Chapter 29

Claire POV

I was just taking my morning coffee break at the clinic, chatting with Amelia, when we saw the announcement on the news.

And my heart sank.

“This just in,” said the anchorwoman, a note of excitement in her voice. Amelia and I both turned to see what she had to say.

“It seems our Alpha has finally decided to make things official with the Royal Princess Sabrina. The two have been seen stepping out together for quite some time now, leading to rumors and speculation about just how serious their relationship was.”

“Indeed,” said the anchorman. “Everyone has been curious about the Princess, and her relationship with our Alpha. And now those rumors can be put to rest: Alpha Nathan and Princess Sabrina are officially engaged.”

“That’s right!” the woman said. “After weeks of wondering, it’s now officially confirmed. Alpha Nathan, a long-time bachelor, is finally getting married. And Silverfang Pack will finally have a Luna. And a Royal Luna, no less!”

Amelia reached across the table and took my hand, squeezing it hard. I clung to it as an intense mix of confusion, disappointment and pain washed over me.

Nathan and Sabrina, engaged?

But…Nathan had just kissed me, asked me to come home.

He hadn’t accepted my rejection, or even officially broken up with me.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered, a heart to my chest as if to hold in the pain. “What is happening?”

I knew our relationship was strained, and we had a lot of issues, but how could Nathan change gears like this so quickly?

“Oh honey, I’m so sorry,” Amelia said. “That man is outrageous! Who does he think he is, to play with you like this??”

I had told Amelia about what happened the day Sabrina tried to have me arrested, and now she was shocked and upset on my behalf.

It took me the rest of the morning just to begin to process my own shock.

By midday I decided I needed to reach out to Nathan. I knew I needed to move on with my life, and distance myself from this mess, but I also wanted to know the truth.

Had Nathan never really loved me? Had he just been waiting, hoping, to get back together with Sabrina this whole time?

I deserved to know that much at least. I deserved to know the truth.

Sabrina POV

In Nathan’s office, I sat looking through the latest polls. It was very early yet, too soon since news of our engagement had begun to spread, for the poll-takers to talk to everyone. But these earliest reports were incredibly gratifying.

People were over the moon about their Alpha’s engagement.

A bachelor Alpha wasn’t unheard of, but an unmarried father, with no mother in the picture at all?

The pack had been wondering for years about who Andy’s mother might be, and why her identity was kept a mystery.

Now the rumors were flying the I was somehow his mother, and that it had been kept a secret for some unknown reason.

Pleased, I smiled to myself, wondering how I could play with that rumor. I hadn’t thought it up myself, but it was a neat little thread to weave into the story, wasn’t it?

I’d have to make the reason suitably tragic, of course. Maybe there had been threats against my life, even a kidnapping attempt, and I’d sent Andy away to live with his father for his own safety.

Tapping my fingers against the report, I decided that could work quite well.

Beside my hand, Nathan’s phone lit up with a notification. I glanced up quickly at the doorway, making sure Nathan wasn’t able to see me from where he stood speaking to his Beta and a few others.

Then I nudged the phone closer, and opened the text.

And was utterly delighted to see that it was from Claire:

Nathan, what is going on? You’re engaged to Sabrina?? I’m so confused about how you could do this, after the things you said here at the clinic. Did you ever really love me, or have you just been playing games this whole time?

My happiness grew and grew as I read the text.

It was working!

Claire was already doubting Nathan’s feelings for her, despite the fact that they had been bonded as fated mates for years.

Now I had driven a wedge between the two of them. And I was going to keep hammering at that wedge until they were so far apart neither one of them would even consider getting back together.

And then I would be Luna, at last.

After that - who knew? Maybe poor Nathan would have a terrible accident, or suffer some mysterious illness. If he died, I’d run Silverfang pack on my own, and just bide my time until my father finally died.

Then I would be queen and Luna, with a loyal pack serving me. No one would dare question my authority.

I tucked away that delicious little fantasy and looked down at the phone. Claire’s confusion and desperation warmed my heart.

The filthy Omega deserved it.

But what to text back? Something cold and cruel, making it clear that Claire was simply a mild inconvenience to Nathan, certainly not worth his time or energy.

I picked up the phone to start crafting the perfect message, then heard footsteps and realized Nathan was coming back into the office.

Too bad, I thought, deleting the message and setting the phone back down with a sigh.

Driving the knife in deeper, twisting a little, would have been fun.

Instead Claire would just have to wait and wait on a message that would never come.

And wasn’t that fun too?

Claire POV

The day passed, slowly. So did the next.

And while my work at the clinic and taking care of Beth took up a lot of my time and energy, there was still a part of me that was waiting.

And waiting.

But there was no answer to the message I sent.

I’d laid my heart open to Nathan in that message, making it clear just how hurt and confused I was.

I’d asked if he’d ever even loved me.

And his answer was no answer at all.

Finally, on the second day with no response, I sat alone in my cozy little apartment and accepted the truth: He wasn’t going to answer me.

And his silence told me everything I needed to know.

Deeply hurt, feeling disrespected and deeply disappointed in Nathan, tears burned in my throat, my eyes, and I let them fall.

I wept for the man I’d thought I knew, and loved.

I’d fallen in love with a strong, passionate, confident Alpha. When he told me we were fated mates, a thing I couldn’t fully feel without a wolf, I’d believed him without a moment’s hesitation.

And I’d stood by his side for years, giving all my time, energy and love to a man who wouldn’t even be seen with me in public.

As I cried I wondered how those two men - one who claimed me as a mate, one who couldn’t dare be seen with me - could be the same person.

But maybe they weren’t.

Maybe the man I fell in love with had been a long cruel lie.

Had he ever been real, at all?

And if he’d never loved me or cared about me, and was now being so cold and cruel, what hope did I have to ever reveal my true identity to my son?

Would Nathan even let me near him?