Second Chance Mates

-05- 🌹 Wish You Were Here

^ Picture of Lia Grey

"Here's to the ones that we got. Cheers to the wish you were here, but you're not. Cause the drinks bring back all the memories of everything we've been through."
~Maroon 5, 'Memories'

~~~

*Landon's POV*

How did I get here?

How did I let myself get here?

It's not too late. I can always leave. No one has seen me yet, besides the guards at the gate. Imagine my surprise to find out this isn't one big prank, and the guards actually had my name listed as an allowed guest. I haven't stepped foot on pack grounds in five years, and now here I am, staring at the doors to the pack house.

House is a stupid description. Mansion, more like. White pillars stand out front, tall and proud, guarding the white mansion with accents of gold. At six stories tall, the building towers over the other homes in the pack. It's gaudy and intimidating, but only from the outside.

On the inside, everything is different.

The first floor is practically a lobby. The room you first walk into has marble floorings, a few couches, a low table, and a desk where a member of the pack greets visitors. The second floor and third floors are mostly offices for the higher ranking wolves.

The fourth floor, where the coronation is to be held, is an open ballroom. This floor is used for various events; parties, coronations.... memorial services. Kinda bleak to crown the next Alpha in the same room they bid the previous one goodbye, right? On this floor is also the Hall of Alphas. It's where all the formal portraits of the pack Alphas, dead and alive, are displayed. They put them on the same floor so the guests can marvel at the portraits when they come for events.

The top two floors are where the head family lives. The fifth floor has the large living room and kitchen, while the sixth floor is comprised of the many bedrooms. About half of them are guest rooms, seeing as the head family isn't big enough to fill all the rooms.

But it's nice. The home is giant, yes, but inviting. Cozy. The sound of laughter bouncing off the walls; the smell of home cooked meals wafting through the air.

I would know. I lived here for two years.

My heart clenches at the thought that this house is no longer like that. The possibility that Silas doesn't laugh with Leon about stupid yet endearing jokes, or that Celeste can't stand the thought of cooking without Easton by her side. The two always shared a love for culinary art.

I'm not even inside the house yet, and already I feel myself falling apart.

So the question still stands:
How the hell did I get here?

| TWO WEEKS AGO |

"No," I answered firmly. "No fucking way."

"Language!" Mom scolded me from across the table. Her green eyes were wide with shock, as if she hasn't heard me curse a million times before. I wanted to remind her that I'm a 25-year-old grown-ass man; therefore, too old to be scolded by my mother for cursing. But instead, I settled for a simple eye roll.

"I think that pretty much sums it up," Lia agreed with me. "Why the hell would he want to go back to the pack? I thought it was stupid to even tell you about it in the first place," she tacked on, leaning over the table towards me.

"We told him because it's his choice to make," mom defended. "Not telling him about the invitation would be dishonest."

"Do you honestly think returning is a good idea for him? Last time he was there, they stripped him of his title as Luna and kicked him out on his ass. Now, you want him to sit there while they announce the new Luna; the one that's taking his rightful place. That's bullshit!"