Out of Home, Out of Heart

When I walked into the office of Lucas Dravenhart, my Alpha mate, he was passionately kissing my stepsister, Isabella Hawthorn.

They hadn't seen each other in seven years, and they were completely lost in the moment.

Lucas had his back to the door, and Isabella was sitting on his lap. As expected, there were suppressant pills for the mate bond laid out on the desk.

"I waited seven years for you. You're finally back with me," he said in a soft tone I had never heard.

Isabella half-opened her eyes and looked at me with utter contempt.

I met her gaze and left in a hurry before Lucas noticed I was there.

She had to be feeling pretty triumphant, thinking she had taken everything from me—both my father and my mate.

My head buzzed, and Lucas' assistant was still yammering in my ear. "I told you his girlfriend's inside. What kind of rude person barges in at a time like this?"

Lucas and I had been together for seven years. I traveled all the way from the Moonhowl pack to this faraway city to surprise him, only to be told his "girlfriend" had been staying in the temporary office with him for the past two months.

I clenched the report in my hand. My wolf let out a painful whimper from the betrayal.

"My love, today's my birthday. But I have a gift for you—I'm pregnant with our second pup."

That was the line I'd rehearsed in my head over and over before coming here.

Now, it seemed completely useless.

Since we became mates, Lucas had only slept with me when necessary, but he never kissed me. It was like a curse.

I knew it was his way of staying loyal to Isabella.

But we were fated mates. What kind of wolf refused their fated mate?

I held onto that belief for seven years, only for Isabella to suddenly return.

I should've seen this coming when my father told me months ago that Isabella had broken her mate bond.

After all, Lucas had loved her for so many years.

I tossed the report into the trash bin by the door and asked the nanny, Sophia Fletcher, for the address of the new villa before collapsing on the guest room's bed in tears.

I didn't know when I had fallen asleep, but my son, Finn Dravenhart, was already home when I woke up.

I washed my face, trying to make it look as if nothing happened.

I walked into Finn's room with a smile. He was sitting at his desk, focused on something.

After pulling myself together, I approached him, trying to give him a big hug. "You were on a trip with Daddy for two months. Did you miss me? Come here, my cute little pup!"

Finn frowned and pushed me away impatiently, shielding what he was working on like a treasure. "Don't touch me, Mom. I'm doing something really important!"

I looked down. He was carefully threading a pink crystal onto a delicate chain.

I hadn't received a single birthday wish so far.

Just as I was starting to feel moved, he uttered, "Isabella loves pink, right? It's not as fancy as the custom gift Daddy got her, but I made this with my own hands!"

I felt my heart sink. I didn't even know what to say.

"Move, Mom. You're blocking the light."

I tilted my head back to keep the tears from falling.

"Finn, if Daddy and I broke our mate bond, who would you want to stay with?"

"Huh?" He frowned, not hearing a word I'd just said. "Mom, can you leave? You made me mess up a bead!"

I took a few deep breaths and turned around before walking out. I brushed past Sophia, who came in carrying a glass of milk.

As I walked upstairs, I overheard their conversation.

"Finn, Luna Claire flew a long way to see you. Could you try giving your mom a hug?"

"With her here, I might not get to go to the amusement park with Isabella tomorrow. It's her fault! Why is Mom always haunting me? And she calls me every day! It's annoying!" he exclaimed coldly.

"I wish Isabella were my mom instead! She's so gentle and kind. And she always plays with me and buys me yummy food. She's so different from my annoying mom. If Mom disappeared, could Isabella be my mom instead?"

As I listened to Finn, I felt so sick I nearly gagged.

So, everything I'd done for him wasn't worth as much as the "kind" Isabella.

Since that was the case, then, I didn't want either of them anymore.