Chapter 184

Bianca

Today was the day. Isaac was coming to meet Callum.

Our son.

The words still felt like some kind of distant dream, or perhaps a nightmare, even after everything that had happened recently. Five years of keeping them apart, five years of telling myself I was protecting Callum from a monster—and now I was about to let that supposed monster into our home.

“He’s not a monster,” my wolf purred. “He’s our mate.”

I tried to ignore her, just like I’d been doing for the past week since our meeting at that seedy bar, but it was getting harder and harder by the day. Every time I thought about the broken look in Isaac’s eyes when I’d accused him of trying to kill me, I felt sick.

The guilt was becoming overwhelming. If Isaac was telling the truth—and my wolf seemed to insist that he was—then that meant that all of the suffering I had put Isaac, Callum, and even myself through had potentially been for naught.

Just then, a soft knock at my bedroom door made me jump.

“Come in,” I called out, hastily smoothing my hands over the knit sweater I was wearing. I didn’t look at my face. Didn’t want to think about how I had spent too much time this morning putting extra care into my makeup and hair like a lovesick fool.

Clara entered first, followed by Zane and Benjamin. The three of them looked like they were coming for an intervention.

“You don’t have to do this,” Clara said without preamble, confirming my suspicions. “We can call it off. Tell him you changed your mind.”

“Guys, for the millionth time, I’m not changing my mind.” I crossed my arms. “Callum deserves to know his father.”

“Even if his father tried to have you killed?” Clara asked sharply.

“He didn’t.” The words came out quick and sharp. “The evidence—”

“Could be forged,” Zane interrupted. “You’re being reckless because he’s your mate.”

The room went silent. I whipped my head toward Zane, shooting him a warning look. He held my gaze, jaw working beneath his skin. Behind him, Benjamin’s eyes softened slightly, and I could see the exact moment he realized I’d already made up my mind. Maybe because he saw a hint of my mother in me, the very same woman who had turned him down to be with the man who had had her killed—my father.

Perhaps I was making the same mistakes my mother had made. Trusting the wrong person. But I just… couldn’t spend the rest of my life wondering what might have happened had I not taken the leap. I couldn’t hide Callum away forever. Not from his own father, who he so desperately wanted to meet.

I turned back to the mirror, smoothing down my shirt. “I can make my own decisions.”

Zane stepped forward, his reflection appearing behind mine in the mirror. “Bianca…” He paused, swallowing hard. “Do you love him? Still?”

The question hit me like a punch to the face. Familiar heat turned my cheeks before I could hide it, and I saw Zane’s face fall in the mirror’s reflection.

Shit.

“I—” I started, then stopped. What was I supposed to say? That yes, despite everything, despite five years of believing he’d tried to kill me, some traitorous part of me had never stopped loving Isaac Thorne? That seeing him again had awakened feelings I’d buried so deep I’d convinced myself they were dead?

“It doesn’t matter,” I finally said, avoiding Zane’s eyes because it was too painful to look into them. “He doesn’t love me. Not anymore.”

“Bianca—”

“He’s engaged to Ella,” I said calmly. “If he even still loved me before a week ago, then he certainly fell out of love with me the moment he found out I faked my death. Can you blame him? I let him mourn me for five years. I kept his son from him. Whatever we had, whatever we could have had—it’s over.”

The words tasted like ash in my mouth, but they were true. They had to be.

Zane’s reflection looked like I’d just stabbed him in the chest. Again. Goddess, I was so tired of hurting the people I cared about.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, turning to face him. “I know that’s not what you wanted to hear.”

Zane shook his head, forcing a smile. “I just want you to be happy, Bianca. Even if it’s not with me.”

The guilt twisted in my chest like a knife digging into a wound. Zane had been by my side through everything. He’d proven his loyalty time and time again, and I kept breaking his heart.

“You deserve better than someone who can’t love you the way you deserve,” I said softly.

“Don’t I get to decide that?”

Before I could answer, Benjamin cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should focus on the matter at hand. Callum is downstairs asking when his daddy is going to arrive every five minutes.”

Right. Callum. My son, who was smiling wider than I’d ever seen at the prospect of finally meeting his father. I’d tried to prepare him, tried to explain that this was just a visit, that Isaac lived far away and had other responsibilities. But nothing could dim the joy in those bright blue eyes.

“He’s been asking about his father for months,” I said. “I can’t keep making excuses.”

Clara nodded. “Then we’ll support you. But we’ll be watching. If Isaac does anything—anything—to hurt you or Callum…”

“You’ll kill him. I know.” I managed a weak smile. “Thank you. All of you.”

One by one, they filed out of my room, leaving me alone with my racing thoughts. I walked to my dresser and opened the top drawer, pushing aside jewelry and hair ties until my fingers found what I was looking for.

A small, framed photo of Isaac and me on our wedding day.

We looked so young. So happy. Isaac’s arm was wrapped around my waist, his face buried in my neck right where he’d—

Without thinking, my hand flew to the spot where Isaac had bitten me during our mating ceremony. The scar was so faint now that most people wouldn’t even notice it, just a small crescent of slightly raised skin.

The mating mark had been dormant for five years, ever since Isaac and I were separated. Even before then, it had hardly been more than a physical mark. Since my wolf had been dormant throughout our entire marriage, neither of us could feel more than a faint hum from the chosen mate bond we shared.

But my wolf had returned. And I was Isaac’s fated mate.

So why, during all of our recent interactions, had I not felt the bond through the mark? I’d known he was my fated mate, yes, but I couldn’t feel his pulse through the bond. Couldn’t feel the heartbeat that every mate should.

Perhaps he truly had fallen out of love with me. Mate marks were tied to emotional bonds as much as physical ones.

My stomach dropped as another possibility occurred to me. What if Ella had marked Isaac? What if she’d sunk her teeth into his neck and created a new bond, one strong enough to outshine ours?

That would explain why my mark wasn’t connecting me to Isaac.

Maybe he’d found comfort in Ella’s arms. Maybe she’d given him what I couldn’t—certainty, loyalty, trust.

Maybe I really had lost him.

Suddenly, I felt a buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text from one of my border scouts: Isaac’s plane had been spotted and was currently circling over Silvermist for a landing.

Gritting my teeth, I snapped the dresser drawer shut and pulled my hand away from the dormant mating mark.

Time to go see my ex-husband.