FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE

CHAPTER III

Lana could feel her heart break into pieces and a growl coming on but she swallowed it and averted her eyes. She could feel tears pricking her eyes and the lump forming in her throat but she pushed it down, she refused to cry.
These feelings she were experiencing, she had felt them before back when she was sixteen but they were not as intense as they were now.

Back in high school she developed a huge crush on a certain guy and Jessica knew about it, they were best friends so they talked about everything except her being a werewolf of course. So imagine her surprise when she caught Jessica kissing her crush. She was hurt and felt betrayed but it didn't matter that much nor was it a big deal because she knew that someday she will find her life mate.

But right now Jessica had him too and this time her wolf was also hurting. Lana bit her lip hard willing her tears to go away and with her emotions intensified by her wolf's, it was hard but she did it.

She raised her head to look at her mate who was in another woman's arms. He looked very sorry and when he saw no emotions in her eyes he looked hurt.

"Oh where are my manners", Jessica exclaimed while pulling back to stand beside Lana's mate.

"Alex, this is my best friend, Lana. And Lana this is my fiance Alex. Oh and this is my wedding planner, Charlie", she said beaming.

"Hi, darling", the said wedding planner said a tad too huskily for him to be what he was trying to look like, gay. That earned him a glare from Alex but Jessica and Charlie didn't notice since their attention was on Lana. Alex wanted to say something to Charlie but held it in he had no right, or did he?

Lana gave Charlie a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement, she didn't dare talk fearing that she might choke up.

"It's nice to meet you, Lana. I've heard so much about you", Alex replied. His voice boomed in the sitting room laced with power and dominance, it caressed her skin leaving goosebumps in its wake.

Lana grit her teeth, drawing a sharp breath and voluntarily closed her eyes for a split second.

"Lana would you please join us for the sampling, I would really appreciate your opinion", Jessica pleaded and Alex looked at her expectedly.

"I would really like to, but I'm exhausted and I need to call home to let them know that I got here okay", Lana said, finally finding her voice. She gave herself an imaginary pat on the back for sounding so strong.

Jessica's eyes lit up with realization, she left Alex's side and walked up to Lana.

"That's okay, I almost forgot. Come with me I'll show you to your room", Jessica said offering Lana her hand.

Lana looked at the hand and felt a growl coming up but like before she pushed it down and put her hand in Jessica's, flinching inwardly.

She let Jessica guide her from the room but paused at the entrance because Jessica just had to give Alex a quick peck and Lana averted her eyes.

"Hun, you can wait for me in the kitchen", Jessica said as they were walking up the stairs.

Lana did not even notice their beauty this time around.
Jessica was busy rambling on about the house, who designed what and prices might have been mentioned but Lana couldn't hear her.

Lana felt broken inside and just kept quiet until she found herself being ushered into a room. The first thing she saw when she peeked inside were her suitcases and a spacious bed. The room was big and the decoration was lovely but she didn't dwell on that as she kicked off her pumps and made a bee line to the bed.

"You must really be tired, have all the rest you need and we'll talk a lot more tomorrow", Jessica said as she walked out and closed the door behind her.

The moment the lock clicked in place, Lana let the emotions take over as she silently cried her eyes out. All that time she had thought her mate dead but only to find out that he was getting married to her friend and she was going to be the maid of honour, why couldn't he have waited the same way she did?.

For some reason she felt Jessica's betrayal but she couldn't hold it against her, Jessica didn't know that Alex was Lana's mate. She cried until she felt numb, never in her life did she ever think that she would cry over a man but there she was crying over a man she just met five minutes ago. By the time she fell asleep she had gone numb and the well of tears had dried up.

She felt a cold breeze brush against her skin and heard what sounded like a distant sorrowful howl. This jerked her awake, she looked about the bedroom to only find it dark, being a wolf this did not bother her the slightest but still she reached over to her night stand looking for a switch and when she found it she light her bedside lamp.

Lana sat up on the bed and looked at her wristwatch, it was way past midnight so she would have to wait until morning to call home. She then got up from the bed and made her way to the curtains with the intention of closing the window. When she parted them she was stunned to see that there were no windows but a sliding door that lead to a balcony. She walked out and let the cool breeze ruffle her hair not wanting to think of the events that took place the previous day.

She gripped the railing, trying hard to keep her emotions in check and when she turned around to leave she was stopped by a sorrowful howl. She felt her heart clench and had the sudden urge to go comfort her mate, her wolf was itching to come out but she held it in. Looking down she saw movement by the tree line but she didn't stay to find out who it was. He was marrying another woman, how was she supposed to live with that?

After changing into a comfortable pair of pyjamas, Lana went back to bed with a heavy heart, knowing that sooner or later she was going to have to face him.