I thought maybe this was a new beginning.
Maybe he would be happy for me.
“Mommy?” Ezra pulled on my sleeve again, his small face worried. His eyes—so like his father’s—searched mine. “What’s wrong?”
I forced a smile. “I’m okay. Mommy can hear now, sweetheart.”
His face lit up instantly. “Really? Daddy will be so happy!”
“Yeah…” I said softly, though my voice didn’t feel steady. “Maybe he will.”
But I didn’t stay.
I needed to tell Adrian myself.
I left Ezra with the nanny he trusted most and made my way out of the hall, stepping into the cold night air where fireworks still painted the sky. My ears ached from the sudden flood of sound, but I kept walking anyway.
Inside the pack house, I climbed the stairs toward the second-floor veranda.
That’s when I heard it.
A woman’s voice—soft, familiar.
Too familiar.
“How much longer are you going to keep me waiting, Alpha? It’s been five years. When are you finally ending things with her?”
My steps stopped.
Mira.
The omega always by his side. The one who smiled too comfortably around him. The one everyone noticed but no one dared question.
Footsteps followed after a pause.
Adrian.