Chapter 2
1376 Words
** Aria’s POV **
I look back at the pack school, my body numb, my soul heavier than it’s ever been. My son’s words still echo in my mind, cruel and sharp. The bond between us, the maternal pull, feels frayed. Like it could snap at any moment.
Thorne’s favourite driver steps forward, a look of concern on his face when he notices my distress. “Luna, you don’t look well. Would you like me to drive you somewhere?”
I study him for a moment. Does he know about the alpha’s extracurricular activities too? Is there anyone I can trust in this pack?
I shake my head. “No, thank you, John. I have my car, so I’m fine on my own.”
John bows his head, and I force a smile as I pass him. He’s probably right to be concerned. Driving in my state isn’t the best idea, but what choice do I have? There is no one I can trust, and I have nowhere to go, no family here, no one left to turn to. Except…
I get in my car and drive away. My sleek black sports car, an anniversary gift from Thorne, speeds down the motorway with ease, and I finally feel like I can breathe as I leave the city’s noise behind and head into the peaceful mountains.
A steady downpour of spring rain drenches the suburban cemetery, casting a fitting sombre veil over the quiet graves. I stand motionless, looking down at my mother’s gravestone. I’d promised her I’d live happily, and now I feel I’ve broken my promise.
“I’m so sorry, Mum, I have to sever the mate bond. I can’t stay, not after this. I’ve lost both of them. She’s turned my mate and my son against me, and I can’t fight that. Lucas is happy with her. I won’t take him with me when he hates me,” I whisper, my voice thick with emotion.
I lean down and pull back some of the vines that have climbed the headstone to cover her name. “I want to take you away from here.”
“Where would you take her?” A familiar voice asks gently as a black umbrella suddenly shields me from the rain.
I turn in surprise to look at Thorne. Keeping my wolf so suppressed is really taking its toll on my senses, I’d not even heard him approach.
I frown up at him. “How did you find me?”
Thorne wraps an arm around me and pulls me to his side.
“You’re my mate. I’ll always find you,” he says, his voice full of concern. “I got worried when I felt you move out of pack territory.”
The warmth of his body seeps into my cold skin, but it does nothing to thaw my frozen heart. I catch the unmistakable scent of Sierra’s pungent floral scent on him and fight the urge to wrinkle my nose in disgust.
“Why would you worry? Unless you’ve done something wrong and you’re afraid I was leaving you?” I ask Cooley, watching his face carefully for any sign of guilt.
Thorne’s expression turns serious as he raises three fingers up to the sky. “I swear before your mother and the Moon Goddess, I have never and will never betray you. May lightning strike me down if I ever break that vow.”
An angry burst of thunder rumbles overhead as if in answer, and he flinches. The irony isn’t lost on me. This man, who has been unfaithful for years and still showers me with affection, would have no qualms in making yet another false vow.
“There’s no need for lightning,” I say, forcing calm. “If you ever betray me, I will leave you.”
“Sweetheart, I’d never hurt you,” Thorne whispers, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss gently. “I’m yours in this life, and the next. You’ll never escape me.”
All these years I’ve been fooled by the sweetest lies, and now it’s time for me to return the favour. So even as my heart twists with the mockery of his words, I force a smile and soften my voice.
“I know, I trust you, Thorne.”
“Thank you for believing in me, my love,” he says, lowering his mouth towards mine as if to kiss me.
I turn away, hiding my revulsion by focussing on my mother’s grave.
“You didn’t answer me earlier.” He moves his hand to the small of my back. “Where do you plan to take your mother?”
“The grave's crumbling, I wanted to move her urn to the funeral home temporarily whilst it was repaired,” I lie.
Thorne lets out a breath, sounding relieved. I hear him move behind me and, seconds later, his warm coat settles over my shoulders, shielding me from the rain before he kneels to clear the weeds.
I sigh as he reveals more of the damaged grave. “The stone’s eroding, we should rebuild. I’ll arrange for her ashes to be moved first.”
“I have already secured land in your name and had a beautiful memorial garden built for her. It’s backed by mountains, faces the sea and planted with her favourite tulips. There are also daily caretakers and round-the-clock security. She’d love it.”
Yesterday I’d have thought this was the sweetest gesture, but now I know this is just a way to try to ease his guilty mind.
“Thank you. It sounds perfect.”
“I’d planned to surprise you on her death anniversary, but let’s do it sooner. Let’s choose a day that feels meaningful and have her moved,” he says as he stands and takes my hand in his.
Lightning tears through the clouds like a warning.
“Come on, it’s too dangerous out here.”
The umbrella struggles against the increasingly heavy downpour as Thorne leads me down the hill. He holds me tight, as if the storm might steal me away from him. I look up at him, and he glances at me, his eyes full of tenderness. He looks at me as if I’m his most prized possession.
Memories come rushing back of the desperate time me and my mother had endured ten years ago. How he’d been my steadfast protector and made my mother’s final days peaceful.
He’d sacrificed so much for me. So why this betrayal now?
My lips quiver with unspoken accusations. There’s so much I want to say. So much I want to ask him.
The passenger door of his car swings open as we approach, and Sierra’s smug face comes into view. All the questions I had freeze in my throat as I look at her.
She wears a white slip dress with a sheer wrap, her exposed neck is littered with fresh love bites, and right there, hanging around her neck on a chain, is my missing wedding ring. Losing that ring had devastated me. I’d been so upset that Thorne had removed his own and promised to forge two new rings from the melted gold, but that had never happened, and he had quickly put the ring back on.
I look down at his left hand, the ring still there, and the matching one around his mistress’s neck. Why had he given her my ring when he knew how much it meant to me? And why the hell would he bring her to my mother’s grave?
The bitter truth hits me hard again. I had almost believed his act for a moment. Nearly begged for an explanation like a pitiful fool.
It dawned on me then that I would have to deal with her for another month. I’ll have to live this lie and pretend I’m fine, because this afternoon has proved one thing… Thorne had found me within two hours of me leaving. There’s no running from him. Not without help from Ravenstone.
I turn away, not letting her see the heartbreak I can’t keep hidden any longer.
“Get out!” Thorne roars behind me. “That seat belongs to my mate!”
- Writer
