Page 9 of The Alpha's Broken Oath

I must admit the Alpha’s words cut me, but that doesn’t matter because Deacon Cross chose me as his mate. He’ll stand by me and fight with me.

I look at Deacon, waiting for the same knight in shining armor who saved me and made love to me in the woods to come to my rescue. My naïve eighteen-year-old heart hopes for the impossible.

“Stop this nonsense right now, Deacon,” Alpha Foster whispers loud enough for me and his son to hear.

Deacon faces the pack and addresses them.

“I, Deacon Cross, future Alpha of Moon Stone Pack, have not chosen a mate yet. Winter Cavanaugh is not my mate. However, I would like all of us to help her during these tough times she’s going through.”

I don’t stick around to listen to whatever else he has to say. I feel sick. The sting of his rejection comes like another slap to the face on top of everything that has happened over the past few weeks.

My wolf takes the rejection the hardest. I can hear her waiting on Deacon, thinking that Deacon will follow us and apologize, saying it was all a big mistake, that he was wrong, and that he rejected us in the heat of the moment.

Deacon never follows us, though, and shame and humiliation feel sticky against my skin as I slowly get away from all of them. I want to run, but I have nowhere to go. I have no one to turn to. I’m all alone. My parents left me. Jake left me. Jake warned me about Deacon. Why didn’t I listen?

It feels like many hours have passed when I knock on the door of the last person I consider a friend.

“Winter?”

“Crystal, hey. I was wondering if maybe I could stay here for a while?”

The look on her face has another piece of my heart breaking.

“Sorry, Winter. I’m really sorry about Jake and your parents, but I don’t think my parents will be okay with me letting you stay here, given what happened today. They don’t want to get in trouble with the Alpha.”

“No. Yeah, it’s okay. I…I get it.”

“Winter— “

“Thanks for everything.”

By the time I leave Crystal’s house, I realize I’ve truly lost everything.

Ten minutes later, I’m standing by the edge of the cliff where parents in Moon Stone Pack warn their kids not to go. The cliff overlooks the sea. I catch a whiff of the sea salt and listen to the calming waves crash against the base of the cliff. Then I inhale one last gulp of breath, ready to end the pain.

‘Winter? We are pregnant.’

CHAPTER FOUR

DEACON

ONE YEAR LATER

The mid-winter air filters through my nostrils, resting heavily in my lungs and bringing with it the same hollowness I’ve been feeling for days. The last of the snow pours from the skies, and if you look up keenly, you can see the dark, heavy clouds settle in like a curse brought forth by the Goddess herself.

Some would say the weather matches the occasion. Me? I’d say the weather has been this way since the Cavanaugh’s’ house burnt down and destroyed everything good in my pack.

A subtle knock sounds against the wood of my door, and I pull myself from the window, settling down on the seat that felt like a throne to my father once upon a time. I take the bottle of scotch resting on my desk and pour myself a glass.

“Come in,” my voice comes out huskily.

I haven’t spoken for a while.

It takes a minute for my visitor to open the door and usher herself inside.

It takes another minute for me to drink the scotch from my glass, feeling it burn my throat but do nothing to soothe the burn in my chest that has continued growing bigger and bigger since my mate left.

I’ve been having tons of visitors since my father fell sick. Today, my visitor is none other than the last woman I want to see.

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