Chapter 45

Lauren

I tore myself away, the heat of Alexander’s lips still searing into mine, a phantom touch that refused to fade even as the icy grip of reality clenched my chest.

My breath came in sharp, shallow bursts, but it wasn’t passion that stole my air—it was the weight of the truth I had just unleashed. His hands stayed on my waist, a silent plea not to let go, as if holding me could tether us to a moment already slipping away.

His dark eyes locked onto mine, a storm brewing in their depths, desperate and unrelenting. “What?” he rasped, his voice raw, each syllable cracking under the strain. “Lauren… I don’t understand—” His words faltered, his confusion bleeding.

Honestly, I’m not sure I did either.

I took a step back, and then another, creating a chasm between us so wide I feared we’d never cross it again. The air between us felt charged, crackling with the remnants of a connection I was about to sever.

“Liam and I,” I began, my voice trembling, each word an agonizing betrayal. “Abigail… she’s his daughter. I’m staying with him. It’s what’s best for her.”

His face hardened, the tenderness that had lingered in his gaze shattering like glass. “No,” he said, his tone low, each word cutting like a blade. “No, you’re lying. I can feel it, Lauren. Don’t do this to me. Don’t do this to us.”

I shook my head, wrapping my arms around myself to stop my hands from trembling. “I’m not lying, Alexander. I stayed devoted to you once, through everything, even when it cost me everything. But I can’t—” My voice broke, the weight of my resolve pressing down like a vice. “I can’t do this again. Not now. Not when there’s so much at stake.”

He took a step forward, his presence consuming, suffocating, electrifying. “You don’t get to make that call for me,” he growled, his voice tight with restrained fury. “If you think I’m just going to walk away because you’ve decided it’s easier to lie, you don’t know me at all.”

My heart twisted painfully, the echo of a love that had once been my entire world now a sharp ache in my chest. “It’s not about you,” I whispered, but the words felt hollow. “This is how it has to be. You’re not… good for us. For me. Bad things happen around you, Alexander. You’re a storm, and I can’t—”

“Then stop running!” he snapped, his voice cutting through the tension like a whip. “Stop running, Lauren, and let me protect you. Let me protect Abigail. Stop crawling out of my umbrella and then blaming me when you get soaked! I’m trying—dammit, I’m trying!”

I bristled instantly. “You can’t protect me from yourself!” I shot back, my voice shaking but steady enough to land the blow. “You are the problem, Alexander. You always have been!”

His jaw clenched so tightly I thought it might snap. His fists curled at his sides, the battle between fury and anguish raging within him. “Why are you like this?” he demanded, his voice icy, every word laced with venom. “Why can’t you just—”

He stopped himself, exhaling sharply through his nose, his restraint a fragile thread. “Fine. Fine, Lauren. We’ll do it your way. The way that makes no sense and leaves us stuck in this goddamn limbo.”

I stared at him, stunned, my own anger dissolving into disbelief. “Me? You—”

“Enough.” His voice was final, like a gavel striking down, and with one swift motion, he flung open the door. The cold wind from the hallway rushed in, swirling around us like a warning. His dark eyes met mine one last time, his expression unreadable, carved from stone. “This isn’t over.”

Before I could reply, he was gone, the door slamming shut behind him with a resounding finality that echoed through the empty room.

I stood there, frozen, the silence that followed deafening. The air felt colder without him, and I wrapped my arms around myself, as if that could hold me together. The urge to call him back clawed at my throat, but I swallowed it down.

I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

But the ache in my chest whispered that I might already regret it.

Alexander

Her words echoed in my mind, a relentless torment I couldn’t escape. Abigail is Liam’s. Her and Liam, marriage. ‘I’m staying with him.’ Lies. They had to be lies.

Lauren wouldn’t—couldn’t—choose him over me. Not after everything we’d been through. Not after that kiss.

She… didn’t want that. She couldn’t. So why, why wouldn’t she just tell me what is going on?

I stormed over the sidewalk, the moonlight casting eerie shadows that matched the storm brewing inside me. My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin, sensing my anger, my frustration, my desperation. I couldn’t let this go. I wouldn’t.

Liam. His name was a curse on my tongue. The smug bastard had been a thorn in my side for years, always lingering, always waiting for his chance. And now he thought he’d won just cause he had my Luna, was the Alpha’s son.

My claws extended involuntarily, my body trembling with the need to act, to fight, to claim what was mine. By the time I reached Liam’s appartment, my vision was tinged with red, my rage barely contained.

I hadn’t meant to come here, but here I was.

He was outside, leaning casually against the porch railing as if he’d been expecting me. His smirk was infuriating, his calm demeanor a direct challenge. “Alpha Alexander,” he drawled, pushing off the railing. “So you lived, not that I’m shocked. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

I didn’t bother with pleasantries. “What do you want with Lauren” I growled, my voice barely human. “Why is she so dead set on you.”

Liam’s smirk widened, his eyes gleaming with amusement. “Is that what this is about? Jealousy doesn’t suit you, old friend.”

I was on him in an instant, my fist connecting with his jaw with a satisfying crack. He staggered back but recovered quickly, his wolf flashing in his eyes as he lunged at me. We collided with a force that shook the ground, our snarls and growls echoing through the dark, cold streets.

Liam’s claws raked across my side, but I barely felt the pain. I surged forward, feeding on my rage as I struck back, my claws tearing through his shirt and drawing blood.

“You don’t deserve her,” I spat, my voice a guttural snarl. “You never have. You lie!”

He laughed, a bitter, mocking sound that only fueled my anger. “And you think you do? You let her go, Alexander. You pushed her away. Don’t blame me for picking up the pieces.”

I roared, slamming him against the bricks with enough force to splinter them. “She doesn’t love you,” I hissed, my claws digging into his shoulders. “She never has.”

Liam’s grin didn’t falter, even as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. “Keep telling yourself that. But she’s with me now. She’s mine.”

The words were a knife to my chest, and I lashed out again, my claws aiming for his throat. But he was ready, twisting out of my grip and delivering a blow that sent me sprawling. We circled each other, both breathing heavily, our wolves wavering at the surface, ready to take over.

“You think you’ll win?” I growled, my voice low and dangerous. “You think I’ll just walk away and let you have her?”

Liam’s expression darkened, his playful demeanor vanishing. “She made her choice, Alexander. And it wasn’t you.”

I lunged at him again, determined to prove him wrong. Our battle raged on, neither of us willing to back down, our deep-seated rivalry spilling over into every strike, every snarl, every wound.

But even as we fought, her face haunted me, her voice trembling as she said the words that had shattered me. Abigail is Liam’s child. I’m staying with him.

I couldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t. She was mine, and I would do whatever it took to bring her back to me—even if it meant tearing Liam apart to uncover the truth.