WE MEET AGAIN.
1228 Words
“I understood then why I was so attached to you. Why did I look up to you? I wanted no one else near you. Why did I feel jealous when you married?” My chest tightened. “Why didn’t you tell me, Lake? Why did you let me find out like that?”
“You figured it out… while I was drunk?” he whispered. “Oh, my God.”
He looked horrified.
“I don't care about the clan. You are not my uncle. But my mate. That's all that matters.”
Both hands rubbed down his face.
"You are f*****g insane, Aurora." As soon as he said those words, he looked me dead in the eyes.
The words I spoke that night, spoken without understanding their weight, would destroy everything. I didn’t know that realizing who he truly was would make him disappear from my life entirely.
If I had known how heavy that bond was for him…
If I had known the burden he carried in silence for years… I would have stayed quiet. I would have pretended ignorance.
I just didn’t understand it until he left. That was when the actual damage was done.
His disappearance carved scars into my heart that never healed. I hated him for abandoning me. The Alpha who adopted me as his niece was my mate. I don’t think I will ever forgive him.
“Aurora.”
I lifted my gaze from the shoreline to see Quinn standing behind me.
“Want some ice cream?” She asked gently, holding out a cup of mint with a small plastic spoon.
I smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”
I took it from her and stared down at the pale green surface. Mint always reminded me of his eyes. Lake’s eyes, sharp and unforgettable.
Suddenly, I didn’t want it anymore.
I stood, walked to the edge of the water, and threw the cup into the waves.
“Aurora!” Quinn gasped. “What are you doing?”
“Letting go of my past,” I said, my fist clenched as I walked away.
I want to marry Aiden. I want a clean future. A life without ghosts. Maybe if I married him, if I became his Luna, if I had his children, maybe then Lake's image would finally fade.
But even after ten years… I still thought of my mate. He vanished completely. No news. Rumors. No trace.
Where did he go?
How could he leave so completely? Why was I crying? I wiped my tears and ignored Quinn calling after me.
Years ago, my admiration of Lake had bloomed into something deeper. He was powerful. Untouchable. The most dominant alpha I had ever known.
No one had ever compared to him since.
And that was the cruelest part.
“Hey, Aurora!”
Quinn caught up to me, breathless. “What’s wrong? Why is your face red? Are you crying?”
“I’m not,” I said with a forced smile, unlocking the SUV.
“Don’t lie to me,” she snapped. “I know you.”
“Maybe you don’t,” I replied lightly, starting the engine.
She sighed. “Today’s his birthday, isn’t it?”
“Is it?” I said flatly. “I forgot.”
She gave me a look that said she didn’t believe me.
“My wedding is in two weeks,” I said, gripping the steering wheel.
“And so?” she asked quietly.
“I’m moving on.”
“He’s not coming back,” Quinn said at last.
My throat tightened. “Who?”
“Lake.”
“Why do you always bring him up?” I snapped.
“Because you never talk about him,” she shot back. “And that scares me.”
“He abandoned me!” I slammed the wheel. “Do you want the truth? He was my mate. The man who raised me. The Alpha I trusted most. How was I supposed to survive that?”
I took a shaky breath. Calm down, Aurora. I said to myself.
“Please, Quinn. Don’t say his name anymore. Aiden is my alpha now. My future is with him. Lake is dead to me.”
She looked at me softly. “But you haven’t healed, Aurora.”
“Shut the hell up.”
The doors slid open, and the cool air of the house wrapped around my skin as Quinn and I stepped inside, still in our bikinis. I kicked off my slippers, relieved to be home.
“I’m starving,” Quinn whined, draping an arm over my shoulder. “And exhausted.”
“You’re not the only one,” I laughed, my voice light. “I’m completely famished.”
Luna, Aiden’s mother, smiled warmly at us. “Welcome home.”
“Thank you, Luna,” I replied, returning the smile.
Then I saw Aiden.
I walked over without thinking and wrapped my arms around him.
“Welcome, baby.” He chuckled and hugged me back. I pulled away just enough to press a quick kiss to his lips. He stiffened for half a second, barely noticeable, but I didn’t think of it.
“Get a room,” Quinn teased, dropping onto the couch beside Luna.
I smiled, but as I stepped back from Aiden, something shifted.
A scent.
My smile slowly faded.
My brows knit together as I inhaled again. “What’s that smell?”
Aiden’s body tensed instantly. “Huh? What smell?” His voice sounded too quick.
I leaned closer, confused. “Vanilla?” I murmured, sniffing the fabric of his suit. “Wow… where did you get this perfume? It smells really nice.”
But even so. My chest tightened. Pain slammed into me without warning. My breath hitched. Vision blurred. My hands flew to my throat as my knees gave out beneath me.
“Aurora!”
I barely registered the sound of voices rushing toward me.
Quinn, Luna, Aiden, all calling my name at once. My heart pounded violently, the bond between me screaming awake.
This scent wasn’t perfume.
I lifted my head slowly, dread and disbelief crashing into my chest as a familiar presence washed over.
“Whose scent is this?” I demanded, my voice trembling.
My heart pounded violently, the bond between me screaming awake.
“Shouldn’t your Alpha have already marked you as his Omega?” someone said behind me. “To keep another Alpha’s scent from intruding?”
My body stiffened. I turned slowly and got up.
“Hello, Aurora.”
His voice. Smooth, fractured, painfully familiar, froze me in place. For a heartbeat, I forgot how to breathe. I didn’t know how to stay on my feet as I fully faced him.
He smiled.
Not the confident, dominant smile the world once knew, but a softer one, edged with something broken. His gaze settled on me, warm and aching, like it had never learned how to let me go.
“The cold will get harsh tonight,” he mumbled. “You shouldn’t be wearing a bikini.”
He stepped toward me, slow and deliberate, and before I could react, he removed his large black fur coat and draped it over my shoulders. His movements were gentle, almost reverent.
We stood there, close enough to feel each other’s breath.
“Is it warm enough, Aurora?” he asked softly.
- Writer
