Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Five years ago, my ex-mate rejected me before the entire pack.
He chose his childhood sweetheart, who carried another man’s pup.
Now, I’m back. And he was the one dispatched to greet me.
“Look at you,” his eyes locking on the necklace on my neck. “Still so desperate for attention you’d wear a cheap knock-off like that.”
“Your time for games is over. You’re to return and care for her pup.”
My fingers grazed the cool diamonds.
The idiot had no idea. This necklace was a gift from my Alpha.
And of all his gifts, this was the very least.
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1
As I walked into the arrivals hall, I saw someone holding a sign that read “Mrs. Rodriguez.”
I strode toward the sign and froze in my tracks.
It was Alaric Sullivan, my ex—the man I hadn’t seen in five years.
Five years of dead silence. Not a single call. Not one message. Not a word of explanation or apology.
Now, here he was, his arm casually draped over Cassia Bennett’s shoulder. Behind them, a crowd of fawning sycophants buzzed like flies.
One of them spotted me and laughed smugly. “Well, well, Alaric… isn’t that your little shadow? What was her name? Isadora something?”
A flicker of surprise crossed Alaric’s eyes—but the arrogant mask quickly slipped back into place. A slow, mocking smile curved his lips. “I told you. She’d come crawling back with her tail between her legs sooner or later.”
The group erupted in snickers. “Isadora Vasile just disappeared without a word. Now that Alaric’s the Beta of the Obsidian Fang Pack, she must be kicking herself. Probably cries into her pillow every night.”
Another voice chimed in. “But Isadora, if you’re going to play the ‘chance encounter’ card, at least dress the part. What on earth are you wearing? My grandma wouldn’t be caught dead in that.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve been so poor since leaving Alaric that you can’t even afford a decent outfit. How pathetic.”
None of them knew that this seemingly ordinary casual outfit was custom-made for my pregnant figure by a top designer at Kieran’s request—every thread woven for ultimate comfort.
After getting pregnant, I had long grown accustomed to wearing no makeup. But in their eyes, I was still the same pathetic creature who caked on lipstick in a desperate attempt to attract Alaric.
Five years ago, I left him.
I bonded with a Lycan who truly saw me, who desired me. He loved me for who I was, not for the vanity I could bring him. That Lycan was Kieran Rodriguez, the Alpha Supreme of the Lycan Council. Clearly, the “Mrs. Rodriguez” they were all waiting for was me.
But not a single one of them realized it.
Seeing my silence, a werewolf I vaguely recognized tried to smooth things over. “Isadora, it’s good that you’re back. Actually, Alaric has been looking for you all these years.”
Instantly, Alaric’s smile froze.
He shrugged dismissively, hiding his embarrassment. “Cassia’s pup is starting school. You can handle getting him there and back.”
He was just as arrogant, just as entitled as I remembered. But I was no longer his puppet.
Looking at him now, I only felt a bone-deep revulsion.
I was about to reveal my identity when Cassia interjected.
“Isadora, don’t be mad at Alaric. He’s just looking out for you. You disappeared for five years, who knows what kind of lowly jobs you’ve been doing out there?”
“Look at the state of you… Even if he wanted you as his mistress, you’d only embarrass him looking like that. But don’t worry, as long as you take good care of my son, no one will look down on you.”
Five years had passed, and Cassia was as smug as ever.
I just raised an eyebrow, my hands protectively cradling my slightly swollen belly. I said nothing. I wanted to see just how deep their delusion ran.
However, Alaric misinterpreted my silence. He thought I was heartbroken, jealous.
His low, mocking laugh confirmed it.
“Oh, come on. She obviously couldn’t make it on her own and came crawling back. She should be grateful I’m even offering her a job.”
“Take care of the kid and stay out of trouble. Know your place.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll let you stay by my side, just like you wanted. The nanny’s room is empty, you can stay there.”
The moment he finished speaking, the crowd erupted in malicious laughter.
“Isadora, see how good Alaric is to you. He was worried you were suffering out there, he even arranged a place for you to live.”
“So what if he’s asking you to help Cassia with her pup? Compared to the miserable life you must have been living, isn’t this a godsend? You should be on your knees thanking him.”
Cassia touched her diamond earring, adding in a sickly sweet, hypocritical tone, “Don’t worry, Isadora. If my son misbehaves, I’ll discipline him for you. I won’t see you mistreated.”
Alaric glanced at me sideways, sneering, “What’s she got to complain about? She ran off over a little thing, and now that she’s crawled back, she deserves to suffer a bit.”
My brows furrowed. He called forging a mate bond with Cassia ‘a little thing’?
So, the Alaric who once loved me… was truly dead.
The Lycan who had once carried me, covered in blood, across half the territory was dead. The Lycan who had nothing but swore to give me the world was dead.
Now, all I saw was an empty shell of a man.
But that was fine. After all, I was about to have my second pup.
