Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Lilac looked so beautiful this morning, as she stood next to Luna Jasmine and Alpha James at the entrance gates of the Golden Claw pack.

Behind them, there were a lot of people, waiting for their own family members, who had joined the war against the lycans, to return.

“I can see them.” Luna Jasmine gasped as she held Lilac’s hand so tightly. Her eyes were filled with tears of happiness, so were Lilac’s. Her face was a mixture of nerves and anticipation.

She couldn’t wait to see her mate.

That was right. She was Aidan’s destined mate. The main character of today’s event and the next in line for the Alpha of this pack.

“Yes, I can see them too, mother, Lilac replied, she squeezed Luna Jasmine’s hand tightly. They held onto each other for support, as the relief and happiness flooded their beings.

Lilac was an orphan, thus when Luna Jasmine told her to call her mother, that was the best moment in her life. It came just second to the moment she met Aidan for the first time and both of them realized they were each other’s mates.

“There! It’s Aidan!” Lilac pointed her finger at the crowd that moved closer to them steadily. The bright sunlight behind them acted as their background, creating long shadows in front of them. Aidan was leading around a thousand warriors behind him.

If Lilac could, she would have rushed toward Aiden and hugged him tightly. Being apart for a year was a -long time for newly found mates, because Aiden went to the battlefield just two weeks after they met with each other.

After that, only by letters were they able to continue their communication. It was hard, but they made it in the end, or so Lilac thought.

However, she couldn’t do something out of impulse, since there were so many people around and she was the future luna of the pack, so she needed to watch her behavior carefully.

When the long entourage came closer and Aiden dismounted his horse, he went straight to his father to report that he had completed his duty.

“I am so proud of you.” Alpha James said, as he hugged his son and the crowd cheered for them loudly, not long after which they welcomed their family members.

“Mother,” Aiden called for his mother and Luna Jasmine went to hug her son tightly. She teared up and kept saying how much she missed him and how glad she was to see him again.

Meanwhile, Lilac was very nervous to wait for her turn, she felt so overwhelmed with the realization that she didn’t need to wait for him anymore, or his letters, because now, he was already here. Her mate.

They would spend the rest of their lives together, or so she thought.

And when it was Lilac’s turn, she went to him with open arms, ready to hug her mate, but Aiden took a step back to avoid her and averted his gaze.

Lilac froze in her place to see his reaction, her arms dropped to the sides of her b*dy and it took

Chapter

everything in her not to cry when Aiden only nodded at her casually, as if he was trying to not acknowledge her existence, which made Lilac’s heart sink.

Why was he so cold and distant now that they finally met again?

“I- I am so happy to see you, Lilac said in a small voice, she felt embarrassed, as she took a step back to stand beside Luna Jasmine again, because she didn’t want them to see how upset she was and think she was trying to get attention when she did not receive the same much deserving passionate hug from her own

mate.

“I am happy to be back.” Aiden said in a terse tone, but his eyes dimmed slightly when he looked at Lilac for a brief second. There was pain and discomfort in the way he looked at her, before he turned around and took a woman’s hand, who apparently had been standing behind him, not too far from them

The woman had long red hair that cascaded down her back and blue eyes, she looked so beautiful and

attractive.

this Lilac didn’t notice her until now, because her focus was on Aiden alone. And when he actually brought beautiful woman to their attention, her gut finally realized something was wrong with this whole situation.

Her heart sk i p p e d a beat when she watched how Aiden tightened his grip on that woman, as they intertwined their fingers together.

“Father, mother, this is the woman I mentioned in the letter,” Aiden said. He still refused to look in Lilac’s direction. He tried to pretend his mate was invisible, but it was quite clear to see how uncomfortable he was with Lilac’s presence there.

Woman?

Lilac tried to remember where had Aiden ever mentioned this woman in their letters, but she couldn’t recall anything as such.

“Who is she?” The question sl*pped Lilac’s l*ps even before she could process it and Luna Jasmine immediately grabbed her hand and smiled sadly at her.

“Let’s go back to the pack house first and talk about this later, okay? Aiden must be very tired,” Luna Jasmine said softly to her in her motherly tone, which rendered Lilac unable to have any other choice, but

to agree.

Before they left, Lilac glanced over her shoulder and saw Aiden lowering his head in shame under his father’s hard gaze. Alpha James looked so angry, his proud expression had long vanished.

“What is going on?” Lilac asked Luna Jasmine. They seemed to be hiding something from her and she couldn’t understand why Aiden was holding another woman’s hand while refusing to recognize herself.

“Mother, who is that woman?”

Luna Jasmine shook her head, as she took Lilac back to the pack house, where they intended to throw a welcome party for all the warriors who managed to return safely after a long war and tomorrow, they would have a funeral to bury the dead.

“We will talk about this later.” Luna Jasmine kept repeating the same thing