"I need to see Kaito," Angela said as she headed for the door, but the girls stopped her just in time. It was obvious she was not in the right frame of mind at that moment, yet she struggled against them. "I have to see him."

"No, you have to get ready first," Hailey insisted as she helped her sit back on the bed. She opened the kit and brought out her brushes, her voice soft but firm. "I am really sorry about this, but you need to calm down and think clearly."

"I know they have been hiding things from me, but I never thought it was something like this," Angela cried as she buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as the truth hit her harder than she expected.

Seraphina sighed and went down on her knees, placing a gentle hand on her friend’s arm. "I think Kaito would have an explanation for this. You need to be careful, Angela, or you might ruin your night before it even begins."

"I do not care about this night," Angela snapped through her tears. "Because I know for a fact that Kaine is Kaito’s girlfriend, and stupid me knew that once, but I chose to slap it away and pretend it meant nothing."

"So how did you even find this photo?" Hailey asked, crossing her arms as worry filled her face. She was supposed to start the makeup, but Angela would not stop crying no matter what they said to her.

"In his diary," Angela muttered, leaving the room in complete silence. When she noticed how quiet it suddenly became, she lifted her eyes and met their shocked expressions. "I did not want to touch it, but curiosity got the better of me, and I could not even read most of it."

"That is his private stuff. You should not touch it without permission," Hailey said, clearly annoyed now. She knew Kaito would be furious. "I know he would not appreciate you going through his diary."

"I know I was not supposed to touch it, but I no longer regret my actions," Angela said as she wiped her tears with the back of her palm. She sat up and brought out the diary she had been hiding all along. "I am going to see who this Kaine is."

"Why do you not just ask Kaito?" Seraphina asked, fear flashing in her eyes as she imagined how all of this could end. Still, she knew it was not entirely Angela’s fault. If her mate had not been hiding this from her, she would not have touched his diary in the first place.

"I agree with Seraphina," Hailey said as she pointed at the makeup kit. "We still have work to do. Why do you not leave the diary alone and talk to Kaito later?"

"So he can lie to my face?" Angela rolled her eyes as she opened the pages. She did not read from the beginning because she had no interest in his other secrets as long as they did not concern her.

She flipped through the pages until she reached the one where she had taken the photo from. The page was titled Kaine. Pain surged through her chest as she began to read. It was written the day after Kaito moved to form four, and there was only one line on the entire page.

"I am sorry, Kaine."

The full page had nothing on it except that single sentence. Angela’s lips parted, yet no sound came out of her mouth. She swallowed hard and slowly turned to the next page, only to find it empty. Her chest tightened as she flipped again. Still nothing. He did not write anything after that day.

She went through every single page carefully, her fingers shaking as hope slowly faded. It was true. Kaito never wrote another word after that day, and that scared her more than the sentence itself.

"That is strange, but who knows why," Hailey shrugged, clearly confused. "Maybe he just stopped for no reason."

"Maybe he grew up and stopped writing," Seraphina suggested gently. "Some people think diaries are childish." Even as she said it, she knew Angela would not believe that.

"No, something is wrong," Angela said as she stood up with the diary clutched to her chest. She walked back to the wardrobe, slipped the photo into its place, and returned the diary exactly where she had found it. After taking a deep breath, she walked back to the bed and sat down. "Do my makeup."

Hailey began to work on her face while Seraphina tried to distract her with funny stories from the night before. Angela listened, nodded, and even forced a small smile, but her mind kept drifting back to Kaine and Kaito, to the secrets and the lies that would not leave her alone.

After forty minutes, Hailey was finally done. Taros returned with a green dress for her to change into. Angela slipped into the strapless silk dress that hugged her curves perfectly. She already knew her mates would be speechless the moment they set their eyes on her.

When she stepped out of the room, Angela ignored her friends as they begged her not to ruin the night for herself. Her face remained calm, but her heart was far from it.

"Where is Taros?" Angela asked as her eyes searched the hallway. She thought he would be waiting outside for her, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"They got called by the council," Stales said, then froze. His eyes widened as he stared at her. Alex stood beside him, looking just as stunned, completely unable to find his voice.

"Stales," Angela rolled her eyes when she noticed his expression. He had always been good at overreacting.

Just when the stares became too much, she walked a little closer to the house. She stood there, hoping Alex would return soon.

Alex grabbed a coat from his house and, using his primal speed, raced back to the pack center, his eyes searching for Angela. She was no longer where he had left her.

He looked toward the house and found no one. His heart skipped, but he forced himself to think positively. Nothing could have happened to her, right? Maybe she got lost in the crowd or stepped away for a moment.

He was about to go search for her when he felt it. The pull.

It was not an ordinary pull. His wolf jumped in excitement, dragging him toward the left. The feeling was strong, demanding, impossible to ignore.

Alex’s heart pounded hard in his chest as he walked into the crowd, clutching the coat tightly. Panic rose inside him. He was not supposed to feel this. This was not meant to happen until the next semester, when he turned eighteen. So what had changed?

Fear wrapped around him as he pushed through people, silently praying that whoever was at the end of this pull would be someone he could easily accept.

Then he saw her.

A beautiful young lady stood under the oak tree, dressed in a strapless gown with a slit down the front. She was wrapped in Alpha Renn’s arms as they spoke quietly.

Alexander frowned as his eyes locked on Angela.

This had to be a mistake. It had to be his feelings messing with his head. He turned to leave, but the pull grew stronger, tighter, and his wolf roared inside him.

Mate. Our mate.

He tried to shut it out, but it was useless. His wolf meant every word. Alex looked at Angela again, his chest tightening painfully. How could the goddess do this? Why would she make Angela his mate?

Everything was about to become complicated. This would not end well. The best thing to do was to reject the bond as soon as he could.

Just as he turned to leave, he heard her voice.

"Alex."

Fear gripped him as he froze in his steps. Did she feel it too?

Damn it.

This was not good at all.