Forsaking His Luna

Guilt

Arthur

I was a good piece of trash! I left her pregnant?! To fend for herself! As I ran, climbing the high mountain. Rage consumed me, and memories of our last phone call came to my mind. She wanted to tell me something in person, and I treated her like a nuisance. Like I didn't want her anymore. No wonder she didn't insist she was too proud; there was no one else to blame for my son living without his father but me. What was I going to do now? Ignore my son? Ignore the love of my life? I couldn't. I wouldn't! She looked after him all her life. She could have chosen not to have him, but she didn't. She was putting his needs in front of hers; I can't even begin to imagine what she suffered. Cody's mind-linked t as I sat at the edge of a cliff.

"How did it go? I'm back from the shops. She's in her room. I can hear her crying. Your clothes are all trashed on the kitchen floor. Where are you?" s**t! Crying? I did that. God knows how many tears she had shed because of what I put her through. I needed to calm down and implore her to speak to me. "I'm on my way back now."

"I'll be waiting." Cody answered calmly, knowing I was on edge.

As I looked at the sky, a howl ripped through me. It was full of sorrow. All I ever wanted, it happened, only without me.

Finn was calmer now and finally spoke to me.

"There's nothing we can do now about the past, and we can only worry about the future. You did what you thought was best for her safety back then, and we can fix this."

"How? She's never going to want us back after what we did!"

"Maybe not, but we will only know if we try. I want to meet our pup."

"I still can't believe we have a pup..." Our pup. The thought of having a little pup, half Miriam, half mine, brought tears to my eyes. I owe her for taking care of him, for protecting him.

"We miss her, we always did. The only reason we endured all this time was that we never completed the bond, we never marked her. It would help if you did the right thing, call off the wedding. Tell your granddad the truth."

"And then what?"

"Arthur, consequences be damned. We have to cancel the wedding!"

"It isn't that simple, Finn. I need to know how to do that without jeopardizing the pack."

"You heard Antonio. He seemed different. He didn't know we had found our mate back then. Maybe now he would accept her. We don't need to be afraid to tell him anyway, and we are the alpha and strong enough to take him and defend our family if it comes to it." I nodded internally, reflecting on his words. "You're right. Let me come up with a plan first. Reflect on the pros and cons of our options." He seemed to agree with me, at least for now. "Let's head back, Finn. I need to speak to Cody."

I let Finn take over, running back to the house through the woods. The wind that blew from the mountains made me clear my head. She was suffering; I could feel it. But I also felt she wanted me just as much as I wanted her back. How could I ever ask her to come back to me? "Arthur, one step at a time. First, we let her rest, and then we tell her the truth and let her set the pace."

We knew what to do. Be patient, and believe there will be a future for us with our mate and son.

When we got outside the house, Cody was waiting for us by the fire. He is sitting on one of our wooden chairs, scrolling through his phone. I shifted back to human form and walked to the change of clothes on the chair beside him. "Hey, man."

He barely lifted his head to look at me as he scrolled through social media. "Hey. What are you up to?"

"Nothing matters more than you telling me how it went." He put down his phone, giving his full attention. It was in times like this I knew I could count on him.

Over the years, Cody has changed. We both have. I had to learn to live without my mate, he had yet to find his.

Ever since he met Mafalda, she has been on his mind—no relationships, having had only casual hook-ups, nothing serious.

I decided to give him space; he would tell me how he felt in due time.

"I'll tell you, but first, I want you to know that you can always talk to me. No matter how f****d my life is."

He nodded. "Thanks. I'm okay. At least now I can get closure."

I frowned, not getting what he was referring to; he clarified.

"Mafalda. She married Diego a year ago. They're mates. Just saw pictures on Facebook."

"s**t. Sorry man." He had a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"I should have just moved on a long time ago." I nodded, understanding where he was coming from, a lonely place. "Anyways. Tell me everything."

"s**t, I don't even know where to start."- I took a deep breath and sat on the chair beside him. - "I'm a dad."

"I figured that already."

"WHAT? YOU KNEW?" surprise and rage flooded my emotions in equal parts.

"Calm down. She mentioned a son. I was wondering if it was yours as soon as she told me, and I didn't want to ask her before you guys could talk." I calmed down, understanding why he didn't tell me. "Okay, sorry."

"It's cool."

"To tell you the truth, I don't know much. She moved to England after his birth, from what I gathered. She's in the navy, but we already knew that. And my son's called Lucas." He had a broad smile on.

"His name means 'the one who brings light'. The elders say that the name originates from Lucania, where your mom was born. I bet the kid is great. Can't wait to meet my nephew."

"Even after what I did to her, she thought of including me somehow."

"Arthur, you can't be too hard on yourself. You didn't know."

I started shaking with rage. "I treated her like s**t when she tried to tell me! She heard Allegra speaking to me, and I used that to push her away. She wanted to meet me in person to tell me something. At the time, I was afraid that if I saw her, I couldn't refrain from staying away. So I refused to meet her. She never had a chance to tell me, and now, she doesn't even try to hide it. I can't blame her for not knowing. I can only blame myself."

"Do you know if she has anyone?" I growled at his words. I hoped not; otherwise, the guy would have to disappear mysteriously. I knew it was possessive of me and that I had no right to interfere in her life. But I couldn't bear the thought of her and my son being happy with someone else.

"Wow, chill, alpha. You can't react like that if Miriam tells you she has someone. If you do, you can say goodbye to get her back."

"I know. If Miriam has someone, it will end. I intend to end my engagement with Allegra. And make Miriam my luna."

"What?! And are you going to pull that off?"

"For starters, I'll speak with Antonio. Then, depending on what he says, I'll make my move." Cody looked at me as if I was not aware of the war that would start. Finn was growling at our predicament.

"So, you want to confront your grandad? Who had this wedding on hold for four years?"

"Exactly."

"That's badass. You know I have your back. And I am sorry for what I'm about to ask. But what if Miriam doesn't want you?"

The last thing I wanted to think right now was that I couldn't think that way. "I can feel she does. I'll do whatever it takes to win her back."

"Hmm. I see. I hope you do win her back." I was more determined than ever to make it happen.

"Oh, I will."

"Okay, I had better go inside. I have to finish the rest of the paperwork for the meeting tomorrow in Zurich."

"s**t, I forgot about the meeting." This whole situation consumed all my thoughts. Now I had work accumulating and meetings I completely forgot.

"Don't worry about it. I'll go in your place. I've already spoken with Gerard; he'll come with me. I'll be back in two days. I'll probably have her travel documents ready by then. You and she have a lot to talk about." He lifted the weight from my shoulders once more.

"Thanks, man, I appreciate it."

"What are betas for?" He smirked, pretending to be smug, but he was the only one I trusted completely with our pack and businesses.

"You're more than my beta; you're my best friend, my brother."

"Oh, I need a tissue to wipe my tears." I shook my head and his comment, and we both laughed. He got up, putting his hand on my shoulder. "I believe you love each other. Fight for her." Then he left.

There was no turning back now. No more secrets, no more mistakes; Miriam will have the whole truth and my heart to do as she pleases, break it or burn it.

I would fight for her and my son.

Always.