Confusion filled my mind. They looked so happy when I was younger. I remember everyone talking about how Trent and his wife came to be. How they were childhood sweethearts, destined to live a long happy life together. But to learn that it was nothing but a lie was hard to process. It made me wonder how certain things could play out without wanting to be with the person you are with.

As if he knew what I was thinking, Trent explained, “You don’t have to be in love with someone to go through the process of having a child. Just a mutual agreement.”

“So you never loved her,” I heard myself ask.

Trent didn’t say anything. I’m sure it was an uncomfortable topic for him to talk about. He had lived a lie for so long that it must be hard to confess the truth to someone. There was also the possibility that people would even try to convince him it wasn’t true when he did tell them. Everyone didn’t want to ruin the perfect image of Trent and his wife. No one wanted to think that they didn’t love each other.

As I got more lost in my thoughts, he just continued to sit next to me quietly as he ate the bread he brought. It still amazed me that my mother was able to make bread in the first place. The forest was too shady to grow any crops. Also getting the ingredients was nearly impossible if not expensive. We would have to get them from a different region and have it shipped to us. It was a secret I’ve been meaning to ask my mother, but never had the nerve to.

But then realization struck me. I had completely ignored him explaining when he first fell in love with me. It was on the day his wife died. I combed through my memory trying to figure out what had happened that day. It didn’t take me long to remember the disaster that kept Trent away from his wife giving birth. But it wasn’t a disaster in our region, but in a neighboring one.

The Ocean Region next to us had reported a shift in the waters. They had told us that there was a disaster coming that could affect us, so we sent some shifters out to help prevent any major damages. But the cost was great.

Most of the shifters we sent weren’t accustomed to the rocky waters of the Ocean Region. Many of them drowned or were in life changing accidents. It’s probably when Trent gained his mechanical heart as well. But how did that day make Trent fall in love with me? No matter how hard I searched my memories, I couldn’t find the answer.

“What are you thinking about?” Trent suddenly asked.

“I’m just trying to make sense as to why you want to marry me,” I answered him honestly.

He let out a sigh, “It’s okay if you don’t remember. It’s probably for the best anyways.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked him.

He just smiled at me before standing up off the ground. Showing no signs of answering my latest question. It kind of irritated me. But he could just be wanting me to find the answer myself instead of just telling me. Brushing off his pants, he held out his hand towards me to help me get up off the ground.

“There is no point freezing while waiting for that bear to fall asleep. He seems to be the determined type,” Trent pointed out.

He couldn’t have been more right. Luke was highly known for his persistence. Even his mother hated him for it. It’s like once Luke had set his mind to something, there was no chance in making him change it. Not until he finished what he set out to do or accomplished something. I guess that is also why Em had fallen in love with him at such a young age.

I didn’t bother grabbing hold of Trent’s hand as I stood up. Brushing off my jeans as well. The whole time I was trying to figure out what he had in mind. All he mentioned was that we couldn’t wait where we were for Luke to fall asleep. So where were we going to wait instead?

As if reading my mind, Trent smirked, “You might as well stay at my place.”

“What?” I said in more of a squeak than an actual saying. Making him chuckle a little. I was sure my eyes were as big as the full moon.

“You’re cute, but I don’t plan on taking advantage of you,” he reassured me, “Unless you want to accept my proposal.”

My cheeks suddenly felt warm as I looked away from Trent. His words embarrassed me and reminded me of how inexperienced I really was. I think the only thing I’ve really done with someone I was attracted to was a small kiss. I never went farther than that, but it was expected due to the fact that training took most of our attention anyways. The shifters usually waited until they were old enough to start families before they had any sexual interactions with anyone. But there was always that occasional couple that didn’t want to follow what everyone else did.

Trent just shook his head and chuckled some more before grabbing my hand. “Come on. It’s better than freezing while waiting for your bear shifter to go to sleep. Plus we can use that time to get to know each other.”

Getting to know Trent more did sound nice, but I was still a little hesitant. I had a small flaw where I always worried about what people thought of me. Those thoughts and questions flooded my head as he led the way to his home. My ears heard the imaginary judgmental words being spoken by everyone with every step.

“Did you see who was with Luna?” the voices would say, “Thinking she is good enough to be with that wolf shifter. He’s probably just wanting her to satisfy his needs.”

Trent must have noticed what was flooding my mind as he stopped to look back at me. He didn’t waste time to place his hands over my ears. Making me stare into his ember eyes. “No one is around, Luna. No one is going to say anything either. You are fine.”

For some reason his words were comforting. It was as if he knew about my flaws and knew how to ground me from those thoughts. Luke knew about my flaws as well, but instead of comforting me, he would try to fix me. Trent was different and it was kind of nice. It was as if he went through something like this before and knew exactly what to do.

I smiled at him, “Thanks Trent.”

“No problem,” he stated as he smiled back at me. Then we continued the walk to his home. The voices were still playing in my ears, but they weren’t as loud.