Page 3 of Mate Forsaken

“The party will run through the night, but I may be able to sneak out in a few hours to visit you.”

That translated to having sex. A mistress was all she could ever be with him. She had thought moon-fated mates were sacred, but apparently it was just a fairy tale. There wasn’t goingto be a happily ever after for her.

“Okay,” he said and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll see you later this evening.”

Circe watched him leave her house, but didn’t move as tears poured down her cheeks. Miles had broken her heart, and there was no way she could survive in the Shadowhide Pack with them. Wiping her face, she rose and took a quick shower, washing his scent from her skin. Methodically, she started packing. She didn’t need a lot, just some clothes, toiletries, a framed photo where Miles stared at her from glossy paper, smiling at the camera. Her wolf howled mournfully, and she wondered how she was going to live without her heart and soul.

Once she was done, she wrote a note for anyone to find, although she probably didn’t need to leave an explanation. The entire pack knew she was Miles’s moon-fated mate. Whenever she was among them, she saw the pity in their eyes. She saw it in their faces. Heard it in their voices.

When she’d packed her car with everything she wanted to keep, she took one last look at her little house. The alpha had given it to her when she had come of age, able to live on her own since her parents had been killed during the very feud Miles was sacrificing for to end the conflict. Circe understood the reasons behind his decision, but she didn’t have to be around to witness it.

She slid behind the wheel of her car and drove to the packhouse, where the engagement party was being held. Sneaking up the back staircase, she entered the building, to the railing that overlooked the revelry going on. It was easy to find Miles. She always knew where he was anytime he entered a room. The tuxedo he wore highlighted his dark, glossy hair. His fiancée looked delicate and beautiful in a pale-pink chiffon dress. His arm encircled her waist as they mingled among the guests. Circe hated to admit they made a striking couple.

A lone tear rolled down her cheek as her heart cracked apart and shattered into dust.

“I thought I saw you come in.”

She spun around and stared at her alpha. Miles’s dad was one of the strongest men she’d ever met. He exuded power. Self-consciously, she wiped at the wetness on her cheeks.

“Alpha,” she greeted, showing her neck in deference. “I’ve decided to leave the pack.”

He sighed, and regret flashed across his face. “I suppose that might be the best thing, although I hate to lose such a promising young wolf.”

“I can’t stay here and watch him with her.”

“I know.” He stared down at the party for a long moment. “Although you don’t need my permission to leave, as Alpha of the Shadowhide Pack, I release you, Circe Tolliver, to be a lone wolf. Do you accept?”

“I do,” she whispered. A weight slid off her shoulders. “Thank you.”

She glanced back down, catching one last glimpse of Miles just as he laughed at something his future bride said. “Please take care of him. Tell him … actually, don’t tell him anything.”

“Let me give you some money.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“It is. Look, I know you and my son are moon-fated mates. Usually, I’d be the first one to defend that, but there is more at stake than love. I’m not trying to be cruel, Circe. If it’s any consolation, I think you would have made a wonderful luna someday.”

It wasn’t any consolation at all, but she didn’t tell him that. He took out his wallet and held a stack of bills.

“I don’t want your money,” she whispered.

“And I don’t want to think about you out there without ameans to find food and shelter.”

He raised an eyebrow, so she took the money.

“Don’t tell me where you’re going, so I won’t have to lie to my son.”

“Idon’t even know where I’m going. Thank you, Alpha.”

He inclined his head. “I’ll let the sentinels know you are leaving so they don’t stop you.”

Circe couldn’t help but look once more at Miles, committing everything to memory since she’d never see him again. He had been her first in everything. At kissing. At love. At sex. And now, at heartbreak. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she marched away and left Miles behind.

Chapter Two

Fifteen Years Later

Circe smoothed down her knee-length skirt and cleared her throat before entering the office of Alpha Jericho Savidge. A beautiful woman sat at the front desk and smiled in greeting. The wave of power that crackled around her told Circe she had to be Luna of the Sheridan Pack.

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