The Werewolf Academy was exclusively for werewolves, and one could enter it by passing the examination or through an open position granted to an heir.
Yet Darius had forced me to surrender mine to Tyla.
"Are we really leaving?" Maya asked softly.
"Yes," I whispered. "Since Tyla wants the Werewolf Academy so badly, I will let her have it."
Tomorrow, I will begin preparing for my departure.
I would leave and never look back. This time, I would live for myself.
---
"I have something to announce," Darius said at the breakfast table the next morning.
I didn't look up. I kept eating a small piece of food as though his words meant nothing to me. The porridge had gone bland on my tongue, and the dining hall was filled with the clink of cutlery against plates and quiet conversation.
Tyla sat beside Darius, one hand resting protectively over her stomach. Every now and then, she glanced at him, waiting for him to speak.
I already knew whatever he wanted to announce would have something to do with her. I had decided not to make another scene. They wanted me to accept Tyla and behave like the perfect, obedient Luna.
Fine. I would give them exactly what they wanted.
"As you all know, Tyla is pregnant with my child," Darius began. "And I don't want my child to be considered illegitimate."
My hand paused over my plate. I slowly raised my head.
"What do you mean?"
He cleared his throat, shifting in his seat.
"I mean, I want you to step down from your position as Luna for the time being and allow Tyla to take your place."
For a moment, I thought I had misunderstood him. The position I had worked so hard to fulfill, the one I had held beside him for years while helping him strengthen the pack, and he wanted to hand it to Tyla as though I had never existed.
Darius sighed and reached for my hand, but I moved it away before he could touch me.
“I know I said the child would be yours but the pack and your father think it will be unfair to Tyla. And that it is not important for you to have the child. As long as he is the heir, it will be considered your child”
"Clara, please try to understand my situation. I'm asking you to sign a divorce agreement temporarily. It doesn't mean we're truly divorcing each other. It's only until Tyla gives birth. And it is your father's decision not to make you the mother."
He looked at me with pleading eyes, as though he expected me to sympathize with him.
“I can arrange for Tyla to become the official Luna so the child will have a legitimate status. After she gives birth, I will divorce her, and everything can return to how it was before."
Everything could return to how it was before?
Did he truly believe our relationship was something he could put aside whenever he pleased and pick up again when it was convenient? As if I were some object he could keep on a shelf until he needed me again.
"Luna, I'm not trying to take your place," Tyla said softly.
She lowered her eyes, rubbing her stomach as tears gathered in them.
"It's only because this is Alpha's child. Darius doesn't want the baby to carry the title of an illegitimate child. I promise I won't interfere with your position. Once I give birth, I'll step down. You can have everything back."
She sounded so innocent, so considerate. Yet she was sitting beside my mate, carrying his child, and discussing how to take my position as if she were doing me a favor.
I almost laughed.
"Yes, Clara. Tyla doesn't even want this arrangement," Darius added quickly. "She's only agreeing for the baby's sake. I'll divorce you and register my relationship with her. Once the child is born, I'll divorce her, and you can return to your position. Besides, that will be around the time she resumes at the academy."
This time, he caught my hand and squeezed it, his face full of expectation.
"What do you think?"
I looked down at his hand over mine. Once, that simple touch would have made my heart race, and I would have trusted his words without question. Now it only reminded me how foolish I had been.
The pain in my chest was sharp enough to make breathing difficult. I had already made up my mind to go to the Supernatural Academy, but that didn't mean his treatment no longer hurt. Maya whimpered low in my chest, and I felt every tremor of it.
"Please, Luna. Try to do this for the sake of the pack," someone said from across the table.
"That's right. We need to think about the child and the future of the pack, the child would have been on your name but.." another member added he didn't need to spell it out for me, I know they believe am curse.
Their voices joined together and pressed down on me from every direction. All they cared about was the child.
Darius leaned closer, his voice softening.
"Clara, please. You're the one I love. No one will ever take your place in my heart."
I stared at him. He wanted me to believe I was still special to him while asking me to surrender my marriage, my title and my dignity for another woman. Perhaps he believed I would always love him too much to refuse.
For years, I had allowed him to believe that.
But not anymore.
I slowly withdrew my hand from his grasp.
"Alright," I said.
Darius's eyes widened slightly, as though he hadn't expected me to agree so easily.
"You agree?"
"Yes. I agree to the divorce and stepping down as Luna for the time being." I looked directly into his eyes, keeping my voice calm despite the pain twisting inside me. "But you also have to reject me as your mate."