Chapter 4: The Promise
Layla's heart was racing and her head was swimming with a thousand overwhelming frantic thoughts. She couldn't understand how Solomon's parents reacted. Sure, she wasn't from River Reach. And sure, she wasn't a part of Moonbane, she wasn't descended from the Goddess. And yes, her father wasn't the best Alpha and their pack was struggling. And yes, Saraiah did hit a nerve about her mother. But she wasn't trash, she wasn't a common whore. She wasn't trying to elevate above her station. She loved Solomon and their connection was sincere.
She looked at Solomon, his brow furrowed in deep contemplation. "It's fine." He finally said. "Everything is fine." Layla could tell that he was saying this more so to himself than to her. "You're my mate."
"Yes. And you are mine." Layla was annoyed. That was established. "Your father-"
"My father can't force me to reject you. I will never reject you as my mate, Layla," Solomon was stern.
"Your father will reject you as Alpha," Layla was concerned. Becoming Alpha was the one goal Solomon worked his entire life for. She couldn't just let him throw it away for her.
"I know. I don't care."
"Are you crazy!" She jumped from her seat. "How can you say that?"
"How am I crazy? You are my mate." His voice matched her intensity. He stood from his seat. "Tell me you don't feel it? This overwhelming pull towards each other."
"Of course I feel it." She sighed.
"Just think about rejecting me?" He said and immediately Layla grew sick to her stomach and the color faded from her face. "I can't do that. You are my mate. And just thinking about what my parents said to you, Goddess, it makes my blood boil." He slammed his fist against the table.
Layla grinded her teeth together. "Forget what they said about me, it's fine," she lied.
"It's not fine! You are a Luna!"
"Not yet," she whispered under her breath.
He ignored her. "You will be my Luna. No one will speak of you that way."
She smiled at his sincerity. She walked over to him and brushed his hair from his eyes. He grabbed her waist and brought her close to him. She kissed his forehead. "I love you. But you're not thinking clearly."
"I'm thinking clearly enough." Solomon pushed past her.
"Solomon," she pleaded. "I don't think it is very wise to rush into a choice."
Solomon stood with his back towards her and tensed up his shoulders. "What are you even trying to say?"
"I'm not trying to say anything. I'm just saying that we need to take some time and truly think this through." She countered.
Solomon angrily turned to face her. "What time do we need? We have the rest of our lives to figure this out?"
Layla shook her head, "it's not that simple. What life are we going to live? In the woods? Where would we live?"
"Your father would happily hand over his pack to me when the time comes," Solomon boasted.
"Happily? You have no idea what my father sacrificed to avoid your father's tyranny just to, what? Give everything to you?" She bellowed.
"What did your father sacrifice? Your pack is so small, I don't even know who you guys are! Your father's men can't hunt or you wouldn't have to do it yourself!"
"How dare you?" She sneered. "You have no idea."
Solomon sighed and shook his head. He sat down in the chair left empty from his father and held his head in his hands. Layla stood frozen in anger. She could feel her inner wolf bubbling to the surface, how it itched for a fight. But she tried her best to steady herself and tried to control her breathing.
Finally, Solomon whispered "you are my mate, Layla Undertow. I swear this to you and to the Goddess, I will not reject you." He looked deeply into her eyes, his long black eyelashes holding back tears.
At this sight, Layla's anger melted and she caught herself tearing up as well. "Solomon Riverwalker," her voice trembled, "I can't let you do this."
"Can't let me do what? This is my choice. My future. Did you ever stop to think if I wanted to be the Alpha of all of this?" he waved his arms.
"Of course you do."
A single tear escaped from the corner of his eye. "Of course I do," he repeated to himself. "Because I want the power? Because I want, what, all the wealth?" He said dejectedly. "Maybe, we really don't know each other the way I thought we did." He sat back in his chair and wiped the tear with the back of his wrist. "Maybe, my father was right. What were you even doing there to begin with? You must have known I would be there."
"I don't want your stupid pack." She said defiantly. "I would rather die than to gain whatever bullshit you think you have to offer."
Solomon pursed his lips together. "Die?"
Immediately Layla knew she had crossed a line. "I love you. I am your mate. You felt it the same way I did. There is no magic that could force it. I want you."
"Then why are you telling me to reject you?" He asked, his voice trembling. His chest grew tighter with each swallow breath as he could feel his inner wolf replicate the pain he felt in his human form. The sensation was overwhelming. "Do you want me to reject you, Layla?"
"I didn't say that," she hung her head. "I can't just stand here and say nothing and do nothing while you stupidly throw everything away." She nervously began to rub the tops of her fingernails with her thumb. 'You want to act like it's not a big deal but I know it is."
Solomon snorted. "You can't keep telling me how I should act or what choice I should make."
She sighed and sat beside him. She gently placed his hand in hers. "Tell me that I am wrong." He sat in silence. "Tell me what it looks like, what will happen if you walk away. Who will replace you?"
"My younger brother, Simon."
"And how old is he?"
"He's only eleven years old." Solomon hung his head in defeat.
"Do you think he could handle being the Alpha?" Solomon shook his head.
"I didn't think so," she replied quietly. "What would happen to all of this if he were to take over?"
"I don't want any of this," he pleaded, tears streaming down his face.
Layla could no longer contain the tears she tried to hold back, she looked to the ceiling as they poured from her eyes. "I know you don't. It's not an easy choice."
"I wanted you to be wrong so badly but you're right. I can't walk away from this. I can't leave it all to my brother."
"I know. I don't want you to." Layla's body began to shake. She could feel it coming, his rejection. She tried to prepare herself but she felt as if she were on fire.
"I love you. I will not reject you." Solomon stood up and began to walk away.
Layla groaned, "fine! If you will not reject me then I, Layla Rose Undertow, re-"
Solomon rushed over to her in a flash and placed his hand over her mouth. "Never say that unless you truly mean it." He lowered his hand. "Promise me."
Layla stared into his eyes, knowing that it would be for the last time. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to say the words but nothing would come out. As much as she knew that it was the right choice, she could not actually bring herself to do it. She could never reject him as her mate. "I promise I will never reject you. You are my mate." She stood from her chair and began to leave.
Her heart broke like a million shards of glass that punctured every fiber of her being. It burned to breath and she felt light headed. The joy she felt at finding her mate was now replaced by the sorrow of knowing that she could never have him.
"Wait," Solomon called after her. "I promised you some food. Please still take it."
Layla sighed. As much as she didn't want to accept his help, she knew she didn't have much of a choice. She waited for him to walk ahead of her and followed him silently to the food storages. She fought back tears as she watched him load two large canvas bags of various dried meats, vegetables, and wheat. She quickly snatched the bags from him when he finished. She could tell he longed to say something but she did not have the strength to listen. Solomon did not chase after her when she quickly made her way out of the room. He instead waited till she was around the corner and her footsteps were no longer in hearing range. He hung his head and returned to his room.
Layla had almost made her way out of the great hall without any interference. She was happy to be rid of the wretched place till a familiar shrill voice stopped her in her tracks. "So, now you steal from us?"
Layla groaned. "I am not stealing. Solomon gave these to me." She dared not turn and faced Saraiah. She did not wish to give that awful woman the satisfaction of seeing her tear stained face.
But it was all in vain, Saraiah brushed beside her and stood inches away from her. She laughed at the sight of Layla. "Ah, I see my son rejected you." Layla glared. "He was never going to pick you, I hope you can understand." Saraiah menacingly played with Layla's hair and whispered in her ear, "Fine. You take this for the trouble. It is nothing to us anyway. But if you ever come back here again, I will personally rip out your heart."
Layla pushed past Saraiah and began to run. Her eyes burnt with her tears, she didn't care if she made a fool of herself by doing so. She couldn't think of anything to say to that nasty woman. She could not understand how someone as kind and generous as Solomon could ever come from someone so vile. She didn't realize that she had run out of the great hall and was pushing through the crowds of people. She only stopped for the gate to be opened and once it had made enough room for her to wiggle out, she bolted out of there running as fast as her legs could take her.
She couldn't feel the pain when she ran, so she didn't stop. She ran all the way home and crashed as soon as she saw the familiar wooden gate. She collapsed on the ground as she called for her father's men. Her breath uneven and shaky, her hands frozen in the tight grasp she had on the bags. She was unable to move. She would have never allowed it before, but today she did not fight it when someone carried her home. She yearned for the sweet embrace of her father. She missed the simplicity of their dwellings.
She was carried to a small hall that was twice as small as the hall she had spent her morning in. There were no insignias plastered all over the place. No mahogany. No tapsiteries. She smiled as she felt the warmth of a fire.
"Where have you been?" Her father, Anthony scolded as she was set down by his chair. Anthony was a tall man with long unruly ash hair. He was slender from a chronic case of under-eating. His age was held on his face by deep wrinkles and bags. He wore no furs but a simple stained woolen tunic and a pair of old leather pants. There were no airs of regalness or intimidation that he carried with him. There was no lie when he was described as weak.
She motioned to the bags, "I was out hunting."
Anthony shook his head, "you know how I feel about that." Layla sighed and rolled her eyes. "Never mind all that. We have visitors, my dear."
Layla was confused. After her mother left, the social calendar of the pack became her responsibility. No one informed her of this visit. She heard the door close behind her and she turned towards the noise. Approaching her was a muscular twenty year old man about the height of her father. His skin was covered in scars and his long ashy blonde hair was braided in two braids that he wore over his shoulders. He had a long bushy beard that looked unkempt. He smiled which revealed that one of his canine teeth was missing. His small light eyes looked at Layla hungerly and she immediately felt unease. He sauntered over to her and grabbed her hand in his. His hand was rough and was covered in various sized cuts. He sloppily kissed the top of her hand.
"Layla," Anthony began, "this is Alistar Littlefyre of the Thundermoon pack."
Layla wanted to vomit as she pulled her hand away. Her stomach was twisted in knots and she grew skeptical of the stranger before her.
He growled at her then turned to her father, "yep, just as I knew. She is my mate."
Layla was stunned. There was no way that it was possible. She did not feel it. Her inner wolf did not wake or yearn for this man. He was a stranger, a liar. There had to be something wicked in his intentions but she wasn't sure. "Father," she began to say but stopped at the thought of the wrath of the Riverwalkers.
But it didn't matter anyway for Anthony did not hear her. He instead clapped his hands and embraced Alistar. "This is good. You have my blessing."
Alistar winked at her over her father's shoulder. "She is the mate I have been waiting for my entire life. She is mine."