Chapter 3
When I returned to the courtyard, clutching my aching stomach, I immediately noticed the still-warm herbal tonic and a bowl of soup on the table. My eyes blurred with unshed tears, and as I wiped them away, I caught sight of a figure leaning against the tree in the shadows.
Perhaps it was the pain in my heart, or perhaps it was the comfort of these small gestures, but I found myself softening toward him, no longer as distant as before.
With tears still glistening in my eyes, I asked, “What’s your name? Why are you so kind to me?”
His voice was low, rough with emotion. “My name is Oakley Freeman. As for why I’m good to you…” He stepped out of the shadows, his gaze meeting mine, and smiled. “Because I like you.”
For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. The only sounds were the rustle of the wind through my hair and the pounding of my heart in my chest. Before I could respond, a commotion outside the courtyard pulled me back to reality. When I turned to look, Oakley was gone.
I opened the door to find a group of pack members hanging bright red decorations. Confused, I asked, “What’s going on?”
The lead worker gave me a disdainful look before answering. “Luna, surely you’ve heard? Alpha Mason is taking Emelia Rodriguez as his chosen mate this Thursday. It’s already the first of the month, and we’re behind schedule. Please step aside and don’t get in our way.”
I stood there, stunned, unable to process what I’d just heard. Mason was going to take Emelia as his mate? But he’d promised me—sworn to me—that I would be his only mate. How absurd that I was the only one who took that vow seriously.
When I returned to the courtyard, I found several pack members uprooting the oak trees I loved so much. I rushed forward to stop them, but the lead worker merely glanced at me and shoved me aside.
“Luna, we’re just following orders. Alpha Mason said Emelia doesn’t like oak trees, so he wants them all removed. Don’t make this harder for us.”
I fell to the ground, my eyes wide, my lips trembling. I loved oak trees, especially when they stood tall and strong. These trees had been planted by Mason himself, a gift to me. It was under these very trees that he’d made his promise to me—a promise of forever, of loyalty, of love. But now, it seemed he’d forgotten not only his vow but the trees themselves.
The man who’d once been my mate was now a stranger, and the world I’d known was crumbling around me.
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