Chapter 135: Chapter 135

I took my bottom lip in between my teeth, gawking at Liam as those words washed over me. Aiden's mother wanted to see me? What could she possibly have to say now? A weird feeling sunk in my stomach. The grip on my phone tightened, my back cracking as I suddenly sat up and rushed out of the room.

"Now?!"

"Yeah." The beta let out a tired sigh, his voice coming out as a whisper. "I tried to appease her, but she won't move. The guards want to see Aiden about it."

"Oh no."

"Exactly!" Liam groaned. "He will not react very well to the news. What do you suggest I do now, Rose?"

A sense of something akin to pride surged in my chest, knowing he asked me as the Luna of the pack. I should be able to give the decision I deemed fit for the situation.

On instinct, my eyes flickered towards Aiden's sleeping form, a deep sigh escaping me. If I were to tell him, there was no way he would allow me to meet his mother. My mate had his reasons, but I had mine. The Luna saved my life, and she would not harm me in any way.

Clenching my eyes shut, I made a soft sound in the back of my throat, my grip tightening around the phone. "O-Okay, I will go meet her."

"Really? Thank you. Do you want me to open the council room for you?"

I hesitated. Letting her in would cause chaos in the pack and worry Aiden more. Shaking my head, I let out a shaky exhale, rushing to slip on the coat.

"No, it's alright. I will meet her by the bridge in the woods. Don't worry about it."

"Good. Keep me updated. I am in the training ground."

"Okay."

Turning around, I gave one last look at the Alphas sleeping form, closing the door behind him with a quiet thud. I tightened the sash of my coat around my waist before tiptoeing out of the cabin.

***

I headed straight to the border, head held sigh, keeping a neutral face as I passed several wolves on patrol duty. They bowed to me in respect, their bushy tails stilling in place. Walking past the main patrol, I tilted my head to the side to look at the Luna and glanced her body up and down confusingly. Uncertainly was written all over her paled face, hands gripping the fence with all the might.

"Let her in." I motioned to the guard nearby, my voice coming out wobbly.

"Miss Rose, she is the Luna of our rivals."

"Don't you think I know that?" I crossed my arms, trying not to let the fear creep over me. They would smell it easily.

The guard had the audacity to look embarrassed, staring at the floor in response and grumbled. "I am sorry, Miss Rose, but our Alpha asked to not let anyone in without his permission."

"I am your Alphas mate." I dropped my voice, taking a step forward, mouth set in a firm line. "Your future, Luna. Are you sure you want to disrespect me in this manner? If I were, I would think twice."

His head snapped towards me, colour draining his face, and he shook his head. The guard clasped his hands together and bowed several times. "N-No, I am sorry, Miss Rose."

"Let her in," I said without flinching, my stomach swooping as I could feel several eyes my way. Did I overreact? At this time, I could not think of anything else but talk with Aiden's mother.

The gates were opened, and I saw her rush in, a breath whooshing out of me. I did not think it would work; I should have done it sooner.

"Rose." The Luna breathed. Her hair that used to be long and straight, was now a messy mop on top of her head. It stuck out in weird angles and held many large tangles that I could see from where she stood a few feet away. Her freckled face was covered in smeared mud, and her black clothing was torn in too many clothes to count. What was going on?

"I need to talk with you..." She wheezed, sounding out of breath, hands falling to her sides. "It's urgent."

I roamed my eyes around, noticing a few curious gazes pinned on us as if ready to

eavesdrop. Straightening my back, I put on a blank face, motioning her towards the passage way.

"Let's talk in there. We will have some privacy."

She nodded and quietly followed behind, our feet crushing the dried leaves underneath being the only sound echoing. Once we were out of earshot, Aiden's mother matched my strides, her side almost brushing against mine.

"That was very cool...what you did back then!"

My face turned red, knowing that she used to be the Luna of this pack before. I shyly nodded, my knees still feeling shaky from all those stares on me.

"Oh, it's nothing."

Rounding a corner, the loosened-up road gave way, consumed by crushed rocks and pebbles. I stumbled at the change, my arms flailing and the other coming to wrap immediately around my stomach.

The Luna immediately wrapped her hand around my elbow and secured the grip, pulling me flush to her side. I exhaled, my heart thudding loudly in my chest, and I slowly gained my footing.

Letting out a burst of nervous laughter, I slowly turned to face Luna. "Thank you..."

"You are pregnant?!" Her squeaky voice cut me off, my entire body freezing in the middle.

I opened and closed my mouth, spluttering at the question, gaping at her. How did she know? My scent definitely could not give away.

"W-What are you talking about?" I decided to play dumb, innocently blinking at her.

"When you were about to fall, you covered your belly. Your hand is still resting on it, and Rose, your reaction to the question pretty much gave it away."

At that, my hand immediately dropped from the belly, teeth digging into my bottom lip. It wasn't a secret anymore with Beth, and now my mates mother knew all about it.

"Oh," I breathed. "Right."

"How far are you?" There was a twinkle in her eyes, a genuine smile tugging on the corners of her lips. "Oh, Moons! I am going to be a grandmother. Wow."

"Did you visit the clinic?"

At my silence, she continued, oblivious to my crushed look, "I remember when I was pregnant with Aiden. He was so active and impatient, always kicking in my belly. I was almost scared that he would pop out before my term ends." A burst of giggle slipped out of her lips, eyes fond as she immersed in the memories.

"Luna..."

"You can call me Ann."

I twisted my lips, "Ann, can you please get to the point?"

Her face fell at the cold reaction, eyes dimming as she nodded her head. "Sorry. Right, I don't know why...It won't happen again."

"No. I am sorry, but there are some issues with my pregnancy, so I don't want to get into that. Hope you can understand, Ann."

Ann looked torn by the news and wanted to add something but rather nodded her head. "Alright. I won't bring that up." We started walking and came to a stop by the bridge overlooking the river; our backs turned to the flow of water.

"I don't want to fight your Pack anymore."

Relief sank in my bones as those words washed over me, face morphing into a grin. I blinked twice to make sure that I heard her right. Ann was going to stop fighting us, which meant we didn't have to worry about the war anymore.

"O-Oh, Moons! Wow...That's amazing. Aiden will have nothing to worry about then. Thanks, Ann."

At her barely responsive hum, I raised my brow. "What changed your mind?"

"A lot of things. I think it's time you know about why I left Aiden."

Inhaling sharply, I gaped at the grave expression settling on her face. Never did I think that she would confess about her past to me. The last time we talked, things did not work out well. Thanks to my Neanderthal Alpha.

"Really? You want to tell me?"

She hummed.

"My bond with Aiden's father was an arranged one. His father died in a war, and he had no choice but to take an omega to claim the chair." With that, Ann leaned against the nearby tree, her hands folded behind. "I had no objections because he was a powerful Alpha and very attractive. Besides as omegas are taught to settle down if we don't find mates in time. Our bond was weak, to begin with, as my Alpha did not accept me."

My chest tightened painfully, suddenly reminded of my initial days in the pack—especially Aiden's cold behaviour.

"Not that he was cold or anything. He just did not care, you know. I got tired of waiting around when we had Aiden, and I devoted all of my time into raising him." A fond smile replaced her face as soon as she started talking about Aiden. That was the face of the mother who missed her pup.

"We drifted further apart because no one was willing to try anymore. Around the time Aiden turned five years, we had an incident in the pack. Someone from our pack tried to force himself on the male omega outside the border. To defend himself, that omega killed that guard. We took pity on him and allowed him to be part of our Pack."

"That's when the troubles started." Ann let out a deep sigh, massaging her temples. "Ronald developed feelings for the Pack Alpha, my husband. I think it was mutual. As the Luna of the pack, I let it slide for the sake of my pup, but Ronald did not stop. He wanted to take my position and started plotting against me. One day I overheard him threatening one of the guards to do the same thing he did with the other guard. I was furious at those words and decided to confront Ronald, but he denied all my accusations and called me delusional."

"He was a crazy guy. I tried to inform my husband about it, but he thought I was making up stories to drive Ronald out of the pack. Ronald decided to take revenge for trying to expose me, and he destroyed my life." Tears burned in her eyes, fingers curled into fists by her side. "The omega would make up things about me, turn the staff of our pack-house against me. He would purposely keep Aiden away from me and try to scare him at night. It got to the point that Alexander could no longer trust me to be around Aiden. By the Council vote, I was forced out of the pack."

I covered my mouth, her words sinking in. Ronald sounded like a hurricane. Why would Alexander let someone like that manipulate him? But where was that guy? There was no mention of him at all.

"I was angry at my husband for so long. I thought that he must be still housing that crazy guy with Aiden. After I left, someone tried to kill me, and if it weren't for the rogues that rescued me, I would have been dead. I am sure Ronald was behind that."

She swiped her tongue over her bottom lip, "The force of the attack was so strong that my wolf erased all the memories."

"Oh, Ann!" My heart constricted painfully at those words, almost wanting to reach out and wrap my arms around her. "I am

so sorry that you had to go through that. You should tell Aiden all about it! He will understand you."

"It wasn't a year ago when I regained my memories. For twenty years, my wolf shielded me from those bitter memories while I trained with the rogues to become a Pack Luna. As soon as I realised it, I came with my pack to throw Ronald off and expose him in front of everyone, make sure he pays for his sins. It took me a while to realise that he's not here."

"No." I croaked, shaking my head at her. "Ann, I never heard anyone from the pack mention his name. Not even Aiden. Where do you think he is now?"

"He is..." Before Luna could complete her sentence, the sound of an arrow slicing through the air echoed in my ears.

***