Bella's POV
After settling into the house, I left my babies in the care of the nanny I had brought from the human lands. The dinner at the Obsidian Moon Pack mansion awaited me, and I knew it would test every ounce of my composure. The weight of history hung heavy in the air—too much had happened between these walls for me to feel anything but conflicted.
I had shared good times with these people once, before they destroyed everything. The emotions would come whether I wanted them or not, though not from lingering feelings for the men who had betrayed me. No, it was the memories that would sting tonight.
I had deliberately chosen not to bring my children. The thought of exposing them to Derek's father made my skin crawl. Mr. Morris was far from the kind of man I wanted near my babies.
The dining room felt suffocating despite its grandeur. Long minutes of oppressive silence stretched between us before Mr. Morris finally spoke, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade.
"I've been wondering where I've seen you since the minute you entered my mansion."
The food was exquisite as always. These people feasted on luxury while the Omega community scraped by with nothing. I sat with my spine rigid, my black knee-length dress perfectly tailored. I had taken extra care with my appearance tonight—curling my hair and drawing my eyeliner in sharp, dramatic lines that made my eyes look like weapons.
I raised an eyebrow at Mr. Morris and offered him a smile that was equal parts cheeky and confident.
"Ah, you're that clingy friend of Derek, aren't you?"
The words hit their mark. Derek finally lifted his head from where he had been staring at his barely touched plate. He leaned back in his seat, his elbow finding the armrest as his fingers traced his chin and bottom lip in that familiar gesture.
His eyes swept the table, studying each person with calculating intensity. Mr. Foster sat stiffly beside his daughter, who had been introduced to no one. The Royal Beta's daughter remained a mystery, her presence unexplained.
They had only identified me as the woman sent to research the illness and find a cure. Nothing more. The pack's customs demanded silence during the early part of the meal—conversation could only begin once they had eaten halfway through their portions.
I knew these rules intimately. I had sat at this very table countless times before, always leaving with tears streaming down my face and my heart in pieces.
Alpha Derek's father was the cruelest of them all. His new wife sat beside him, wearing the same bored expression I remembered from years past. Her acrylic nails tapped against the utensils in an irritating rhythm. They had married some years ago, after my departure, but I recalled the woman clearly.
"What was her name?" Mr. Morris snapped his fingers, and my jaw clenched involuntarily. Before I could respond, another voice filled the silence.
"Bella Kent?" Mr. Foster's daughter asked, lifting her head with sudden interest.
"Exactly. That poor girl." Mr. Morris's eyes glittered with malice. "Wait, how did it happen? How did you go from being nothing to being so important that we send you millions of emails and you finally respond after laying out terms?"
He tried to look amused, but I could see the annoyance burning beneath his facade. My upright posture and confident presence clearly grated on his nerves.
"Bella Vance," I corrected, my voice steady. "I no longer use my father's name."
"Married?" Mr. Morris smirked, and I nodded, focusing intently on cutting my steak.
"You know, Serena, Bella used to come home every night to do your husband's homework."
The words struck like lightning. My fingers tightened around my fork until my knuckles went white. Serena was Derek's wife? My eyes snapped up to study the woman more carefully. This was who he had chosen instead of me. This was why he had claimed he wasn't ready to settle down with an omega.
The pieces fell into place with brutal clarity. He had been waiting for a beta all along. Why would he ever choose an omega when he could have someone of higher rank?
"Well, if only I had let him do his homework, today he wouldn't need me here to help with the sickness, right?" My voice carried a deceptively light tone, though the taunt was unmistakable.
Derek drew a deep breath and reached for his wine glass, his movements carefully controlled.
Mr. Foster shifted uncomfortably as his daughter continued staring between me and Derek with unsettling intensity. The reason for her scrutiny remained unclear, but the tension was palpable.
Only the Alphas knew what had transpired in the months before my departure. Derek had been too disgusted by our encounter to share the details with anyone, especially his wife. So why did Serena seem so bothered?
"Why didn't you bring the children with you?" Mr. Foster asked, his soft tone and impeccable manners a stark contrast to his host's crudeness.
"Oh, they were tired, so I left them behind. They don't do well at dinners. They're children, of course." I glanced down at my plate, hoping to discourage further discussion about my babies.
"You have babies? Oh wow! Look, a human girl was able to conceive. More than once. And here a royal beta's daughter is dry," Alpha Morris's cruel words targeted Serena, who immediately began coughing and covered her mouth.
Her father's face darkened with anger at the insult.
The comment surprised me. I had expected Serena to be Alpha Morris's favorite, given her prestigious family background. Apparently, their marriage had problems that ran deeper than I had realized.
Was Derek struggling to have children with his wife? I wouldn't know, but the tension suggested as much.
Derek suddenly straightened and reached for Serena's hand, holding it firmly. The gesture seemed to calm her anxiety instantly, as if his touch had transmitted waves of comfort directly to her soul.
"I will choose my wife over any human or other werewolf, no matter what," Derek declared, staring down his father before turning his gaze to me. The message was clear—he was reminding me of his rejection.
The words stabbed through my chest like a dagger. I had never asked him to sleep with me. They had ruined our friendship and destroyed me that night, then acted as if I had been the desperate one.
"That is exactly what my husband says," I replied, fighting to save face.
Before I could stand to excuse myself, Serena rose abruptly, her composure finally cracking.
"Excuse me, I don't want to disrespect you, but the human scent is too much for me and my wolf. I'll be in my room now."
The sugar-coated insult hit its target perfectly. Serena walked away with her chin high, leaving me humiliated at the table. Derek watched his wife's exit with unmistakable pride, clearly pleased that she had stood up for herself by insulting me.
"Anyway, thank you so much for the dinner. I'd like to go. My children are waiting for me." My voice carried steel as I abandoned any pretense of politeness.
I grabbed my purse and headed for the door. Dinner was over, and Lord Morris had clearly enjoyed tormenting two women while completely ignoring his young wife.
My phone rang as I reached the entrance, and the sound shattered my world.
"Ma'am Bella, I've been trying to look everywhere for Leah, but she's not in the mansion."
The nanny's panicked voice stole the breath from my lungs. My baby girl was missing.
"What? How did you lose my daughter?" The words tore from my throat in a cry of panic.
I spun around to find Derek standing behind me, having followed me to the door out of alpha duty. His face had gone pale with shock at the devastating news.