“I know the importance of a Luna,” I grumbled, my mood plummeting further. “I had one.”
The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, and Nazanin’s head whipped towards me so fast I thought she’d kill herself. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes.
“What did you say? I’m sorry, but I’m going to need a little more detail than that.”
Holding her arm gently, I led her away from the pack. Maybe it was because of the bonfire, the couples, and the alcohol that those words had left me so quickly. Only a select few knew I’d once had a Luna, and for a good reason.
My fated mate and I, we weren’t meant to be, which contradicted the whole idea of fated mates.
“I met her years ago,” I whispered when we were far enough away. Nazanin’s brown eyes glowed, but I could see her concern since I’d met my mate and she wasn’t here with us. “It’s not something I want to talk about. Hence no one knows this, but we weren’t meant to be Nazanin. That’s all, and I want you to leave it there. We had to go our separate ways.”
Her shoulders dropped with defeat, and the last of my good mood crumbled away.
“Kaleem,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry.”
Those were the words I didn’t want to hear because she didn’t know the whole story and that I wasn’t the one that deserved sympathy.
“I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about this,” I said while smiling as warmly as I could. “I know I’ll have to find a mate soon and make pups that will carry on my bloodline, but…”
She reached out and held my arm. “No need to explain. A broken bond between fated mates isn’t an easy one to recover from, even after years. Our pack is doing well, and we have a good alpha. We’ll be blessed with a Luna when the time’s right.”
In truth, Nazanin was already like a Luna among the pack. She helped me whenever needed, many members turned to her for guidance and wisdom, and I was eternally thankful for her.
She patted my hand and took the cup from me before turning away. I watched her leave before doing the same, for I’d had enough to drink for the night and enough of revisiting the past because now I couldn’t stop seeing her face.
Diana.
The name echoed in my mind while I walked through the forest to the packhouse. I had no idea where she was or if she was even alive.
With my hands in the pockets of my jacket, I shook my head to try and rid myself of the memories that were flooding back, but it was too late.
The ache in my chest was growing, the burn turning into a steady pulse. Nazanin was right. The loss of a mate was an endless ache, dulled over time but always there.
Interspecies relationships were more common now, and while some packs didn’t approve of it since wolves had fated mates, I allowed my wolves to be with whomever they wished. However, they did so knowing that if they ever met their fated mate, they’d have to deal with the consequences of a rejection.
But I was lucky enough to have met my fated mate and unlucky enough that we were from rival packs. She’d been like no woman I’d ever met, and we didn’t have a future.
When my phone rang, I removed it from my pocket and saw that the number was blocked.
“Hello, this is Alpha Kaleem,” I answered but got no response. “Hello?”
I moved the phone away from my ear and saw that the person was still on the line but not speaking. I stopped dead in my tracks, my heart pounding, while slowly putting the phone back to my ear.
“Diana?”
But the call ended before the word left my lips. I growled while staring down at the phone because there wasn’t a number for me to call back. Was it her?
Could it have been her?
I kept walking after a few minutes, but for the rest of the night, I kept my phone close, just in case the person called back… just in case it was her because above all else, I needed to apologize for what I’d done.