Chapter 65

Amber’s POV

For dinner, Alice and I decided on pizza. So when the doorbell rang, I assumed it was the pizza delivery man. I went there, unlatched the lock, and threw open the door without checking.

Then, turning to greet the delivery driver, I saw Julian standing there instead, and I froze.

“Amber, I was hoping we could talk,” he said.

Though it took me a moment, I recovered quickly enough to tell him. “I don’t think we have anything more to say to each other.”

“I disagree.”

I started to close the door.

“Wait!”

Despite myself, I paused.

“Amber, please. At least give me the chance to explain.”

“And why should I?” I asked. “Isn’t Olivia waiting for you somewhere? I’m sure she would rather have your time.”

I was being petty and I knew it. But I was also furious. Not only did he get Olivia pregnant, he then left her to come out here and try to pursue me. If that was even what he was doing! I was still pretty sure, now more than ever before, that he had only resurfaced so he could claim Alice and take her back with him.

Over my dead body.

In fact, I didn’t want her to hear this conversation at all. As soon as he left, I was going to tell her that he went back home, and then we’d move again.

Gods, why couldn’t anything ever be easy? Why couldn’t he just stay away from us?

Before I could start yelling, worried Alice might overhear, I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. This brought me closer to Julian, who looked down at me in confusion for a moment before realizing and stepping back himself.

His closeness made my skin tingle pleasantly, and I had to force myself to remember all the things he was guilty of, replaying them again and again in my mind. The more I replayed them, the angrier I became.

“I don’t even want to talk about this with you, Julian. I’m so mad I could spit fire. Just leave, okay? Before Alice sees you. Just get out of here and don’t come back.”

For a brief moment, a look of hurt crossed over his face, yet then, in another blink, it was gone, his typical steely demeanor replacing it. A determination rose within him, though, that much was clear from the firm way he was staring at me.

“Olivia isn’t pregnant,” he said.

Though he’d said the words flatly, they still hit me like a punch. I stared back at him, my mouth slightly agape, confused and stunned, unsure what to believe.

Typically, I knew Olivia to not be a reliable source, if only from the nature of some of her choices, as well as her clear dislike of me. But she hadn’t been the one to directly hurt me. Julian had made the choices that led to my heartbreak, to my leaving, to everything…

How could I possibly trust him in this?

Yet my heart, and my wolf, felt like they were on his side. Treacherous, traitorous things. They had nothing to go on but feelings and desires. They wanted him to be innocent, so they trusted him.

Olivia could be pregnant, no matter what he said. I had to keep that knowledge in the forefront of my thoughts. Until I had proof one way or the other, neither Olivia nor Julian could be fully trusted.

“Why would she tell me she was?” I asked.

“Because she knows why I really came here,” Julian said. “And she is against me achieving my goals.”

My confusion must have been clear on my face; he seemed startled by it.

“You do know why I came here?” he asked.

“The project…?” I knew that wasn’t the only reason. He had wanted to track me down so that he could claim Alice and take her away. Except he hadn’t done that yet…

“No, Amber.” Julian moved closer again, just a tiny little half-step. Yet those few inches felt like miles, as he came so much closer to me. “I intend to make you my wife again.”

I blinked. “What?”

He smiled a little, endearingly. “Not without any effort, of course. I want to start over, woo you like we just met.” There was a spark of hope in his eyes. “This is me declaring to you, I intend to pursue you.”

“But I thought… you only came here for Alice…?”

“I want to provide for Alice, and be her father. I would love to take Alice back to the safety of my pack and raise here there among family and friends. But I want to do things at your side, Amber.”

He inched closer still, moving more metaphorical mountains to stand right in front of me. Physically. Emotionally. Then his gaze dropped to my lips.

He was close enough to kiss me, and I was stunned enough to let him.

Inside of me was a whirlwind of emotion. I had tried long ago to bury all feelings for Julian deep down within myself, and yet here they were, foolish, hopeless things, coming back to life like they’d never been buried at all.

I wanted him to kiss me, to pursue me, to help me raise Alice.

He leaned closer still. I could feel his warm breath on my face. I held my own, waiting, anticipating, as I turned my face upwards, making my lips more accessible.

Then, the door behind me opened.

“I knew it!” Alice said as she rushed to my side.

I stepped back from Julian at once.

“You’re here!” Alice said, voice full of excitement.

Julian recovered from the near-kiss quicker than me. “I’m here,” he said, smiling kindly at our daughter.

“I knew Mom was taking too long to talk to the pizza man,” she said. Then, her eyes lit up as an idea struck her. “You have to stay for dinner!”

Julian paused, then looked at me somewhat sheepishly. “Only if it’s okay with your Mom.”

Talk about being put on the spot!

Alice and Julian both hit me with the doe eyes, and I could see now where Alice had inherited this trick from.

“Fine,” I said, in part because my mind was still reeling from that kiss, giving no effort to thinking this situation through.

Alice cheered, which made Julian laugh. My heart warmed, but I worried I might regret it.

Olivia’s POV

Sitting behind the seat of her rental car, parked out on the street a few houses down from Amber’s place, Olivia watched everything unfold. Though she couldn’t hear the words spoken, she could piece things together well enough.

Julian and Amber were reconnecting.

Irritation spiked within Olivia. Even from this distance, she could tell that Julian was showing more affection to Amber, who abandoned him, than he had to her in years, even though she has always remained at his side.

She wasn’t prone to helplessness, but in that moment, she felt a twinge of defeat. This made her so angry, she very nearly got out of the car to interrupt the scene herself.

But she stopped herself, knowing such an action would only hurt her in the long run.

She wanted to ruin this perfect family moment, but the smarter game was to wait, and to plan for long term.

Her eyes on the disgustingly almost-perfect little family, Olivia reached into her purse for her phone. She found a familiar number, one she had cleverly hidden in her phone under ‘Cleaning Service’ and hit call.

The line rang a few times, but then, ever dutiful, the man on the other end answered. “Olivia. I thought you were going out of town.”

As vicious ideas popped into Olivia’s head, she found herself filled with hopeful determination. Julian would still be hers.

She certainly wasn’t going to lose him to someone like Amber.

Into the phone, she said, “I need a favor.”