Chapter 2

Kayla narrowed her eyes as she looked around her. Questions popping into her head as she did so.

Should she even be in here?

What was Dean going to say if he found out that she was about to spend her last night as a single woman in a nightclub? It’s not like he had banned her from going to clubs or anything. But he had always been super possessive and had insisted that he go with her to clubs.

Feeling a little bit nervous, she turned to look at Bella who was standing just beside her, looking around. But unlike Kayla, her sister had the widest smile on her face, and at a point, she could swear there was a twinkle in her eyes.

These kinds of gatherings were more of Bella’s thing, than Kayla’s

“Are we just going to stand here all night? Or we are going to do what we came here for?” Bella asked, turning to Kayla with a pout and a raised eyebrow. Surprisingly, she had enjoyed the past few hours she had spent with her sister. Which was not something she had expected at all. And it was for that reason she had agreed to go clubbing with Bella, who didn’t seem tired at all.

Kayla sighed. “Fine. But no more than an hour here and we are out.” She said and walked passed Bella who just rolled her eyes and made her way to the bar.

For some reason, the feeling she had had earlier was back, and now more than ever, her wolf felt alert.

But she couldn’t just say no to her sister and leave, even if every fiber of her being was telling her to do just that.

Today, they had set aside their differences and had actually had a great time, from shopping to eating together, and then going back home, where Bella had forced her to wear the red dress she was now wearing, and demanded they go clubbing.

Despite their issues, Kayla loved her sister, and wouldn’t ever do anything intentionally to hurt her.

“Hey!” Bella called the bartender as they settled into the bar stools.

Kayla let her order their drinks and turned to look around again, still feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Whipping out her phone from the leather jacket she was wearing over her dress, she looked at it and sighed when she saw the empty screen.

No calls.

No messages.

Nothing from Dean, which was surprising on the one hand, and understandable on the other hand.

Surprising because he always called or texted every day since they had officially started dating. And understandable because this was the last day of his being single too. She had heard from one of the high-ranking pack men that there was going to be a bachelor party for Dean. And it was going to be out of town. He had confirmed it to her when she had seen him the previous day, claiming it was just something organized by his friends and that he was going to be back to the pack early enough, before the wedding as he didn’t want to be late to the best day of his life.

With another sigh, she bit her lips. She, on the other hand, had canceled and blocked any idea of a bachelorette as she didn’t have any close friends that were females. Her friends were Dean’s friends. Which was ironic in this situation, because they were all male.

A tall glass of cocktail was placed before her, and Kayla turned her attention to it, smiling at the bartender and muttering a ‘thank you’, before taking a sip.

The rush of liquid down her throat was refreshing and was what she needed.

“Put that away. You are going to ruin your night if you keep waiting for him to text you. Besides, he’s probably having a great time right now.” Bella commented, eyeing the phone in her hands.

Kayla did as she was told, but with a heart that started to thud slightly. And it was all because of the thought of what Dean was probably doing in his bachelor’s party.

Were there women there? Strippers? Dancers? She had watched a lot of movies and knew exactly what went down in those kinds of parties.

But Dean couldn’t do that to her….right?

Before Kayla could think more, she was yanked out of her thoughts by her whining sister who pushed some shots in front of her.

“Drink up..” Bella demanded. “And then we dance.”

Kayla forced a smile, pushing away all her crazy thoughts away and finally giving in to her sister.

In just a few hours, she was going to become the Luna of the pack, and Dean, the Alpha.

Those were the last coherent thoughts that came to her mind as she downed shot after shot of tequila, in a bid to loosen her mind.

And boy did it work…

~

Two Years.

It had already been two years since she died, but all Oliver Bernardi could think of as he stood by her grave was how he would do just about anything to have her back and in his arms again.

Why had the moon goddess been so cruel to him to take the one thing he had loved and cherished the most in his miserable life?

Just what had he done to deserve all of that?

He could still remember it as fresh as daylight, all that had happened that day.

And even after two years, he was yet to forgive himself for not being there in time to save the woman he had claimed to love with everything in him.

They hadn’t even enjoyed a whole year of their marriage before the cold arms of death had snatched her from him.

A drop of hot tear, slid down the side of his face, causing him to blink and quickly wipe it off. He had told everyone to let him be while he went to visit his wife’s grave. But there was still a possibility that someone was going to pass by and see him in the state he was.

An Alpha wasn’t supposed to show any kind of weakness. Especially crying like a baby, even if the cut his mate had left was still open.

With one last look at her grave, Oliver turned around and walked back to the pack house silently.

There. His early morning ritual of always visiting his wife’s grave was over.

Now, he had to focus on pack matters. Like the damn wedding, they had to attend.

.

“Do we really need to attend this wedding?” Oliver asked for the umpteenth time as he walked into the pack house, with his beta and younger brother, Lucas walking just a few steps behind him.

Lucas had stood in front of the house, waiting, with a worried look on his face. But Oliver dared not ask, as the last thing he needed was a lecture about moving on. He had had enough of that, that he could replay it in his mind like a record if he wanted to.

Lucas was his brother, but he sure as hell knew how to meddle. A lot.

“Well, if we want to form the alliance we so desperately need to form, and hopefully close the business deal we have with them, then yes. We need to. It’s a courtesy visit, just to show that we the…mean what we say.” Lucas answered as they walked into the study.

Oliver sighed and looked at the invitation that lay on his table in defeat. This was the first wedding he had attended since Ashley, his mate died. And if he said he wanted to go, he was lying. But as Alpha of his pack, and just like his brother had pointed out, he needed to go.

With a frown, he turned around as a thought filtered into his mind and faced Lucas who was perched at the door. “Where is Damon?” He asked,

Damon was the youngest of the Bernardi brothers. And always found a way to be late to everything. At twenty-eight, Oliver would have thought that his brother would change, but it seemed like that ship had sailed a long time ago.

He had even gone as far as making him the head of the financial aspects of the family’s business, thinking it would somehow impact his brother’s attitude. But the idiot had learned how to mix both business and pleasure in a way that didn’t affect his work at all. Talk about efficiency, surrounded by chaos.

Lucas didn’t answer and just whipped out his phone instead, to call their youngest brother who was probably still in bed with a woman beside him. Playboy that he was.

Oliver looked out the window and sighed as a feeling settled deep in his chest. It seemed like it was going to be a long day, and the day was just starting.