Chapter 2

Owen didn't mention the roller coaster again. I got a refund on the passes, took him home, and dragged our largest suitcase out of storage.

My sister Nora had already made up the guest room.

She lived on the West Coast, near the Greywater pack, whose school had offered me a trial lesson teaching art the following Monday.

For the first time in years, I had plans that didn't depend on Ethan's schedule.

I'd just answered Nora when a video from Brooke came through.

She held her wrist up to the camera, showing off a gold bracelet engraved with Cedar Ridge's crest.

Ethan had fastened it on me the day I became his Luna. Now he stood beside Brooke, closing the same clasp around her wrist.

Two messages followed the clip.

[The photographer for the charity gala said it looks perfect on me.]

[With this on, will anyone really need to ask who the Luna is tomorrow?]

Once, I'd have called Ethan on the spot and demanded an explanation. I'd have spent the night trying to make him understand what he'd done while Brooke sat back and watched.

This time, I saved the video and left her on read.

Owen was tucking his half-finished comic book into his backpack. “Does Aunt Nora have a big desk? I want to finish this.”

“A big desk and a window where you can see the ocean.”

He considered that, then packed his markers, too. I went back to checking our flights.

Ethan came home that evening and stopped in front of the open suitcase without even taking his shoes off. “Where are you taking Owen?”

“Out of town.”

“Because I stayed at the hospital with Mason?” His keys hit the entryway table. “He needed a doctor, Claire. You're seriously going to pack up and leave over that?”

Owen came to stand beside me, hugging his backpack. I eased him behind me before I answered. “We're taking a trip. Unless you're saying I need your permission to take my son on vacation?”

“That's not what I meant.”

“Then lower your voice.”

Ethan looked past me at Owen. Whatever he'd been about to say died in his throat. When he spoke again, he sounded quieter. “It's just a vacation?”

Owen twisted a backpack strap between his fingers. “Mom said we're going on a plane. To do fun stuff.”

He wasn't lying. There would be beaches and ice cream and places we could go without waiting for Ethan to show up.

Ethan's shoulders loosened. He crouched and rested a hand on Owen's shoulder.

“I'm sorry I snapped, buddy. I shouldn't have done that.” He glanced up at me, then back at our son. “Could I come, too? You can pick what we do. We could go to the mountains and see those grizzlies you've been talking about.”

Owen looked at me before he answered. The hope in his face stopped the refusal on my tongue.

“Do you actually have time?”

Ethan pulled out his phone and switched off his work reminders. “Tomorrow's yours. The whole day.”

Owen tugged gently at my shirt. I smoothed his hair and nodded. “All right. I'll look at flights.”

He ran upstairs to find his binoculars.

I opened the booking page, and Ethan caught my wrist. His fingers were gentle now, as if he was afraid I'd pull away. “Why did Owen call me Alpha today?”

“Why do you think?”

He stood quietly for a moment before tightening his hold. “I know I've let you both down. I'll find someone else to help Brooke. Once we get back, I'll sort it all out. Things can't keep going like this.”

I'd heard him make a promise like that twice before.

At our mating ceremony, he'd been so happy he'd forgotten everyone watching and spun me around in his arms. He'd told me I was the only woman he'd ever love.

The second time, I'd just told him I was pregnant. He'd pressed his cheek against my stomach, barely breathing, and sworn he'd never let anyone hurt our baby.

Now he leaned down to kiss my forehead. “I'll make it up to you, Claire. You and Owen are my family.”

My fingers shifted in his. For a second, I could almost remember what it had felt like to trust him with everything.

Owen was upstairs looking for binoculars, sure his father would finally come.

I knew how much the truth would hurt Ethan. I even knew he'd want to stop me. My mouth opened before I'd decided whether to tell him. “Ethan, there's something I need to—”

His phone chimed. He read the message, then let my hand go.

“Where's Owen's smartwatch? In the drawer? Mason has tests tomorrow. Brooke thinks cartoons might keep him from getting scared.”

The watch was Owen's reward for the school play. He'd refused to open the box because he wanted his father to put it on him. It had been sitting there, still sealed, waiting for Ethan to remember.

“You can buy another one.”

“The stores are closed. He'll borrow it for a couple of days. I'll get Owen a better one.” Ethan opened the drawer, took the box, and went to find his keys.

I stayed where I was. “Nine thirty tomorrow. At the airport. The flight leaves at eleven.”

“Got it. I'll come straight from the hospital.”

The door closed behind him. Owen stood on the stairs with his binoculars. He looked at the empty drawer for a few seconds, then walked over and pushed it shut. “Can I have the window seat, Mom?”

“Of course.”

That night, I kept our two West Coast tickets and booked a separate trip to a mountain town for three.

If Ethan showed up, Owen could have one last vacation with his father.

If he didn't, my son and I would still be going somewhere. We weren't canceling our lives for him again.