"Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully." - Kristen Butler

Currently, the boys and girls were tied. I was the last guy who had not gone so I swam over to the platform and got on top of it. What I didn't expect to see was Alessandra swimming over to the platform as well.

Oh fuck.

I truly believed that I had this win in the bag. Seeing her is changing my point of view. She's wearing a black bikini. Her hair is wet and sticking to the side of her face. She looks so fucking sexy that I'm sure someone forgot to tell her that this wasn't a perfume commercial.

Small, dainty hands flatten on the platform. She pushes herself up and reveals her tanned body. Alessandra spends most of her time training with that shithead Jaden these days. It's clear when I looked at her body. Her stomach is toned and her muscles are proof of her strength. I follow the path her dark hair makes from the top of her head to the slope of her neck all the way to her cleavage.

I remember the first time I noticed she had developed breasts. Isabel had already gotten hers but Alessandra was left behind. Then one day we were all at the lake swimming when some human boy walked over to her. His eyes didn't stray away from her breasts and I lost my shit. I punched him and I'm pretty sure his nose broke. It was well deserved so I wasn't sorry, but Alessandra thought I was ruining her chances of getting a boyfriend. Which I was, but it wasn't my intention. I actually don't know what my intention was.

Her breasts have always been small. I don't know how bra sizes work but she has a handful. They've never distracted me before but they are all I can focus on right now.

Fuck I'm a pervert.

"Go!" Hiro yells. I'm pulled from my thoughts by his deep voice. Unfortunately, my eyes take a little too long to return to Alessandra's face. She looks at me with a smirk on her face. She knows she's going to win this, and so do I. I'm still staring at her when I'm brought to the ground.

Oh god this is so much worse.

If I was struggling when she was 5 feet away from me, then I'm really in trouble now. Her body is pressed up against mine. I can hear and feel her heartbeat. Our eyes connect and I swear our breathing gets heavier. Something shifts and she brings her focus back to the game. Mine stays on her, specifically her lips. I lick my lips as I stare at hers.

Then I'm submerged in water.

The girls start cheering while the boys' jaws drop. Their future alpha, me, was just brought down by a beta female.

And I loved every second of it.

The sun was setting in Tahoe. The sky was a mix of pinks, purples, and oranges. Lake Tahoe's clear water reflected the beautiful sunset, making for a perfect picture.

Mom would have loved to paint this.

Lucile De Luca was a woman many had the pleasure to know. My mom was the kind-hearted one in our family. My father and I were stone cold, but my mother made us both good.

Most parents would choose their child over their spouse. My mom would have chosen me over my dad if it came down to it, but my dad wouldn't. I can say without a doubt that there was nothing he loved more in this world than my mom. I know he loves me, but it's only a fraction of what he felt for my mom.

My mom was different from us in that way. My dad and I loved her, while she loved everyone. It was her big heart that got her killed and it makes me so angry. She loved everyone and everything but the universe chose to take her from me.

It's always the good souls that get hurt.

Other than being a fantastic mother and luna, she was an amazing artist. She could make anything come to life on a canvas. Her favorite things to paint were sunsets. She said the light made her happy, and she wanted to paint it so other people could see it how she saw it. I don't know if she ever realized the irony in that. She didn't need to paint to show people light, she was light. Literally, her name, Lucile, means light. Her soul was the true light though, not her name.

I miss you mama.

"Hey! I've been looking for you," Isabel said. Isabel was looking at me with a smile. I could tell she was trying too hard though. This is her way of apologizing for cheating on me without actually saying sorry.

Oh you will be sorry Isabel.

I'm sure there was a time where I loved her. The time is definitely not now. Looking at her makes me want to vomit a little.

You don't know that.

Isabel wraps her arms around me. Maybe the action would make me happy in the past, but now I just wanted her off me.

"Come to my office in 10 minutes," I tell her before walking back to the packhouse.

The packhouse was a lodge-style home. It housed most of the members of our pack except the high-ranked ones or the ones who would rather live in their own homes. Everyone owned their own home, but wolves were social creatures and we enjoyed being together as a pack.

I stared at the clock on my office wall. Tick, tock, tick, tock. In the following moments, I will be banishing my mate and giving my ex-love what she deserves.

Was I doing the right thing? That was a question I didn't know the answer to. However, if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that if an alpha believes it, everyone else will too.

Hiro walks in and informs me that Isabel and Alessandra were here. They enter the room together, both of them wearing the same expression. Alessandra and Isabel are fraternal twins and honestly, they don't look alike at all, but it was times like this that reminded me of their relationship. They had the same mannerisms and facial expressions and I'm not sure if they ever realized how in sync they were.

"So? What do you want?" Alessandra asks.

"We're here to discuss some things but I'm going to start off with Isabel," I reply. Both of them look at each other in confusion and bring their eyes back to me. Isabel starts tapping her foot on the wood floors.

"Isabel, you cheated on me. It's not a crime but it's still pretty disgusting. As punishment, you have been demoted to an omega." Her face blanched once I had finished my sentence.

"What? You can't do that! It's my blood right!" Isabel yelled. Her face was reddening as her fists clenched. I put my hands face down on my desk and leaned in closer to her.

"I'm an alpha babe, I can do whatever the fuck I want," I said with a smirk.

"I'm your girlfriend!"

"Not anymore."

Her eye was twitching then she turned around, stomping out of the room. I turn my attention to Alessandra. She's speechless, her face forming an expression of confusion with a little bit of hope mixed in.

"Alessandra, I want you to know that what I am about to say is selfish, but I'm doing it for the both of us," I tell her. Her face stays the same. My eyes lock with Hiro, who is standing at the back of the room, his eyes pleading for me to rethink my decision.

"I'm sending you to Italy," I tell her. I watch as her face crumbles and tears fill her eyes, but don't fall.

I'm sorry mate maybe we can be together in another lifetime, this one just isn't made for us.