LOGINChiaraâs POV At work that morning, Caterina, Piera, and I gathered in the small office, the scent of strong espresso curling through the air as we leaned against desks and chairs, trying to pretend it was just another normal day. At my insistence, Caterina had not brought the newspaper with my face splashed across it. I had thought that would spare me the embarrassment. Unfortunately, Piera had already beaten her to it. She held the paper like it was something precious, her fingers smoothing the edges as though she truly intended to frame it and hang it behind her desk like a prized possession. âYou know my identity is supposed to remain a secret,â I reminded her quietly once we were alone. My gaze lingered on the bold headline before I forced myself to look away. âIf you hang that up, people will start asking questions.â Piera lifted her chin, completely unapologetic. âIâm allowed to admire the former Luna of the pack,â she said, as if that alone justified everything. Caterina
Chiaraâs POV âAdoption?!â The word came out sharper than I intended, laced with pure disbelief. My fingers tightened around my bag as I stared at the reporter, my thoughts scrambling to catch up with the absurdity of his question. âUh⌠no. No, thatâs not why Iâm here,â I said, my voice stumbling over itself despite my effort to stay composed. This was never meant to turn into anything public. I had only come to give back to the orphanage that had once taken me in, that had fed me, clothed me, and kept me alive when grief had hollowed me out after my parents died. âWhat other reason could you have for being here?â he asked, his tone lacking even the smallest trace of respect. âI donât know,â I replied just as bluntly, my patience snapping without warning. If he could not offer basic decency, then I had no reason to offer it in return. I raised my hand and flagged down a taxi, eager to escape the conversation before it twisted further. âIf youâll excuse me.â I should have known
Luciano De Lucaâs POV Most of the elders stood frozen at my outburst, clearly taken aback by the sharpness in my tone. The first to recover was the eldest among them, his expression hardening as his gaze locked onto mine. âYou will not speak to us in that manner, Alpha King or not,â he said, his voice cold and measured. I barely heard the warning beneath his words. My anger was still too fresh, too raw, burning through whatever patience I had left. âYou will stop speaking about my mate that way,â I snapped, the words leaving me before I could restrain them. âYour ex-mate,â the elder corrected firmly. The word struck harder than I expected. A flicker of embarrassment surfaced, but it did nothing to dampen the fury coiling inside me. If anything, it made it worse. Even now, even after everything, Chiara deserved better than the way they spoke about her. She had always deserved better. If only I had realized that sooner. If only I had protected her from their judgment,
Chiaraâs POV With my plans finally set, I moved through each day with a quiet, steady sense of purpose. There was something grounding about having a future to walk toward, something that kept me from drifting back into the shadows of everything I had lost. I was no longer trapped in the past, no longer waking each morning feeling like I had nothing but memories to cling to. At least, that was true most of the time. There were moments, unwelcome and persistent, when Luciano De Luca slipped back into my thoughts. When he did, it wasnât gentle or fleeting. It was overwhelming, consuming every part of me until I could barely focus on anything else. His voice, his presence, the way loving him had once felt so natural, all of it came rushing back like a tide I couldnât hold back. The regret had begun to fade, replaced by a quiet acceptance. I had done the best I could with what I knew then. I could stand by my choices, even if they had led me here. But the pain was different. It linger
Luciano De Lucaâs POV I braced myself for the rejection I already knew was coming. Doctor B had even less reason to remain in the Nightfall pack than Chiara ever did, yet the thought of losing them both felt like a punishment I could not escape. Doctor B and I had never been truly close. There were only brief moments where something almost resembling friendship had surfaced, and even those moments had often been shaped by how much she reminded me of Chiara. Even now, as she studied the map spread across her desk, I could see it clearly. The same quiet focus. The same careful way of thinking things through. In my mind, I could picture Chiara doing exactly this, weighing each option, measuring every risk and reward before deciding where to rebuild her life. The thought twisted something bitter inside me as I wondered if Giacomo would be part of that decision. If they were truly in love, then of course they would choose a future together. âNo,â Doctor B said, pulling me back to the
Chiaraâs POV The image of Silvia Romano with her arms wrapped tightly around Luciano De Luca lingered in my mind long after the divorce ceremony had ended, refusing to fade no matter how much I wished it would. It felt like the final fracture of something already broken, the last quiet confirmation that whatever had once existed between us was truly over. My wolf sank into mourning again, heavy and silent inside me, yet beneath that grief, something stronger began to take root. A quiet, stubborn determination pushed through the pain, reminding me that walking away had not been weakness, but necessity. Seeing them together forced me to accept a truth I had resisted for far too long. Luciano had always been bound to Silvia in ways he had never been to me, tied by obligation, guilt, and something deeper I could never quite reach. Letting him go had not been easy, and it still felt like I was dragging chains made of regret and heartbreak wherever I went, but I knew now that I had done
Chiaraâs POV Forgetting about the mask entirely, I dropped my hands to my belly instead. âAlso safe,â Caterina said immediately. âBoth of you are fine.â Relief flooded me. Closing my eyes, I reached inward, seeking reassurance from my wolf. âThe baby is safe,â Luna answered softly. âWe both sh
Chiaraâs POV My mind drifted into the past, unbidden. I had been born into a lower-class family. My parents worked themselves to exhaustion, taking on two or three jobs each just to keep us afloat. But that relentless labor left them vulnerable to illness, illnesses they could have fought off if
Luciano De Lucaâs POV The moment Doctor B slumped forward, I knew. She was fainting. I crossed the space between us before my mind fully caught up, reaching out just in time to keep her from hitting the table or collapsing onto the floor. Her body went limp in my arms, light yet alarmingly frag
Chiaraâs POV Caterina had been right. Painfully right. So I took her advice and began reducing my caseload. Piera handled the calls, redirecting patients to other Healers. No one was pleased. A few were furiousâfurious enough to storm into my office and shout accusations at me. Security had to e







