Chapter 2

At one in the morning, Luna Georgina stood outside the gates of the Wilson residence, shivering in the cold night air. She had been knocking for hours, but nobody had opened the door of her own home, and every unanswered knock made the humiliation burn deeper.

She knocked again, harder this time, her palm aching against the wood. “Alpha Matthew! Open the door! This is my home too!”

No answer came from inside.

He knows you're outside. He is choosing not to open the door.

Jessa's voice rumbled inside Georgina's head, her anger matching the fury building in Georgina's chest.

“Don't remind me,” Georgina whispered through clenched teeth. “I already know.”

Finally, the door opened.

Marian stood on the other side, wearing one of Georgina's silk nightgowns. The delicate fabric hung loosely around Marian's pregnant body, and the sight of her dressed in Georgina's clothes made Georgina's stomach twist.

Marian saw her and immediately let her face crumple. She turned toward Alpha Matthew and leaned weakly against him as if she could barely stand.

“Alpha Matthew, is Luna Georgina still angry with me?” Marian murmured, her voice trembling. “Maybe I should just leave. I don't want to cause more trouble between you and your mate.”

Alpha Matthew's arm immediately went around Marian's shoulders as he glared at Georgina.

“Marian has been upset for hours because of you,” Alpha Matthew said coldly. “She needs rest, especially now that she's carrying my child.”

Georgina stared at him before looking at the nightgown Marian was wearing.

“That is mine.”

Marian lowered her eyes and nervously held the fabric. “I’m sorry, Luna Georgina. I was cold, and Alpha Matthew told me to take something from the bedroom. I didn't know this was yours.”

“You didn't know?” Georgina asked, her voice shaking with anger. “You are wearing my silk nightgown inside my house at one in the morning, and you're telling me you didn't know?”

“Georgina, stop,” Alpha Matthew warned.

She looked at him sharply. “You locked me outside my own home for hours, and now you're defending her?”

Alpha Matthew's expression remained cold.

“Marian is staying here for the duration of her pregnancy,” he declared. “That is not up for debate, Georgina. Fighting it is pointless.”

Georgina's heart sank.

“This is our home.”

“It is my home too,” Matthew replied. “And I have made my decision.”

“You made your decision a long time ago,” Georgina said bitterly. “You just didn't have the courage to admit it to me.”

Marian's eyes filled with tears again.

“Alpha Matthew, maybe I really should leave,” she whispered. “I don't want Luna Georgina to hate you because of me.”

Matthew immediately tightened his arm around Marian.

“You're not going anywhere.”

Georgina watched the exchange, her chest aching as she realized just how completely her place beside her mate had been replaced.

She stepped inside without waiting for an invitation.

The familiar scent of her home surrounded her, but somehow everything felt different. The furniture was the same, the walls were the same, yet the house no longer felt like hers.

Then she noticed the hallway.

Her eyes slowly moved toward the bedroom door.

It was slightly open.

Georgina walked toward it, her steps becoming slower as an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. She pushed the door open and froze.

Two pillows lay on the bed, and the duvet was tangled across the mattress.

Her place had been taken.

She didn't go inside.

Instead, she turned away and walked farther down the hall toward the room she had once prepared for her daughter. Her hand rested on the doorknob, and for a moment, she simply stared at it.

She had spent months decorating that nursery before her baby was born. Every little item inside had been chosen with love, even though her daughter never got the chance to sleep in that room.

Georgina opened the door.

Her breath stopped.

The room was empty.

Every toy, blanket, tiny dress, picture, and keepsake was gone.

For a second, Georgina stood completely frozen, unable to understand what she was seeing. Then a raw, agonized sound tore from her throat.

“My baby…”

Alpha Matthew dropped his arm from Marian and immediately rushed upstairs.

“Georgina!”

He found her trembling inside the empty nursery and grabbed her arms.

“Georgina, calm down!”

She shoved against his chest, tears pouring down her face.

“Her things are gone!” Luna Georgina cried, pointing desperately around the empty room. “They're all gone, Matthew! Where are they?”

Matthew looked around the nursery, his expression barely changing.

Then his gaze shifted toward Marian, who had followed them upstairs.

Marian stood in the doorway with tears streaming down her cheeks, looking fragile and frightened.

“Alpha Matthew,” Marian sniffled, “I just wanted to make a room for our baby. I asked you, and you said I could do whatever I wanted with the things in here.”

Georgina's eyes widened.

“You asked him?”

Marian nodded weakly.

“Did I do something wrong again?” Marian asked, clutching her stomach. “Why does no one ever want me around? I only wanted to prepare a room for the baby.”

“Where are my daughter's things?” Georgina demanded.

Marian looked at Matthew helplessly.

“I thought you didn't need them anymore,” she whispered.

Georgina's breathing became uneven.

“You thought I didn't need them?”

“Georgina,” Matthew said firmly, “don't make this into another argument.”

“Another argument?” Georgina turned toward him. “You let her empty my daughter's room!”

“Our daughter is gone,” Matthew said coldly.

Georgina stared at him as though he had struck her.

“Don't you dare say that like she meant nothing.”

Matthew sighed impatiently. “Keeping all that stuff around is pointless. Marian needs a nursery for the baby.”

The words made Georgina's entire body tremble.

“My daughter died three years ago, but those things are all I have left of her.”

Matthew's expression remained indifferent.

“It's better that they're gone.”

Georgina suddenly launched herself toward Marian, grabbing her shoulders with both hands.

“Where is it?” she demanded, digging her fingers into Marian's arms. “What did you do with my daughter's things?”

Marian cried out and tried to pull away.

“Alpha Matthew, help me!”

It took Matthew only a moment to pry Georgina's fingers from Marian. He shoved Georgina backward and pulled Marian behind him, leaving angry red marks on Marian's skin.

“Georgina, stop it!” Alpha Matthew commanded coldly. “Our daughter is gone. Keeping that junk around is pointless. It's better that it's thrown out.”

Georgina stared at him in disbelief.

“Junk?”

Her voice cracked.

“You called my daughter's belongings junk?”

Matthew didn't answer.

The sharp crack of Georgina's palm against his cheek echoed through the hallway.

Matthew's head turned from the force of the slap. He slowly looked back at her, stunned, while Georgina stood before him with tears streaming down her face.

“Never call her things junk again,” she said through clenched teeth.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Then Marian stepped in front of Matthew.

Her expression changed.

The tears remained on her cheeks, but the helpless look disappeared, replaced by a flash of vicious triumph.

Before Georgina could react, Marian raised her hand and slapped her hard across the face.

The sharp sound echoed through the hallway.

Georgina's head snapped to the side, and her cheek immediately burned.

“That’s for hurting Alpha Matthew,” Marian spat, her voice suddenly filled with venom. “No one touches him when I'm here.”

Matthew said nothing.

Marian stepped closer, her eyes filled with jealousy and satisfaction.

“Only a freak like you would treasure a bunch of useless, morbid junk,” Marian continued. “You want it so badly? Go dig it out of the trash.”

Georgina slowly turned her face back toward Marian.

The pain in her cheek was nothing compared to what she felt in her chest.

“My daughter's things…”

She pushed past them.

“Georgina!” Matthew called after her.

She didn't stop.

She rushed down the stairs, tears blurring her vision as she hurried toward the front door. Her injured leg dragged behind her, but she didn't care.

She had to find them.

She had to find every single thing that belonged to her child. Behind her, Matthew remained inside with Marian, and he didn't chase after his mate.

The stinging on Georgina's cheek was nothing. She scrambled past them, dragging her injured leg, and ran out into the night.