Revenge served in a black dress (Nora and Jace) novel Chapter 44

CH 44

Jace

He banged into his Alpha Suite: it was much closer than his office, and just roared into his room, letting out all his anger and frustration at not only his Mate but himself as well. He’d told himself he wasn’t going to argue with her, was going to stay calm regardless of how she reacted to him. Because he was desperately trying to right his wrongs against her.

Seems his natural response to Nora was annoyance and anger, which likely stemmed from how he’d always treated her. He couldn’t believe right this very minute that Gloria had actually told Nora what he’d said. His stupid words about them raising the child. How the hell was he supposed to fix things now?

She’d just listed out seven ways he’d been disrespectful towards her. Some of those would, he knew, been seen and felt as multiple counts of disrespect towards her. She wasn’t even wrong, but he now wanted to claim her for real, not just have her by his side. She was so strong to put up with everything and still be here inside this pack.

She’d not rejected him at all, she was still here. She had to want to work it out, but maybe she just needed to scream and yell at him, get it all out before she was willing to take him back. Maybe she needed something from him. He was going to have to go back in there and not only apologize to her but admit everything he’d done and beg her for forgiveness. It was the only way he could see her, even becoming willing to think about giving him another chance.

He’d also just found out that she blamed him for losing Rosa, but Rosa wasn’t entirely gone either. He was still trying to figure that one out. She’d not had Rosa after that bloodlust, had stated she was gone, and she’d definitely not been with Nora the day he rolled his aura over her, made her bow so hard and fast she’d gotten injured by him.

But he’d now actually seen what had happened that day, that she’d wound up in the hospital after coming back from the city. Nora had disarmed a bank robber and the footage shown to him by his tech team, who’d hacked the bank’s footage, had shown him just how fast she’d moved.

She used Rosa’s wolfen speed that day. She had a bloody death wish that day. He’d gotten to see the way she’d ignored that man, spoken to him and been uncaring of him, waving a gun around, how she’d pressed her head to the end of his gun, and then had just taken on an armed gunman. She could have been shot that day, and he’d not have known it until she was severed from him. She had no regard for her own safety that day.

But again, Rosa was not here with her inside the pack to help heal her when she’d been bleeding out, hadn’t healed her afterwards in the days that passed after her surgery. He nor Hydro had sensed her in the hospital at all, or on their visits to her room to try and start working on redeeming himself in her eyes.

led… he was his pack.

But then she’d left the pack for a few hours in the middle of the night and came back fully thinking it all through, and it dawned on him that Rosa wouldn’t show herself when here in Nora’s wolf, Hydro’s wolfen Mate, was choosing not to be inside this pack or around her own Mate.

They had definitely affected her wolf’s own willingness to be here as their Mate. He didn’t understand it. Could it just be that Gloria was sitting in the seat as his Luna? He’d never once slept with Gloria in all the time Nora had been here, but it was almost as if they’d suffered pains of betrayal all the time from him.

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That was he knew something that could really affect how a wolfen counterpart felt and could, in fact, see one die, but he’d not done that. Yes, he was with Gloria all the time, but he’d never kissed the woman or had s*x with her, yet that bloodlust had evolved after just one time of feeling the pains of betrayal… No, it wasn’t the feel of it… it was his denial about making her feel it… his brain was ticking now, she’d felt it when Gloria

had touched him.

What if she had felt it every single time Gloria had touched him? Or he so much as brushed a loose strand of hair from Gloria’s face. Something he’d always done, he turned and looked at his suite door, stepped outside it and looked at the room across the hall. Nora and Rosa hated that room, had told him as much.

Had all these months here been for her and her wolf, months of feeling him touch another, even unwittingly, it was entirely possible because he’d been in love with Gloria, so… he closed his eyes now as he thought about it. Yes, it had to have been. It was no wonder she was so very volatile with him, and yelled and screamed and was angry and upset with him.

Refused to speak with him about anything, and all he’d done was call her childish and tell her she’d never get a Luna Ceremony. It was so much more than just her being upset with him, he now understood. He was actually going to be fully responsible for Rosa’s current situation, her choosing not to be here inside this pack; her disconnection from Nora herself.

It wasn’t just Nora that felt unloved and unwanted, it was also her wolf, he realized. But she’d said there were more things she could list off. He was willing to bet it was every count of betrayal pains she and her wolf had suffered. Jace felt his anger and frustration with her dissipate. Did he really want to know how many

accounts of pain he’d caused them?

No, was the answer to that question. He’d done enough damage; it seemed he’d not only not been a good mate, but he was also actually horrible, uncaring and cruel, and hadn’t even realized the true extent of it. Not. until he’d nearly lost her and felt the pain of it and realized he hadn’t wanted to lose her. It had taken nearly losing her for him to realize he did want her. That he wanted his Goddess–Gifted by his side, and not Gloria.

He was gone from his suite, he had to remove Gloria officially or nothing was ever going to be resolved with his Mate, not while the woman she believed he loved still sat in that Luna’s office. It was he now realized the first step in getting Nora to start believing that he truly did want her. She kept bringing everything back to Gloria. He had to unseat Gloria as proof that he didn’t want Gloria as his Luna anymore.

He stepped into the Luna’s office to find Gloria sitting there having coffee with her social group. They were all laughing and seemed to be having a good time. All of them stopped and stared at him, and his own wolf’s hackles rose up instantly, as Hydro sensed that something was very off in this room. The way they all just snapped their mouths shut was indicative of talking about him… or him and Nora in conjunction with Gloria.

Those flowers he’d sent to Nora three days ago were also still in here on the coffee table for all her friends to see, as was the card he’d written. She should have sent it back to Nora knowing that it wasn’t for her, and she did know it wasn’t for her. He’d plucked that flower out of her hand that day as she’d walked past him with

him, and asked her directly where she’d gotten it.

Because he’d gone to the pack florist himself about the flowers, chosen all yellow roses and made sure she didn’t send anyone else yellow flowers that day. He’d been shocked to see Gloria with it, and he’d told her they weren’t for her that very day himself, that they were in fact for Nora. Now he could see she’d kept them; the card he’d written was also there as well on the table.

He walked across the room and looked right at that card on the table, picked it up. It wasn’t in the envelope

and and his eyes moved to Gloria, as he got the scents of all these women on that card. They’d all read it, she’d

allowed them to read it as if it was for her. He’d told her himself he wanted to work things out with Nora.

The very day Nora had nearly died, and he’d realized the error of his ways. That was six days ago now. “Why do you still have this?” he asked her. “I told you those flowers were for Nora.” He grated out, as he realized Gloria was definitely the problem. That in all likelihood she too had gone out of her way to cause irrecoverable damage between his and Nora’s Mate Bond, to keep him by her side.

He now understood that, yes, he was also to blame for not respecting and cherishing what Selena had gifted to him, but Gloria was neck deep in this as well. Was even now sitting here in this office, as his Luna like he’d not told her how he felt or what he was going to do. She had to know that Nora hated her, and likely hated her being inside this office as well.

“Sorry, I haven’t been able to give them back to her. She won’t connect a mind–link with me, and has banned all visitors, even the omegas you send she doesn’t want. Likely Nora is still grieving the loss of the pup.” she sighed and shook her head. “I don’t want to interrupt her if she’s not ready to have visitors.” She sounded so caring and concerned to his ear, that a part of him wanted to believe her. “She’s not even really seeing you at the moment Jace, so I thought it was best to just give it a bit more time.” Again, it was almost believable. “T’II have new flowers sent up to her when she’s ready to receive them.”

“Didn’t I ask that you to start clearing your things from this office, in prep for Nora becoming the Luna on the full moon?” he asked right in front of her friends, and he had told her to start clearing out her office, yet nothing in here was even packed; there wasn’t even a box in here.

Her eyes went very wide. “No, you did not. When did you ask that?” She stood up, and he watched her look at the women in here. “Could you excuse us?” She asked them.

“There is no need for them not to be here,” he held his hand out to stay them. It seems he needed to lay the law down. It was clear to him in that one moment, Gloria hadn’t told them anything was going to change.

“I did also state the morning when you accepted those flowers and shouldn’t have, they were not for you. You knew that. I’d told you what was going to happen before Nora even left the hospital. That Nora would be the Luna… I even chastised you when you told me you were the Luna and that’s why you accepted the flowers, and I corrected you then, that very day, that you were only the acting Luna and you had to step down.”

“No, you told me if I couldn’t be the acting Luna, I should step down. I’ve done nothing wrong, done everything you’ve told me to do. I understand that I am the acting Luna, that Nora is your Mate, and I believe we’re about to actively start planning her Luna Ceremony as well.”

“I don’t care to have you help me plan it. I also don’t think you’ve done everything I’ve told you to. Lied to me about a lot of things over the past few months. Because Nora is of the opinion, you’re the Luna, and she will never be, and she got that from you herself. Among other private conversations we’ve had, that should never have been brought up.”

“Jace, I can’t be blamed for you and I having a relationship, prior to you meeting her and bringing her here. For you seating me as your acting Luna for all these years and loving me,” she sighed. “I have always fulfilled my role as the packs Luna. I will still do so until you have a new Luna. This pack needs a Luna.”

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