His words were drenched in provocation, and I could feel the eyes of the room bearing down on me, waiting for my reaction. It was a trap—one I’d walked into too many times before. Before I could respond, Leila spoke up, her voice dripping with feigned sincerity.
“I’m sorry, Luna. I was just so sad back then, and Alpha Haynes only wanted to cheer me up.” She turned to him with a look of false remorse. “Alpha Haynes, you should apologize to Luna Aeliana.”
Haynes frowned, his confusion palpable. “I just set up a banquet. Why should I apologize?”
His words froze the room, the tension hanging heavy in the air. Leila smiled subtly from where she sat, a victorious glint in her eyes. It was a silent declaration—a reminder of who held his heart now. It was laughable, really.
The person who had wronged me was so blissfully unaware of his doings. Just like before, he couldn’t see beyond his own pride.
He always thought he could just appease me with a few kind words and move on as if I were a child to be pacified. But I wasn’t that same girl who once believed in his every word. I met his gaze, my smile holding a trace of mockery. “Yes, you’re right, Alpha. The grand banquet was quite a spectacle. Keep it up next time.”
I turned and left without another word, my heels clicking against the polished floor, echoing in the silence that followed. As the door closed behind me, I heard Leila’s voice, sweet and coaxing. “Alpha Haynes, go apologize quickly. Luna Aeliana is obviously angry.”
“Don’t mind her,” Haynes replied, his voice dismissive. “She’ll be fine in a few days.”
His words stabbed at me like a knife. What had I done to make him so confident that I’d always come back, that I’d always forgive? Was it love? Or was it the weakness of a bond that was never as strong as it should have been?
I stepped out into the night, the cool autumn breeze washing over me, a contrast to the suffocating atmosphere I’d just escaped. The streets of the Shadowveil Pack’s territory were alive with the hum of conversation, the laughter of pack members, and the rustling of leaves underfoot. Yet all I felt was a growing emptiness.