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Chapter3
The headline snapped my attention before I even realized I’d stopped scrolling.
*Alpha Thomas and Audrey Hopkins Appear at Exclusive Auction – Will they renew their relationship after all these years?**
My chest tightened, a painful, gut–wrenching sensation spreading through me, like claws tearing into my insides. I didn’t need to read further. That one headline was enough to send my world into a tailspin.
*Alpha Thomas and Audrey Hopkins actually used to date?*
They were once destined mates?
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I froze, staring at the screen, numb. The photo of them–side by side, glowing like the sun and moon–mocked me. It wasn’t just the sight of their perfect smiles. It was the *magnetism* between them that hurt the most. The undeniable pull. You could almost smell it through the screen.
I could feel my wolf stir beneath my skin, restless, furious. Her hackles were up, and a low growl vibrated in my chest.
That was my mate, *my* Alpha. How dare she stand so close to him like that, her hand brushing against him with such ease? His gaze lingering on her, soft and intimate, like they shared something I would never be able to tak
back.
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I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms. Every image–every single photo–was like a dagger thrust deeper into my ribs.
*No.* I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t going to give in to this.
Just days ago, he’d held my face between his hands, kissed my forehead, and told me he was off on a “business trip.”
I let out a bitter laugh, but it came out ragged, like my throat had been cut. Was he even capable of telling the truth anymore?
The phone slipped from my hands, landing with a soft thud beside me on the couch.
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But through the chaos, a quiet, grounding pulse. The faintest reminder of something untouched by this pain. I placed my hand on my stomach, feeling the curve of my growing child beneath my palm. It was a small miracle, really.
This baby. My wolf’s pup. Unaware of the heartbreak surrounding it.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Be strong,” I whispered to myself, my voice barely above a breath. “Not for him. Not even for yourself. For them.”
And just like that, the wolf inside me quieted for a moment. The sharp edge of my anger softened, just enough to think clearly. This child deserved better than to inherit the mess I’d
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made of my life. They deserved a future without the bitter taste of betrayal on their tongue.
I pushed myself up from the couch, my heart still aching, but a strange resolve settling over
- me.
I wiped my face, angry at how weak I had let myself become. I wasn’t going to crumble. I couldn’t afford to.
A deep breath. The cool air of the evening rushed in as I grabbed my coat.
That was the moment I decided to go to the hospital.
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The sterile smell of the clinic filled my lungs as I walked in. It didn’t soothe me, but my doctor’s soft smile did. The cool glide of the ultrasound wand over my stomach gave way to the steady, fluttering rhythm of a heartbeat echoing
through the room. It was my baby–a sound like salvation.
“Everything’s perfect.” The doctor traced a finger across the grainy screen. “You’ve got a healthy little fighter in there.”
Tears brimmed in my eyes again, but this time, they weren’t fueled by despair. Relief and hope mingled inside me, breaking through my sorrow like light spilling through a cracked window. For the first time in weeks, I allowed myself to believe that not everything had to hurt.
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Walking out of the hospital with that newfound courage blooming in my chest, I knew my next
move.
The imposing skyscraper of The Blue Moon Pack house glinted in the late afternoon sun, its polished facade a stark reminder of how far I’d fallen from the life I had once called mine. Stepping inside the bustling lobby, with its sleek white floors and bright, artificial lighting, I was greeted with polite smiles–smiles tinged with surprise. Just months ago, this space had felt like an extension of my home. Now, I was a stranger in it.
I tightened my grip on the resignation letter clutched in my hand. Spotting an unfamiliar
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employee, I approached her. “Is Alpha Thomas
in his office?”
The woman faltered under my steady gaze. “Yes, ma’am, but…you can’t go in right now.”
“Why not?” My tone was sharper than I’d intended. “I’m his Luna.”
Her hesitation was a dagger. She shifted uncomfortably. “Alpha Thomas is with an important visitor…and he left instructions not to be disturbed.”
The color drained from my face at her words. I paused for half a beat before demanding, “Who?”
Her lips parted as if she wanted to tell me, but
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instead, she cast her eyes downward. “I’m sorry, Luna. I can’t say.”
I swallowed the anger rising in my throat. Important visitor? After everything, he didn’t even tell me he was back.
“Fine,” I said tightly, my voice colder than ice.
I waited for her to turn away before slipping down the hallway toward his office, the letter still clutched in my hand. The door was slightly ajar. My heart rebelled against reason, pounding as I moved closer, my breath shallow and
uneven.
And then I saw them.
Alpha Thomas stood next to his desk, his arms
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wrapped firmly around her. Audrey. Her lips whispered something too quiet to hear before. she tilted her head upward, and his mouth met hers in a kiss so intimate it made the room spin. The way his hand found her waist–like it belonged there. The way her smile melted into the kiss, her eyes shutting with bliss.
It was too much. Too real. Too damning.
I backed away, the edges of my vision burning with unshed tears. He likely hadn’t even noticed the door was ajar. Wherever he was, in that moment, I wasn’t part of his world. There wasn’t even room for me in it anymore.
Without letting myself utter the scream building inside me, I left the resignation letter on his desk where he couldn’t miss it. Then I turned
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and walked away.
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Back at home, I packed anything and everything he had ever given me into boxes. Jewelry, trinkets, framed photographs of us when I still believed his lies–it all went into the blazing fire roaring out back.
The flames consumed everything with cruel efficiency, their heat licking at the memories I no longer wanted to keep. But before I could wallow in the destruction, she appeared.
“Audrey,” I whispered, stunned at the audacity of her showing up uninvited.
Without saying a word, she strode forward,
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kicked one of the burning boxes, and sent embers and scraps flying out of the pit. A patch of glowing ash even landed across her cheek. She didn’t flinch–instead, she tilted her head to flash that sickening smile.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded.
“Oh, sorry. I slipped,” she said with mock innocence, brushing herself off. The smile never left her face. “Wait–are these all from Alpha Thomas? What, finally realizing how useless you are to him? How you didn’t deserve any of this?”
My hands balled into fists. “Excuse me?”
She leaned in, her voice a cruel whisper, sha enough to slice through me. “You couldn’t even
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protect your mother back then… Couldn’t keep her alive. Just like you can’t hold onto Alpha Thomas now.”
The red haze of anger blinded me. Without thinking, my hand flew across her face. I barely grazed her cheek, but she stumbled backward and fell directly into the fire.
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