YOU DON’T BELONG TO ME.
1226 Words
The way he said my name. No one else ever said it like that.
When he said “Aurora”, it carried longing, restraint, devotion. As if my name alone held years of love he had never spoken aloud.
I searched his face, my heart pounding painfully against my ribs.
Where did you go for ten years? How did you disappear so completely?
Was this real?
Or was I finally losing my mind?
Tears welled in my eyes before I could stop them.
He lifted his back hand and gently brushed them away with his fingertips, as if he’d done it a thousand times before.
And in that moment, I knew. The past had finally come back to claim us both.
“Lake,” I whispered. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
He smiled again.
“I’ve kept you waiting, haven’t I?” he mumbled.
Ten long years.
Before I could speak, Luna Alice stepped forward with a graceful smile. “Thank you so much for coming, Alpha Lake. It is an honor to welcome you.”
He inclined his head politely. “The pleasure is all mine,” he replied with a light laugh.
Then, his gaze flicked back to me.
“I couldn’t miss Aurora and Aiden’s wedding.”
The world stopped.
My heart skipped, then slammed violently against my chest.
What…?
The coat around my shoulders suddenly felt too heavy. The air felt thin. I couldn’t hear anything else. Not the ocean outside, not the voices in the room, not even my breathing.
My wedding.
With Aiden.
Lake knew.
He knew, and he still came.
I stared at him, my vision blurring, my chest tightening like something inside me was breaking all over again.
After ten years of silence…After vanishing without a trace…
This was how he returned? To watch me belong to someone else. My heart shattered quietly, right there, in front of everyone.
And he was smiling.
He had changed.
So much that I almost didn’t recognize him.
His hair and eyebrows were no longer the same. They were silver, mixed with a faint gold. When he stepped back, his eyes turned gold, and my chest tightened. Why is he in the middle of shapeshifting? Was everything okay?
He was still tall. Strong. His body was slim and muscular, just like before. His face was handsome, calm, and gentle.
No beard.
His skin was pale. Too pale. Was it the cold? Or something else?
I watched him walk past me toward Luna. His hair was long now, falling down his back. He wore a black suit that fit him perfectly. Every step he took was smooth and confident.
“Thank you,” he breathed.
White gloves.
My breath caught.
Lake hated gloves. So why was he wearing them? Luna nodded at him.
“Where is the wedding taking place?” he asked.
“At her birth clan,” she answered.
My hands clenched. What is going on?
“Aurora.” Aiden touched my shoulder. I pushed his hand away.
“How did you get so cold?” I asked flatly, my eyes cutting into him.
“Huh, Lake?” My voice rose. “Answer me.”
The living room froze. Every head turned.
“I’m standing right here,” I said, my tone sharp and unforgiving. “I’m not a ghost. Or did you erase me too, just like everything else?”
I faced him fully this time.
“You don’t get to walk in here after ten years and pretend you belong,” I said coldly. “Don’t get to ask questions. You don’t get answers.”
“Aurora—”
“Quinn, shut up,” I snapped.
My lips curled into something that wasn’t a smile.
“If you don’t want me, say it. Don’t hide behind everyone like a coward. You are my f*****g mate, for f**k's sake, and you want me to get married to someone else. You are f*****g insane, Lake.”
I took a step closer, my voice dropping to something lethal.
“Or is it shame?” I asked. “Is that why you won’t look at me?”
My hands clenched tighter.
“Because you abandoned me. Or is it because you’re the one who murdered my parents?”
“Aurora!” Luna barked.
I didn’t turn.
“Stay out of this,” I said evenly. “I deserve answers.”
My eyes never left him. “He can speak for himself. He has a mouth.”
“Aurora—”
“Are you ashamed to admit it, Lake?” I yelled.
He stepped closer, his presence pressing against me. “No,” he said. “But I won’t be with someone whose parents killed mine.”
My body went completely still. The world narrowed.
“What did you just say?” My voice came out calm, stripped bare. “What do you mean, my parents killed yours?”
His fingers tipped my chin up, forcing my gaze to meet his.
“You’ll learn the truth soon enough,” he said coolly. A faint, mocking edge touched his mouth. “Still got that temper, huh?”
I felt something tear loose inside my chest. Just a hollow crack that kept widening. My wolf recoiled, confused, wounded, pressing against my ribs like it was searching for a place to hide.
Breathe.
I kept my face blank. Kept my spine straight. If I broke now, I would never put myself back together in front of him.
My parents.
My hands wanted to shake. My throat burned. Every instinct screamed at me to deny it, to demand proof, to claw the truth out of him with my bare hands.
But I didn’t move.
If this were a lie, I would dismantle it piece by piece.
If that were true… then I had built everything I was on a grave I hadn’t known existed. I'm not letting him get away with these silly games of his. I lifted my chin slightly, forcing my lungs to work.
“No,” I said calmly. “You don’t get to say that like it is nothing.”
I met his gaze without blinking.
“Whatever game you’re playing,” I continued evenly, “it ends now.”
He thought this would break me, and I would crumble at his feet. He had forgotten who raised me.
“I'm not playing any games with you. I barely have time for that.”
I snapped his hand off. “I don't care if you barely have time for that. Just get out of here and never come back. I don’t even know what you are doing here, Lake.”
I walked out on him, struggling to hold the tears in. I have never felt more broken than I am now.
I got to my room and closed the door behind me. This is so freaking bad. After ten f*****g years, this is what he came back to do. After abandoning me, leaving me with these people. No explanations and nothing. He came back to attend my wedding. I slid down the doors and sat on the floor. I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore and started crying.
He came back on his birthday. Right timing, I guess. For what? To watch me get married to someone else.
I hate him so much.
- Writer
