Chapter 11
The tensity of the ride lightened when the car entered a familiar place.
Their glowing trunks in the night seemed as if they came down from the moon, and they grew up into this breathtaking sight to give light to whoever visited it.
The Moonstone Grove.
After about half an hour, Alpha Lucien turned onto a narrow, almost hidden path, leading us up a mountain to the less visited part of The Grove. This spot was renowned for its mystical ancient trees, glowing with the presence of the moon in the night.
The moonlight was different here, something more sacred. More beckoning.
We got out of the car and I watched Lucien keep up with my slow steps, breathing in the scent of the place and feeling the cool breeze whipping my hair.
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I can’t remember the last time I visited here, probably it was when I was still with my parents. Oh, it was the time I was praying hard that I‘ ll be accepted in the pack‘ s prestigious college!
And I was accepted. Now I just hoped I didn’t get accepted because that was also where I met the male now walking beside
- me.
As we walked deeper in the innermost part of the sacred trees, the ambience began to shift. Stronger, fiercer. Pulling us into its
heart.
Finally, we reached a massive tree that seemed to be the beating heart of the Moonstone Grove. It‘ s taller and bigger than any of the trees, its bark is pure white and glowing. Its lavender leaves bristling with the wind, the sound like a wind chime made from pure silver.
“This place is magical-
And then I saw the pond. Not just any
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pond.
The pond beneath the tree mirrored its shimmering image.
I squealed in delight, unable to hide my
awe.
“You like it?” he asked, his voice rasped and hesitant. Worry leeched the beauty of his face under the blissful light of the
sacred tree. He seemed not himself.
My eyes darted back to the pond.
A pond of moonlight. Like liquid moonlight, its iridescent colors were striking and ethereal. Glowing fireflies start to come out and spread on the trees like little stars flying all around.
mel
“Why, Lucien? Why bring me here?” I started the conversation ‘cause I knew he
wouldn’t dare.
“I want to say I’m sorry. And-” he sighed as he looked at the pool, “I was hoping for our bond–that perhaps I still
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have a second chance.”
The pond glowed brighter, the trees too.
“You mean a third chance…” I breathed.
He took one step behind me. “I know this…my apology is perhaps not enough.” True, it felt hollow. Lacking. It was too late. “I want us to have a late anniversary date because I missed the last time we
should’ve had ours.”
I remained silent, letting the place gobble up any shadows looming between us. We walked the Moonstone Grove for half an hour, marveling at each sight: at the pond, at the fireflies, at the trees and the moon.
There was a little temple not so far from the heart of The Grove. Lucien and I found ourselves sitting in one of its marble stairs.
I turned to him, his hair falling on his forehead. “I think…you can apologize all you want, Alpha. But our bond is like a glass. Once shattered, no matter how you try to patch it up again with the remaining
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shards, it’s already been broken. And it’s not a sight to behold.”
Both of us fell into the quietude, like a lingering monster devouring our words with each heartbeat passing.
I drew in a shaking breath, feeling the weight of my next words bursting out of my heart. “Did you ever truly love me?”
He blinked, his only sign of reaction to my
raw question.
“Even for once, did you ever truly consider me as someone you love? Someone your equal?”
He didn’t answer a few seconds after,
then after a minute. His reaction, his answer, was like a gun to my already bleeding heart. He was just silent, eyes distant. The unspoken emotions of his face became the truth to his sweet lies.
He has no intention in answering my question.
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I was right. I was the only one who’s been in love. I was just a trophy for him, an accessory to parade so he can mask his feelings towards Charm as nothing but friendly love because he already has me, his girlfriend.
When in reality, Thomas confirmed it
himself. Charmaine and Lucien…both of
them have secret feelings for each other.
It s not a love triangle after all since I‘ m included. It’s a love square.
“Let’s not force ourselves, Alpha.” I bowed slightly to him. Even the most silent and sacred place in all the Brightheart Pack wasn‘ t enough to close the gap between us. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
I was about to stand when he grabbed my hand. “I told you, Charmaine is just like a sister. I don’t care if they say that–that she has feelings for me. I only saw her as a friend.”
So he knew that Charm was interested in
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him.
“Is that so?” The words were bright with sadness, not anger. “She‘ s always your top priority, Lu. Whenever Charm has a problem, you rush to her side without a word. When I ask you to be with me, you always check your schedule first rather than making me a part of your schedule.” I might have sobbed now but I didn‘ t care. “I was hurt when you forgot our anniversary date. But that’s not what disappointed me…” I shook my head in a hopeless and helpless manner. “You keep choosing her over and over again–I‘ m not even a choice to you! What’s the point. of us living together in your penthouse
when your heart and mind are not there with me? We see each other every day but it feels like a complete joke.
I paused as I stepped down the stairs once and stared at him. “I am a complete
joke.”
He tore his eyes from the ground and
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him.
“Is that so?” The words were bright with sadness, not anger. “She s always your top priority, Lu. Whenever Charm has a problem, you rush to her side without a word. When I ask you to be with me, you always check your schedule first rather than making me a part of your schedule.” I might have sobbed now but I didn‘ t care. “I was hurt when you forgot our anniversary date. But that’s not what disappointed me…” I shook my head in a hopeless and helpless manner. “You keep choosing her over and over again–I m not even a choice to you! What’s the point of us living together in your penthouse when your heart and mind are not there with me? We see each other every day but it feels like a complete joke.”
I paused as I stepped down the stairs once and stared at him. “I am a complete
joke.‘
He tore his eyes from the ground and
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Chapter 11
looked up to me. I held his gaze, letting my unfeigned anger claw beyond his eyes.
The mesmerizing scenery around us was not the perfect place for apologies and saying goodbyes. The beauty of this place is a stark contrast to the storm of sorrows
swirling within me.
I scoffed, “We both knew what’s our truth, Lucien. So let’s keep it at that.” I didn’t face him when I said, “Goodbye.”
As I walked away, the picturesque place behind me watched my every step as if the trees mourned the love I lost too. My tears cascaded from my hold and I let them.
Alpha Lucien didn’t run after me. He didn’t insist. He didn’t even answer my question!
There was no chance or hope of us being together again no matter how many apologies or visiting a sacred grove we made.
A heart can only be broken once. I hope
