Alpha Theo's Unloved Luna - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

~ Theo ~
He took another big whiff before Theo ran to find where the scent was coming from. When he reached the castle's lower levels, he was like a madman sniffing everywhere!
"Could it be Gwen?" Theo muttered.
While Gwen did, in fact, smell of Lilac, the flower itself was difficult to get in Northern Alfar. Due to weather, only two cities in the country could grow lilacs, and Drad City wasn't one of them.
When he reached the second floor, Theo felt the scent become more pungent. His heart raced as he ran to a sitting area overlooking the castle's garden.
"Good afternoon, Alpha Theo," an omega greeted him.
When Theo turned to the omega, his heart sank. She was arranging a set of flowers in a pot, and there happened to be lilac blooms.
Utterly frustrated, he asked, "Where - where did you get the Lilac?"
"Some female workers had returned from Emberfall, Alpha. They had bought flowers from their hometown," the omega said with a smile.
"Do you like flowers, Alpha Theo?" The omega asked with a puzzled look.
Theo's eyes fluttered. He gulped and answered, "My - my wife loved flowers."
"Oh." The omega looked disheartened. "I'm sorry, Alpha Theo."
Gwen's death reached the castle, of course, since she was the Luna of Theo's pack, but not everyone knew he had planned to reject his wife back then.
"It's not a problem," Theo dryly said before leaving the omega and returning to his room.
It was strange, though. While Theo was disappointed, he felt so uneasy, especially when he reached the second-floor level of the castle. The wolf in him was almost sure it was Gwen.
~ Gwen ~
"Mommy, I miss you so much!" Ian exclaimed through the video call on Gwen's laptop at around eight.
"Oh, I miss my baby so much, too. Kisses, kisses, and more kisses," Gwen said as she blew kisses for Ian. "I love you."
Ian chuckled. He also blew Gwen a kiss. "I love you too, Mommy. Guess what? On the first day of my fighting class, we were asked to break kickboards, and I broke them all! Today, we had our first sparring match -"
"He wasn't supposed to be part of it, Gwen," George interjected, joining the conference call. "But because his fighting skills were already advanced, he joined the students who had been there for six months to a year. The school let him join a semi-free sparring activity."
"Good job!" Gwen made a face, unsure if that was good or bad. She truly feared her son's strength was out of the ordinary. After all, he was still six years old!
"I did this and that!" Through the video call, Ian, her son, showed his moves. "Hiya! Hiya!"
"And I flipped my opponent over," Ian proudly said.
"Which is an eight-year-old, I might add," George said behind Ian.
It made Gwen bite her lip. She said, "Well, be careful, Honey, because you might hurt your friend."
"Don't worry, mommy, it was safe," Ian assured his mother.
"So, tell me about school? What did you learn today?" Gwen asked.
The mother and son continued chatting about school, but the pup eventually yawned. Gwen said goodnight, but Ian's face suddenly looked unhappy. He approached the camera and asked, "Mom, did you meet my dad there?"
Gwen gasped. She leaned back in her seat and covered her mouth. When she turned back to Ian, she answered, "No, Honey. I did not meet your dad."
There was an awkward silence between them, and Gwen saw how Ian looked down. She could not help but ask, "Why, Ian, do you really want to meet your dad?"
"It's just that today, I think all my classmates in the fighting class had daddies. Only I had a grandpa," Ian revealed. He wavered but soon said,
"It's okay, Mommy. I was just asking."
Gwen nearly cried, realizing her son longed to have a father, but what was she to do? Theo hated her!
"Goodnight, Mommy," Ian said. "I'll see you on Tuesday, right?"
"Yes, Tuesday evening," Gwen said. "I love you and can't wait to hold you again."
"I love you, Mommy," Ian said before ending the video call.
That night, as Gwen lay in bed, she contemplated. There was no way she would return to the pack that hated her so much. Why would she give herself another heartache?
"Am I selfish, Moon Goddess?" Gwen asked as she glanced out the window of her room. Then, she positioned her frame to the right side of the bed and closed her eyes, saying, "I'm sorry, Ian."
At five in the morning, Gwen got up early. She wanted to run, but before that, she checked on the king. After confirming that Arthur was still asleep, she mindlinked with Jacob and Baron, 'I want to take a run around Drad.'
'Why are you late, Sister?' Baron answered. 'I'm already half-way through the city!'
'Oh, bummer. Why didn't you wake me up earlier, Baron?' Gwen grumbled, linking back.
'I just got up. I can run with you, Gwen,' Jacob offered.
So, in the end, only Gwen and Jacob jogged outside the castle walls. Baron was already headed back from his morning run.
"I miss jogging this early," Gwen muttered after about half a kilometer out. She was running behind Jacob.
Before Ian started kindergarten, she used to take early morning runs with Baron and Jacob outside the Purple-eye Pack, but with school, Gwen's best workout hours changed to mid-day or in the evening.
"I miss running with you too," Jacob said, glancing back at her for a moment. "I'm still waiting for the day you will outrun me."
"I don't know if I ever will. You and my brother are too fast!" Gwen grumbled, and Jacob laughed.
"Try it! Try today!" Jacob pushed her. "If you outrun me, I'll wash your dishes for a week."
"Gwen's mouth fell open. She said, "What a lovely offer!"
She suddenly picked up the pace and tried to cope with Jacob. The sad part, though, was that Jacob also hastened his run. She groaned, "Hey, that's not fair!"
Jacob laughed and answered, "How is it not fair? Come on, Gwen. One week of not doing dishes. You can do it!"
Gwen pushed herself a little harder, but when she realized there was no way she could do it, she ran faster, just enough to push Jacob and outbalance him.
"What the - since when did you learn to play tricks, Gwen?" Jacob screamed as Gwen dashed. "Cheating wasn't part of the deal!"
"Haha!" Gwen laughed in amusement. Her plan was to escape Jacob quickly by making a turn at the next intersection, but the big guy caught up with her.
Jacob grabbed her by the waist and spun her around. Then he dropped her on the pavement, saying, "That did not count!"
"Oh, come on, Jacob. Help me out for one week, will you," Gwen suggested while still giggling. "Please -"
"Gwen? Gwen! It is you!" She turned across the street, and the moment she locked eyes with the man who had called her name, her heart stopped. Her chest tightened profoundly.
"Fuck." Gwen could not believe her eyes. "This can't be happening."
"Double fuck," Jacob said after following her gaze.
After staying away all these years, Gwen could not accept that their paths had crossed again. The man who called her name was none other than Theo Erhart, Ian's father.