YEARS LATER

Dresden.

10 YEARS LATER.

“I’m done with you!” Bella screamed.

“That makes two of us,” I snapped. I stormed out before she could attack but it didn’t matter when a cracking sound hit the door right as I closed it. I shut my eyes tightly. I was going to have to call the maids to clean that up later.

Damnit. Damn it all.

I moved toward the office, and other servants and pack members were around. Pack members who had no doubt heard the screaming from the room. It was freaking humiliating, feeling their stares everywhere I went. Whether it was pity, or mockery, it still felt the same when I knew what they were thinking.

For the past ten years, Bella and I have been unable to have a child.

What should have been a small thing had devolved into this as the years went by. Our initial happiness was gone and now all we did was argue. She had changed most of all.

Where was the girl I fell in love with? Now she was a constant thorn at my side, picking arguments and throwing objects. Maybe once I tried to resolve our differences, but I'd already given up. The love I had for her was gone.

Now she was neurotic and crazy, constantly itching for a fight and demanding things, if not from me, from the pack. I was so freaking frustrated!

What was once a happy marriage was a mess and the pack witnessed it all. The same people that praised me in the beginning now murmured openly.

That this was Karma. It was my punishment for rejecting the goddess given mate bond. For humiliating her.

Mara…

“We ask you to reconsider your marriage, Alpha.” The elders had said to me less than a few hours ago. Even they were judging me.

Damn it.

The second I entered my office, I grabbed the leftover bottle of whisky and poured it into a cup. Thanks to Bella, doing this now felt as easy as breathing. I lounged against the chair, enjoying the burn and temporary numbness the alcohol gave.

A sharp knock made me open my eyes but I relaxed as soon as I saw who it was.

“Join me for a drink?” I offered, raising the glass.

Charles, my best friend and trusted Beta, frowned.

“It's too early to be drinking, Alpha Dresden,” he chastised. Despite his talk, he took his place in the next seat and poured himself a drink in solidarity. I was grateful to him. He was my only reprieve, never judging me even though I deserved all of it.

‘Yes you do,’ a long forgotten voice echoed in my mind.

He didn’t need to ask questions. In a matter of seconds, I had already started ranting. It was the same old thing. My frustrations, the meeting with the elders, Bella’s new antics.

Mara.

My heart ached at the mention of her name. It was ironic because once upon a time, her disappearance years ago didn’t reach my mind. In fact, I was pleased that she'd left, sneering at the thought of her humiliation. Good riddance I'd thought.

When everything came crashing down did I start to think about her. If I'd been with her, would things be like this? Did she even think of me?

The questions turned into thoughts I'd daydream about and now it was a near obsession. The past memories of the weeks leading up to the mating ceremony came to mind and I'd compare them. It took years of denial to finally see it for what it was.

I missed her.

Not to mention those dreams.

It

didn't matter now. The hollow mate bond tormented me and there was nothing I could do about it. She was gone and I had broken it with my own hands ten years ago.

They say that you never know what you have until it's too late, and it was too damn late. Ten years too late.

“Dres,” Charles sighed after listening to me. “I'm going to ask you something I've always been avoiding. If you feel this way, why have you never tried to find her?”

There was no answer to that. Instead I downed my cup of whiskey, the dizziness was getting to me now.

Charles sighed beside me, “Whatever man, don’t forget to wake up early. Tomorrow is the full moon festival and you need to greet all the packs coming.”

I didn’t say anything and heard the shuffling beside me as he left the seat. When he left my office, I slumped on the chair, letting the darkness take over.

There was another reason why I drank so much and it was so I could return to this place, to dream and see her.

I felt myself slipping already as the image of her came to mind. Her lush pinklips, the olive green eyes. I remembered hating that look in the past now it sent blood rushing south. I felt myself constantly entranced and aroused by her look.

These dreams had plagued me for years to the point that I knew how they played out. Even though I knew I was in my imagination I reached out, eager to hold her as I called out.

“Mara…”

….

“Fuck,” I hissed against the glaring light and the weight on my arm.

By morning, I had taken a tonic for my hangover but the pounding headache said otherwise. Could it work any faster?

Maybe the pack doctor had given me something less potent as revenge for Bella’s outburst the last time the pregnancy test was negative. It took everything in me to keep myself from rubbing my eyes.

“Smile, baby,” Bella hissed, and I clenched my jaw. Her arm was wrapped around mine like a vice. I had to force a smile on my face while waiting for more people to approach me for greetings.

The Full Moon Festival was an annual event that took place in different packs and it was our turn to head it this time, bringing every pack here. All the Alphas, Lunas, and pack representatives were here and on their way and it was our duty to formally greet everyone, which was why I had to force myself to walk beside her.

With the combination of my hangover, Bella’s grip and having to see and greet everybody, I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

Against doctor's orders, I snatched a glass of champagne and was about to drink when a voice rang.

“Alpha Matthew of Crescent Pack and his Mate, Mara Reid.”

What the fuck?

I stopped and turned to the direction. That name… this had to be a joke, right?

I frantically searched the entire place and then I saw them. Alpha Matthew, with his platinum blonde hair slicked back and beside him…

It was her.

My breath hitched and I swore I could hear the glass I was holding crack. I couldn't believe it.

Mara Reid. The woman who constantly plagued my dreams, the woman I rejected and mistreated and humiliated was here. After ten long years, I saw her again.

And she was with someone else.

Something hot and bitter swelled up at the sight and I barely held a growl.

She looked fucking sexy, her silvery dress highlighted her curves while her hair was pinned up. Those luscious lips called out to me.

Everything was Mine. She was supposed to be Mine.

Suddenly her eyes met mine, and I couldn't believe it.

‘Mate.’