From Rejected Mate to Luna Chapter 159

Matthew's POV

I arrived thirty minutes early for the Alliance inter-pack pandemic response meeting. The conference room at the neutral territory lodge was still mostly empty, which suited me fine. I deliberately chose the chair marked "Spring Valley," positioning myself directly across from the empty seat labeled "Star Shadow." My eyes couldn't seem to leave that vacant chair.

*She should be here soon.*

Hati paced restlessly in my mind, sharing my anticipation and anxiety about seeing Julia again. I straightened the folder of pandemic response documents for the fifth time, checking my watch again. Ten minutes until the meeting officially started, and still no sign of her.

"Alpha Collins, good to see you again."

I looked up to see Alpha Rodriguez from Silver Lake extending his hand. I stood and shook it mechanically, offering a nod that I hoped passed for a greeting.

"How are things in Spring Valley?" he asked, settling into a chair two seats down from me.

"Stable," I managed, my eyes drifting back to the empty Star Shadow seat.

More pack leaders filed in, each offering greetings that I barely registered. My senses were hyper-focused on the entrance door, my heart racing each time it opened. Hati's attention was equally fixed, both of us waiting for that familiar scent of lavender and rain that belonged uniquely to Julia.

"Two minutes until we begin," announced the Northern Alliance facilitator from the front of the room.

I tapped my pen against the table, ignoring the curious glances from the other Alphas. They weren't used to seeing me distracted. The Matthew Collins they knew was always composed, always in control. But they didn't understand what was at stake for me today.

The door opened again, and I straightened instinctively, only to slump back slightly when it wasn't her. Three more pack representatives entered, none of them Julia. The Star Shadow seat remained conspicuously empty as the facilitator began his opening remarks.

*Where is she?*

Just as the facilitator was about to officially start the meeting, the door swung open one last time. My eyes snapped toward the movement, hope surging through me—only to freeze in confusion.

Eric White walked in, nodding apologetically at the facilitator before heading directly toward the Star Shadow chair.

I blinked, certain I was mistaken. Eric was Julia's brother, the Beta, not the Alpha. But there he was, settling into the seat that should have been Julia's, straightening a folder marked with the Star Shadow insignia.

Before I could process what was happening, I was on my feet, my chair scraping loudly against the floor. Every head turned toward me. Eric looked up, surprise flickering across his face as our eyes met.

"Alpha Collins?" the facilitator called. "Is everything alright?"

I slowly lowered myself back into my chair, heat rising to my face. "Yes. Apologies for the interruption."

The meeting commenced, but I couldn't focus on a single word. My thoughts raced wildly as I struggled to make sense of Eric's presence. Leaning slightly toward Alpha Bennett from Riverstone, I whispered, "When did Eric White become Alpha of Star Shadow?"

Bennett glanced at me with surprise. "After Nathan Reynolds died. It's been, what, almost four weeks now? There was quite a bit of drama there, from what I hear."

The timing matched exactly with when I'd left. But what had happened to Julia? If Nathan had died, and she'd been acting as pack leader during the pandemic, why wasn't she the Alpha now?

Hati growled low in my mind, our shared concern morphing into something closer to fear. *Where is Julia? Why isn't she here? Is she safe?*

I forced myself to take slow, measured breaths. If something truly terrible had happened to her, I would have felt it through our connection, tenuous as it had become with distance. She was alive, at least. But why wasn't she here?

"...wouldn't you agree, Alpha Collins?"

I snapped back to the present, realizing the facilitator had asked me a direct question. I hadn't heard a word of it.

"I'd like to hear what Alpha White thinks first," I deflected smoothly, nodding toward Eric.

As Eric began speaking about isolation protocols that had worked in Star Shadow, I pretended to take notes while actually scribbling a single question over and over: *Where is Julia?*

The two-hour meeting stretched into what felt like eternity. I contributed automatically when called upon, drawing from my pack's pandemic experience without having to think too deeply about my responses. But every fiber of my being was focused on the moment this meeting would end so I could confront Eric directly.

Hati had abandoned his pacing and was now growling constantly, pushing against my control. *Find her. Find our mate.*

I silently corrected him. Julia wasn't our mate—not officially. We hadn't completed the marking, despite how desperately we both had wanted to. And then I'd left her, convinced it was the right thing to do, to let her lead her pack without our relationship complicating things.

What a fool I'd been.

As the meeting finally adjourned, I gathered my papers with deliberate slowness, watching as Eric exchanged pleasantries with several Alphas. The moment he stepped away from the group, I intercepted him, placing a hand firmly on his shoulder.

"Eric. We need to talk."

He tensed under my touch, then nodded. "Alpha Collins. I wondered if you'd be here today."

"Where is Julia?" I asked bluntly, keeping my voice low but unable to disguise the urgency. "Why are you Alpha instead of her?"

Eric's expression was unreadable as he studied me. "You left without saying goodbye," he said flatly. "You just disappeared."

Guilt stabbed through me, but I pushed past it. "That doesn't answer my question."

"No, it doesn't," he agreed, a hardness entering his eyes. "But it makes me question whether you deserve an answer at all."

Hati snarled, and I felt my control slipping. My fingers tightened on Eric's shoulder, and I had to consciously loosen my grip before I hurt him.

"Is she safe?" I managed to ask, my voice rougher than I intended.

Something in my tone must have reached him, because Eric's expression softened slightly. "She's safe," he confirmed. "She's—"

"Alpha White!" called one of the Northern Alliance officials, interrupting our conversation. "We need your signature on the resource-sharing agreement before you leave."

Eric hesitated, glancing between me and the official. "I have to go," he said. "But yes, she's safe. She's just not here."

"That much is obvious," I growled. "But why? Where is she?"

Eric disengaged from my grip. "Maybe you should ask her yourself," he said, turning away. "Though I'm not sure she'd take your call."

I watched him walk away, frustration and concern battling within me. Hati was still pushing, demanding that we follow Eric, that we force him to tell us more, that we find Julia immediately. It took every ounce of my control to remain standing in place.

I had no right to demand answers, not after the way I'd left. The letter I'd written had been cowardly—I knew that now. I'd convinced myself I was doing the right thing, giving her space to lead without our relationship complicating matters. But in my heart, I'd been terrified—terrified of watching her choose her pack over me, terrified of losing someone I loved again.

So I'd left first, before she could leave me.

And now she wasn't here, and Eric was Alpha, and nothing made sense.

Mechanically, I gathered my belongings and headed for the exit. Whatever had happened in Star Shadow, one thing was clear: I needed to find Julia. Not because Hati was driving me crazy with his constant growling, and not because I deserved her forgiveness.

I needed to find her because nothing in my life had felt right since the moment I'd driven away from her territory. Because despite my best efforts to convince myself otherwise, Julia White wasn't just another responsibility or complication.

She was everything.

And I'd walked away from her.