The Rejected Substitute Luna

Chapter 15

Jasmine’s Pov

I hate that I couldn't take Willa with me immediately but I couldn't do it without making Garrett suspicious and I hate that he just has a way of making my life a living how even after all these years

My mind was total chaos. The conversation with my mother kept repeating in my head like an endless echo.

Garrett had spent five years taking care of Willa, crying in her small kitchen, and drowning in his own grief.

I walked absentmindedly through the paths of the pack grounds, not even caring where my feet were taking me. My head was spinning so fast that I just needed to walk. I needed to breathe.

Before I even realized it, the main house began to fade behind me.

I was standing right in front of the gates of the pack cemetery.

Why did I come here? I asked myself. The cemetery was quiet. Tall pine trees surrounded the polished headstones, their leaves rustling softly in the cool wind.

I knew I should turn around but my feet moved forward on their own.

I pushed the gate open and walked in. I didn't need a map. My heart led me straight to a quiet, secluded hill under a giant oak tree.

There it was. A grand, pristine tombstone made of white marble.

I stepped closer, my breath catching in my throat as I read the carved letters.

JASMINE

BELOVED LUNA AND FAITHFUL WIFE

MAY SHE REST IN PEACE

A bitter sob choked in my throat. This was the grave meant for me. This was the spot where the entire pack believed the ex-wife of Alpha Garrett was resting.

But I knew the truth.

The body buried here wasn't mine. It was Clara’s.

I sank down to my knees and sobber. I reached out with a trembling hand, my fingertips tracing the cold, rough edges of the carved marble stone.

"Clara..." I whispered out loud, my voice cracking.

The horrific memories of that night came rushing back. I remember the fierce, protective fire in her eyes as she forced me to swap our jackets. She used her strength to draw the monsters away from me, giving up her own life so that I could run.

She had sacrificed everything so that my unborn baby and I could survive.

The worst part is that she'll never know that she saved my baby's life. And that hurts.

"I'm so sorry, Clara," I cried burying my face against the cold stone, letting my tears wet the polished marble. "I'm so, so sorry that you're lying here because of me."

My whole body was shaking with heartbreak and I've been trying so hard to not break over the last 5 years because I loved her so so much and I just want her back but I can't get her back because she's gone forever.

"I haven't forgotten you," I choked out, looking up at the tombstone through my blurred vision. "I swear to you, Clara. I'll never forget what you did for me. I'm going to get justice for you. The people who tried to kill us. They'll pay for every drop of blood. I promise you."

"I knew it."

A voice sliced through the quiet night air.

My entire body went rigid and my blood turned to ice.

I didn't even have to turn around to know who was standing behind me. The familiar scent wrapped around me like an unwelcome blanket.

Garrett.

I forced my instincts to take control and wiped the tears from my cheeks with my long sleeves as I stood up from the ground. I turned around slowly, forcing my posture to be straight and composed.

Garrett was standing just a few feet away, he wasn't wearing his formal suit jacket. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, his hair was messy, his broad chest was heaving up and down in heavy gasps.

He looked down at the tombstone, then looked up at me, his eyes full of overwhelming emotion.

"No stranger comes to cry at someone's grave in the middle of the night," he said. " You're Jasmine. This is proof. You can't lie to me anymore. You ARE Jasmine"

l was cornered but I took a slow, deep breath, burying my panic and tilted my head up, looking Garrett in his tear-filled eyes. I forced my tone to sound utterly cold, annoyed, and distant.

"Alpha Garrett, you're a deeply sick and obsessed man" I said and he flinched as if I struck him, but took a step closer to me. "Don't do this. I heard you crying. Why are you lying to me, Jasmine? Why are you pretending to be someone else when you're standing right over your own grave?

I let out a cold, sarcastic chuckle, crossing my arms.

"You want to know why I'm standing at this grave?" I asked, keeping my eyes on him. "Because since I stepped foot inside your pack house yesterday, I've heard nothing but constant whispers about this mysterious 'Jasmine.' You lost your mind and shouted her name at the hall. Your little mistress Jenny brought her up to insult me. The pack speaks about her in hushed tones. Everyone in this territory is obsessed with a ghost

I came out for a walk to get some air away from your suffocating summit" I lied smoothly. "My feet led me to this cemetery, and when I saw this headstone with her name on it, I stopped. I was curious, Alpha Garrett. I wanted to meet the famous woman whose shadow hangs over this entire pack. I wanted to see the grave of the poor girl whose memory drives you so mad that you harass visiting Lunas"

He shook his head frantically, his eyes red and desperate.

"I was crying because I read the date on her tombstone," I countered instantly, turning my face slightly towards the grave. "She died so young. Anyone with a heart would feel pity for such a tragic, horrible fate. I felt sorrow for her because she suffered so terribly Alpha Garrett. Not because I am her"

His mouth opened and closed, completely thrown off balance by my logical lie.

"You... you expect me to believe that?" He choked out, taking another step toward me, reaching out a trembling hand. "You expect me to believe you came all the way out here just out of curiosity?"

"I don't care what you believe" I said taking a step backward to keep a distance between us. "Your grief has made you blind and delusional and maybe it's because your own guilt is eating you alive from the inside out."

Garrett stopped in his tracks as if I slapped him in the face. The raw agony in his eyes was unbearable to look at, but I kept my heart turned to stone.

"I suggest you return to your pack house and take care of your living guests instead of hiding in a cemetery chasing ghosts," I declared. "If you cross my path again and accuse me of being your dead wife, I will have Fred declare a formal political grievance against you before the entire Summit assembly."

Before Garrett could utter another word or recover from his shock, I turned around and left.

I didn't look back or slow down until I was far out of his sight.

I could pretend in front of him but I couldn't do it any longer without feeling a sharp pain in my heart and soul because this is not how I imagined to us and he did this to us.