Twisting Her Fate
Chapter 118

Connor leans back on his chair, all his original excitement is gone and a rare solemn look crosses his face. Usually, whenever he is talking about Leilani, he either wears a face of heartbreak or a face filled with tenderness. "I just want to see her Harvey. I want to know that she has a good life, that she has moved on from me, I want to see that she is happy with my own eyes. I know that it will break me, but I will train someone else to take over from me and I will step down from my role" "Couldn't you just?...."

"No Harvey, I refuse to just be with someone to keep my title. If it isn't her, then it will never be anyone else"

Harvey nods at his friend, who has reverted from his excited state that he was in when Harvey entered the office to the man that just stares wistfully out the window, like he used to do before her and now even more after her.

Harvey is disappointed, the stormy pack is only like it is now because of all of Connor's hard work, but he is just ready to hand it over to anyone. Harvey is still amazed at how much a bond, that isn't a mate bond, can affect someone the way it has affected Connor. Realistically, the two have spent a lot longer apart than they ever spent together, but Lani changed Connor, she captured his heart and took it with her when she left and it is something he has never been able to get back. Maybe Connor never had any interest in getting it back. To Connor, Leilani was his one and only, he has fallen in love in his life and she will keep his love for a lifetime. He could never fall in love with anyone else.

Harvey wants to get his friends excitement back. He wants Connor to find Leilani again. He can only hope that once they see each other again and Leilani gives Connor a chance to explain everything, then it will be like before. Connor is the only one that should run the stormy pack. No others will come close, the pack will suffer from the loss of such a great alpha.

"So how long do you want me to look after the pack for?"

Connor's chair swings back to look at Harvey and his face instantly lightens again. There is no point going in with a defeatist attitude. This is his life he's talking about. This is his chance at love, the chance to get his one and only back.

"I will be back after I see her. I'm not sure how long that is going to take, but it won't be until I view her. Whether she comes back with me or not is a different story. All I know is that I am adamant to see her. It's been long enough. I want everything clear. I want her to know how I feel about her. Whether she feels the same or not. It doesn't matter. I need her to know how much I still love her"

"So you want me to run the pack for an unforeseen amount of time?"

"I have full faith in you Harvey. If you need any help, there is Evie or Ryan or Oscar to reach out to"

Day of Separation

Connor takes a tentative step forward, looking straight at Leilani breathing in that amazing scent. All of his dreams have come true. How could it be this perfect?

Even in this grieving atmosphere Connor cannot help the smile that comes to his lips. He doesn't want to wait any longer. He is so excited that he just wants to celebrate with Leilani.

He wants to stand up in the middle of this large crowd and announce that Leilani is his fated mate, that the moon goddess didn't make a mistake, all that happened before was just to get to this point.

Can she smell the mate scent already? It doesn't make much sense to him as her and Gabriel's rejection hasn't gone through yet, but he moves forward regardless, paying little attention to that fact. Paying little mind to that information, pushing the impossible scenario to the back of his mind. The woman he loves is in front of him and the closer he steps toward her the stronger the scent gets, so why would he believe any different?

All that is meant to be, will be and he knows that he and Leilani are meant to be.

If Leilani smells him and his mate's scent she makes no movement of showing it. He just stares directly at her as he walks forward with confident steps ready to claim what is his. He doesn't want to wait any longer, he was already wanting enough, but now he is about to go crazy.

Connor doesn't pay a speck of attention to who Leilani is holding close, saying so many comforting words to. He can only see a mass of blonde hair that blends perfectly with Leilani's fake colour, which thankfully is fading out to white blonde again quickly. Connor loves Lani just the way she is. He remembers the first time he saw that beautiful hair in the club, that first night. It was the first thing that drew his eyes, the way the lights caught in it, making the entire scene just her. There was never a single other person in that club to him, there was only ever her.

He doesn't want a single thing different about her. To him, it's not exciting like being with someone else or having all these images. He just wants Leilani and only Leilani the whole time.

As he steps closer, Leilani finally feels him, whispering some encouraging words to the girl that she is holding tight. Rubbing her back and keeping her safe. Lani turns to him with a slight smile, but there is joy in her eyes as she looks at the man in front of her. All she wants to do is run into the safety of his big strong arms for him to show her once again that not everyone in the world is terrible. Not every man is bad. Lani is being the comfort for others, but Connor knows that she only wants to be comforted by him, which makes everything in his world right.

He wants to be that for her. She can be strong for the outside world and he can be her strength behind closed doors, when sometimes she just needs that comfort, when she has given everything out, he can be the one to give it all back.

Connor looks at Lani's beautiful face and a slight frown mars his forehead. He looks into Leilani's beautiful stormy blue eyes, but there isn't that flash of recognition that he was expecting.

He can't help but feel slightly disappointed. Why can he smell the scent but he can't see what he wanted to see in her eyes? Is a second chance slightly different to the first?

But that is when he notices something and the frown slightly deepens. He nearly didn't notice it as the floral scent is taking over all his senses, but under that, under all that floral, he can smell something else.

There is the smell of the scent he is all too familiar with, the scent he knows and loves very much. He can smell Lani's apricot scent.

Connor knows Leilani is looking at him but he can't seem to straighten his face, he can't seem to pretend that he knows what is going on, because he doesn't know at all. He is so confused.

How can he smell the apricot scent that is separate to the floral scent?

Lani looks at him and all he wants to do is take that step forward and embrace her, then everything will be alright in the world. The only problem with that is there is a blonde that is occupying the space in Lani's arms, his space.

Connor quirks his head as he looks at the blonde, he wants to throw her out of Lani's arms, he wants Lani all to himself.

He watches as the girl in Lani's arms tenses slightly. He wonders if he is wishing that she would leave so much that she can actually feel it. He wonders if he is actually staring at her so much that she can feel it.

The need to have Leilani is his arms is growing rapidly, his sense of unease is multiplying.

Something bad is going to happen, he can feel it deep within his bones.

His heart accelerates and his breathing is raspy, a thin sheen of sweat appears on his forehead and it takes everything he has not to lift his arm and wipe it with his sleeve, but his hand has a slight tremor, he is scared that if he lifts it everyone will see. Can he just rip Lani away from the girl, throw her over his shoulder and run away never to be seen again?

The stiffened girl in Leilani's comforting embrace slowly turns her head to peer at him, she looks up at him with large honey-colored doe eyes and a single tear falls from the corner of Connor's eyes.

At that moment, his whole world crumbles, he is devastated.

Two voices sound at the same time, one unwilling, one timid.

"Mine"