A Ceremony, A Ghost, And A Lost Wolf Pup Chapter 02

A Ceremony, A Ghost, And A Lost Wolf Pup Chapter 02

With trembling hands, I thrust my phone at Brianna.

My voice shook so badly I could barely get the words out.

“Video call him. Now”

I needed to know where Aaron was.

The video call connected—and he hung up immediately.

I clutched the hem of my veil so hard my knuckles went white.

I tilted my face up to hold back the tears, but they streamed down anyway.

“Call him again.”

He rejected the call over and over.

Finally, Aaron called back—voice only.

His voice sounded hoarse. “Di, what’s going on?”

“Where are you?”

I couldn’t control my emotions anymore.

“I’m…” He hesitated for a heartbeat, then dodged the question. “I’m on my way back.”

My voice rose, nearly hysterical. “Are you at the pack hotel? Did you go to see her?”

I slid helplessly down the wall into the corner.

Fiona had sensed our fated mate’s betrayal long before I had.

She whimpered in anguish, caged inside me.

“Aaron. Who is Juliet?”

Silence. The line went completely quiet.

I clutched my chest and broke down sobbing.

I cried until I couldn’t breathe, until my whole body shook, until I had no tears left.

I felt utterly pathetic.

On the day of our mate ceremony, my fated mate had left me behind to go comfort the woman he could never let go of.

And the worst part?

We had been together for three years.

Every public PackNet account he owned was named Summer.

Even after I got pregnant, when I asked him, “What should we call our pup?”

He hadn’t even needed to think.

“Summer.” It just rolled off his tongue.

I’d wondered before why that season mattered so much to him.

But I believed him. I never pushed for answers.

Now I finally knew.

The woman he truly loved was named Juliet.

He was using our pup to mourn a love he never got over.

My inner wolf couldn’t hold back any longer.

She exploded with a furious roar.

What did we even mean to Aaron?

What did our three years together count for?

Moon Goddess, what did I do to deserve this?

Half an hour later, Aaron rushed back to the pack house, drenched in sweat.

He asked Brianna to leave so we could talk alone.

I lifted my red, swollen eyes and stared at him, hollow.

“Talk about what?”

He crouched in front of me. His voice was eerily calm.

“Juliet was my ex-girlfriend. From before my wolf found you.”

“How long were you together?” I just asked.

“Seven years.”

“How long have you been apart?”

“Four years.”

“Do you still love her?”

Aaron didn’t answer. His silence was answer enough.

I suddenly laughed. The more I laughed, the harder I cried.

“She couldn’t let you go, so she came to ruin our mate ceremony.”

“You couldn’t let her go, so you left me to find her.”

“Aaron, what did I ever do to deserve being treated like this by both of you?”

Sobbing, I ripped off my veil.

“Stop this, okay?” Aaron grabbed my wrist.

“Nothing happened between us. I just went to check on her.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

How could he say that so casually, like it was the most natural thing in the world?

“So every time she cries, you’ll leave me behind and go ‘check on her’?”

I deliberately emphasized the last few words.

Aaron went quiet again. The silence stretched between us.

Then, finally, he spoke, “I’ll complete the mate ceremony with you.”

“You’ll become the Luna of the Stormridge Pack.”

“Just pretend this never happened.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut.

Beneath the unbearable pain, a surge of rage rose up inside me.

He thought the mate ceremony was some kind of favor he was granting me.

As if “Luna of the Stormridge Pack” was the title I’d been dreaming of.

But I didn’t care. I truly didn’t care.

I stumbled backward until my back hit the wall.

Inside me, the pup seemed to sense my pain. It stirred—just a tiny flutter.

The first movement.

The first time I felt my pup stir.

At the exact moment it learned its father didn’t love its mother.