Chapter 2
Rowen didn't say a word and kept his head down, playing with the ring on his finger. The others immediately started cheering. "Lucky guy!"
I knew they were trying to make things awkward for me, so I turned around and walked off. But to my surprise, Rowen came after me.
Rowen grabbed my arm. "Eva, why are you acting like this?"
"Let go of me." I shook off his hand. The suppressed grief in my heart suddenly turned into tears that streamed down my face.
"Why did this happen?" I asked, my eyes red. "Why didn't you tell me the claiming ceremony was canceled? You know what it means to me."
"I'm sorry. It's my fault," Rowen said, his voice softening.
"You didn't accept my mind link. Not even once!" I shouted.
Rowen stayed silent for a moment before finally speaking.
He said, "The Council of Elders decided to cancel the ceremony.
"They believe the Luna should have a good bloodline and background."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. "Do the elders think I'm too lowborn to be your Luna, even though we are fated mates?"
Rowen sighed. "The elders want the future heir of the pack to have strong blood, not the blood of a rogue wolf."
He looked up at me. "I'm trying to convince them, but I need a little more time."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I said in a feeble voice. "But that's not an excuse for ditching me to go to Susan's birthday party."
"Ever since Susan came back to the pack, you've been treating me differently," I said, meeting Rowen's eyes. "You still love her, don't you?"
"Don't overthink it, Eva," Rowen said, his voice turning serious as soon as Susan was mentioned. "Susan and I are friends."
"But the way Susan looked at you just now—" I protested.
"Eva, I don't want to talk about this anymore," Rowen said, sounding impatient. "Tonight's already a disaster. Let me drive you home."
"Rowen, actually, I—" I started, but before I could finish, Rowen's phone buzzed. He glanced at the caller ID and picked up right away.
I heard Susan's urgent voice on the other end of the line.
"Rowen, I need your help," she said.
"What happened?" Rowen asked.
"I don't know, maybe I ate something bad. My stomach's killing me. Can you come over? I need you."
"I'm on my way," Rowen said, hanging up. He turned to me. "Susan needs me right now. Please head home and wait for me, okay?"
"If she's not feeling well, what can you do?" I snapped, my emotions flaring up again. "Let the doctor take care of it."
Rowen's face darkened. "Eva, I can't believe you're being so harsh. I told you, Susan's my friend. She needs me right now."
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my stomach. I doubled over and looked up at Rowen. "Rowen, my stomach hurts so much. Please, take me to the hospital."
"Eva, quit faking it," Rowen said coldly. "I'm not playing along with your act. If you want to keep this up, then stay here by yourself."
Then he turned and walked away. No matter how much I called out to him, he didn't even look back.
A warm trickle ran down my legs. I looked down and saw bright red blood.