Once Autumn was seated, he took his place across from her, close enough that their knees almost touched under the table.
"Wine?" Jacob offered, pouring the dark red liquid into a crystal glass.
Autumn shook her head. "I need my head intact tonight."
Jacob smiled thinly. "Thoughtful. But rest assured, I won't poison you, Autumn. That would be too... crude for my taste."
"Kidnap someone is also crude, if you ask me," Autumn replied sharply.
Jacob chuckled, raising his own glass. "Touché. But like I said, this is just a way to get you back to where you belong."
A waiter Autumn recognized as a pack member named Marcus entered with an appetizer. Cream of mushroom soup, Autumn's favorite. Of course Jacob remembered such a small detail.
"So," Autumn began after Marcus had left the room, "what are your plans for the next three days?"
Jacob ladled his soup quietly. "Our wedding will be in this house's backyard. It's the perfect place with a view of the lake and the mountains. You've always wanted an outdoor wedding, haven't you?"
Autumn felt her stomach twist. "And do you really think I'm going to say 'I do' after all this?"
"Yes," Jacob replied simply. "Because you'll realize that there's no point in fighting our destiny, Autumn. We were meant to be together by the Moon Goddess herself."
"Destinies can change," Autumn argued. "And the Moon Goddess won't approve of a forced marriage."
Jacob set his spoon down with a controlled motion. "Then think of this as... an adjustment period. A time for us to rediscover what we once had."
Marcus came back in, taking the empty soup bowl and replacing it with the main course—venison steak with cranberry sauce, another of Autumn's favorites. The delicious aroma made Autumn's stomach rumble, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in who knows how long.
"Eat," Jacob said softly. "You need your energy."
Reluctantly, Autumn began to eat her food. It tasted delicious, and she just realized how hungry she was.
"You know," Jacob began as he cut into his steak, "when you left, I almost lost my mind."
Autumn looked up, seeing the hurt expression that briefly crossed Jacob's face.
"I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat. Every night I dreamed about you, every morning I woke up looking for you." Jacob continued in a lower voice. "I sent search parties all over the country. Spent millions of dollars just to find you."
"I didn't ask you to do that," Autumn said quietly.
"No, you didn't. But I had no choice." Jacob stared at her intently.
"You are my other half, Autumn. Without you, I am just another half-existence walking in the dark." Jacob took a sip of his wine. "The pack is starting to see me as a weak alpha. Some are even starting to doubt my leadership. They whisper behind my back that I am an alpha who was abandoned by his own mate."
Autumn bit her lip, feeling a twinge of guilt even as she tried to push it away. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, Jacob. I just can't stay in a situation that is... unhealthy for both of us."
"Unhealthy?" Jacob laughed dryly. "We are the strongest alpha pair this pack has ever had. We are meant to lead together."
"But you never really listen to me," Autumn argued. "You make all the decisions yourself. You become an authoritarian, Jacob. That is not balanced leadership."
Jacob paused, staring at his food. For a moment, Autumn saw a flicker of doubt in his eyes.
"Maybe you're right," he admitted finally, his voice barely above a whisper. "Maybe I was too harsh. But that's because I needed to be strong. The pack needed a strong alpha after my father's death."
“Strength doesn’t always mean violence or dominance,” Autumn said softly. “Sometimes it takes more strength to listen, to compromise.”
Their eyes met, and for a moment, Autumn could see the Jacob she had once loved, a man full of passion and care, not the cold alpha obsessed with power.
But the moment was fleeting. Jacob straightened his back, his cold mask back on.
“Enough about the past,” he said firmly. “What matters now is the future. Our future.”
Marcus came back in, clearing their plates and serving them a dessert of crème brûlée topped with fresh raspberries.
“I remember the first time we met,” Jacob said suddenly, his tone softening. “In the university library. You dropped your stack of books right at my feet.”
Autumn couldn’t help but smile a little at the memory. “And you smugly said ‘I guess fate dropped you at my feet.’”
Jacob laughed, a genuine laugh Autumn hadn’t heard in a long time. “Hey, that worked, didn’t it? You agreed to have coffee with me afterward.”
"Just because I feel bad for stepping on your expensive shoes," Autumn replied with a little humor.
For a few minutes, they were immersed in the sweet memories of their first date at a small cafe on the edge of campus, Autumn's first meeting with Jacob's pack, the moment Jacob introduced her as Luna's future.
All those memories made Autumn's chest tight. How could their beautiful love turn into a terrible situation like this?
"You know," Jacob said after he had eaten his dessert, "we can have it all back. All the happiness we've ever had. We can start over."
Autumn shook her head slowly. "It's not that easy, Jacob. Broken trust can't be fixed overnight. Especially not in... this way."
Jacob leaned forward, taking Autumn's hand in his. She wanted to pull it back, but his grip was too tight.
"Just give me a chance, Autumn," he pleaded, his eyes boring into hers. "Three days. That's all I ask. If after three days you still want to leave, I'll..." he swallowed thickly, "...let you go."