My heart was still pounding when my father and brother arrived. I hold tightly onto Catrin as we make our way to lunch, arranged to look like a garden party in the packhouse’s backyard.

Catrin glanced toward a nearby treeline and then back at me. “You sure you're not imagining things? You've been through a lot.”

“No, I’m not,” I sighed. “Besides, I didn’t see him in those trees. It was near the packhouse’s entrance.

She lifted a brow, skeptical whether to believe me or go along with my mumblings.

“I know what I saw,” I whispered firmly, though doubt still flickered in my bestfriend’s eyes.

“Perhaps you’re just hungry?” she smirked as she took a bite from the bread. “Hunger does that.”

I rolled my eyes as I grabbed myself some food to eat. Just as I was about to open my mouth and take a bite, the Beta announced: “The Alpha Azriel is here.”

I cursed silently beneath my breath and my father glared at me to behave properly before my fiancé. My brother, however, threw me a smile that I could have answered with a laugh if only the tall, dark, and handsome Alpha didn’t strode right away.

Maybe Catrin was right. Maybe I was just imagining things. I need to focus. This visit is too important to get distracted by the shadows of yesterday. This visit is for the future of the pack.

But deep down, especially my wolf, knew that that had been the truth. That had been him—the Rogue who had saved my life, the Rogue who fought that beast who tried to kill me.

As we greeted Alpha Azriel and sat down once again, I couldn't shake the feeling that the Rogue and I’s paths were far from being crossed. That Fate or maybe the Moon Goddess has arranged for us to meet again.

I sighed and watched the noon sun gliding through the canopy of ancient oaks as it bathed Alpha Azriel in its light. The gazebo we are in looks already fabulous, and as our eyes met, he offered me a subtle dip of his chin for a greeting. Dappled sunlight over the elegant garden made Catrin whisper to me that she’ll want to be married on a day like this.

I couldn’t agree more, but I just let her talk and talk and talk as Alpha Azriel stole my attention.

Everything around him seems to tell me he likes the color black. His turtle-neck long sleeve and also black jeans just made his striking black hair and black eyes camouflage with his features.

Crystal glasses shimmered in the soft noon glow among the lavish tables, and the scent of fresh roses mixed with the mouthwatering aroma of delicately prepared dishes made this lunch more worth the while. It was a peaceful lunch, yes, as Alpha Azriel also kept tossing me secret glances all the time. I was also gazing into him while he talked and ate.

As we revel in the afternoon of idle chatter and elegant dining, a single sentence from Catrin shattered my almost-perfect afternoon: “Before I almost forgot to tell you, Beta Homer broke up with Lazel.”

I blinked as Cat said casually, stirring her tea and biting from a sweet bread.

My fingers froze around my fork. My heart stuttered. I shouldn’t have felt like this. But the air suddenly felt too thick to breathe as I shifted in my seat. “What?”

My bestfriend looked up to me, her brows furrowing as she took in her bestfriend's reaction. “You didn't know? It happened last night.”

“If they broke up...then that means they really were together?” I gasped as soon as the realization struck me. My voice wavered, betraying the emotions within me. “I was right. They had a relationship behind my back all along!”

I covered my mouth when I almost squealed. Catrin helped me by letting her body block my father’s view.

“I thought...you knew? Isn’t that why you broke up with him?”

And yet he tried to woo me in my father’s garden! That prick!

I winced. Catrin placed a comforting hand over mine. “I broke up with him ‘because I thought they had a sexual relationship kind of thing beyond their friendship.”

She sighed, “There were whispers about them, but I didn't think it was serious. And now that he’s broken things off, well…”

“He exposes himself and Lazel.” I clicked my tongue. “Is Beta Homer really that dumb? He thought I wouldn’t find out the truth if he ended things with Lazel. Perhaps he thought breaking up with Lazel will regain my trust in him.”

Catrin grinned as she shook her head. “Yeah. He’s a total dumb ass.”

But as both me and Catrin gossip about him, I felt a sharp sting behind my eyes.

Fuck. I shouldn’t let my emotions get the best of me. Father will definitely scold me if I ‘mourn’ another man at the same table I’m dining with my fiancé.

So I refused to let my tears fall and quietly wiped my eyes with a table napkin beside me.

“How could he and that bitch have done this to me?” I snarled softly at Catrin, my bestfriend only patted me in the shoulder.

“At least you found out his true colors earlier than most. Some she-wolves found out their husbands are cheaters when they are already married to them, making it a bit harder to get out of that marriage,” she commented.

She’s right. But...Homer—I trusted him because he’s a Beta. My supposed ally. And Lazel—a friend I knew since teenage years, or so I had convinced myself. It wasn’t the betrayal alone that hurt the most: it was the humiliation of being the last to know.

Well, I’ve been once Beta Homer’s girlfriend. I was almost his fiancée so...this whole breakup thing still hurts me.

Glaring at my plate, I pushed it away loudly, earning me a look from my father and brother. Even from the packmembers of the Moonborn Pack.

My appetite disappeared in an instant. “I need some air,” I said to no one in particular.

Catrin hesitated before nodding. “Do you want me to come with you?”

I forced a small, tight smile. “No. I just need a moment alone.”

As I rose gracefully from the table while ignoring the curious glances from the other guests, I glanced back at my fiancé’s chair—

But Alpha Azriel was nowhere to be found in his seat.