Chapter 2

I sucked in a breath through my teeth.

Simon's face went pale. He ran out to get the family doctor, leaving Charles and me alone in the room.

The doctor came fast. But when he opened his bag, a medical file slipped out, hit the floor, and fell open. Renee's name was on the cover.

Charles's eyes landed on it without thinking, and he froze solid.

He hesitated, his gaze flicking to my red, swollen leg.

Then, with obvious effort, he forced himself to look away and swallowed hard. "Treat her first," he said, his voice barely a rasp.

I saw the name too and felt nothing. "If you're worried, go," I said flatly. "Call her. Bring her here. I don't care."

His whole body went rigid. His eyes blazed red. "Evelyn." he snapped, low, dangerous, and broken. "Do you have to be like this? You know what? I hate when you act like this."

I forced my breath to steady and managed a small smile. Of course I knew. I remembered everything.

In my previous life, he said the exact same thing to me with that same disgusted tone.

He'd shouted, "Evelyn, I hate your dead-eyed calm. You never show anything. At least Renee feels things. She laughs. She cries. She's real."

We were supposed to be fated mates. Growing up in two close packs, running together as pups, sharing our first shift under the same full moon.

I was there when his father passed away. I stayed through every brutal challenge as he clawed his way to the top, building his pack's territory from nothing but blood and teeth.

But in the end, none of it meant a thing. Because Renee showed up and stole everything.

Her dimples would flash when she smiled. Her cry would make an Alpha's wolf want to tear apart anyone who ever hurt her. She would look up at him with those big, helpless eyes and call him Charlie like he was hers.

*****

The night before our engagement, I brought Charles a midnight stew as a surprise.

But then I walked into his suite and found Renee there. She was all smiles, wrapped around my fated mate like she belonged there, her eyes flashing triumph and challenge.

Charles jumped up in a panic, but he barely seemed guilty. If anything, he looked annoyed, like I was the one ruining his night.

He immediately covered her bare shoulders and glared at me. "You're so cold, Evelyn. Renee actually gets me. She is so much better than you."

At that moment, my wolf went silent. The mate bond I had fought for my whole life snapped clean in two. Turned out a decade of loyalty and shared moons meant nothing when an Alpha got a whiff of something fresh.

Then my pup died inside me. I felt the little heartbeat go quiet, and something in me went with it. So I stopped fighting. I let go of Charles and found a new mate.

*****

Charles looked like the memories were clawing at him too. The rage on his face went rigid, and then cracked into panic.

He didn't say another word. He crouched down and snatched the burn ointment and cotton swabs from the doctor.

"I'll do it," he said firmly, his voice rough and low.

I closed my eyes and let out a quiet breath. The exhaustion came from somewhere deep, like my wolf had stopped holding me up.

"Charles," I whispered. "If you don't want this, you don't have to play the devoted mate. Not for guilt. Not for the pup. This is dragging the two of us down. Stop."

I felt his hand pause as he spread the ointment over my skin.

After a short pause, I added, "This time, I don't want much anymore. I want to keep my pup safe. Take care of myself. Live a quiet life where nothing happens. That's all."

Because last time, I lost more than the pup.