Audrey's POV
Since everything fell apart, this was the first time I'd felt genuine kindness from anyone—let alone a stranger.
My throat tightened, heat pricking behind my eyes. For a terrifying moment, I almost let myself break.
But I swallowed it back down. I'd already bled enough in front of this world.
"I'm fine," I said, steadying my voice, forcing a faint smile. "Just a pack… family matter, Mr. Wayne. Nothing you need to trouble yourself with."
A soft sound caught my ear. I glanced toward the doorway.
Little Bonnie had already slipped out of the bed. She stood there silently, watching me with wide moonlit eyes—Dorian's eyes, just smaller, softer, a pup's version of her father's steady gaze.
"Bonnie's better now," I said gently. "As long as you watch what she eats, she shouldn't flare up again anytime soon. It's late. Take her home."
The message was clear—I was dismissing them.
Dorian clearly sensed the shift in my mood; his wolf instincts were sharper than most. He didn't push back. He stood tall, dipped his head politely.
"Thank you, Ms. Willow," he said, voice low, warm. "I owe you. I'll repay the favor another day."
When they left, silence settled over the apartment like a heavy fog.
The warm yellow lights cast my shadow long across the floor—thin, stretched, lonely. A she-wolf standing in her den, stripped of everything she thought belonged to her.
The truth was, I'd loved Fen.
Loved him like he was my own pup.
Eight years caring for him… a bond like that doesn't disappear. Not for a wolf. Not for anyone.
But every time I remembered he was Lisa's child—while my own daughter's body had been taken, reduced to nothing but a grave with no remains—it sliced through me anew.
At least those who were never truly mine would soon be out of my life. One month more. Then they'd be gone.
***
Rowan's POV
"Alpha Rowan, we still haven't located Luna—Mrs. Blackthorne."
Ned stood stiffly in front of my desk, delivering the report.
Back at the office, Lisa had already called me several times—crying, hysterical, claiming Fen was throwing fits she couldn't control.
Audrey hung up on her. She didn't answer again.
Ned even suggested searching the hospital. But she'd already left, vanished before I had even lifted a finger.
"No traces at all?" I growled, pen snapping in my hand.
"I'm sorry, Alpha. I'll continue searching."
My jaw clenched. The frustration rolling off me was palpable—even through walls, another wolf would sense it like a storm brewing.
A dull pain seemed to hit me then; I pressed a hand to my stomach, breath tightening.
"Alpha, are you alright? You should rest," Ned said quickly.
I leaned back, eyes squeezed shut against the ache.
Whenever I used to feel sick, Audrey was the one who handled it. The herbs, the teas, whatever other witchcraft she yeilded.
Without her… everything in my world seemed to be falling apart.
I used to think she didn't matter.
But now?
Now I realized I'd lost something useful. That was all she'd ever been to me: convenient. I had to admit that.
I opened my eyes and snatched Ned's phone.
"Audrey, I was wrong. Come home now," my fingers typed.
I stared. Deleted it. Too cold.
Then, typed again.
"Audrey, this is all my fault. I should never have taken Lisa to the hospital. I'm sorry. Where are you? Let's talk."
Satisfied, I sent it.
I always thought lowering my pride a little was enough to make her fold. She would fold.
***
Audrey's POV
I received the message.
I stared at the apology, emotionless. If anything, it was humorous.
Minutes ago, Lisa had called. Now Rowan was pretending to be remorseful? He didn't mean a word. He just wanted his obedient caretaker back.
I deleted the message. Then I blocked Ned's number too.
The next morning, Riley showed up bright and early.
He slipped inside, eyes darting toward the bedroom. I caught it immediately.
"What are you looking at?" I demanded.
He raised his brows. "Audrey… you didn't… have a man stay over last night, did you?"
I rolled my eyes. "It was a patient. Get your ridiculous thoughts out of my house and start cleaning."
I'd only cleaned enough space to sleep the night before. Sleep came in pieces—broken, haunted.
Dreams of Rowan.
Dreams of Fen.
And another shadow… a little girl's face I couldn't see clearly, blood dripping in flashes of memory.
But when morning light streamed in, and birdsong filled the window… it hit me.
This was the beginning of something new.
The first step: escape the poison that had been my life.
The second: reclaim my future.
Riley and I spent hours cleaning.
When he finally collapsed onto the couch, he groaned, then muttered, "Audrey… that Rowan is a total bastard."
I lazily lifted my gaze, lips twitching. "Can't argue with you."
A decent wolf—hell, a decent man—would never have done what he did.
"I found some things," Riley continued. "Let me send them."
He texted the files to me.
Piece by piece, the last eight years came into focus.
Rowan and Lisa… together, long before me. Deeply in love. Secretly bound.
Rowan had pursued me not for love, but because Lisa was pregnant.
That night—Rowan's birthday—when I had one drink too many and blacked out… waking beside him wasn't fate.
It was a trap.
Weeks later when I found out I was pregnant, Rowan had proposed—not out of responsibility… but out of calculation.
The so-called "accident" that night had been orchestrated. I was the decoy.
The vessel to keep Lisa hidden.
Two pups born at the same time could be switched.
And that was exactly what he did.
While I went to prenatal appointments alone, Rowan was holding Lisa's hand at hers.
When I went into labor, he left my delivery room to run straight into hers.
He was there when she gave birth.
I was bleeding out with no one to sign the consent forms.
My baby girl…
The daughter I had carried…
She never even made it into my arms.
Rowan took her.
Switched the babies.
Killed her future.
Eight years.
I'd been living a lie.
A shadow in someone else's love story—a convenient Luna, a free babysitter, a pawn.
Ding dong!
The doorbell snapped me back.
"I'll get it!" Riley said, leaping up.
He swung open the door.
Rowan stood there.
His eyes locked onto Riley instantly—dark, cold, dangerous.
And his expression shifted into a growl.