Chapter 2: Never Came

Irene’s Point of View

I couldn’t sit still anymore.

Not with everything pretending to be normal.

The party went on around me, loud and bright. Laughter echoed. Music filled the air. Voices rose and fell like nothing was wrong.

But to me…

it all felt distant.

Hollow.

Like I didn’t belong in the middle of it.

My eyes kept searching for him.

Eugene.

Every time I found him,

he was gone.

Or turning away.

Or speaking to someone else.

Avoiding me.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Not by accident.

On purpose.

Like I was something he didn’t want near him.

Like I was… a mistake.

The pain sharpened each time.

I tried to talk to him.

More than once.

I asked him why.

Why he was acting like this.

Why he wouldn’t even look at me.

But he gave me nothing.

No answer.

No glance.

Not even a reaction.

There was no hug.

No kiss.

No smile.

Nothing.

The moment I had waited for…

dreamed about for a whole year…

never came.

It slipped through my hands like it had never been real.

I didn’t even get the chance to tell him,

how happy I was that he came back alive.

My chest tightened again.

But I forced it down.

Not here.

Not in front of everyone.

I had to stay calm.

I had to act like everything was fine.

Even if everything inside me…

was slowly breaking.

And that woman,

she was still here.

In his room.

Why?

Why was she there?

Why wasn’t she leaving?

The questions kept coming.

One after another.

Sharp.

Relentless.

Burning through every thought I had.

But no one gave me answers.

Not Luna Lorraine.

Not Alpha Dave.

They all said the same thing.

“Later.”

“After the party.”

But later never came.

And the feeling inside me kept growing.

Heavy.

Cold.

Unfamiliar.

Like something inside me was about to snap.

Maybe it was just me.

Maybe I was thinking too much.

Or maybe,

I already knew the truth…

and I was just too afraid to face it.

Something wasn’t right.

I could feel it… even before anyone said a word.

The other warriors,

they looked at me differently.

Not with respect.

Not with warmth.

But with something I couldn’t ignore.

Pity.

It lingered in their eyes.

Quiet.

Unspoken.

Like they knew something I didn’t.

Something I wasn’t ready to hear.

Time slowed.

Too slow.

Every second stretched.

Every second hurt.

Until finally,

“It’s time.”

We were called into the Alpha’s study.

My steps felt unsteady as I walked in. The room was too quiet. Too closed. Like the walls were listening.

I sat beside Luna Lorraine and grabbed her hand.

Too tight.

My fingers ached, but I didn’t let go.

It was the only thing holding me together.

My vision blurred.

I didn’t even know why I was crying anymore.

Was it anger?

Pain?

Fear?

Or all of it at once?

The silence pressed down harder.

Thick.

Suffocating.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

“What is happening?” I asked.

My voice shook.

“What do you know that I don’t?”

I swallowed, forcing the next words out.

“Who is that woman?”

The question hung in the air.

Heavy.

No one answered.

No one moved.

The silence grew thicker,

like it was closing around my throat.

“Let’s wait for Eugene,” Alpha Dave said at last.

His voice was calm.

Too calm.

“He will explain everything.”

But it didn’t help.

Didn’t ease anything.

Because deep inside…

I already knew.

Whatever he was about to say,

it wouldn’t fix anything.

It would break it.

Break me.

The weight in my chest didn’t lift.

It pressed harder.

I wanted to ask more.

Needed to.

But I couldn’t push further.

He was the Alpha.

So I stayed quiet.

And waited.

But the silence in that room…

felt heavier than anything before.

Like the truth was already there,

just waiting to fall.

We waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Time dragged until it felt cruel.

Each second tightened around my chest,

until it was hard to breathe.

Then,

the door opened.

My heart jumped.

Eugene walked in.

And she was with him.

Ruby.

They entered side by side.

Close.

Too close.

Something inside me twisted.

The air shifted.

Cold.

Heavy.

Wrong.

Like the moment I had been dreading…

had finally arrived.

For a moment,

fear cut through me.

Sharp. Sudden.

Like something terrible was about to happen.

But I forced it down.

No.

This was Eugene.

My mate.

He wouldn’t do this to me.

We were meant to be.

There had to be a reason.

A mistake.

Something I didn’t understand yet.

There had to be.

But then,

he sat down.

Beside her.

Not me.

He didn’t look at me.

Not once.

My heart dropped.

Hard.

This was the same man who faced death without fear.

The same man who walked into battle without stepping back.

But now…

he couldn’t even look at me?

Why?

Why was it so hard?

“Mother… Father…” Eugene said.

His voice wasn’t steady.

He cleared his throat.

His hands clasped together,

tight.

I knew that habit.

He only did that when something was wrong.

“This is Ruby,” he continued. “The woman I mentioned in my letter.”

My chest tightened again.

What letter?

“I… will take her as my chosen mate.”

Everything stopped.

The words hit me like a blow.

Sharp.

Crushing.

The air left my lungs.

Chosen mate?

My mind went blank.

The room disappeared.

The voices.

The people.

Gone.

I sat there,

frozen.

I had waited for him.

Believed in him.

Loved him.

And now,

he chose someone else.

Like I didn’t exist.

Not a single word for me.

Not even my name.

Luna Lorraine’s hand tightened around mine, trying to hold me steady.

But I was already slipping.

Breaking.

Cracking from the inside.

“What about me?”

My voice came out weak.

Shaking.

“What am I to you now?”

The words burned my throat.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

I swallowed, but it didn’t stop.

“Who is she?”

The questions spilled out.

Fast.

Messy.

Desperate.

My body trembled.

My heart raced out of control.

This wasn’t right.

None of this was right.

How did it come to this?

Why didn’t he tell me?

Why didn’t I see it?

Eugene took a slow breath.

Heavy.

Like even that simple act… hurt him.

And for the first time,

I realized he wasn’t just avoiding me.

He was preparing to say something

that would destroy whatever was left between us.

Then finally,

he looked at me.

Our eyes met.

And what I saw…

was not the man I knew.

It was someone lost.

Someone drowning.

Guilt.

Shame.

Fear.

All of it was there.

Like he wanted me to understand.

Like he was asking for forgiveness,

without saying a word.

But I couldn’t understand.

Not this.

Never this.

“What is happening?” I asked again.

My voice echoed in the room.

Thin.

Unsteady.

Like I was begging for answers I wasn’t ready to hear.

Eugene’s hands clenched.

His knuckles turned white.

He opened his mouth,

then stopped.

No words came out.

He couldn’t say it.

He couldn’t face me.

And before he could try again,

she spoke.

“You must be Irene.”

Ruby’s voice was calm.

Too calm.

Too controlled.

She looked at me, but there was no warmth in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

“But things… didn’t go the way we planned.”

My chest tightened.

We?

“Right now,” she continued, her tone still gentle,

“Eugene has to take responsibility.”

Responsibility?

The word hit hard.

Cold.

Heavy.

And suddenly,

everything inside me went still.

Because deep down…

I already knew.

Something was very, very wrong.

The room tilted slightly.

Each word she said felt like weight pressing into my chest.

Unforgiving.

“What kind of responsibility…?” I asked.

My voice was barely there.

I turned to Luna Lorraine.

Her grip tightened again,

like she was trying to hold me together before I broke.

But I was already breaking.

Eugene pressed his lips together.

Tight.

He still wouldn’t look at me.

Not now.

Not even now.

And in that moment,

I understood.

He wasn’t going to answer me.

He didn’t have the courage.

So she did.

“I’m pregnant with the Alpha’s first child.”

Ruby’s voice cut through the room.

Calm.

Cold.

Certain.

Like she had prepared for this.

Like she had already accepted what would come after.

“I’m sorry you found out this way… but it’s the truth.”

Everything inside me,

shattered.

Pregnant.

The word echoed in my head.

Loud.

Endless.

My ears rang.

My chest tightened until it hurt.

His child?

My breath caught,

and this time…

it didn’t come back.

The room closed in around me.

The air felt thin.

Like it was disappearing.

My eyes dropped on their own,

to her stomach.

Flat.

Still small.

Early.

Which meant…

my heart sank even deeper.

He had been with her.

While writing to me.

Those letters.

Those soft, gentle words.

I miss you.

I love you.

I can’t wait to come home.

Lies.

All of it.

Every single word.

My chest burned.

How could he do this?

How could he make me believe in something so real…

while breaking it behind my back?

I felt it.

My world tearing apart.

Piece by piece.

But I wouldn’t cry.

Not here.

Not in front of them.

Not in front of him.

“How long…?” I asked.

My voice was low.

Shaking.

But sharp enough to cut.

“How long have you known?”

I turned to Alpha Dave.

Then to Luna Lorraine.

She was crying now.

Quietly.

Looking at me like she had already failed me.

Like she didn’t deserve to speak.

No one answered.

The silence twisted inside me.

Tight.

Unforgiving.

“Two months,” Alpha Dave said at last.

His voice was heavy.

Carrying guilt he couldn’t hide.

Two months.

The words echoed.

Again.

And again.

Two months.

They knew.

All of them.

And they said nothing.

They let me wait.

Let me hope.

Let me believe…

I was still his.

Something inside me,

snapped.

I pulled my hand away from Luna Lorraine.

Hard.

I stood up.

My chest felt too tight.

Too heavy.

Like I couldn’t breathe inside that room anymore.

I couldn’t stay.

Not one second longer.

I turned and walked out.

Fast.

I didn’t look back.

“Irene!”

His voice chased after me.

Loud.

Urgent.

Footsteps followed.

Then,

a hand grabbed my arm.

He turned me around.

Forced me to face him.

“Don’t be like this,” Eugene said quickly. “We can talk about this.”

Talk?

Something inside me shook.

“What is there to talk about?!” I snapped.

My voice cracked.

“You got another woman pregnant!”

My hands trembled.

I wanted to hit him.

I wanted to scream.

“It was a mistake!” he shot back. “You weren’t here. I was lonely!”

The words hit me,

harder than anything before.

And in that moment,

I realized he wasn’t sorry for what he did.

He was only sorry I found out.

But this time,

the words didn’t just hurt.

They burned.

Slow.

Ugly.

So that was his reason?

Lonely?

A bitter laugh slipped out of me.

Cold.

Sharp.

“Do you want me to go to war next time… just so you won’t feel lonely?” I said.

My voice shook,

with anger.

With pain.

With something deeper than both.

“Is that what you expect from me?”

I held his gaze.

Really looked at him.

And for the first time,

I didn’t see my mate.

I saw a stranger.

Someone I didn’t know.

Someone I couldn’t trust.

My chest tightened again.

But this time…

it wasn’t just pain.

It was something else.

Something colder.

Clearer.

Like a truth I had been avoiding was finally settling in.

Something inside me was shifting.

Not breaking,

changing.

And as I stood there, looking at him…

I understood something I couldn’t take back,

The man I waited for…

never came home.