Francis’ POV
It was not surprising that Angel asked me to take it. She was still mad at me, and I better answer the question.
“Well, it’s a … long story. She didn’t know that we were mates, but she had a feeling for me. And it just happened. We become lovers. Actually, my pack rule forbids her to know my true identity and my gift before the ceremony, but we love each other and it’s difficult to keep a secret from each other. We had many misunderstandings, but nothing beats love,” I said and looked at Angel, but she averted her gaze and didn’t want to face me.
Clearly, she didn’t trust me at all. After all the lies, she didn’t know if she could trust me at all. It made her confused.
I felt pity for us both. We were supposed to love each other.
“Wait a second, what ceremony?” Erika asked. Now I had a bad feeling.
“Well, she will become the Luna, you know…” Francis explained.
“The Luna ceremony? When?”
“Ater a dozen days,” I answered nervously. I couldn’t keep it from them. After all, I would invite them over on that day.
“What? Angel told me that you didn’t push her and that you would wait for her for three months to make a decision.” Erika said with a frown.
My first impression was that she must be joking. Three months? How was that possible? My pack couldn’t wait that long.
While I was laughing, Angel squeezed my hands and said softly, “Yes, he did say that, but I didn’t want to wait that long,”
“Wow, congratulations. Angel, you’re going to be a Luna!” Erika said.
But Angel didn’t seem quite happy with that, instead, she seemed quite upset although she tried hard to force a smile.
Silence fell.
It was getting awkward. I squeezed Angel’s hands and signaled her to say something.
She recovered from it and finally said, “Thank you.”
She sounded cold.
She didn’t want to be the Luna at all.
“So Angel, are you mad at him when you discovered that Francis was the alpha?” Erika kept asking. It seemed that she had noticed that something was wrong.
“Well, yes. I’m still mad at him. You know, it has been a long time since the first time we met in that car, but I didn’t know his identity. It feels bad…”
Derek’s face changed.
I blinked my eyes at him. Please don’t tell the truth.
But Erika also noticed that Derek seemed very weird.
“Anything wrong?” she asked Derek.
Derek shrugged and shook his head, but Erika didn’t let him go so easily. She held the knife in her hand and looked at Derek threateningly.
“Fine,” Derek said, “Actually, he met you earlier than you knew.”
Angel suddenly looked up at us.
“What?” she asked.
“He didn’t tell you?” Erika asked.
Angel shook her head in confusion. It suddenly occurred to me that I always left her in confusion. I was really a bad mate.
“Angel. I’m not sure about it, but you may need a talk with him…” Erika said with a serious tone. She didn’t even look at me. I knew she must be angry at me.
Erika and Derek left the dining room. Now we faced each other, alone.
I lowered my head.
“When?” she finally asked.
“On the day of your challenge.”
She frowned at my answer and was lost in thought.
“Yes, the first time you challenged a man, also the first time a woman in the Blood Moon Pack challenged a man. When I heard the news, I thought that I must go over and see the challenge. I must see you. I didn’t know where the thought came from, maybe the Moon Goddess led me to see you, but I must see you. And I loved you. My heart broke when I saw you seriously injured. I was surprised when you fought with your left hand. And I was very proud when you won the challenge although you didn’t even know me. Angel, I relived it over and over again. I remembered every detail of that fight. I already fell deep in love with you before you ever met me. Don’t you think that’s beautiful?” I didn’t dare to look at her eyes. I held my breath in expectation, waiting for her answer nervously.
After I didn’t know how long had passed, I heard her say coldly, “No,”
All my hopes were dashed!
I closed my eyes, which couldn’t stop tears from coming out.
“Francis, I can’t accept lies. It’s OK if you lied once or twice, but I feel that this relationship is made up of nothing but lies. I can’t accept it, truly. Sorry, please cancel the ceremony.”
I couldn’t believe what I heard.
Cancel the ceremony! I thought that was the bottom line. She might be mad at me. She might hate me, but she would become my Luna.
But now, it turned out that it was just my wishful thinking.
I hoped to soften her by some means, like kissing or marking her. But when I saw her determined eyes, I knew that nothing could change her.
“I’m leaving tomorrow morning. Say goodbye to Erika for me, please.” She stood up and left the dining room.
My world was collapsing around me!
The next day.
I stood at the gate.
I walked out without any hesitation. As soon as I walked among the crowds, no one would know that I was the alpha of the Westford Pack. After all, no one had ever seen my real look.
I had left Elsa a letter. She could be the alpha or wait for me, but I was not sure if I would come back.
Angel was my mate and I couldn’t take the pain of her leaving me. I would come for her. Everything would be real. No more lies.