Home / Three Years of Pretend / Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

All Chapters of Three Years of Pretend : Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

In three days, I'd be free of the Moonlight Pack forever.Right as I was thinking it, strong arms wrapped around me from behind, pulling me into a familiar scent of cedar.Owen Mercer nuzzled against my neck, his breath warm against my ear. "What are you thinking about so hard?"My wolf, who'd been curled up deep in the back of my mind, lifted her head without my permission. Three years later, and she still craved him just as much as she always had.I closed my eyes and swallowed the ache in my chest. "Nothing important. Just the border trade negotiations."He frowned and turned me to face him, smoothing a thumb over the crease between my brows. "If it's not working out, drop it. Your health matters more. Let the Beta handle it if it's too much."Then he tipped my chin up and held my gaze, his eyes unbearably gentle."What's wrong? Have you been overdoing it lately? Maybe we should take some time off."I shook my head. He sighed and pulled me into a hug. "Jeremy invited me to

Chapter 2

I walked over and looped my arm through his. "I'm coming with you."He went still. "Bella, I told you...""I want to go home and see it. It's been three years."He was quiet for a moment before finally sighing. "Fine. But promise me, if you feel uncomfortable at all, we leave immediately."I forced a smile and nodded.By the time we reached the Northern Pack, the party was already underway.Madison stood at the center of the crowd like a little princess, people lining up to hand her gifts and well wishes.Our parents, Edward Sinclair and Clarissa Hale, stood off to the side, beaming with pride.People nearby recognized me and went quiet. Their smiles faded, and they stepped aside to clear a path for me.Madison gasped, her brow furrowing. She jogged over to me, grabbing my hand with tears already welling in her eyes. "Bella, you finally came home!"A tear slid down her cheek as she said it. With acting skills like that, it was a shame she hadn't gone into show business.I pu

Chapter 3

I stopped smiling and stared down at my feet, waiting for him to turn me down the way he always used to.When I was little, I had no stamina and always fell behind on our runs.Once, we'd planned a night hike to watch the sunrise together. I secretly trained for a month, saved up half a year's allowance, and bought the best gear I could find.But on the day we were supposed to go, I waited at the meeting point for two hours. No one showed.Later, Mom tried to comfort me. "They just didn't want you getting hurt. Once you're a little stronger, you can go with everyone."I found out much later that they'd all agreed to switch meeting points that day without telling me.A warm press of lips against my cheek pulled me out of the memory. Owen had kissed me."Fine. Whatever you want to do, I'm with you."I looked up at him. His eyes were full of affection, but I felt nothing but cold inside.Once we got home, he eagerly packed our hiking gear, and we set out just before sunset.He s

Chapter 4

Owen froze, not moving for a long moment. Then his eyes went bloodshot as he rounded on Matthew. "What kind of nonsense is that! How can you slander the Luna like that? Do you want to be thrown out of the pack?"Matthew was terrified and didn't dare lift his head. He just held out his phone with shaking hands."The guards at the base of the mountain said they lost Luna's scent and signal. They went straight up and found her phone by the cliff's edge."Owen looked down at the short string of messages from the guards, staring at them for a long time like he couldn't process the words.He took a sharp breath and looked up, his face twisted. "That's impossible. She's just throwing a tantrum and is probably hiding somewhere. Get me up there, now!"On the drive up, Owen sat by the window. The cold morning air hit his face, but he kept rubbing his fingers together, an unfamiliar unease rising in his chest.Had he just been too exhausted lately?He took a deep breath and knocked on th

Chapter 5

Owen's knees shook as he inched toward the edge of the cliff.Morning fog still rose from below, thick enough that he couldn't see the bottom."What do you mean Luna jumped? That's impossible!" Owen spun around and shouted, and no one dared answer him.Matthew's face suddenly went pale. He stepped forward, gripping his phone."Alpha, the Council just released a statement. They're saying Luna reported you for acting against the pack's interests.""She reported me? Then she sent a message, didn't she? That means she's still alive!"Owen let out a laugh. "Good. Someone find out where Luna is, right now!"Matthew's hands trembled as he knelt and held out the phone."The Council says... says the message was scheduled in advance. And... and there was something else sent with it. A suicide note."The smile froze on Owen's face. He grabbed the phone.The Council group chat was already in chaos, everyone demanding Owen explain himself to the pack.[That border trade route was such a

Chapter 6

A week after I "died," Owen spent that entire week kneeling at the top of that mountain. With no one leading the pack, chaos broke out everywhere.Once they finally forced him to come down, Owen became unpredictable and volatile. The whole pack started falling apart, and everyone was on edge.Curious, I searched Madison's name, and headline after headline caught my eye.[Exclusive! Two childhood friend Alphas turned enemies, and it's all because of her!][The sweet little sister who turned out to be a scheming she-wolf! Look what she's capable of!]In the photos, Madison knelt at the mountain's summit looking terrified, while Owen stood over her with an ice-cold expression.Was this supposed to be an apology to me? What good would that even do now?[The two Alphas must be regretting everything now. To think they were deceived by this vicious she-wolf!][I heard they were sisters!]I stared at the photo for a moment, then switched my location back off.The whole world went qui

Chapter 7

I took a breath and steadied myself. "Guilty conscience? Whatever you managed to take from me was never anything I wanted in the first place."Something in what I said must have hit a nerve, because her emotions spiked instantly. "Not anything you wanted? Does Owen know what you're really like? He's been waiting pathetically, hoping you'd come back and be his Luna again!"If he knew you faked your death just to trick him, imagine what he'd do!"As she spoke, she swept everything off the counter in one violent motion.The shop was wrecked. Watching everything I'd worked so hard to build get destroyed sent a sharp pain through my chest."Madison, whatever grievance you have, go take it up with Owen!"At the sound of his name, she laughed, bitter and broken. "Take it up with him? Ha! Ever since you left, he won't even see me. He forced Jeremy to cut ties with me. He's the one who broke my leg..."He did that?"Don't act so confused! If it weren't for you, how would Owen have ever

Chapter 8

I looked at him steadily. "Owen, let me go. Keep whatever dignity you have left. Don't make me lose the last bit of respect I have for you.""No!" Owen's head snapped up, despair spilling out of his eyes. "Bella, I know I was a jerk before. You can hit me, scream at me, whatever you want. I just can't be without you."As he spoke, he reached out again and tried to grab my hand."Don't touch her." Chase stepped forward, placing himself between us, his eyes cold as he faced Owen. "She's made herself clear. You're not welcome here."The two of them squared off, and even though the full weight of an Alpha's presence pressed down on him, Chase didn't budge an inch.Madison, still on the ground, suddenly looked unhinged."Why does everyone keep protecting her!" she screamed hysterically, then grabbed a shard of broken glass off the floor without thinking. Blood welled up instantly from her hand, but she didn't seem to feel it at all. She lunged up from the ground and drove the glass st

Chapter 9

"Bella, do you hate me?" Owen's voice cracked. "If you do, come back and punish me however you want."He looked more defeated with every word."I don't hate you." I replied flatly. "I just think you and I were a mistake from the start. I've woken up now, and it's time I lived my own life."Did I hate him? Not anymore. I'd stopped expecting anything from him a long time ago, so there was nothing left to hate."Woken up... what a thing to say."Owen repeated the words under his breath, his face ashen. Then he turned to walk out of the shop, dragging his bleeding arm.After that, more and more Rogues passed through town, most of them from the Moonlight Pack.Once Owen went back, something in him broke. The whole pack spiraled into poverty and chaos, people leaving or dying by the day.A year later, the Council filed a joint complaint against him for misusing core pack resources and abusing his position.In court, the moment the judge mentioned my name, Owen completely lost cont

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