With a sigh, I closed my eyes tightly, fighting the urge to dwell on the endless cycle of disappointment. I needed to focus on something more important, like rediscovering my path, even if it meant becoming a stranger to myself. Could I do that, now that I had abandoned my wolf?
The night stretched on, and I lingered in the inn, lost in a whirlpool of regrets and what-ifs. The thought of returning to the pack house was unbearable. Yet, when I finally returned, my mate was already gone. I took a shower, hoping to wash away the day's burdens, and crawled into bed, seeking the solace of sleep.
Just as I began to drift off, the tranquility was shattered by Roan’s urgent mind link.
"Lori," he sounded as if he was in pain, "my… my stomach hurts."
I mumbled a response, but exhaustion pulled me back into the depths of sleep. In a dream, I vaguely heard my mate calling my name, but the sound felt distant and unimportant.
Sometime later, I was jolted awake by the sound of the door opening. Roan stood by the bed, his face etched with pain.
"Lori, why don’t you care anymore? You used to worry when I was sick!"
His words stirred memories I had tried to bury. Once, when Roan had a stomachache, I rushed to his office with medicine, despite the pouring rain. I arrived soaked and disheveled, a sight that drew laughter from his wolf subordinates. Roan had done nothing to stop them from mocking me—the Luna! Instead, he told me not to come to his office again because, in his words, I was an embarrassment.
If it hadn’t been for Beta Gavin and his thoughtful gesture of warming me up with my favorite chocolate tea, I might have shivered all the way back to the pack house. Gavin had always been my quiet savior. Every time Roan disrespected me or treated me like a mere servant, Gavin was there, finding ways to support me.
I realized now that Gavin had transferred to the Golden Moon Pack around the same time I did. We had known each other since childhood, growing up in the same town. We spent countless hours playing together, running through the woods like normal children. We even attended the exclusive school for wolves together. That was where I first saw Alpha Roan, and foolishly, I had fallen for him long before discovering he was my mate.
Lost in these memories, I was abruptly pulled back to the present as Roan appeared before me.