Chapter 45
Chapter 45
C
~APOLLO
I find myself seated by the tranquil lake, its crystal–clear waters sparkling under the fading daylight. The gentle rustle of leaves above me, as the wind plays with the branches, provides a soothing sound amid the chaos of the agony playing in my mind. I close my eyes, hoping the song of the wind blowing the tall trees provides me with serenity.
The day has slipped away, and now the moon hangs low in the sky, its silvery light casting a luminous path upon the water’s surface.
I groan.
Despite the calm surroundings, my mind was still stuck on one particular person.
“Fuck.” I growt.
I was trying my best to push thoughts of my mate from my mind but nothing was working.
Spending the night with her in my car while she slept on top of me has definitely messed with my peace.
What peace? Ever since I found out she was my mate, I haven’t known what the word peace means.
My nostrils flare when the wind blows and I get a whiff of her scent.
I’m hesitant to shower, fearful of losing this. It’s bothersome how much having a mate can shift your perspective and stir feelings you struggle to control.
Since I couldn’t confide in anyone about this, it made everything more challenging. I had to bottle up my thoughts and feelings while still focusing on protecting my pack. This was eating away at me to the point where, if an attack happened, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to react quickly enough.
I feel my phone vibrating and instantly groan. My mother has not stopped her constant calls. Maybe it was time to answer her before she did another surprise visit.
I pull the phone out of my pocket but stare at it in surprise.
I expected a call from my mother, so I’m taken aback when Isabella’s name pops up on my screen. That’s odd; she rarely calls me for any reason.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Hey there, step–bro,” she replies, and I note a strange tone in her voice, though I brush it off.
“Is everything alright?” I ask, genuinely curious.
“Well, Lana just stepped out, and I don’t have anyone to give me a ride to the movies,” she says.
What?
All I heard was that Lana had gone out, and the rest of her words registered as background noise.
She continues to talk but I cut her off immediately.
“Wait, Lana went out?” I question, not caring if it sounds odd to Isabella that I’m asking about her sister.
There’s a pause before she continues, “Yeah, she met some guy today who asked her out on a date. They’re out having dinner now.”
My vision blurs at her words. I’m not okay with the idea of my mate being out with another man. I know I don’t own her, but just the thought of another guy looking at her makes my blood boil.
“Where did they go for dinner?” I demand, urgency creeping into my tone.
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20:24 Tue, 15 Jul
Chapter 45
Isabella sighs, “If you pick me up, I can fill you in on more details.”
Before I can ask her anything else, she hangs up. I stare at my phone, fighting the impulse to throw it into the lake.
I don’t waste another moment as I rush back into the pack house, catching everyone’s attention in surprise.
“Are we under attack?” Jake asks, his senses on high alert. I can see why he might assume that, given the panic and frustration on my face.
“I need to be somewhere right now,” I tell him.
He looks confused. “Do you want one of us to go with you?”
“No,” I cut him off. “I’m fine. I’ll call later for an update.”
He nods, and I don’t waste any more time as I rush to my car. I can’t remember the last time I drove this fast, accelerating out of the driveway.
I can’t believe Lana chose to go out with someone else just hours after waking up in my arms. That doesn’t seem like her at all, and it gnaws at me. Is she doing this because I’ve kept the truth about Jada from her? I was only trying to protect her feelings. If she finds out that I’m obligated to marry Jada, how will she react, knowing we’re mates?
Lana will never realize that I’m acting this way just to shield her. I couldn’t tell her the truth without her guessing that I had feelings for her, and that was something I was desperate to avoid.
As I pull up to the house, I see Isabella already waiting for me in the driveway.
I lean over and open the door for her.
With a smile, she climbs in, saying, “Wow, you got here fast!”
I nod, doing my best to hide how much this situation is bothering me. It was a difficult task, considering that I was about to lose my mind if I didn’t get to my mate soon.
“Where’s Lana?” I ask. “Are you planning to see her?”
She shoots me a look that momentarily makes me wonder if she suspects something between Lana and me. I quickly shake off the thought; Lana wouldn’t share anything with anyone, especially knowing how others would overreact.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you concerned about her love life,” she observes. “Though, to be fair, my sister hasn’t exactly had much of a dating life.”
My jaw tightens as I say, “I’m just worried after what happened to both of you the last time you went out. Did you really forget about that awful incident?”
She shivers at the reminder. “I haven’t been able to leave the house without fearing for my life. So no, I definitely haven’t forgotten about it.”
I nod, asking, “So where are we headed?”
ter
My hands gripped the steering wheel as I struggled to hide the wave of anger churning inside me at the thought of another man being out with my mate.
She tapped the name of the restaurant into the screen in front of us. “This is where Lana is right now with her potential boyfriend. He seems absolutely perfect for her…”
I fought against the instinct to growl as she gushed on about how wonderful this stranger was for her sister.
Isabella appeared taken with this guy, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Lana was really considering moving on to a random man while I still had a place in her life. I had certainly brought this on myself after my reckless attempts to forget her by sleeping around.
If she ever did the same to me, I knew I would not handle it as well as her. I deserved worse than this after everything I put her through.
“We’re almost there,” Isabella said, checking her phone. “I’ve got friends who will meet me at the same restaurant. That way, I can keep an eye on Lana’s date and see how things are going.”
20:24
Chapter 45
My jaw tighters.
I could feel my control slipping.
Fuck.
I had to fight back these urges. I couldn’t show my true emotions to Lana or anyone else.
