Chapter 3

After that, Alpha Tony's desertion did not hurt as much.

Her attempted suicide had now come off as a stupid decision to her, a thing she should never have done. It was as though a blindfold was taken off her eyes, and she could now see that he would not have cared much if she had killed herself.

He had left her on their wedding day for his new lover, whom he said was pregnant. What would it matter to him if she threw herself off a chasm?

All her crying and reliving scenes she should have been trying to forget stopped after that night, and she felt the pain in her chest lessen. Slowly, she regained her confidence, and even wanted to do things that would make her laugh.

All this time, one thing gnawed at her.

Who was the mysterious stranger that saved her life?

She would have died after throwing herself off, without any doubt, and in his attempt to save her, he fell into danger himself. She got him out, and he offered her his shoulder to cry on, only to dare to leave without as much as a name, or a way for her to thank him.

All he did was give her a piece of his cloth.

For days after that, after she spent the day welcoming those who came to see her with happier smiles than the fake ones she so often wore within the first three days, she went to bed with the piece of cloth in her hand, turning the fabric over in her hand.

It was not that she was in love with him — it was a bit too early for her to feel anything for anyone after what happened with Alpha Tony, but he never even let her see his face properly, or told her who he was.

He had only come along and been her hero in a moment she needed anyone, and then disappeared, leaving a question upon her lips.

Who was he?

Her inner wolf knew the scent on the cloth by now, with how often she passed it before her nostrils. And every day she went out of her house, she searched for it in the air, wanting to see him once more and know who he was, and to thank him.

She even went for walks near the chasm, hoping to stumble into anything that looked like him again, at least to say her chosen ‘thank you for saving me, Stranger. I really appreciate you’. But she never found him, and had nothing of him but that torn off piece of fabric, and for a month after that night, she would go to sleep with it lying in her hand.

It was one night, while she went to the drawer she had cleared of all it contained to pick up the piece of cloth again, that it dawned on her.

She was becoming addicted to the thought of him.

It was true that he had saved her life, and that she wanted to thank him. But if they ever met, then what did she think was going to happen after it?

A lot could happen.

Maybe she would want to see him again, and again, until she fell deeply in love with him, offering herself up the way she did with Alpha Tony. And if he chose to act the same way as her first lover, she would be broken again, hate him and ruin the memory.

Or she would not like the person he truly was, and it would ruin the mystery he created. The piece of fabric would stop being so special, and the memory of him saving her would become disgusting to her.

Or what if he was already fated to another female werewolf, or even having a Luna? She did not want another Luna to go through what Alpha Tony had done to her.

It was better for the mystery to remain, even if it remained forever, she decided. She would never know him, the piece of fabric would remain special, and the memory would remain sweet — her unknown hero who had saved her and whom the Moon Goddess had given her a chance to save in turn, who let her cry on his shoulder and gave her a piece of his cloth to remember him by.

It was perfect, and she would do exactly that.

So she kept the piece of cloth in another drawer, stopped herself from using it no matter what, and stopped going to the chasm, hoping to meet him again.

And in three months, she forgot all about him.

Those three months were focused on regaining herself, and removing all memories of Alpha Tony from her head. She changed everything that would remind herself of him, and went out with friends to make herself happier. So far, she was happy. It would have been better had she not been unfortunate one time.

She sat eating at a restaurant with two of her friends when she saw Alpha Tony walk in with a woman carrying a baby. He led her to a table and sat with her, while the healing wound in her chest opened again, her eyes filling with tears.

For a split second, her eyes rested on the woman with him, and her chest tightened on the spot, making it hard for her to breathe. The woman was beautiful, with long black hair and dark, seductive eyes, but all of that did not matter to her. What mattered most was that she was looking at her step-sister, Cheyenne.

It was Cheyenne that took her Alpha Tony from her.