Page 3

WINTER

“Go home. We’ll talk about this when I get home.”

Jacob’s voice haunts me three weeks later.

I should have never gone to the training grounds. Maybe if I had stayed home, Mom and Dad would still be here. Maybe Jacob would be here, too, or maybe I would have done something. I would have saved them.

Jacob was one of the strongest betas in the pack, and my dad, even though a retired beta, had the power to shift. My parents would have escaped the fire by themselves, which leaves me with the only truth I know and believe in. My family was murdered.

“Here.”

I’m pulled out of grief by the man who took my virginity the night my parents were murdered and has been acting weird ever since that night.

I take the glass of water from Deacon’s hands because I need it.

I haven’t been able to stomach anything since that night due to the grief that won’t let me go.

I drink half of the water in the glass, handing it back to Deacon.

“You have to drink all of it, Winter.”

He’s been calling me Winter since Jake’s death. Not doll face, not baby, but Winter. It’s almost as if he blames me for something. Almost as if he doesn’t want me anymore, but I can’t dwell on that. Everyone is gathered here for an entirely different reason.

Deacon’s dad, Alpha Foster Cross, assembled an emergency meeting for my family, and everyone in the pack was supposed to be here, me most of all. This meeting serves as the only hope I have of finding my family’s killer.

“Betas and omegas. Three weeks ago, we witnessed the most horrendous thing to ever happen to our pack. Our very own Melanie Cavanaugh, Will Cavanaugh, and Jacob Cavanaugh were caught in a fire that claimed their lives. Now, I promised you that my elders and I would look into the matter. If there was any evidence of foul play or if one of our enemies caused the fire, I promised to deliver justice. Unfortunately, despite my great efforts, there was no evidence of foul play. The Cavanaugh family died from an accidental fire inside their home.”

Most of the men and women agree with whatever Alpha Foster is saying.

One of them says,” ‘Fires are common in small houses,” and another says, “That Jacob kid was a menace from the start.”

I look at Deacon, who’s standing next to his father and listening to everything they are saying about my brother, and not once does he correct them and tell them they are wrong.

Not once does he look at me, and I don’t know what hurts more, whatever his father says or the fact that he’s siding with his father’s words.

My parents were murdered. It’s as clear as day.

“I don’t believe that!”

I place the empty glass of water on the small table next to me. I stand up and walk to where our almighty Alpha is spreading his filthy lies.

“My parents were murdered.”

Everyone goes quiet.

Alpha Foster’s eyes linger on me, and they are nowhere near as warm as his son’s.

“Winter, don’t do this.”

I push Deacon’s arms away.

How dare he side with his father when he knew whatever was being said wasn’t true? How could he?

“Everyone knows that this was murder. If the fire had been an accident, the doors would have worked just fine, and my father and my brother would have gotten my mom out of there. They would have all escaped! This is what a murder looks like!”

Alpha Foster Cross steps forward, his apologetic smile not reaching his eyes.

“You are grieving, child. You are allowed to grieve, but this is not what your parents would have wanted.”

The pack agrees with the Alpha.

I can see their nods. I can hear every murmur and whisper being tossed around the hall. They think I’ve lost my mind. They think I’m crazy to challenge the Alpha and his words.

“Deacon will help us. He is our mate. He’ll stick to our side and help us get justice.” The loyalty my wolf has to Deacon makes me want to latch on to false hope.

Deep inside me, I can feel the bond between Deacon and me hanging by a thread. The minute he failed to stop his father from saying all those things about my family’s death being an accident, I felt something change between us.

Despite all that, I side with my wolf because this is Deacon Cross, and he will side with us when we need him the most.

“I, Winter Cavanaugh, omega of Moon Stone Pack, demand justice for my parents. As the future Luna of this pack, I want the people who did this to my family found and treated the same way. I deserve to be accorded that much as the future Luna, right?”

The whispers and murmurs turn into something more. They turn into scornful words and sneers. Alpha Foster runs a hand through his silver hair, trying to calm everyone down, assuring them that the future Luna of the pack hasn’t been chosen yet.

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 na?ve 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.’