Chapter 3

The next morning, Ryan was clumsily frying eggs in the kitchen.

I leaned against the doorframe and watched him for a long time. Finally, I said, "I don't need you to kick Claire out of Northridge. I don't need you to humiliate her in public.

"All you have to do is ask her to meet with us and tell her in front of me that last night's kiss wasn't an accident. You both crossed a line. From now on, except for essential pack business, you won't give her any reason to think there's room for something more."

Ryan had seen the half-packed suitcase in the corner of the bedroom.

Real panic finally showed on his face.

"Okay."

He nodded right away. "I promise. This time, I won't let you down."

That afternoon, we met at a human café in neutral territory.

No pack guards. No Alpha, no Beta. Just three ordinary customers.

Claire sat across from us, pale.

"Ryan, we've known each other for over ten years.

"We've trained together and guarded the border side by side since before you became Alpha. Can more than ten years of history between us really be erased by a mate bond that's only three years old?"

I looked at Ryan. "Tell her. That kiss wasn't an accident. You crossed the line."

Ryan swallowed several times.

One simple sentence, and he couldn't seem to get it out.

Claire's eyes were red. "You're really going to throw away an old friend like me because of her?"

In the end, Ryan avoided my eyes.

"Claire, let's not talk in private for a while."

"For a while?" she pressed right away. "Just for a while, right?"

Ryan said nothing.

His silence sent my heart plummeting.

"Once Erin's calmed down a bit, we'll talk."

I picked up my bag, stood, and walked out.

On the way home, Ryan finally blew up.

"I told her not to contact me, right in front of you. What more do you want?"

He slammed his hand on the steering wheel.

"She's been by my side for over ten years. From the first time I lost control and shifted to the day I took over Northridge, she was always there. You can't ask me to treat her like an enemy."

I turned to look at him.

"So because you can't stand to embarrass her, you'd rather embarrass me."

"Why do you have to make me choose?" His voice rose sharply. "I love you. You're my mate. Nora's our daughter. Claire's just a friend I've known for years. Why can't both be true?"

I stopped arguing.

When someone believes they've done nothing wrong, every argument ends with you being blamed for not being forgiving enough.

When we got home, Nora was sitting on the rug with a photo album from the pack's open house.

She pointed to Claire in the corner of one photo and looked up at Ryan. "Daddy, Aunt Claire said she could move into the main house someday. Is that true?"

The color drained from Ryan's face.

He snapped the album shut. "When did she tell you that?"

"That time you guys were both gone and she came to get something."

I crouched down and stroked my daughter's hair. "No, Nora, she won't.

"Besides, we won't be living here much longer either."

Ryan's head snapped up.

He ran into the bedroom and yanked open the drawers. "Where are our mate registration papers? Nora's birth certificate? Your territory pass?

"Erin, are you packing to make me back down, or are you trying to take Nora out of Northridge?"

He was in a full-blown panic.

He took the car keys, temporarily revoked our access to the main-house garage, and ordered the guards stationed outside not to let our car leave the inner compound without his permission.

I looked at him, and he seemed like a stranger.

"Ryan, after midnight tomorrow, you'll be free."

At the same moment, the System spoke.

[Heartbreak level has reached its peak.]

[Special condition met. You may bring your minor daughter, Nora, with you when you return.]

[Countdown: 24 hours.]