They Made Me Hunt For My Own Wedding novel · Chapter 8 of 24

Chapter 8: The Gathering She Never Saw

Eli's arm tightened around me, and then he let go and rolled onto his back.

He stared at the rafters.

"You don't remember," he said.

"Tell me what I should remember."

"Four years ago, at the Midsummer Gathering on Council ground." His voice was flat. "Every pack sends its young ones. I'd been Alpha two months, and I was standing by the fire with a cup in my hand, and I smelled you."

I sat up and pulled the blanket over my chest.

"I thought my wolf had broken," he said. "I crossed that whole field. You were with your sister at the water barrels, and you had your back to me."

"Opal."

"I said your name. I didn't know it, and I said it anyway. You turned around and looked at me."

"I don't remember that."

"I held out my hand." He laughed, and there was no humor in it. "You looked at my hand. Then you looked straight through me, and you took your sister's arm and walked away."

I put my hand over my mouth.

I remembered the Gathering.

I remembered the bonfire and a long table of pies, and Beau teaching me a song.

I did not remember a tall man at the water barrels.

I remembered that Opal had brought me a cup of cider.

I had woken the next morning in my own bed with a headache and no memory of going to sleep.

"Eli," I said. "I never saw you."

"What?"

"I would have. I would have known you." My voice shook. "Opal gave me a drink that night. I lost an hour. My father said it was the cider, and that I shouldn't take strong drink from strangers."

← Chapter 7 · All chapters · Chapter 9 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend