Mag-log inChiara’s 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. “You know my identity is supposed to remain a secret,” I reminded her quietly once we were alone. My gaze lingered on the bold headline before I forced myself to look away. “If you hang that up, people will start asking questions.” Piera lifted her chin, completely unapologetic. “I’m allowed to admire the former Luna of the pack,” she said, as if that alone justified everything. Caterina
Chiara’s POV “Adoption?!” 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. “Uh… no. No, that’s not why I’m here,” 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. “What other reason could you have for being here?” he asked, his tone lacking even the smallest trace of respect. “I don’t know,” 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. “If you’ll excuse me.” I should have known
Luciano De Luca’s 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. “You will not speak to us in that manner, Alpha King or not,” 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. “You will stop speaking about my mate that way,” I snapped, the words leaving me before I could restrain them. “Your ex-mate,” 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,
Chiara’s 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 wasn’t 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 couldn’t 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 Luca’s 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. “No,” Doctor B said, pulling me back to the
Chiara’s 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
Chiara’s POV I stood in stunned silence, my mouth falling open, looking at Luciano De Luca, trying to understand what he was saying. While not a divorce, a mutual rejection would end our mating bond. Luciano De Luca’s mark on my neck would fade and we’d both be free to bond with others instead.
Luciano De Luca’s POV She called me Luciano. That was the first thought to run through my mind as Chiara opened the door for me at Caterina's house. The second? Why did her face fall so much when she saw it was me, and not Giacomo? It was as if the bright light inside of her had been snuffed
Luciano De Luca’s POV With no way of knowing what this rejection could mean for Chiara, I wanted to believe that she had finally come to her senses and would at last be returning home. Perhaps she realized once and for all how silly this desire for a divorce truly was. The thoughts pleased me mo
Chiara’s POV In a panic, I immediately swiveled back around, facing away from Luciano De Luca and the door. Grabbing my mask, I re-covered my face with shaking hands. Had Luciano seen me? Did he know it was Chiara under this mask? My heart hammered in my chest, and my breathing was short and sh







