Leland had to exert all his sanity to keep looking at Sophie coldly and spoke without a hint of emotion. He wanted so badly to hug her and calm her down. However, he couldn't.
"You really want to know the reason?" Leland removed his hand from Sophie. He gave a cold stare and stepped forward, causing Sophie to step back in intimidation.
When she was cornered at the door, Leland lowered his head and whispered in his ear. "I'm tired of you."
Sophie opened her eyes wider while Leland took a step back to make some distance.
"I'm sick and tired of you. I accepted you because I felt indebted to your parents and because of that I ruined my reputation."
His words were more hurtful than before. Sophie was heartbroken. She almost couldn't hear his voice because her mind had become a huge pile of mess.
She shouldn't have let him go...
She should have been more persistent in not letting him go to Eloise. Something happened to him when he was away, and now everything was falling apart.
Leland continued to speak mercilessly. He really needed to make Sophie believe his words. He had loved her too much and it was hard to convince her that he no longer wanted her.
As Eloise said, the sooner he did this, the faster he could get his children saved.
"Before I made you my mate, no one dared to open their mouth to insult me. After you became my mate, everyone insulted me. For your sake, I killed my own pack members. Because of you, people mocked me as a dog who eats garbage for picking up another man's secondhand female," said Leland. "And I always have to silence those who insult you and your children."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"I lost hundreds of pack members six years ago when they revolted and left the pack because they couldn't accept you..." Leland looked at Sophie coldly. "Now I can't take it anymore."
Sophie stared at Leland with quivering eyes. Every word Leland spoke was like a knife piercing her heart.
Leland sharpened his gaze and said very coldly. "Besides being a burden and troublesome for me, you can't do anything. You and your children are just parasites that keep gnawing at me."
"Lee...." Sophie's heart broke when she looked him in the eye. Her tears were streaming down harder. Her body trembled and she almost lost her balance. Leland didn't try to help her. So, Sophie leaned her body to the door behind her. "How... how could you do this to me...?"
"Whether you believe it or not, I don't care." Leland was more heartbroken than Sophie at this point. Every single tear that she shed hurt him more than anything in this world.
Her pain, her feeling of rejection, her disappointment... all welled up and filled his heart. He could still feel her. Initially, it was a blessing for a lycan like him because he could always understand his mate even though she didn't say anything to him.
However, in a situation like this, it was the worst curse. Every single fiber in his body was hurting for her. Every word he used to hurt her gave him more pain, physically and mentally.
If he was not as strong as he was, as Eloise always praised him to be, Leland would have been broken. He would not be able to keep his pretense and therefore he wouldn't be able to save his children.
No matter what... little Anne and Jack came first.
He could apologize to Sophie in the future. He could redeem his cruel treatment of her now and beg for forgiveness. He could make up for today.
However... he wouldn't be able to revive his children if Eloise killed them. Even if he tortured Eloise and killed her over and over... they wouldn't come back.
So, he had no choice but to continue hurting Sophie, so that she would let him go. She must let him go. For now.
Once Leland went away, she must find Nicholas and get his protection. She wouldn't be safe in this pack even though Lucas and his trusted men would keep protecting her and the children out of their respect for her.
The royal palace was protected by the royal army and hundreds of knights, in addition to the king himself.
Leland hoped while he was away, Nicholas would take the honor to take Sophie and their children under his wings... because, as much as Leland hated him, the Alpha trusted Nicholas, more than anyone.
"I have to go," Leland said coldly. He shifted Sophie's body violently to open the door but Sophie suddenly hugged him from behind while sobbing.
"Please don't do this to me. I know you're lying. What did I do to you? We were fine when you were gone. Please don't do this to me, if I did something wrong you can scold me, and you can even hit me. Do whatever to me, I won't complain. But please don't leave me like this Leland, I beg of you. Where should I go? Leland, I beg you..." Sophie sobbed and was crying despondently.
However, Leland didn't budge. Sophie didn't feel any warmth or anything from his body. He was like a stone statue, cold and uncaring.
Sophie's body trembled and her expression was filled with so much grief and disappointment. Her chest was so heavy. She thought her third assumption was correct. Leland rekindled his friendship with Eloise and perhaps this time it had evolved into something more.
As he said, he now saw Sophie for who she was... a burden. A half-lycan who couldn't even shift and didn't have any capabilities which were useful for the pack.
What did she have? Nothing. Leland made it clear that he only cared for her because he owed her parents.
Leland knew Sophie was faltering. She was so hurt and she had been filled with the poisonous thought that Leland was truly throwing her away. His body started shaking too. He so badly wanted to hug her tightly and beg for forgiveness.
He couldn't take it anymore.
Leland pressed his lips hard and silently joined in the tears. He struggled to resist the urge to turn around and hug Sophie. If he turned around and canceled his intentions then Anne and Jack would die.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHe glanced out the window and saw Eloise who was standing outside looking at them. She hid her face with a hood, but he still recognized her. The witch smiled as she played with Jack's soul stone like a ball that was thrown up and caught many times. Seeing that, Leland was furious.
For the sake of Anne and Jack's safety, he let go of Sophie's arms that were holding him and said coldly. "I've cut ties with you so if you still have any shame, get out of my home and take your kids away too. You can go back to Nicholas Hanenbergh. He'll definitely take you in."
"Then what about Jack and Anne? Do you want to separate them from me?"
"You can take them. I don't care." Leland opened the door and darted out leaving Sophie who was staring at him with a blank look on her face.
Things became hazy after that point. Sophie didn't really remember what happened. All she felt was pain.. grief... disappointment... heartbroken.
Sophie slowly walked out of the room, staring blankly ahead. Lucas and the others looked at her with concern. Lucas wanted to come over but Lily stopped him.
"Give her some time," she said. Seeing Sophie's condition, Lily felt it would be better to give her some time alone. They shouldn't ask her anything. She was not capable of even speaking.
The Alpha had just broken up with her. All the lycans assumed he had personally rejected her when they spoke in private just now.
Seeing how Leland rudely walked away and Sophie was walking out with such a devastated look, they understood that the Alpha had truly rejected his mate.
Lycans were very passionate creatures who loved their mates so fiercely and almost there was never a case where an Alpha would reject their Luna. Witnessing the situation firsthand like this felt unreal to most of them.
The older lycans who knew Isolde and Alpha Leon remembered no matter how indifferent the late Alpha was toward his mate, he never even broke their bond or rejected Isolde. However, Leland just did the unthinkable.
Most of the female lycans were looking at Sophie with so much sympathy and pity.
Lily walked toward Sophie and hugged her. With her eyes, she told everyone to leave and give Sophie space. She also begged Lucas with her eyes to go inside Luna's bedroom and take care of the babies. Sophie was not physically able to do anything at that moment.
When they saw Lucas go to the room and stayed with Anne and Jack who were crying, Max and Duncan looked at each other. They immediately stepped back and went to find the older boys.
While Sophie was grieving, they needed to make sure she wouldn't feel burdened by the children.