Chapter 109 109

Chapter 109 109
AMANDA

“I have to go. I’m sorry, but I need to get back. You know how it is, right?” Scott asked, his voice gentle with apology.
I stared at him for a moment, then slowly shook my head.
“No, I don’t,” I muttered, folding my arms across my chest. “You only told me that you might not be able to stay with me all night. You never said your duty would begin immediately.”
A sigh slipped past my lips despite my effort to hide my disappointment.
The warmth of his kiss still lingered on my mouth, the memory of his hands still burned on my skin, and yet reality had returned too quickly. It always did.
Scott’s expression softened further, guilt flashing across his face.
“He already called for me,” he said quietly. “I have to go.”
He leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to my lips, but instead of melting into it the way I usually would, I only looked at him solemnly.
“You’re angry,” he murmured.
Before I could answer, he began placing soft kisses across my cheek, my temple, the corner of my mouth, as though trying to charm the irritation out of me.
I burst into laughter despite myself. It was impossible to stay upset with him for long.
“Fine,” I said, trying to sound stern though my smile betrayed me. “I’m not angry. You can go.”
Scott studied me carefully, as though searching for any trace of hurt I might be hiding.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I said again, gentler this time.
He hesitated, then nodded. I watched him turn and begin walking away, his broad figure disappearing little by little along the narrow path beside the lake.
The smile on my face remained, but something deeper stirred beneath it.
I didn’t know whether this fragile happiness I had found with him was something real and lasting... or whether it was another fleeting joy destined to vanish before I could hold onto it.
The thought made my chest ache.
“This moment…” I whispered to myself, staring after him. “I don’t want it to end. Call it greed or selfishness or whatever you want... but I don’t think I ever want it to.”
The words had barely left my mouth when a voice rose sharply behind me.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
I gasped and spun around so fast my heart slammed against my ribs.
Fear shot through me for one terrible second. My mind instantly raced to the worst possibility... had someone seen Scott and me together?
But when I saw the person standing there, my fear quickly turned to annoyance. It was a woman.
Young, elegantly dressed, with sharp eyes and the sort of expression that made it clear she thought very highly of herself.
I hissed under my breath. Had she seen us?Had she been watching the whole time?
“What are you doing here?” I asked coldly. “No, actually, I shouldn’t ask. It’s none of my business.”
I turned to leave, deciding I had no patience for whatever nonsense she had come to start. But her voice stopped me.
“Are you not ashamed?” she asked, dripping contempt. “Sleeping around with a man who has…” She never finished. I turned back sharply.
“I don’t think it’s any of your business who I sleep with,” I cut in, my patience already thinning. “So I suggest you don’t get on my nerves. I’m not a patient person.”
My words should have ended it. Instead, the woman smiled. Not kindly. Cruelly.
“Really?” she said, taking a slow step toward me. “Even if the man you’re sleeping with belongs to someone else?”
My body went still. Belongs to someone else? What was she talking about?
“And I’m sure,” she continued, savoring every word, “that the moment she returns, Beta Scott will crawl right back to her.”
The air around me seemed to freeze. I stared at her, trying to make sense of what she was saying.
Scott… had someone else? A woman waiting for him? A mate? My throat tightened painfully.
“What did you mean?” I asked, my voice lower now, edged with disbelief.
The woman’s lips curled into an ugly smirk as she moved closer, clearly enjoying every second of my confusion.
“First it was some shameless girl trying to seduce the Alpha,” she sneered. “Now it’s another nuisance trying to steal someone else’s man.” My brows furrowed.
She was talking in circles, spitting poison without sense, and I was quickly losing patience.
“A nuisance?” I repeated, incredulous. “Don’t you think you’re the nuisance here?”
I stepped toward her, refusing to shrink back.
“Coming up to someone uninvited, speaking in riddles, insulting people you don’t know... that sounds far more pathetic to me.”
Her jaw tightened, but I continued. "If you enjoy talking in parables, find someone else to entertain you. I’m not interested in your wordplay.”
I turned again, ready to leave before I did something reckless. Then she shouted after me.
“The man you’re flirting with is my friend’s mate!” My steps halted instantly. The words struck like a slap.
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Slowly, I turned back around.
The smug satisfaction on her face made me want to wipe it away.
But beneath my anger was something far worse.
Shock.
What was she saying?
Was Scott truly mated to someone else?
Was there another woman tied to him by fate while I had been foolish enough to fall for him?
No.
That didn’t make sense.
Scott would have told me.
Wouldn’t he?
My chest tightened painfully as doubt crept in.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady.
She folded her arms triumphantly.
“I’m talking about the truth you clearly didn’t know.”
I swallowed hard.
The sunlight on the lake no longer looked beautiful. The breeze no longer felt warm. Everything around me had turned sharp and uncertain.
All the sweet moments I had just shared with Scott replayed in my mind, but now they were stained with questions.
Had he hidden something from me?
Had I been nothing more than a distraction?
Or was this woman simply trying to ruin what she envied?
I lifted my chin, forcing strength into my posture even as unease churned inside me.
“If you’re lying,” I said quietly, dangerously, “you’ll regret it.”
She only smiled wider, and for the first time since meeting Scott, fear... not of enemies or pack politics, but of heartbreak... settled heavily in my chest.