Chapter 2
Liam
Our pack was in shambles. We had lost our mate, our scent match, our everything. And only now, after the damage had been done, did we fully understand the magnitude of our mistakes.
I sat at the table, the scrap of paper laid out in front of me. The circled date glared back at me, damning every assumption we’d made. My hand tightened into a fist.
I looked down now, my eyes running over the circled date for the thousandth time.
Despite all our work to find out the truth, it was Celeste herself who had found the one small thing that fractured the plan against her.
The one piece of evidence that threw everything into question.
On the day that she was supposed to be at her compound, the day that this paperwork had her signature - she was in my bed, with me.
Practically all day. She’d never left our house. She was being framed. I was sure of it.
Vigo was still crashing out, his body freaking out at the loss of our scent match. “Liam! Where is she?” He yelled, unable to stand not being able to do something about it. Celeste had told us to leave her alone, and the rejection stung worse than any pain I’d ever felt.
“She still won’t respond!” I said, irritated at him, at Dante, at everything. But especially at myself. I’d failed to see the truth. “She’s my mate,” I said, the words barely leaving me. “She always was. And I destroyed her.”
Vigo turned sharply, his eyes wild with the same grief clawing through me. “We all did. We forced her into this fake relationship. We humiliated her. And she knew we were her scent matches the whole damn time.”
My voice cracked. “After everything, she stayed. She fought for us. She tried to make it work, and we ruined her trust.”
Vigo’s face crumpled, fury and shame warring inside him. “We fell in love with her while plotting her downfall. What kind of fucking alphas does that make us?”
“The kind that don’t deserve her,” I muttered, reaching for my phone like it weighed a hundred pounds. My thumb hovered, then I typed anyway.
Please, I just want to know that you’re okay. I need to talk to you. It’s important. We were wrong, and there’s more you need to know.
The response was immediate.
I’m fine. I never ever want to hear from you again.
I swallowed hard, reading the words over and over until they blurred. My fingers flew across the screen, desperate.
Celeste, you’re everything to me. We fucked up, I know that now. We were wrong, and I think you know why. I just need to know that you’re safe. You can’t trust anyone right now.
Her reply ended everything.
That’s none of your concern. Leave me alone.
The phone slipped from my hand onto the table, the sound dull against the wood. Vigo swore under his breath, pacing again, but I couldn’t move. The bond between us might still exist, but her trust - her love - was gone. And I didn’t know if we’d ever get it back.