003

Claire's POV

There was only one person I knew that bear that name.

I should have turned around right then. Instead, I stepped closer and looked through the narrow opening like I wanted to destroy myself.

And the image I saw burned into me instantly.

Tyler bent over the edge of our bed, sheets tangled around him, the anniversary watch I bought him still strapped to his wrist while my father Alpha Marcus was behind him, hips moving with horrifying familiarity, sweat glistening across both their backs pounding into Tyler's ass.

Tyler’s head dropped back with another moan while Marcus gripped his hips hard enough to bruise.

Tears hit my eyes immediately.

My chest hurt so badly it felt hard to breathe.

The comforter I picked out last month lay crumpled on the floor.

Stupid detail.

My brain was grabbing onto anything except what was actually happening right now.

I staggered backward until my shoulder hit the wall.

I should leave. Instead I stayed here while my life cracked apart one sentence at a time.

“My naive little daughter still not satisfying you properly?” Marcus drawled lazily. “You’ve been waiting for Daddy to take care of you before your engagement tomorrow?”

Tyler laughed breathlessly.

“Claire tries, I’ll give her that. But she’s boring as hell in bed. You know I have to shower after touching her right?”

The showers. Those long scalding showers he had after sex.

I always thought he just liked being clean.

My stomach twisted violently as Marcus chuckled low under his breath.

“It’s exhausting.” Tyler groaned softly. “She keeps looking at me with those big sad eyes asking what she’s doing wrong. Like it’s her responsibility to fix something that was never going to work.”

Heat flooded my face. Every vulnerable conversation I trusted him with suddenly felt disgusting.

Tyler’s voice shifted into a cruel imitation of mine.

“Baby, what can I do better?”

“Baby, are you still attracted to me?”

“Baby, please talk to me.”

Then he started mocking me physically too, moving his hips in exaggerated awkward motions to demonstrate how I do it with him.

“Do you know I asked her to ride me once?” he laughed. “She was so nervous she kept asking if she was doing it right every five seconds. I actually lost my hard-on halfway through.”

Marcus laughed loudly.“You must have endured a lot”

“She watched p**n for me, Marcus. Actual tutorials.” Tyler shook his head in disbelief. “Then she crawled into bed asking if something was wrong with her. I told her maybe a threesome would help me love her more and she actually considered it. Offered to bring in the same women I already cheated on her with few months ago.”

Every word sliced deeper.

Because he knew exactly what hurt me most.

The orphan girl in me who still wanted people to love her even conditionally.

“She’d do anything to keep me,” Tyler continued casually. “Total doormat. If she wasn’t your daughter, she’d never be good for me as Luna.”

The velvet ring box slipped from my numb fingers and hit the marble floor with a sharp crack.

Silence.

Tyler’s head snapped violently toward the doorway, his entire body going rigid. For the first time since I’d known him, genuine panic crossed his face so openly it almost didn’t look like him.

“Shit—”

He jerked away from my father so fast he nearly stumbled off the bed completely, grabbing for the sheets in pure instinct. Marcus froze too, eyes widening slightly before his expression hardened again.

For one suspended second, nobody moved.

Tyler looked terrified.

“Claire—” he started, voice cracking slightly before he cleared his throat hard.

I’d never heard Tyler sound unsure before.

The confident future Alpha who could charm entire rooms with a smile suddenly looked like a man caught setting fire to his own house.

“Baby, wait—”

He scrambled off the bed completely this time, hurriedly dragging on his boxers with clumsy movements that made it obvious he was panicking no matter how calm he was trying to sound.

Behind him, Marcus grabbed his pants off the floor too fast, jaw tight enough to flex.

My father never looked shaken. But he did now. His eyes darted toward me briefly.

Tyler ran a hand through his messy hair, breathing hard.

“This—fuck—this isn’t…” He looked back at Marcus quickly like he was trying to figure out what story to tell first. “Claire, okay, listen to me.”

I couldn’t move. My body felt numb and burning at the same time.

Tyler stepped toward the doorway carefully like someone approaching a wounded animal.

“Baby, you’re crying,” he said immediately, voice softening on instinct. “Please don’t cry, okay? Just let me explain first.”

Explain? I almost laughed.

Marcus finally spoke from behind him, quieter now.

“Claire, you should listen to him first.”

That nearly destroyed me more than the cheating itself.

Because he sounded inconvenienced.

Tyler shot Marcus a quick warning look before turning back to me so fast it almost gave me whiplash.

“You know how stressful the pack merger has been,” he rushed out. “This was just—it was physical, okay? That’s all this was.”

His voice kept stumbling slightly around the edges despite how hard he tried smoothing it over.

“You know Marcus likes men,” Tyler continued desperately. “I was helping him out, Claire. It doesn’t change anything between us.”

Helping him out.

My stomach twisted so violently I thought I might actually throw up right there in the hallway.

Tyler must’ve seen something shift in my face because he immediately softened his voice further.

“You know you’re the one I love.”

That tone.

The same voice he used every time he talked me out of leaving after his previous affairs.

“The Luna I’m building a future with,” he continued quickly. “That’s you. It’s always been you.”

Behind him, Marcus finally pulled on his pants fully, avoiding my eyes now.

“You forgave me before because you understood right?,” Tyler said, stepping closer carefully. “Please don’t throw away three years over one stupid mistake.”

One stupid mistake.

My hands started shaking so badly I had to clench them into fists.

Tyler noticed immediately. “Claire…”

His face softened again when he saw my expression break apart completely.

And for one horrifying second, he actually looked relieved.

Like he recognized this version of me.

The forgiving version. The girl who stayed.

He knew exactly where to press.

My fear of being abandoned. My fear nobody else would ever want me. My need to be loved badly enough to overlook humiliation.

Marcus stayed silent behind him now, arms crossed tightly over his chest like he was waiting to see whether Tyler could fix this himself.

Some stupid broken part of me still wanted someone to laugh and say it was a joke. A nightmare. Anything except this.

Then Tyler reached for me. Like he still had the fucking right to.

Something inside me snapped. “YOU MONSTER!”