CHAPTER 6

　　Ace's POV 　　A YEAR LATER… 　　How fast time flies! Especially when all you're doing is counting the minutes each day until you fall asleep or you're deep in thought or moping around. 　　It's been a year since Betty disappeared from my life. I try so hard to hide the agony she left behind. I try so hard to control it. But then, I figure there's no use denying it. I miss her. I need her back. I need to find her. 　　Searching for her isn't easy. I don't know anything about her. Her crackhead stepfather had disappeared too. No trace of him. She doesn't seem to have any other relatives so my search meets a dead end. 　　Having no clue where to look, I fall into a depth of depression. Craving her but not having her in my arms. I'm about to go insane from that wretched feeling. 　　"Master." A knock and footsteps snap me out of my thoughts. 　　My gaze is back on the piles of files on my table that need signing. Treaties and deals for the Pack. My strenuous duties as Alpha. I can't believe I'm slacking off on them just because of her. 　　"What do you want?" I question the man standing inches away from my desk, with his hands at the back in a halted gait. He's one of the guards who watch the main gate. 　　"I'm so sorry, Master. I don't know how to say this —" 　　"Say what?" 　　"The thing is uh — " He runs his hand over his face like he's nervous. I lean back on my chair waiting for him to speak. But he's taking longer than I bargained for. 　　"What is it?!" 　　"The breeder." 　　My eyes dilate. "Did you find her? Is there finally news about her?" It's been a fucking year already. About time someone tells me something good. 　　"No, Master." He replies, killing my excitement. 　　"Then what is it?!" I growl impatiently. 　　"The night she left…" 　　"What about it?" 　　"We saw her. We let her go." 　　"What?!" 　　"No, No…not intentionally." 　　"Start talking." I order hoarsely, standing and grabbing the baseball bat at the corner. Twirling it in my hand, I go closer to him. 　　He flinches, shivering in fright. "We — we were ordered to let her go." 　　"Who gave such orders?!" 　　"Beta Luke." 　　No way. Luke can't do that. And if he did, he'll tell me. It's been a year. There's no way he kept it a secret for so long. 　　"Stay here." I tell the guard and hurry out of the study. 　　Luke is at the gym with a couple of guys. They're laughing over some jokes and taking a break from whatever exercise they are doing. They see me and bow. 　　"What's up, man?" Luke is still laughing, as he elbows me. 　　"Leave us." I tell the men. They hurry out and it's just me and him. 　　"Is something wrong?" He asks. 　　"Tell me the truth, Luke. Did you help Betty escape a year ago? Were you the reason she was able to leave this Packhouse?" 　　"What if I was?" He retorts. It snaps at my patience and in the next minute, I'm throwing a punch at him and he hits the ground. 　　"Bastard!" I snarl, clenching my fist harder to deliver another punch. 　　"I knew your guards wouldn't keep quiet forever. I knew they'd rat me out someday. Funny that they took so long to do it." He chuckles, wincing at the pain from where I punched him. 　　He's back on his feet but he's not taking his revenge by also throwing a punch. It makes me not throw another. But I can't keep the rage out of my voice. 　　"Why did you do that?!" 　　"Because she was suffering in your bloody hands, man. I had to do something." 　　"You had no right to interfere." 　　"I didn't. But when I saw her running for her life, I let her go. I didn't convince her to leave. She chose to!" 　　"But I've been searching for her. You've watched me go crazy to find her. And all this time, you kept quiet?" 　　"What was I supposed to say? I don't know where she went." 　　"Liar!" I throw another punch but this time, he ducks, evading the hit. 　　"Calm down, Ace. I swear to God. I don't know where she went. But even if I knew, I still wouldn't tell you…" 　　"Why?!" 　　"Because I don't believe that you suddenly care about her now. It doesn't make sense…" 　　He's right. It's not logical that her disappearance left me craving for her. 　　"Maybe you're right. It doesn't make sense. But I do need to see her again. If I do, I'll prove to you, to her, and to everyone else who cares that I've fallen for her. And I just want her back into my life." 　　"That's crazy…" He mutters, with a stare that has 'you've lost your mind' written all over it. 　　And he's right. Again. I have lost my mind and also the strength to continue this argument. 　　I stay locked up in my room all day, lying on my bed. Feeling the raw hurt of Luke's betrayal…nah. I can't even call it that. 　　He didn't betray me. All he did was help her. And back then, I didn't care about her. I wanted her out of my life and he did me the favor. Except now, it's not what I want anymore. 　　My door opens and he walks in. Even with my gaze in a different direction, I can still tell that it's him. 　　"I'm sorry, Ace. I just did what I thought was best…" 　　I'm silent. Not a word to him. But I can hear the sincerity in his apology. 　　"I hope this makes up for what I did." 　　I turn and he's giving me something. It takes a second for me to recognize it. It's the bracelet Betty made for me on my birthday. That last night I saw her. 　　"How do you still have this?" I gasp, taking it from him. I recall throwing it in the trash can that night. How is it in Luke's hand? 　　"Go figure." He smiles mischievously. 　　My wild guess? He took it from the trash can. 　　I nod with a smile. "Thanks, man." The bracelet is locked inside my grip. I'm clutching it with all the agony in my heart. Hoping it reminds me of what it feels like to have Betty close. 　　"And another thing…" 　　"What is it?" I look up at his tense face. Like he is trying to retract his words. "Tell me, Luke. Please." I urge him. I'm fucking desperate and he needs to see it. He needs to think twice before holding back any information about Betty from me. 　　"That night you fucked her in the hallway and passed out…" 　　"What about it?" 　　"She said some words to you before she ran off." 　　"What kind of words?" 　　"Farewells and…" He drawls, with a silly grin. "...she also called you her mate." 　　"She did what?!" 　　"She said you were her mate, man. I heard her loud and clear." He ends with excitement. 　　SHOCKED doesn't come close to describing how I feel right now. His words are almost unbelievable. There's no way Betty could have been my fated mate. There's no way I wouldn't have known. 　　"Maybe she knew from the first day she saw you, man. Maybe that's why she loved you that much and tried everything to win your love. But you kept pushing her away and now she's gone…" 　　I'm barely listening to him. But he keeps rambling and then he stops and adds his last words. 　　"I'm sorry I waited a whole year before telling you this. I had to be sure that you really do give a shit about her now and that you're not just playing games. I'm sorry again, Ace. Bloody sorry." 　　He finally leaves, giving me a bit of serenity to absorb the news. 　　Betty is my mate. My fated mate. The one thing I swear to never have. She's it. And I fucking don't know. I'm such a fool! 　　How did I not feel the bond? How cold was I, that the effect of the bond didn't work on me? How fucking indifferent have I been all my life? 　　I lay back on the bed but I'm miles away from feeling sleepy. 　　Gazing at the bracelet again, I stamp it with a kiss. A regretful, apologetic kiss. I'm not the type to cry or I will be wailing my head off right now. 　　But I'm the type to make up for my wrongs, no matter how terrible they are. And with Betty, I've done a lot of wrongs. And I need to make up for them. 　　I'll find you, Betty. I don't care if I have to ransack every corner of the world, I'll fucking find you. And when I do, I'll show you how sorry I am. 　　I'll make up for everything I did to you. My late feelings and realization, I hope you accept them. My foolishness, I hope you forgive it. Our mate bond, I hope it's not broken yet. 　　I hope I still got a chance with you, Betty Danforth.