Sweetest Pain

Eugene was finally coming home.

So why did Irene feel as if something terrible was about to happen?

She stood at the entrance of the Hellfire Pack beside Luna Lorraine and Alpha Dave, watching the road where the returning warriors would soon appear.

Families gathered behind them, waiting for their loved ones.

No one laughed or celebrated.

Not yet.

First, they needed to see who had returned alive.

Luna Lorraine suddenly grabbed Irene’s hand.

“I see them!”

Irene looked up.

The warriors were coming.

Her heart raced as she searched the approaching riders.

Then she saw him.

Eugene.

He rode at the front, leading the warriors home.

For a moment, everything else disappeared.

He was alive.

After one long year, her mate was finally home.

Irene had waited for this moment for so long that it hardly felt real. She was the woman chosen for him, the woman who had stayed behind while he fought far from home.

Soon, she would stand beside him as the next Luna of the Hellfire Pack.

She had believed that for an entire year.

Now, she could finally begin her life with him.

Eugene climbed down from his horse.

Irene wanted to run to him. She wanted to throw her arms around him and never let go.

But everyone was watching, so she remained where she was and waited for him to look at her.

He did not.

Eugene walked straight past her.

Her smile slowly faded.

He did not even glance in her direction before stopping in front of Alpha Dave.

“My mission is complete,” Eugene announced.

Alpha Dave pulled him into a proud embrace.

“I knew you would return safely.”

The pack erupted in celebration.

Families rushed forward. Children ran into their parents’ arms. People laughed, cried, and clung to one another after a year of fear and waiting.

Then Eugene called out, “Mother.”

Luna Lorraine released Irene’s hand and hurried to her son.

“I missed you so much.”

She wrapped her arms around him.

Irene remained where she was, suddenly alone.

She kept waiting for Eugene to turn toward her.

He never did.

Maybe he was exhausted.

Maybe he had not seen her.

She tried to believe it.

Then Eugene finally looked at her.

Their eyes met for only a second, but Irene saw something in his expression that she could not understand.

Pain.

Guilt.

Regret.

Then he looked away.

Irene took a slow breath and stepped closer.

This was still their reunion.

He was still her mate.

She opened her arms.

Eugene stepped back.

It was not an accident.

He deliberately put distance between them.

Irene froze.

He looked at her as though she were someone he barely knew.

Her arms slowly dropped to her sides.

“I’m happy to see you,” she said.

Her voice sounded strange, even to her own ears.

“I’m happy to be back,” Eugene replied flatly.

Then he reached behind him and took someone’s hand.

Irene stared at the woman standing beside him.

She had not noticed her before. All she had seen was Eugene.

Now, she could not look away.

The woman had long red hair, bright blue eyes, and the kind of beauty that drew everyone’s attention.

Eugene held her hand tightly.

Irene’s stomach dropped.

He turned toward his parents.

“Father. Mother. This is the woman I mentioned in my letter.”

Irene stopped breathing.

A woman he had mentioned in his letter?

She searched her memory.

She had read every letter Eugene had sent during the past year. She remembered every page and every word.

He had never mentioned this woman.

Not once.

Irene looked directly at him.

“Who is she?”

Her voice trembled.

Eugene refused to meet her eyes.

Luna Lorraine took Irene’s hand again, but this time, her touch brought no comfort.

It felt like a warning.

“Let’s return to the pack house first,” Luna Lorraine said quietly. “Eugene must be tired. We can talk later.”

“Mother…”

Irene looked at her.

“Who is that woman?”

Luna Lorraine did not answer. She simply began leading Irene away.

Too shocked to resist, Irene followed.

Before they left, she glanced back.

Eugene still stood beside the woman, holding her hand. His head was lowered while Alpha Dave faced him with a hard expression.

Luna Lorraine continued pulling Irene toward the pack house.

“Mother,” Irene whispered.

She did not stop walking.

“Who is that woman?”

Luna Lorraine’s fingers tightened around hers.

“Please, Irene.”

“Please what?”

Luna Lorraine finally looked at her.

The expression on her face made Irene’s stomach sink.

She was not confused.

She was not surprised.

She was afraid.

“You know who she is,” Irene whispered.

Luna Lorraine said nothing.

Her silence was answer enough.

Irene stopped walking.

For the first time, a terrible thought entered her mind.

Perhaps Eugene was not the only one hiding something from her.

Perhaps they all knew.

She looked back at Eugene. He was still holding the other woman’s hand.

Then Irene turned to Luna Lorraine.

“Did you know about her before today?”

Tears filled Luna Lorraine’s eyes.

Still, she did not answer.

Suddenly, every letter Eugene had sent during the past year felt different.

Every word he had written.

Every promise he had made.

Every time he had told Irene to wait for him.

What if there had always been something he never wanted her to know?

Irene’s voice fell to a broken whisper.

“Mother…”

Her chest tightened as the truth began to crush her.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”