ValerieI would have sworn I'd stopped breathing if not for the hammering heartbeat pounding against me like bass. I looked over it again and the names hadn't changed.They were having a mating ceremony. They were going to be together.The rest of reality melted back into my focus and I realized Alistair was still watching me. Clearing my throat, I quickly composed myself and dropped the invitation back on the table, ignoring how it burned the tips of my fingers. I forced myself to relax, setting my mouth in a neutral line as I stared back at him.“You haven't answered my question. This has nothing to do with me.” I said, keeping my tone nonchalant even if it was anything but. “You aren't going to ask me what happened?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Was he anticipating my reaction because of my past relationship with Tristan or the time he interrupted us in the garden?I kept myself as impassive as possible.‘No’ I wanted to scream out but couldn't. The choice warred with me. A par
Valerie It didn’t take long for the time to come. Only three days after learning of their engagement I was now here, on my way back to my former pack. The flower shop was left in Mina's care and with her assurance and farewell, I felt more at ease with leaving. The roads and cities flew by through the window of the car door I leaned against. Shifting slightly to the side I spied a glance at Alistair, still facing forward while the driver at the front kept on moving. He'd given all responsibilities to his second in command. It was just two of us going there. Heaving a small breath, I turned away in favor of sleeping. It was best I relaxed as much as possible while I could. It was the best choice I'd made. By the time we neared the pack, hours had passed and the evening sky had turned a deep orange hue, closer to darkness. Despite gearing myself for this, my heart still hammered in my chest when we entered the pack. Nothing much had changed, nor did I expect it to. There
ValerieI could barely think under the shock. Why on earth was he here?As soon as the shock faded, my instincts kicked in.“No.” I replied, ready to close the door until his hand lunged to the doorframe, making me stop.“Valerie,” he called out, but I had enough.Why in Goddess's name was he here? Composing myself, I glared at him.“You ought to be celebrating with your fiancée,” I said coldly,“I just want to talk,” “Talk about what? We've said all we had to say last time we met Alpha Tristan.” I retorted, watching him rear back from my words. I was already exhausted and tired of pretending. The last thing I could do was to be cordial to him at this moment. I wanted him gone.A sigh left my lips. Shutting my eyes against the faint ache of our bond I forced a smile.“Please leave and return to the celebrations before anybody notices your absence. You're the host after all and I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea.” I said, preparing to shut the door, his hand blocking it be d
ValerieMy mind went blank for the second time.I thought I'd already received enough shocks for today, first with his arrival and apology and now this?He didn't sleep with Alyn or he believed he didn't? If so, what was the whole point of the wedding? Alys' pregnancy being announced?There were no words I could think to say. The silence went on for seconds until he spoke again,“I …I think, I know so, even if there's no proof.” he rushed out, his expression fell, looking the opposite of ‘sure’.‘The latter then,’ I thought to myself. He had answered my own question without knowing it.“Whatever that happened between you two is none of my business as far as I'm concerned,” I said, trying to revive the distance between us. “But simply as an observer, I think it's be if you settle it within yourself. Id never wished this kind of union on you, but if you're making ideas to justify all this-”“Is that what you think of me as?” He bit out, taking me aback.His face was still open, but t
ValerieI was awake by dawn, far too early in the morning than i was used to. I knew there was no way I was getting any more sleep. I picked up my phone immediately after, calling Mina to check on her and the shop. She was no doubt opening as the early bird. For a moment, even speaking with her brought me back to a relaxed state, reminding me of where my home now was.‘Thats right,’ I sighed to myself as I listened to my only friend’s voice through the phone. Staying here was only temporary.Last night lingered in my mind but I didn't tell her. There was no use burdening her with things that didn't matter. We finished talking by the time the sun was up, leaving me to bask in the day. The tension lingered, the instinct to leave the room or anticipate an entrance was there.‘No longer Luna,’ I reminded myself. I was no longer in the pack house and heavy with responsibilities I was free to do as I wished. I could stay in for as long as I wanted.In a rebellion I’d rarely shown before,
Valerie It took several more minutes of thinking before I left the bathroom. “You were gone a while,” Alistair commented as I sat down, “is something wrong?” “Something about the food here perhaps,” I said, barely keeping the acidity in my voice to dismiss him. It took a millisecond after to regret my harshness. He was just worried for me.That pushed me to offer a gentle apologetic smile his way. As I kept on eating my gaze flew to the empty seat beside Alyn.The luncheon was nearing its end and I had no idea where to start looking for him. Even then, it would be impossible for me to approach him without gaining attention from the others.I had to find a way to contact him without letting anybody else notice.My eyes narrowed on Alyn for one last time before I averted my gaze to focus on the food.After we were done, all of us as guests were free to do as we liked and roam the pack. After leaving the hall, I retired straight to my guest room to think.Id come here set on not in
ValerieThe next day, just as the pack city was waking up, I was already there. My gaze was fixed on the window, watching the dawn break.In the note I had given him were three details, my number and an address to this place alongside a time that was nearing with every second now. His text was enough to tell me that he would be here. I'd picked this place specifically for two reasons, with it being closer to the pack border and because it was the one place I knew opened incredibly early. There was nobody else in sight aside from the one attendant for now but he didn't spare a glance at me and rightfully so. I had taken measures to hide my identity with a hoodie covering my hair and a mask for my face to avoid any spare pack member lurking in this time of the day from noticing. The last thing I wanted was any attention, especially when meeting him. The longer the seconds the more anxious I felt. At the sound of the cafe door ringing open, I whipped my head and all my anxieties fa
Valerie“Goddess, I've been standing for too long. My hips hurt.” “Let's do this quickly then so we can go home.”I stiffened as the two voices moved through. It belonged to my mother and father respectively. Why were they here?There were some rustling sounds I couldn't piece together despite being near the door. Tristan's breathing was thin, but I still couldn't tell what was going on with his being so CLOSE.‘Get your head straight,’ I warned myself, forcing myself to focus on whatever was going on outside.The sound only lasted seconds before footsteps thumped.“Do you think she'll be happy with this? Perhaps we should have bought her something new.” my mother asked, sounding unsure about whatever it was.“Why not? It was formerly your necklace. It's only right that she received this as her wedding gift.” my father said, shocking me to the bone.I knew the exact necklace she was talking about, gifted by my father as a courting gift. Now she was passing on her heirloom to Alyn.M
TristanThe shock simmered, surrounding the entire room. “Alpha…Tristan, what is the meaning of this,” her father gaped. My jaw clenched in response as I tore my eyes away from Valerie’s greens to stare at her father's. Something in me lurched at their pale faces, but it wasn't worry.As far as concerned, they were my family. They had been the ones to raise me after my parents died and treated me like their own son. I had always tried to please them the best I could, even when the epiphany came to me. Even as I felt like screaming at how they so blatantly treated Valerie. In spite of those scathing words I'd overheard them say about her in Alyn's room and every other time. In spite of everything I'd felt about how they'd treated her.Not this time.“I never wanted this marriage or mating ceremony,” I smiled bitterly, “This entire ceremony was forced on my part, pressured from my duties, the packs expectations after Alyns sudden announcement of her pregnancy. And especially then, I
TristanThe sound of the piano grated on my ears. Everything about this felt suffocating.The hall, now transformed for the ceremony, felt even worse. After weeks of denial, days of resignation and acceptance. It was finally here. My mating ceremony.I hated every second of it.Being here brought me back to my first mating ceremony which was ironic when it was nothing like this. There wasn't any fanfare. It was rushed and full of nerves, only a few days after her 18th birthday.We had discovered that we were mates in front of the pack during a celebration and just like that, our fates were sealed. I remembered being angry at the suddenness of having to cater to her when I barely knew her aside from the complaints of her parents and Alyn's comments.She was just 18, a few years younger than I was, yet she'd looked so composed. Now with clearer eyes, I had no doubt that she was SCARED.Why had I antagonized her even then for Alyn's sake? Why did I resent her for something out of our c
ValerieThe weeks of celebration were coming to an end, the mating ceremony was closer than ever.I stayed by Alistair's side throughout. There were no more excuses, no more reasons to leave. And so I attended the luncheons and dinner parties, staying beside Alistair while making conversation with other guests and avoiding Alistair's flirtations. Things should have been back to normal. I could ignore everything else and wait, ready to go home.But I couldn't.Every time, even when I tried not to, my eyes constantly shifted to him. Tristan had stopped avoiding the luncheons or dinners, coming to every event and sticking to Alyns side while entertaining everybody, yet just like before, he was far from happy.He didn't show it though, forcing strained smiles at everyone. Just like he'd said, he had resigned himself to his fate.It was in the little things. Everytime Alyn neared him, he would nearly back away but stop in his tracks before putting up a facade of calmness, if not anythin
Valerie “I suppose this is what you've been up to.” Alistair said, his voice carrying visible hardness.It nearly made me bristle in irritation. He had no right to be angry with who I was with,nor did he have the right to snap at me. but my irritation quickly doused in shame. After all, as far as I was concerned, I was only here because of him as his plus one yet I had done the opposite of keeping him company.It was also me that told him that I had nothing to do with Tristan or this pack anymore, yet here I was.“I’m sorry,” I apologized before he could say anything. “This isn't the best way to explain things, but I'm sorry for not being the companion you needed. I can't explain it fully, but something important came up. It doesn't change that.” Once I was done talking, his anger seemed to wane a bit, yet his eyes hardened as he looked behind me.“Is that why you're with him?” he asked, lifting his jaw in the direction of Tristan, Alistair who seems angry that she is associating
ValerieWe went the next day. As the days leading up to the ceremony passed, the fanfare and intrigue of other pack representatives had waned alongside the growing comfort within the pack. It wasn't strange for any of us to skip one or two luncheons or lounge in the hotel for the rest of the day. Not to mention that as most of them stayed within the central part of the city, there was a low chance of seeing anyone near here.Which was why although well disguised, I was more lax with going out beside him. He drove us to the pack hospital.When we entered, the clinic was spare, unsurprisingly. Unlike humans we didn't need hospitals hospitals as much unless to tend to rare but terminal illnesses, wounds or…pregnancies.I swallowed thickly as I walked past several nurses, forcing down any reminder of my baby. The last time I was here in this life was to confirm my pregnancy.With a quick knock on his door, we slipped in.“Lu…former Luna Valerie,” he quickly adjusted, bowing, “I heard of
ValerieOn waking up, I didn't know how to feel in seeing new texts from Tristan.Immediately I returned to the hotel—thankfully still alone— I forced my tears and emotions back, pushing them away in the same way my parents didn't hesitate to push me away. It was the reminder of the treasure in my belly that helped me calm down along with the assurance that there was an end to seeing them. That I would be different and would treat my children with the love they hadn't given me in a long time.Now, waking up in the early morning, I saw this.It was a simple message, asking to meet in the same cafe. The sky was still dark and there was still a chance to go. The only question was: did I want to see him?I'd lost control and he'd seen me in my visceral vulnerable state. And after…“You were my mate, but I barely knew you. And after I did, I realized how much I wished I did.”I shut my eyes tightly at those words played again and again.His words haunted my turmoil far more than the apolog
TristanThe glass of whiskey in my hand looked amber in the dim light of my study.Every single time I was brought here because of her.“Nobody cared about me, not even you,” Her words burned more than the whiskey ever could. It burned hot and lashed out in anger aimed at her parents. For their harsh unforgiving ignorant anf insulting words. But most of all, for myself. A part of me longed for my past life's memories to the point of desperation but the other side of me feared what I would see. If I was going to be just as horrible if not worse. It didn't really matter considering how I was fully aware of how I treated her. Her death was reversed but it didn't change everything leading up to it. Our mate bond was severed and she was free. Yet , despite all of that, she was here, helping me. The pack constantly spoke in my favor, but they were all wrong. It was I who didn't deserve her. I didn't deserve her kindness, this second chance she was giving me. I didn't deserve her help,
Valerie“Goddess, I've been standing for too long. My hips hurt.” “Let's do this quickly then so we can go home.”I stiffened as the two voices moved through. It belonged to my mother and father respectively. Why were they here?There were some rustling sounds I couldn't piece together despite being near the door. Tristan's breathing was thin, but I still couldn't tell what was going on with his being so CLOSE.‘Get your head straight,’ I warned myself, forcing myself to focus on whatever was going on outside.The sound only lasted seconds before footsteps thumped.“Do you think she'll be happy with this? Perhaps we should have bought her something new.” my mother asked, sounding unsure about whatever it was.“Why not? It was formerly your necklace. It's only right that she received this as her wedding gift.” my father said, shocking me to the bone.I knew the exact necklace she was talking about, gifted by my father as a courting gift. Now she was passing on her heirloom to Alyn.M
ValerieThe next day, just as the pack city was waking up, I was already there. My gaze was fixed on the window, watching the dawn break.In the note I had given him were three details, my number and an address to this place alongside a time that was nearing with every second now. His text was enough to tell me that he would be here. I'd picked this place specifically for two reasons, with it being closer to the pack border and because it was the one place I knew opened incredibly early. There was nobody else in sight aside from the one attendant for now but he didn't spare a glance at me and rightfully so. I had taken measures to hide my identity with a hoodie covering my hair and a mask for my face to avoid any spare pack member lurking in this time of the day from noticing. The last thing I wanted was any attention, especially when meeting him. The longer the seconds the more anxious I felt. At the sound of the cafe door ringing open, I whipped my head and all my anxieties fa