My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 126: Elena

Violet

Her eyes locked with mine, and I saw the exact moment recognition flickered across her features. She went very still. Surprise widened her blue eyes, her mouth parting slightly. For a long moment, we just stared at each other across the crowded market.

Then something in her expression eased, settling into something that tried to be pleasant, but couldn’t quite mask the strain underneath.

Disgusting.

A smile curved her lips in thin, tight smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

What happened to her usual mocking smile?

She left the stall, moving toward me with measured steps, her chin lifted in a way I remembered too well. That particular angle that said she was better, more important, deserving of worship.

I fought the strong urge to smack that face, and tried to make sure my frown did not twist further into disgust, even as anger simmered beneath my skin.

I was frozen in place, my heart hammering against my ribs as every instinct screamed at me to walk away. But I just stood there, my spine straightening as she drew closer. My hands were clenched so tight that my nails started biting into my palms.

The patrol wolf had noticed me now too. His reaction was far less controlled than Elena’s. His eyes went wide with horror and he took a half-step back before catching himself. The colour had drained from his face so quickly I might have found it satisfying under different circumstances. His mouth worked soundlessly, like he couldn’t quite process who he was looking at.

At this point, I was slowly getting confused.

Elena seemed at loss seeing me too at first. And it wasn’t just ordinary surprise.

As Elena drew closer, she turned around and called out to him, her voice carrying that particular tone of command that expected immediate obedience. "Come here."

He moved like he was walking to his own execution, each step visibly reluctant. His eyes never left me, and I could see his throat working as he swallowed repeatedly.

Wait...

’Is he... scared of me?’

The immediate realisation made the tension slightly ease from my body. My anger did not fade, but I suddenly understood their reactions.

How far I had grown aside, anyone who had known me from Shadowpine would be able to tell how different I looked from back then.

’Ah... I see now.’

I was not in the state they must have expected to meet me.

Her smile faltered as she got closer, her steps slowing. Her eyes travelled up, taking in the fact that I now stood taller than her. Not by much, maybe a few inches, but enough that she had to tilt her head back slightly to meet my gaze.

’Did I always walk around hunched over?’

I lightly grimaced thinking back on my life in the pack.

"Well," Elena said, her voice carrying that same false sweetness she used whenever she was trying to sound amused. But there was a barely discernible shakiness underneath her words, and the tremor she couldn’t quite hide in turn made me amused. "We had guessed as much, and I found it hard to believe when he said we would find you here, but..." She vaguely gestured. "Here you are."

I said nothing. Just continued to stare at her, watching the way her smile grew more strained with each second of silence.

I must have changed so much for her to be unsettled like this.

Behind her, the wolf shifted nervously, his eyes still darting between us.

"You look..." Elena paused, her gaze traveling over me in a way that was clearly meant to be assessing. Critical. "Different." She then looked around her, planting a hand on her hip as she became more emboldened. "More food to steal at this point."

A muscle ticked in my forehead and my face suddenly went tight.

A slight tremble went through me and my eyes flashed with anger as I recalled one of the numerous times she had framed me for stealing back in the pack.

’Control yourself!’

I was no thief.

I bit down hard as I fought to prevent the retort that was about to leave my mouth.

’Control your—’

Elena’s composure cracked slightly and the smile completely slipped from her face, replaced by something harder. The more familiar scornful look.

When she spoke again, her voice had lost its shakiness, replaced by sharp irritation. "You know, it is incredibly disrespectful to stare at your Luna that way."

I blinked.

Excuse me?

She drew herself up, her chin lifting. "I don’t know who or what you think you have become, but you should remember your place. I am the Luna of Shadowpine, and I do not condone such behaviour, Much less from a foul criminal who—"

"My apologies for the disrespect, Luna Elena," I cut her off with a forced smile, my voice flat and emotionless.

The words weren’t sincere.

We both knew it.

"Accept my greetings on you becoming the pack’s next Luna," I said, the smile fading from my face as I let my hatred seep through unfiltered. "But you are not my Luna."

I let my gaze slide past her to land the same cold glare on the wolf before I turned away.

I could see her face flush from the corner of my eye. She had opened her mouth, clearly about to say something scathing when I fully turned my back to her.

"Wait!" she started, but I was already moving away.

"Violet!" Elena’s voice rose, sharp with indignation. "Get back here! I am not done talking to you!"

I kept walking.

"Violet! Stop right now! I order you to—"

I dwindled my senses drastically, not wanting to hear any more stupid words from her mouth before I plastered that face to the ground. I pushed through the crowd, breathing heavily as anger freely coursed through my body after the immense struggle to hold it in.

I moved with enough speed that some people had to scramble out of my way. The rage intensified as my mind raced, unpleasant memories coming out from the back of my mind.

It made me hard to think, hard to breathe.

My body was shaking.

My chest felt too tight.

I needed to get away from the market, away from this crowd, and away from the possibility of seeing them again.

Then the sudden tug of the mate bond split through the chaos in my mind.