Chapter 2

Ava's POV

Nora hesitated, her brows knitting together, her scent spiking with unease.

“I can’t say for certain,” she said slowly, “but… Victor has been throwing Laura birthday parties for the past five years.”

Something inside me broke.

My body went cold, my wolf shrinking back as if she’d been struck. I couldn’t breathe. The air felt too thin and sharp.

Is this real? Or am I still trapped in some punishment dream the prison liked to play on me?

For the past five years, I had suffered in prison. My wolf had been drugged severally into submission. I had been forced outside into freezing rain, then accused of “causing trouble” when I collapsed. I had been set up multiple times by fellow inmates while the guards stood by and did nothing.

And while I was counting cracks in the wall to stay sane, Victor was out there celebrating Laura’s birthdays?

He knew I was innocent. He knew Laura was the one who killed someone in that hit-and-run. Her hands were stained with blood, not mine.

How could he do this to me?

The truth slammed into me like lightning. The setup five years ago hadn’t just been my parent’s scheme. Victor had been part of it.

My mate, the man who had sworn himself to me before the pack, who had marked me as his own. My wolf howled in agony.

The car slowed to a stop.

“We’re here,” Nora said quietly.

Skylark Hotel.

As I stepped out, sound crashed over me, sound of music, laughter and glasses clinking. It looked like Victor had rented the whole place.

How generous of him.

I didn’t wait. My legs moved on instinct, fury and longing driving me forward. I shoved through the doors, and then I saw him.

Jasper.

My heart stopped.

There he was. My son, my precious little boy. The child I had dreamed of holding every night for four endless years.

“Mommy!”

His eyes lit up the moment he saw me, bright and unmistakably mine. He broke free from the crowd and ran toward me, arms wide.

“I missed you so much!”

All the rage, all the pain, all the years of loneliness melted at that one word.

Mommy.

I dropped to my knees, my arms opening to catch him, my wolf crying out in relief.

I was ready, aching, to feel my son’s weight in my arms and bury my face in his scent.

If Jasper still knew who I was, then maybe, just maybe, Victor hadn’t erased me completely. Maybe my place in my children’s lives hadn’t been wiped clean like chalk under rain.

But then my heart froze solid.

Jasper ran right past me.

He didn’t slow, he didn’t look at me.

My smile collapsed as my arms closed around nothing but air.

“Oh, Jasper, I’m sorry I’m late!” a woman’s voice chimed brightly behind me. “Your daddy insisted everything had to be perfect today. He made me change my outfit three times, even my jewelry!”

Laura.

I turned slowly, my body stiff, my wolf reeling, and watched as Jasper wrapped his arms around her legs, grinning up at her with absolute trust.

“Mommy, you look beautiful in everything!”

The word hit harder than silver.

My world spun violently, my vision narrowing as my wolf let out a broken howl inside my chest. Mommy…He was calling her mommy.

“Mommy, come on! Everyone’s waiting for you!”

“Just a minute, sweetie,” Laura cooed, stroking his hair like she’d done it a thousand times before. “Your daddy’s on his way.”

Jasper pouted. “Daddy’s taking forever. You’re gonna miss your special moment, Mommy.”

Each sentence carved deeper, peeling my heart open layer by layer.

Then Victor walked in.

He looked infuriatingly untouched by time, elegant and composed in a tailored black suit, his presence calm and controlled, like the alpha he’d always been. I was his mate, yet he couldn't even sense my presence through my scent. His entire focus was on Laura and Jasper.

Laura took Jasper’s hand and slipped her arm through Victor’.

“Jasper was just complaining about how late you are,” she said lightly.

I watched them like I was trapped outside my own body. They looked like a perfect family.

My legs trembled, my wolf surging forward, desperate to reclaim what was hers, to snatch my son back, to tear answers out of Victor’s throat, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. My mind was a storm of disbelief and grief.

Five years.

Five years of dreaming about this moment, and this was what waited for me.

As they turned to leave, something inside me finally snapped.

“Victor Smith.”

My voice scraped out of my chest, hoarse and unsteady, but it reached him.

He turned. Surprise flickered across his face before settling into a frown. “What are you doing here?”

The question stunned me. What am I doing here?

I clenched my fists, my claws itching to break free as I stepped forward. “You promised to bring our children to pick me up today,” I said. “Did you forget?”

Recognition flashed in his eyes. I could tell he had forgotten.

Still, his expression hardened. “Leave, Ava. Your presence here could damage Laura’s reputation.”

Reputation.

I stared at him, my wolf recoiling in disbelief. He was worried about Laura's image?

My gaze slid to Laura as she pressed closer to Victor, her eyes wide, playing fragile and wronged. “Ava, there are so many reporters here,” she said softly. “Think of the headlines if they see you. Please, just go home like Victor says.”

I laughed weakly, the sound sharp and broken. “Are you scared I’ll tell the truth? Ruin your—”

Before I could finish, Jasper stepped forward, his gaze fixed on me.

“Bad woman! Go away!”

The words hit me from below.

“Don’t mess with my mommy!” Jasper screamed, his small fists slamming into my stomach, over and over.

Each blow from my own son knocked the breath out of my lungs, not from pain but shock.