Chapter 3

What I saw at the mall changed how I viewed Megan Ashford. With that man, she seemed completely different from the woman Ethan believed he knew.

With Ethan, she was the easygoing friend who crossed boundaries so naturally that even the pack had grown used to their closeness.

With another man, she knew exactly how to become someone else.

Sweet.

Feminine.

Coy and flirty.

It made me wonder how many versions of Megan existed, depending on what she wanted.

My wolf shared my unease. Whenever her name appeared on Ethan’s phone, something inside me tightened before I knew why.

My instincts had warned me for years, but I silenced them because trusting Ethan seemed more important than trusting myself.

Maybe that had been my mistake. My wolf was no longer asking if Megan wanted my husband. It was warning me that she knew exactly how to stay important to him, and Ethan kept letting her.

Even on the Saturday night we had finally planned for ourselves.

Just dinner, a quiet drive afterward, and a few hours where I could pretend our marriage still belonged to us.

The city lights blurred beyond the windshield as Ethan drove, one hand on the wheel.

For a few precious minutes, his phone stayed silent, and I let myself believe my wolf could finally rest beside me.

Then the sudden ring shattered the quiet.

Ethan glanced at the screen, and the moment I saw Megan’s name, my wolf went rigid as the hurt settled deep in my chest.

"Megan?"

Like always, Ethan answered almost immediately.

"Alpha Ethan, emergency."

Her voice sounded urgent, but my wolf sensed something wrong behind it, as if the urgency was carefully controlled rather than genuine.

"My car broke down on the road. Can you swing by and take a look?"

Ethan immediately frowned.

"Where are you?"

She gave him an address.

I stared out the window while my wolf listened to every word, my chest tightening when Ethan glanced at me as if he already knew how much this was hurting me.

"Megan, we're out right now."

There was a pause.

Then her voice softened.

"I know you and Claire have plans tonight. I'm sorry to bother you."

I almost laughed.

That was exactly how she did it.

She made herself sound considerate while placing the choice directly in Ethan's hands.

"I can call someone else," she continued. "I just thought maybe you could help because you know cars better than anyone."

Another pause.

Then she added softly, "Maybe you could drop Claire off first and then swing back for me?"

My wolf bristled as the truth settled in. Megan had cornered Ethan without ever asking him to choose, making him feel guilty for staying with me and obligated to go to her.

"Just go."

Ethan looked surprised.

"Claire."

"You heard her. Her car broke down."

"You don't mind?"

The question almost hurt more than his decision.

I forced myself to smile.

"No. Go help your friend."

He let out a breath of relief, and my wolf caught it immediately.

"Thank you," he said.

Then he turned the car around.

I watched the city pass outside as he drove toward Megan’s address.

My wolf stayed tense as we pulled up. Megan stood beside her car, looking perfectly fine despite the panic in her voice earlier.

The moment Ethan stepped out, she looked directly at him.

"Alpha."

Her voice softened, and a sweet smile touched her lips as Ethan walked toward her.

"What happened?"

"I don't know." She gave him an innocent shrug. "It just stopped."

He opened the hood.

Megan moved closer, far closer than necessary.

She stood beside him as he examined the engine, occasionally touching his arm when she spoke.

My senses caught every detail, and my wolf knew she had never been afraid. She had known exactly what she was doing when she called Ethan.

I stayed in the car, watching as Ethan leaned over the engine while Megan stood beside him with a satisfied smile.

She looked comfortable until her eyes found me.

For half a second, the sweetness vanished from her face, replaced by something sharp, before the harmless smile returned.

There she was again, the carefree friend Ethan trusted, the innocent woman who supposedly meant nothing by the way she touched him and crossed every boundary.

boundaries, and always managed to make me look like the one imagining things.

I felt something inside me finally go still.

I had spent years trying to compete with a woman who never had to ask for my husband's attention.

Megan only had to create situations where Ethan felt obligated to give it to her, and I always reacted exactly as she expected.

I would get upset, Ethan would defend her, I would apologize, and Megan would get what she wanted.

But not tonight.

I reached for my phone and searched for someone from college I had once trusted more than almost anyone, Ryan Whitmore, a man I hadn't needed in years until now.

Tonight, I needed someone who could help me see what happened when the rules were reversed.

I opened our old message thread, memories stirring as my heart beat faster. Then I typed.

Hey Ryan, you there? I need a favor.

I stared at the message for a moment before pressing send.

Almost immediately, my phone began to ring.

Ryan.