Chapter Twenty-Three Vincent

I was so fucking mad that I could barely breathe. Maybe it had something to do with the shattered piece of my heart stabbing me under the ribs. But I couldn't focus on that. I had to be angry. If I let the sadness in even for a moment, it would overtake me and drag me down to its dark depths of despair. And that I might not recover from.

Besides, I had a pizza shop that wasn't going to run itself and today was not my day off. In fact, after today, I wasn't sure I'd take another day off again. At least when I was making pizza I couldn't focus on being upset. Or at least that's what I hoped. The truth was it gave me too much time to think, and I wasn't looking forward to that.

But for now, I was too fucking mad to care.

How could River do that to me? He'd spent the past three weeks jerking me in every fucking direction imaginable. Until a week and a half ago, I was convinced nothing was ever going to come of our meeting. And yet, against my better judgment, I'd let him worm his way into my heart. That was probably the stupidest mistake I'd ever made.

And then, just when I thought everything was on the way up and River was going to stay, I found out that he'd been lying to me since the moment we met. He cherry picked the most digestible bits of himself and kept the rest a secret. Not only did I have to find out he was lying, but from his own father with River's future wife standing a fucking foot away.

Fuck .

My car screeched to a halt in the rear parking lot of the pizza shop and I slammed the door closed as I got out. Stomping and cursing the entire way up to the door, I jammed the key in the lock and threw it open. I didn't bother going to the front of the store to prep for the night's work. Instead I went into the break room, threw my bag on the ground, and flopped down on the couch with my arm thrown over my eyes to block out the light.

I wasn't going to cry. I wouldn't allow it. He didn't deserve my tears.

And yet, I felt so fucking broken that I thought I might die. The one person I loved more than anything in the world, my true mate , was gone. I'd been stuck in this tiny town for years, hoping against hope that someone might come along who thought I was special. Who thought I was enough . And just when I'd finally found him, it turned out he was a piece of shit liar. What a great fucking gift that was from the universe. Our bond was undeniable, but that didn't guarantee he was a good person, which I now knew. What a cruel twist of fate that the one guy just for me was the last guy I ever wanted to be with.

And the one I'd fallen in love with, regardless.

I wiped my eyes, letting my arm fall to the side. The break room was dark enough that I couldn't make out much, anyway. However, something sitting on the coffee table caught my attention. I sat up on one elbow and reached out for it.

My fingers found a small stack of folded papers. When I turned them over, I saw my name was scrawled across the front. I recognized the handwriting immediately. It was River's.

Sitting up, I slid to the right side of the couch and turned on the table lamp. The papers looked like they'd been torn out of a small scratch pad. Every inch of them was coated in River's handwriting. In several places there were scribbled out words and amendments to his sentences. It looked like, whatever this was, he'd spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to say things.

I'm not sure what possessed me to begin reading since the last thing I wanted to focus on was him. But I couldn't stop myself. Something drove me on and I had to answer the call.

Vince,

I know it's kind of stupid that I'm writing you a letter to tell you all this, but I couldn't think of another way to do it. I wanted to get everything out without messing it all up because I know some of this is going to come as a shock to you. With any hope, by the time you're done you'll still like me. And I'll be waiting in the other room if you need to yell at me. I know I'd deserve it for keeping all this a secret. But… well, I guess I just didn't know how to tell you.

However, I love you more than anything and you deserve my honesty.

So here it goes.

I'm not just going home to become the pack Alpha. The truth is, I'm going home to a lot more.

I've been trained my entire life to be the next Alpha of my pack. Even when Mom was still alive, Dad was doing everything he could to get me ready. He taught me how to lead, how to care for those that looked up to me, how to protect them, and how to not get attached to anyone. When Mom died, he used it as a teaching experience. My grieving was to be minimal and done only when I was alone. And, as far as anyone in the pack knew, even me, he never broke down about her passing. The only hint of emotion I ever got was a single tear from him when they lowered her into the ground. After that, it was like she never existed to begin with.

And that's how I've lived my life since. I made it a point never to get attached to anyone. My job was to be a fearless and dependable leader. Granted, I screwed around a lot, but that was less about being an Alpha and more about my privilege in life.

That brings me to my first lie. I never told you how rich my family is. I know people understand that Alpha families are typically fairly well off. But not my family. My father is a millionaire several hundred times over. And he put an inheritance away for me when I was a kid. One that I can only claim once I become the next Alpha.

I never told you about it because honestly, I'm a bit embarrassed. Up until this point, my goal was to get everything out of my system, go home, get my money, and live a peaceful and easy life. That was always the plan. Because, frankly, I don't know how to do anything else. That night I worked in your pizza shop was the first night I'd ever done real work in my life. I thought it would be horrible and completely drudgery… but I kinda liked it. That night, more than anything, gave me the confidence that not only was I able to work, but that life could still happen when you had a job.

Until that moment, I was terrified of what having no money might mean. The future looked like a dark void without it. But seeing how you, Andy, and Sam have all made a life for yourselves despite your hardships proves to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that it can be done.

Now, this is the hard bit. There was one more stipulation to my inheritance that I never mentioned.

A wife.

And she's already been picked out for me.

My father is waiting at home with my new mate, my future Luna, and also my fiance. I've never met her. In fact, I don't even know her name. My father took it upon himself to get that all taken care of. After he found me in bed with another guy in high school, he's always known that he'd have to force me to marry if he wanted his line to continue. That's why he gave me a deadline for my freedom this summer and why he's picked out a Luna for me. He knows I'd never willingly do either of those things myself.

She means nothing to me. I need you to understand that. Her, the money, and the pack… they're nothing compared to you. I love YOU, Vince. Nobody else. If the world was ending tomorrow, I'd be at your side instead of anywhere else. You are home to me now and I love you more than anything in the world. I might have kept secrets about my past, but I would never lie to you about how I feel. Your love was the one thing I tried to avoid at all costs because it scared me to death. But the moment I gave in to you… there was no going back. I want to be at your side for as long as you'll allow me to be. I give my heart completely to you to do with it what you will.

Also, from this moment forward, I swear I will never keep anything from you again. I'll live at your side (if you'll have me) in complete honesty. The only time I might lie is if you do something weird with your hair or grow a mustache. But who knows? Maybe I'll learn to like it with time! But those are the kinds of things that mates can do when they know they can trust one another.

I trust you. And now that everything's out in the open, I hope you can find it in your heart to trust me once more.

I'm calling my father tomorrow to tell him I'm not coming home. My home is here now, with you, in Shifter Grove. Even if you break up with me tonight, I'll still stay. This town has grown on me and I can't bear to leave it behind. Dad will be mad, he'll threaten me and call me every name in the book, but nothing, not even he, could pull me from your side.

I love you more than anything, darling. And I'm staying.

Love,

-River

I read the letter twice, tears running down my face as the emotions threatened to overwhelm me. As I finished it the second time, it dawned on me what had actually happened this morning.

River wasn't late to breakfast because he took a long time at the hotel. He was late because he'd been trying to figure out how to tell me the truth. He'd stopped at the pizza shop long enough to pen this letter and leave it out for me to find. And that meant, when he'd told me that he had planned on admitting everything today… he wasn't lying.

I jumped up from the couch, stuffing the letter into my jeans pocket. I'd already wasted far too much time sulking. River could already be on his way out of town. But that wasn't going to stop me. I had to get him back, no matter what the cost.

Without a second thought, I ran out of the pizza shop, the door hanging wide open behind me.