CHAPTER THREE

DECLAN

"Summon all wolves. Every pack member is to be recalled. This is urgent."

I don't look up from the documents spread across my desk as I issue the command. My Beta, Antony, shifts his weight—a tell that he wants to ask questions. He knows better.

"All of them, Alpha?" he ventures anyway.

"Did I stutter?"

"No, Alpha. I'll send word immediately."

Finally, I glance up. Antony stands rigid, his expression carefully neutral. Good. I'm not in the mood for debates or suggestions. My parents are dying, and I need the best healer in the werewolf world to save them. Dr. W is a ghost—no face, no scent, no pack affiliation. Finding someone who doesn't want to be found requires casting the widest net possible.

"I want every wolf back. No exceptions."

Antony nods and turns to leave, but the door swings open before he reaches it.

Celeste glides in wearing a dress that probably cost more than most pack members make in a month. Her dark hair is swept over one shoulder, and she's wearing that smile—the one that used to make my chest tighten but now just irritates me.

"Declan, darling, I heard you were having an important meeting." She trails her fingers along the edge of my desk as she approaches. "I thought you might need... support."

My wolf snarls in my mind. I ignore him and focus on the papers in front of me.

"I'm busy, Celeste."

"You're always busy." She moves behind my chair, her hands landing on my shoulders. I go rigid. "You work so hard. Let me help you relax."

I stand abruptly, forcing her hands to fall away. "Antony, get out. Start the recall."

Antony practically bolts from the room. Smart man.

The moment the door closes, Celeste's expression shifts. The fake sweetness melts into something harder. "You're being cruel, Declan. I'm your fated mate. Your future Luna. You can't keep pushing me away."

"I can do whatever I want. I'm the Alpha."

"An Alpha who needs an heir." She steps closer, her voice dropping. "Your parents won't live forever. The pack needs stability. They need to see their Alpha with a Luna at his side, producing the next generation."

There it is. The real reason she's here. The only thing she actually cares about.

"My parents are dying," I say coldly. "That's my priority right now. Not your ambitions."

Her eyes flash, but she quickly masks it with concern. "Of course. I'm sorry. I just..." She touches my arm, her fingers gentle. "I want to help. If we find this Dr. W, if she can cure my condition, then I can finally give you an heir. We can be married. I can take my rightful place as Luna."

I look down at her hand on my arm and feel nothing but disgust.

Aria was far more pitiful than this.

The thought comes unbidden, sharp and cutting. Aria, bleeding and terrified, running through the forest while the pack hunted her. Aria, with tears streaming down her face as I ordered them to catch her. Aria, who I banished without a second thought.

That was real suffering. Real pain.

This? This is just manipulation.

I pull my arm away. "If Dr. W can be found, it will be for my parents. Not for you."

Celeste's face twists for just a second before she smooths it back into submission. "Of course. Your parents. I understand."

She doesn't. She never has.

I regret everything about that night six years ago. My impulsiveness. My anger. The way I let the pack turn on Aria without listening to her side of the story. I've had years to piece together what really happened, years to see Celeste for what she truly is.

Hypocritical. Manipulative. Vicious beneath the pretty surface.

I've grown to hate her.

But she's my fated mate. Breaking a fated bond isn't like severing a chosen mate connection—it's dangerous, potentially deadly, and complicated in ways I can't afford right now. So I endure her. I keep her at arm's length and wait for the right moment.

A knock at the door interrupts us.

"Come in."

Antony enters, holding a tablet. "I have the preliminary list of wolves to recall, Alpha. I need your final approval before I send the orders."

I take the tablet from him and scroll through the names. Pack members scattered across the country, some I haven't seen in years. My eyes catch on a few—warriors who left for better opportunities, healers who work in human hospitals, scouts who prefer the solitude of distant territories.

Antony clears his throat. "There's one name I wasn't sure about."

"Which one?"

"Aria Sinclair."

The room goes silent.

My wolf perks up immediately, a pathetic whine echoing through my mind. I ignore him and keep my expression neutral.

Celeste laughs. Actually laughs. "You can't be serious. Why would you summon her?"

I don't answer. I'm staring at the name on the screen like it might disappear if I blink.

"She's useless, Declan." Celeste's voice sharpens. "She can't help find this doctor. She can't give you an heir. She's nothing. There's no point in bringing her back."

"The Luna position already belongs to me," Celeste continues, her tone turning smug. "Everyone knows it. There's no reason to—"

"Get out."

She blinks. "What?"

"I said get out." I look up at her, letting every ounce of my authority seep into my voice. "Now."

Her face goes pale, then red. "You can't just—"

"Antony. Escort her out."

Antony moves immediately, his hand hovering near Celeste's elbow without quite touching her. She looks between us, shock written all over her face.

"This is humiliating," she hisses.

"Then leave before it gets worse."

For a moment, I think she might refuse. Might make a scene. But she's too smart for that. She knows I'm barely holding onto my temper, and pushing me right now would be a mistake.

She turns on her heel and storms out, slamming the door behind her.

The silence that follows is heavy.

Antony stands there, carefully not looking at me. "Should I... take that as approval for the full recall?"

I look back down at the tablet. At Aria's name.

My wolf is restless now, pacing and whining like he hasn't done in years. He wants her. He's always wanted her, even when I marked Celeste, even when I tried to convince myself the fated bond was enough.

It never was.

"Alpha?" Antony prompts gently.

I think about that night. About the way Aria looked at me when I walked past her to Celeste. The devastation in her eyes. The tears on her face as she ran.

I think about the three years we spent together before that. The way she laughed, the way she fit against my side, the way she looked at me like I was worth something.

I threw it all away because of a fated bond I never wanted and a woman I've come to despise.

"Include her," I hear myself say.

Antony nods slowly. "Yes, Alpha."

He leaves, and I'm alone in my office.

My wolf is still restless, still aching with a longing I've tried to bury for six years.

I push it down and focus on the real reason I'm doing this. My parents. Finding Dr. W. Saving them.

Not Aria.

But six years ago, I thought I'd never see her again. I was certain of it.

Now I'm the one summoning her back.

And no matter what happened between us, no matter how badly I screwed up, I owe her an apology.