Quinn's heart pained as she stood breathlessly behind the tall, oak tree by the pack borders. She had known it for a while now, after three years of never-ending love between her and her mate, the bond was finally fading.

Unlike before, there was a distance between them, he only spoke to her when it was necessary and the intense lovemaking they used to indulge in was now no more. He barely ever touched her and now she knew exactly what the reason was...

It was because of the sweet and innocent omega he currently stood before, the redhead that Quinn called a sister. Their affair had been obvious, but Quinn pretended to be blind. She had seen the way they looked at each other, the desperate glances, the shy smiles...she had seen them all, especially from her sister, but she had decided to trust her mate.

However, that was the worst decision she'd ever made...for trusting him only made his betrayal even more painful...

Quinn wiped her eyes when tears graced them, she never thought he was capable of doing something like this to her, he was an alpha, but he had always been a gentle one...he used to treasure her.

Back when they had found out about them being mates, he had wooed her with sincere words and delicate touches against the shoulder and the waist until he had found his way around her heart. It had been like a Cinderella story, she had found her prince and she was his princess...but now it seems the glass slipper couldn't fit her anymore...

Damn! Quinn's hand clenched tighter against her chest when more pain weighed down on her. She shouldn't have done this, shouldn't have sprayed herself down with mask and followed him.

If she hadn't, then the betrayal she now felt would not have been bestowed upon her. She'd still be in bed, feigning her trust for him, desperately trying to hang onto a bond that was obviously breaking...

Pathetic, she knew, but she loved him too much to just leave, even after discovering just why he'd been so distant. It was shameless, but she'd try, she'd try to fix the bond between them, to strengthen it.

She'd get him to love her again, they were mated for a reason, and she would not lose him to someone who'd soon get a mate of their own. She loved her sister, but Delilah would be better off saving herself for her mate.

Twisting on her feet, Quinn walked away from the scene. She went back to their house, the one Jeo had built for them. He had been so happy, he was so sure that he'd love her forever.

'This is the spot, Quinn...we'll build a house here...a nice house...one nice enough that our kids would still want to live in it after we become old and die.'

Quinn had been happy too, excited even. She had helped him, the pack members had helped as well, and now three years later, this house that was once full of love felt lonely and suffocating.

Stepping up onto the porch, Quinn shoved the door open and went up to their shared room, laying back down against the cold sheets. His scent was all over it...

Mint and cinnamon...

It was a scent that used to calm her, but now it was a scent that made her anxious.

Quinn reached for his pillow, hugging it to her chest as fresh tears glossed over her eyes. She shouldn't cry, she was ranked a beta...she was stronger than this...

Everything would be fine; he'd probably soon find out that the love between them was stronger than lust. He'd come back to her...she just had to trust him and wait.

Hours passed before the door to the bedroom was finally pushed open and Jeo's ~short for Jeovanni~ scent flooded in.

Quinn closed her eyes, feigning sleep as he walked into the dark room. He was done having his fun, and now he was back to a place he probably didn't even want to be.

She heard him sigh, and then her body stiffened when he swiped her fiery, red hair out of her face, his soft lips that had kissed her sister's forehead barely brushing against hers. "I love you, Quinn, but I'm sorry..."

He drew for the sheets, tucking her in before laying beside her. Quinn's heartbeat quickened when his arms draped around her, and tears dripped from her eyes.

If he loved her, then why was he doing this?

Why was he sorry?

She heard him sigh again, the breath of air sounding as if he was in deep torment...

If he truly loved her...if he truly loved her, then he wouldn't be sneaking around with her sister.

"Quinn I..."

Quinn's hand clenched against the sheets as his head nestled against her back. "I think I..." he shook his head, becoming silent for a while. "No...it's not just a thought...it's something that I know...I'm sure of my feelings."

His words were whispered lowly in the dark, and each one taunted Quinn in the most dreadful way possible. Her mate...he was telling her that he loved somebody else, wasn't he? She wanted to turn around, to ask him why, but the answer to that question would only cause her more pain.

She thought this was forever...she thought they were compatible, she thought he understood her, and she completely understood him too, but she didn't understand this...

This was a side of him she didn't know...a side she did not wish to see. She wanted the past back, those days when he'd frown if she took too long to say 'I love you' back. Those days when he'd literally beg her to kiss him before he left out...those days, those nights of long and relaxing conversations. She wanted it all back, she couldn't just let all that love go to somebody else.

Jeovanni was hers, they were fated...the goddess up above had tied them together with a bond and though it was slowly withering...though it was slowly withering...

Quinn held back a sob which had climbed up her throat, it was almost suffocating to cry silently, but she didn't want him to hear just how pathetic she was...

She was supposed to be strong; she was luna for a reason...this pack could not live without her. She had contributed so much of her life to it and even more of her life to Jeo...

If she had known it was going to turn out like this, then she wouldn't have given him her all...her heart; she would've just given him a half of it...so that her chest wouldn't feel as empty as it did now.

She regretted it, she regretted it...! But there was no way in hell she regretted him. She couldn't say she wished they never happened...because he was still the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Wiping her face against the pillow, she listened as his breaths turned into low snores. He was lucky that he could sleep, for she couldn't...

This was all so painful...but she'd live through it.

Turning to face him, her index finger ran along the outline of his beautiful face. It was okay...he said he loved her, didn't he?

|-_-|

Quinn woke up to a hand shaking her shoulder, her eyes squinting open. She didn't know when she fell asleep, but the sun was out now.

She twisted towards Jeo who stood over her. "Wake up, Quinn...it's today."

Quinn rubbed her face as she sat up on the bed. Her sore eyes wandered over his face, remembering the whispered words he told her last night, and they twitched with tears. "W-Where were you last night? When I woke up, you were nowhere here."

She already knew the answer to that question, she wasn't even sure why she was asking him. She was probably hoping he'd tell the truth and then beg for her forgiveness...for she'd foolishly forgive him...just to regain what they had in the past.

"I was just...I was..." He trailed off...

'Tell the truth Jeo...Tell me the truth...' Quinn begged mentally.

"I was just...I...I was at the borders...The patrol team needed some company."

Quinn's heart broke once again in her chest, her glossy eyes glancing away from him. Liar...he was so cruel.

Even in the despair Quinn sat in, the outline of his face tempted her and those lips that had been on her sister...Quinn wanted to place hers against them...

"Is that the truth?"

He nodded, giving her that distant smile. "Yeah...anyway, it's today...don't you remember? You need to get ready."

"What's today?"

"The contract...I want an alliance with the wounded moon pack...it's the strongest pack among many if not all, I need there to be peace between our pack and theirs."

"The wounded moon pack? Isn't that the pack led by the Alpha king?"

"Yes...I'm sending you with a few pack members...they'll take along with them some weapons and some gifts to enhance his trust in us. It'll probably take you about two days to get there and two days to get back...So you'll be gone for four days..."

Quinn nodded. "Are we leaving now or later?"

"Now Quinn and I'm not coming."

"You're not? It's important, wouldn't it be better for the alpha to go...?"

It'd be disrespectful to only send the luna, the man they were going to meet was strong, he'd fought from the bottom to the top in order to be as infamous as he was now. In order to become alpha king, this man had to battle and win the prior alpha king...

He was the only alpha who had the guts to even propose a battle...and Jeo did not want to greet him? Why...?

"I have some things to take care of here...I can't make it."

His words were cold and final, his expression blank, and those eyes Quinn was trying so desperately to search would not meet hers...she couldn't read him. "Okay...I'll get ready and go."

"Good..." And with that, he walked out of the room, leaving her alone with a heart that was utterly broken.

|-_-| /-_- |-_-|