Chapter 2 Shattered Promises
Eugene had returned alive, but Irene was already losing him.
She had sensed something was wrong the moment he walked past her. As the night continued, it became impossible to pretend she had imagined it.
The celebration carried on around her.
Music filled the hall as the warriors drank and laughed. Families held their loved ones close, celebrating their return after a year apart.
Only Irene stood alone.
Eugene kept avoiding her.
Whenever she approached him, he found a reason to leave. Whenever she tried to speak to him, he gave her a short answer before walking away.
He was not simply tired.
He was avoiding her on purpose.
Irene could not understand why.
She had waited an entire year for him to return. She had imagined their reunion countless times.
She had thought he would hold her.
She had thought he would smile when he saw her.
Instead, she could barely get him to look at her.
Then there was the other woman.
Ruby.
Irene had finally learned her name, but no one would explain why she was staying in Eugene’s room.
Whenever Irene asked, she received the same answers.
“Later.”
“After the celebration.”
“Not now.”
But later never came.
The longer everyone avoided her questions, the more frightened she became.
Even the returning warriors acted strangely around her. They looked at her, only to quickly turn away when she noticed.
There was something in their eyes that Irene had never seen before.
Pity.
They knew something.
Something she did not.
Irene was still trying to understand what everyone was hiding when a warrior approached her.
“It’s time,” he said. “You’ve been called to the Alpha’s study.”
Her stomach tightened.
She followed Luna Lorraine into the pack house. The moment the study door closed behind them, Irene knew this would not be a normal conversation.
She sat beside Luna Lorraine and reached for her hand.
“What is happening?”
Her voice came out quieter than she intended.
“What do you know that I don’t?”
Luna Lorraine did not answer.
Irene looked at Alpha Dave, but he would not meet her eyes either.
That frightened her more than anything.
“Who is that woman?”
The question fell into the silent room.
No one answered.
Irene looked between the Alpha and Luna.
“Please.”
Still, they said nothing.
Finally, Alpha Dave spoke.
“Let’s wait for Eugene.”
Irene’s stomach dropped.
“He will explain everything.”
But she already knew it would not be an explanation she wanted to hear.
Whatever was happening, everyone in the room seemed to know about it.
Everyone except her.
They waited.
The silence became harder to bear with every passing minute.
Then the door opened.
Eugene walked in.
Ruby was beside him.
Irene’s gaze immediately dropped to the small distance between them.
They were close.
Far too close.
Her stomach twisted as Eugene sat beside Ruby.
Not beside Irene.
He did not even look at her.
Irene stared at him.
This was the man she had waited an entire year for. The man she loved. The man who had written to her while he was away.
Why could he not even look at her now?
“Mother. Father.”
Eugene’s voice was quieter than usual. His hands were tightly clasped together.
Irene knew that habit.
He only did it when he was under serious pressure.
“This is Ruby,” he said. “The woman I mentioned in my letter.”
Irene frowned.
The letter?
What letter?
She had read every letter Eugene had sent her during the past year.
Not one of them had mentioned Ruby.
A terrible feeling settled in her stomach.
Eugene drew a slow breath.
“I will take her as my chosen mate.”
For a moment, Irene could not understand what he had said.
Chosen mate.
Her mind went blank.
She looked at Ruby, then at Eugene.
He was choosing her.
Right in front of Irene.
After everything they had shared.
After every promise he had made.
After Irene had spent an entire year waiting for him.
Her mate had returned only to choose another woman.
“What about me?”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Everyone turned toward her.
Eugene remained silent.
Irene forced herself to look directly at him.
“What am I to you now?”
Her voice trembled.
“Why are you doing this?”
Her eyes burned, but she refused to cry in front of them.
“Who is she?”
Ruby lowered her gaze.
Luna Lorraine tightened her grip on Irene’s hand, but Irene pulled away.
She did not want an answer from Eugene’s mother.
She did not want an answer from his father.
She needed to hear it from him.
“How long have you known her?”
Eugene finally moved.
He released a slow breath, and Irene saw the tension written across his face.
For the first time, she wondered if he was hurting too.
Perhaps that was why he had avoided her all night.
Perhaps he had always known exactly what this would do to her.
But if he knew how badly this would break her, why had he brought Ruby home?
