My heart sank deep into a hole swallowed by overwhelming sadness. I truly thought Lucian was the one. That he was my true mate. That he respected me. That he would never betray me. That he would be different from Asher. I ran out of the dressing room with the dress I still had on. I heard Layla running behind me asking me what was going on. I heard the store security alarm going off and the security guard saying I have to pay. I also heard Layla say to put it on her tab giving the guard her full name. I ran to the mall bathroom and curled up into a ball hoping that it would somehow protect me. I felt Layla’s Arms falling like a blanket over me pulling me into a hug. She didn’t ask any more questions and just comforted me and held me so softly. As if she feared that if she held too tight that I would shatter in her arms. I felt like I was going to no matter what. When I eventually had calmed down, I looked up at her. “I’m going to my parents' place for a while.” She hesitated for a moment. “You sure?” “Yes” I said, but in all honesty I wasn’t. I didn’t want to leave Lucian and surely didn’t want to see Asher or Saige, but I would just stay in my room, away from the outside world. In safety from heartbreak and emotional terrorists.

Later that night

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I laid in my bed just sulking and wondering what I had done in my life to have deserved two heart breaks from two mates in less than a month. Was I truly not good enough? Was I really that terrible? My phone dinged at a message that I received. When I looked at the phone I saw Lucian's name and ignored it. I didn’t have the strength to face him, even over messages. My phone kept dinging and the noise was becoming irritating. Fury took over the sadness that ruled in me just moments ago. I looked at the string of messages. “Where are you”, “Are you safe”. “What did I do wrong”, “Please answer me”, “, princess please come back” “We can work through this” “Princess please”, they cracked what was left of my heart and I so wished for it all to be true. A tear dropped on to my screen and my phone started vibrating, letting me know there was an incoming call. Lucian's name was written in bold with two hearts at the end. Two hearts that didn’t belong there. I just sat staring at the phone until his name disappeared from my screen. Then he called again. I don’t know what came over me, but I answered his call. “Princess, where are you?”

Lucian:

I was working in my office when Layla barged in without a knock. “Layla”. “Lucian”, she said, which made me feel uncomfortable. She always addressed me as Alpha, even when I asked her not to. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at me with fiery eyes. I knew that look. It meant I pissed her off. “Why not alpha” “cut the cr*p Lucian”. My eyes shot open in shock at her words. She-wolves were like bombs ready to explode when you say the wrong thing. “What can I do for you, Layla?” She stomped up to my desk, trying to look as intimidating as possible. Her small figure made her comedic. “Listen to me now carefully Lucian. I didn't come here as a member of your pack. I came here as a best friend to Scarlet. You know she's already been through one rejection. I don’t know what you did to upset her but she’s left.” Her eyes pierced through me almost enough to scare me. Her words, however, had started to boil fury in me. Scarlet left without letting me know where, when or how long she would be gone. Which meant only one thing. She ran away. “Thank you for informing me” I said as calmly as possible. “No,no,no Lucian, you’ve got this wrong. I didn’t come here to inform you about your mate's whereabouts. I came to warn you that if you don’t fix whatever you did you will see a side of me that you won’t like.” I wished I could be intimidated by her, but for her mental sake, I played along and acted as if I was scared.

She was a good friend to Scarlet and a good mate to Damian. Which meant I had to stay on her good side so as to not make things awkward for my mate or beta. “I expected better from you Lucian”, she said before leaving in her little attitude walk. Not going to lie, that last one stung a little. I calmed myself down before I thought about anything I could’ve done to upset her. Did she find out I had a meeting with Asher? No, she wouldn’t be upset about that. Is it about how I left her this morning? That could be it. She-wolves were fragile bombs. Anything could upset them. In a split second, their mood could change. Which was why I didn’t want to push Scarlet far. I didn’t want to lose my princess, but what if I managed to do that anyway? I sent her messages but got no reply. Eventually, I sounded desperate to get her back because I was. I tried calling her but I was clear she was ignoring me. Out of total desperateness, I called her again. The line was quiet and I checked my phone to make sure she hadn’t ended the call, but she didn’t. She answered, “Princess, where are you ?”, I asked in a desperate tone.

I was worried that she might run away from me forever to some other man. “Lucian tell me the truth.” She sniffed and I knew she had been crying. My heart shattered at her broken voice asking me something I wasn’t sure why she was asking. “What do you mean, princess?” “Don’t play games with me Lucian.” “I'm not playing games, princess. Just tell me what I can do to make you come home” She sniffled at the other end. “Lucian, you can come fetch me when you’re ready to tell me the full truth face to face.” She said with her voice cracking every few words. My heart broke at the sound of her voice being so broken. She killed the call and left me with a bunch of questions and worry engulfing my heart and mind. What did she mean about the truth? Maybe she truly was upset by the meeting I had with Asher.

Asher:

A loud knock was heard from the door. I ran to the door and swung it open. Saige walked in along with another man. He was a dark and scary looking man but I knew he was human. Probably an ex-hunter or something. Saige sat on the couch looking all bored and irritated. “She’s here Ashy.”