The smile slid off my face. My heart dropped, replaced instantly with a sharp sting of "What in the actual fuck is going on?". From what I was seeing.
The man I waited four years for, mainly because he told me to. And now he brings another woman with him.
All those fairytales I'd been reading in my room ended with the same type of line, "He kissed me, and I knew we'd be all right."
But standing there, watching Hunta smile at someone else, I realized love stories don't always end that way. Some don't end at all, they just stop, right where your heart breaks.
He helped her out gently, his touch was very careful and it looked protective. She stepped out of the vehicle and close to him, their bodies brushing.
The world tilted. Mine to be specific.
I stood there, silent, my heart cracking in slow motion. I couldn't move, couldn't speak. Everyone around me was talking and greeting and they were all laughing, but I didn't hear any of it. All I could see was him. Him and her.
Four years of waiting. Four years of imagining this moment, picturing how it would feel when our eyes met again. Four years of convincing myself he'd remember the kiss we had before he left, the promise in it.
And now here he was, home again.
But not mine.
My chest tightened painfully, and I forced a smile for whoever was looking. My hands trembled at my sides, but I hid them in my pockets, pretending I didn't care. Pretending I hadn't just watched the story I'd been living in my head fall apart in front of me.
… What brought us all to this very moment you may ask.
My name's Anaa Bandi. Nineteen. Indian by blood, werewolf by birth, and part of the Black Moon Pack. My parents, Sid and Tesa, are the kind of couple people envy, they have been happily mated for almost three decades. My brother Sai found his mate too, Zara, who's basically my best friend and sister all in one. Together, we've built a home full of laughter, warmth, and love. It's safe.
I'm training to become the pack doctor, which is my dream. I want to heal, to help, to do something that matters. People used to tease me for it, saying things like, "Of course you'd be a doctor, you're Indian," they'd joke, but I didn't care anymore. Healing is what feels right. It's what gives me purpose.
That's everything anyone would need to know about me.
When I wasn't daydreaming, I was talking to Sophie Buller, my childhood best friend. She met her mate at the Lycan Ball four years ago, the same one I missed because I had the flu. That one night had changed her life. She became a Lycan and part of the royal circle, always busy helping her mate Luke, who's head of the warriors. I missed her, but I was proud of her. She still called me, even if our worlds had drifted apart.
The Ball was coming up again, and this time, I couldn't escape it. Our pack was chosen to attend. Sophie had tried to sound excited for me on the phone, but I wasn't. I wasn't thinking about gowns or the palace or royal dances. All I could think about was that Hunta and Cain were coming home today.
Zara helped me pack that night. She teased me, of course. "Why, impatient much?" she asked, smirking. I denied it, rolling my eyes, but she knew the truth. She always did. She was the only one who knew Hunta had kissed me. The only one who knew how deep my feelings ran.
I was folding the last of my clothes when my werewolf hearing caught the sound of engines approaching the packhouse. My heart skipped. I froze. The sound grew louder and louder, two cars. Zara looked up at me with a knowing smile.
"They're here," she said softly.
I nodded, my throat dry. My heart started pounding like it was trying to escape my chest. Every step toward the door felt heavier than the last. Zara grabbed my hand, and together we walked downstairs. My parents were already outside, along with Sai and the rest of the pack, waiting.
The first car stopped, and when the door opened, Cain Ward stepped out. He looked taller, stronger, more confident, but still unmistakably Cain. His blond hair fell into his eyes, and his grin widened when he spotted me.
Before I could react, he ran forward, scooped me up, and spun me in the air. Everyone laughed.
"Anaa! I've missed you so much! Puberty finally caught up, huh?" he teased.
I laughed, my nerves loosening just a little. "You haven't changed at all. Still as full of yourself as ever."
He grinned and hugged me tighter. "Still my Smiley."
I smiled at the nickname. But then, the sound of another car door opening cut through the laughter, and my breath hitched.
Dearest gentle reader. The smile slid off my face. My heart dropped, replaced instantly with a sharp sting of "What in the actual fuck is going on?". From what I was seeing.
Cain held my hand, maybe he saw my reaction, and in that moment I understood why he had chosen to stay beside me. He knew about the kiss Hunta and I had before Hunta left. He knew about my crush, and he knew exactly how shattered I would feel seeing Hunta again.
My eyes never left Hunta's back as he helped a breathtakingly beautiful girl step out of the car. The way they looked together made it obvious, Noone needed to tell anyone that they were mates. My heart tore into a thousand pieces. My wolf wasn't pacing because Hunta was mine… but because he already belonged to someone else. That difference cut even deeper into me.
Tears burned at the back of my eyes, but never!!! I refused to let them fall, God forbid a drop left my eyes. Hunta couldn't see how much this hurt me, I had to be strong. When I turned back to Cain, guilt was written all over his face, but it wasn't his fault, at all. I gave him a sad smile and shook my head. None of this was his fault. It wasn't even Hunta's to be honest. You don't get to choose your mate. Still, if there was ever a time I wished you could, it was now.
Watching the boy I had secretly loved for years smiling as he introduced his mate to everyone felt like a dagger stabbed straight into my chest. Four years of waiting, of hoping… wasted. I felt like a fool. Like, I am a fool.
Hunta's smile lit up his face as he walked down the line with his mate, and that smile was another stab to my heart. I wanted so badly for him to look at me that way, but that smile was hers, not mine. Who knows, I might need blood transfusion after all the stabbing to my heart and blood loss.
Letting go of Cain's hand, I wiped my sweaty palms against my jeans. Hunta was already introducing his mate to Sai and Zara, which meant I was next. I swallowed hard. I couldn't let him see me break. No, I would smile, act happy for him, and pretend this didn't hurt. That was the only thing i could do, would you do otherwise dearest reader? Was there something more I could do? Something I could say to make it all hurt less?
As Hunta stepped closer, memories of four years ago came rushing back. His charming grin, the kiss we had, the promises he made, they all crashed int-, "OHH SHUT UP Anaa" I yelled inwardly at myself. I quickly closed my eyes to push the thoughts away, forcing myself out of the daydream.
When I opened them, Hunta was standing in front of me. His smile wasn't the warm, loving one I remembered, but just a polite one the same smile he had given everyone else.
"Anaa," he said, gesturing to the girl beside him, "this is my mate, Lana Reed."