Chapter 3

"Stella, apologize to Riley."

Rowan was exerting his Alpha's dominance in his voice. He stood outside the car while staring coldly at me.

"After that, officially invite her back to the villa as the Luna."

I looked at him in disbelief. He had been defending Riley all this time, and now, he wanted me to apologize to her.

"You're crazy," I sneered. "Why must I apologize to a thief?"

"What you just did is not worthy of your status as Luna!" Rowan was furious. "Leaving behind an Omega with a pup in the wilderness… Is this your idea of benevolence?"

Riley stood at the roadside while the pup in her arms was still crying. She pretended to give us a determined yet hurt look, as if to tell us, 'Look at how your Luna is acting.'

"I won't apologize." I tried to hold back my anger. "And I won't invite her back to the villa."

"Well, I don't need your agreement for it," Rowan said coldly.

He turned and walked to Riley. He took off his coat and put it on her. "I'm sorry, Riley. My mate sometimes loses all sense of reason."

Mate…

Did he still remember that I was his mate?

"Don't worry, Alpha," Riley said softly. "I understand what the Luna is worried about. I'm an outsider, after all."

Her tears started to fall again as she spoke.

"You're not an outsider," Rowan comforted her gently. "You're a part of our pack."

Our pack…

When did Riley become a part of our pack?

"Rowan," I called his name one last time.

He looked at me, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

"Go away!" I roared with everything I had.

The night seemed to tremble around us with my roar.

Rowan shot me a deep look without wavering. He turned to help Riley up.

"I'll take you back," he said to her.

He started the car, and the red taillights gradually vanished in the night. I stood where I was as I watched them leave. The clear sight of Riley turning back to look at me could be clearly seen from the rearview mirror.

She was smiling tauntingly and victoriously at me. That smile was a particularly sore sight in the night. It was as if she were telling me that she had won.

As the car vanished in the night, I took out my communicator to get another car. It was midnight by the time I returned to the villa. Rowan's car was parked in the front, but I did not see him when I went in. I knew where he probably was.

He must have gone to settle down Riley and her son to ensure that they were in a 'safe' place.

We ignored each other for the next three days. Rowan stayed in the office while I stayed in the villa.

Elder Aldric dropped by once to try and ease things between us.

"Luna, the Alpha is just temporarily confused. A mate bond is sacred. You can't just…"

I stopped him. "Elder Aldric, what would you do if your mate humiliates you in public?"

He went silent.

On the fourth night, I saw a photo posted on the pack's internal social media platform. It was taken at the most luxurious charity dinner in the city center. In it, Rowan was tenderly helping a little boy put on a protection charm.

That boy was Riley's pup.

The charm had been the final bid of the night. It was worth 500 thousand dollars.

Rowan's hand could be seen in the corner of the photo, wearing the Moonstone ring that represented our mate bond. He was wearing the ring while spending lavishly on another woman's pup.

The comments section exploded with replies.

[The Alpha is so nice to this pup.]

[That Omega woman is truly lucky.]

[Where's the Luna? I can't believe she agreed to the Alpha buying a protection charm for another woman's pup. Their own pup isn't even born yet.]

[I heard that they're not on good terms recently.]

As I was about to close the page, a direct message popped up.

The sender was Riley.

I clicked on it. It was a holographic projection.