Chapter 2
Ethan's POV
The door slammed behind Aria. I should go after her. Smooth things over like I always did. I took a step forward.
"Ethan." Clara's hand wrapped around my wrist, yanking me back. "Where do you think you're going?"
"She just saw us. I need to talk to her before she does something stupid."
"Something stupid?" Clara's amber eyes flashed. "Like tell everyone you cheated? She won't. She loves you too much to destroy what you've built together."
I pulled free, running a hand through my hair.
Clara was right. Aria had proven her love a thousand times over. Working herself to exhaustion for the Pack, enduring my mother's cruelty, raising Marcus without a word of complaint. She wouldn't throw all of that away over one moment of weakness.
"But what if she heard us talking about Marcus?"
"If she had, do you think she'd just walk out?" Clara scoffed. "She'd have been hysterical. Screaming, crying, breaking things." Her fingers trailed down my arm. "Give her three days. She'll come crawling back, accepting a pup with pure Alpha bloodline, begging you not to let her go."
I exhaled slowly. "I guess you're right."
"I'm always right." She smiled.
Clara had always been like this. Bold, unapologetic, dangerously sure of herself. It was what drew me to her when we were teenagers, when she'd dragged me bleeding out of the forest after a rogue attack. I owed her my life.
But Aria was different. She was my True Mate, chosen by the Moon Goddess herself. And I'd rejected that bond the moment I understood what it meant, because accepting her meant letting go of Clara.
Fortunately, as a human, Aria's sense of the bond was weak. After the rejection, she'd felt no pain, still clinging to hope for a connection I'd already severed. That worked in my favor.
Her talents were undeniable. My Pack had flourished under her guidance, and I kept Marcus at her side so she could help shape him into a perfect heir. In front of her, I didn't mind playing the devoted mate. It was the only kindness I could afford to give.
"Ethan." Clara's voice cut through my thoughts. "I want to move in. With you and Aria. I'm tired of sneaking around like some dirty secret. Marcus deserves both his parents under one roof." Her chin lifted. "Either I move in, or I take him and leave. Your choice."
My wolf snarled at the thought of both women under one roof. But if Clara walked out with my son...
"Fine," I heard myself say. "You can move in."
That evening, I brought them home like it was nothing. Marcus came barreling into my arms the second the door opened, his golden hair a mess, his little face split with a grin.
"Daddy! Mommy said we get to stay together now!"
"That's right, buddy." I ruffled his hair, warmth blooming in my chest. This was how it was supposed to be. My mate, my son, all of us together.
Clara laughed as Marcus tugged her toward the living room, chattering about the toys he wanted to unpack first. The house felt right. Complete.
Aria would understand eventually. She'd come home, see reason, and take her place quietly like she always did.
But the hours crawled past. Marcus fell asleep on the couch. Clara went up to bed. And the front door stayed shut.
Nine o'clock. Ten. Eleven.
I sat alone in the dark living room, one lamp burning, telling myself she was just being dramatic. Sulking somewhere. She'd walk through that door any minute now.
Midnight came and went.
Where the hell was she?
I was still awake, jaw tight, when I finally heard the click of a key in the lock.
Aria's POV
The meeting with Mr. Castellano had run far longer than I expected.
The estate was even larger than he'd let on. Commercial holdings, shipping contracts, mineral rights buried inside three different Pack territories. Page after page after page.
I signed everything in a strange, floating daze, my name looking foreign on paper that would soon make me one of the wealthiest people in the wolf world.
"There are parties already positioning to contest this," Castellano had warned, gathering the documents. "Your father's widow. His stepson. Certain Alphas with financial stakes. The moment your identity becomes public, you'll have targets on your back. My advice? Keep this quiet until we've secured every asset legally. Once it's locked down, no one can touch you."
I understood exactly what that meant. As long as I remained Ethan Holt's fake Luna, as long as Silver Creek Pack believed I was theirs to use, they'd bleed me dry the instant they scented that kind of wealth. Ethan would smell opportunity like blood in water.
I needed to disappear before that happened.
So I waited until well past midnight to slip home and pack. I never imagined he'd still be up.
"Aria." Ethan rose from the couch, unhurried, as though the afternoon had never happened. "You're late."
"Am I?" I walked past him toward the kitchen. "I didn't realize I had a curfew."
I poured myself a glass of water, more for something to do with my hands than anything else. My heart was pounding so hard my ears ached.
Footsteps followed me.
"Can we talk?" His voice was low, careful.
I turned slowly. "About you and Clara?"
"It's not what you think," he said, that condescending tone creeping in, the one I'd grown to hate. "Clara's going to stay here as Marcus's nanny. He needs stability, and honestly, you're not around enough—"
"Not attentive enough?" I cut in. "Ethan, I run this Pack for you. Every meeting, every decision, every contract. And you? What exactly have you been doing all this time?"
His jaw clenched. "That's not the point."
"Then what is?"
"Marcus needs someone to care for him."
"Fine." I set the glass down. "The answer is no."
He blinked. "Excuse me?"
"I said no. This is my home. I never agreed to a live-in nanny."
"She's not just a nanny. She's helped raise Marcus since the day he was born. He needs her here."
Of course he did. Because she was his real mother.
"Not my problem," I said coldly. "If you want to keep Clara close, buy her an apartment. She's not living under my roof."
Something dark flickered across his face. "Aria—"
"Choose, Ethan." My voice didn't waver. "Her, or this arrangement. You can't have both."
"Marcus needs care," he said quietly.
Just like that. No hesitation. No regret.
I laughed. It came out cold and brittle, a sound I barely recognized as my own.
I echoed. "Right. Well, then. That makes this easy."
"Aria—"
"I'll be gone by morning." I met his eyes without flinching. "Don't worry, I won't make a scene. Why would I? I was never really your Luna anyway. There's nothing here to walk away from."
For the first time, something flickered across his face. Uncertainty. A flash of the panic he'd been so sure he'd never feel.
He opened his mouth to speak.
I turned and walked up the stairs before he could find the words.
