Chapter 103

Lilia’s POV

Six years in exile. Six long, grueling years where I’ve had to live in squalor when I should have been a queen. A Luna. All because of this woman right there.

Cara Wilson.

On the screen, they call her Aylon Auburn, but I never forget a face. Or, at least, I would never forget hers. It’s burned into my memory.

She took everything from me.

“George!” I shout.

“What?!” he shouts back from the kitchen.

“Get in here!”

“I’m doing something!”

“Now, George!” I demand, impatient.

From the other room, I hear a loud sigh, and know that I’ve won.

George, DuskWood’s former Gamma, is not the kind of man I would have thought I’d take as my husband. But, as we’d been exiled together, there weren’t many other choices. Besides, the man would do anything for me, and there was a certain appeal in that, even if I wouldn’t say I loved him.

So far, he’s been mostly a failure as a husband. He’s supposed to provide for his family, yet he hardly brings home any money at all. He claims that without a pack backing, good jobs are difficult to come by, but I’m not sure I believe him. He might just be lazy.

Worse, every time I try to bring this up, that we need more money, he suggests that I get a job. Me. I was almost a Luna, I remind him whenever he tries that. I will not be made to work. That is what he is for.

Perhaps I should just divorce him and marry someone more suitable.

But that’s a thought for later. Right now, I’m focused entirely on the screen.

George stomps into the living room. “What is it?”

“Look!” I tell him and wave at the screen.

“Lilia, I don’t have time for games, I have to – King Alaric.”

“Yes, he’s there too.” And still handsome and powerful. If only my carefully laid plans hadn’t gone so wrong. “But look! There! The BloodyMoon’s new Beta.”

“Aylon Auburn? Who is that?”

“Look at her face!” Gods, George is frustrating. Can he not obey simple commands? Even a dog can do that.”

We wait a moment for the camera to change, and then Cara appears on the screen once more.

“Cara Wilson,” George says the name like the curse it is. He can forget simple shopping lists at the store, but at least he can remember the name of the woman who personally destroyed all of our dreams.

I could be married to Alaric right now and living in an estate.

Instead, I’m stuck in this dump with my lazy husband and those obnoxious kids.

This life is an extreme disappointment.

“We know where she is now,” I say. “And she’s not in DarkWood, where we would be recognized.”

“The royal family of BloodyMoon might still recognize us,” George says.

Even a broken clock is still right twice a day so in this, even he can be correct.

Yet, there has to be a way.

Now that we know where she is, I won’t let anything as arbitrary as being recognized stop me from exacting my revenge.

“There’s ways around that,” I say, and begin plotting in my mind…

Cara’s POV

On the walk back to the house, Aidan holds Mia’s hand, listening attentively as she talks excitedly about the dancing. Meanwhile, Ryan attempts to keep Ethan talking, when he seems lost in thought.

Colin and I walk along behind both pairs, side by side.

Though he hasn’t said a word about anything yet, Colin keeps side-eyeing me, so I know it’s only a matter of time.

“Do you want to talk about this?” he asks me.

“What’s there to talk about?” I try to joke.

That doesn’t work on Colin, not right now.

“There’s lots to talk about,” he says.

He’s not letting me out of this conversation so easily, especially not when it’s so clearly bothering me.

“Alaric wants to pursue you, but now you also have the eye of a second chance mate,” Colin says. He glances at me. “How does that make you feel?”

“Overwhelmed, to be honest.” And, okay, maybe I do need to talk about it. I didn’t want to at first, but now that the floodgates are open, all my thoughts and feelings come pouring out. “Alaric, I don’t know if I can trust him not to hurt me again, but I at least know him. Noel… he’s a stranger.

“He comes out of nowhere, a wanderer like Landon, and then claims to be mated to me? I don’t know anything about him. None of us really do.”

“Landon does,” Colin says. “You should speak to him. Perhaps he could give you more information on Noel. Though, if he thought Noel was a terrible man, he wouldn’t be friends with him. If he thought Noel would be a terrible partner for you, he would have stepped in and halted everything that went on. He didn’t.”

“I don’t know…”

“Talk to him,” Colin says again. “Only decide when you’ve have all the facts.”

That’s a practical take, and one I should listen to. But hearts and emotions aren’t very practical things. Even if I wanted to consider Noel, my feelings for Alaric feel decidedly in the way.

“I miss my wolf,” I say. Lucy would know what to do. She was often my moral compass in times like these; she always seemed to understand what I truly wanted more than even I did. “If she was here, she could tell me if the bond with Noel is even real.”

“You doubt him?” Colin asks, mildly surprised.

It would be strange for someone to fake a mate bond, but it’s not out of the question. Taboo or not, I am now in a position of power and need to be careful.

Or maybe I’m just making excuses again, because I’m afraid.

I’m afraid and I hate it. I had loved Alaric fiercely in the past, and was so incredibly dedicated. I will never forget the tear of the bond as he rejected me. That pain could have killed me, I felt it run so deeply, down into my bones and the deepest depths of my heart. Those places still felt empty now, even all these years later.

My whole body still longed for my mate.

What if Noel could fill that void? And what if he did a better job of it than Alaric?

My desire for Alaric is electric. Every time we are together, I still feel the pull, even without Lucy’s presence to help feel the remnants of our bond.

But… sex is all we’ve ever really been good at.

Talking, emotions, relationships… Consistently, we have failed in every regard.

Would it be so bad to try to open myself up to another? What if, in turning him away outright, I could be missing on my true mate?

“You have much to think about,” Colin says, and lightly takes my arm into the crux of his. “It’s been a long day.”

“What if I choose neither?” I say. “What if I like things as they are, with the children and my position as Beta?”

“Then that’s what you choose,” Colin says. “No one in this family is going to force you to choose a man you do not love.”

Love. Such a strange word that I have not given any credence to in such a long time.

“Thank you,” I say, though I’m no closer to making a choice.