Chapter 4

Victor's POV

Ava didn’t spare me another glance. She seized Nora’s arm and strode away, her back straight, her steps steady.

I stood frozen.

For a long second, my chest tightened in a way I didn’t expect, a dull pressure spreading beneath my ribs.

My wolf stirred uneasily, pacing, confused by all that just happened. I shoved the sensation down. It meant nothing. It was just the aftermath of a scene, nothing more.

“Victor…”

Laura’s voice pulled me back. She looked startled by Ava’s demand for a divorce, I was too. She reached for my sleeve, her fingers trembling just enough to seem fragile.

“Maybe you should take Jasper home,” she said softly, “and try to work things out with her. This celebration… it’s not that important anyway.”

I almost laughed.

“There is no need for that,” I replied coolly. “She’s upset. She was only talking out of anger.”

I knew Ava. I’d known her for years. I have known her long enough to understand her rhythms, her emotions, the way her wolf reacted when she felt cornered.

She loved me. She always had. She loved me stubbornly, even when I gave her nothing in return.

How could she truly want a divorce now?

She was raw from all the revelations that were made, overwhelmed by grief and jealousy. Acting without thinking. Once she cooled down, once reality set in, she’d come back and apologize. She always did.

Five years ago, she had drugged me, manipulated her way into my bed, and used that night to bind me to her with a pregnancy. That was the truth I’d repeated to myself until it hardened into fact. It was a calculated move on her end, a trap to get me to marry her quickly.

A woman like that wouldn’t walk away from what she’d fought so hard to secure.

My wolf scoffed at the idea of her leaving. She wouldn't do that. Besides, she’d just gotten out of prison. Stripped of resources and allies.

If she left me… where would she even go?

The thought settled my unease, and the tightness in my chest eased as I turned back toward the celebration, convinced that Ava Smith would come to her senses soon enough.

Ava's POV

The moment I sank into the back seat of Nora's car, the last thread holding me together snapped.

I folded in on myself and pressed my face into Nora’s shoulder, sobs tearing out of me in broken sounds. My wolf gave in too, curling tight and wounded within me, mourning in a way only our kind could. Nora didn’t say anything. She just held me steadily, letting me fall apart.

After a long while, I pulled back, my voice hoarse.

“Nora… do you know where June’s grave is?”

She stiffened, then slowly shook her head. “I didn’t even know June was gone,” she said quietly.

“Victor’s family never held a funeral. I tried to visit The Smith mansion in your the pack estate, tried to see the kids, but Laura always stopped me. And that brat Jasper glared at me like I was an enemy every time, so… eventually I gave up.”

She looked at me then, guilt heavy in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Ava. I was useless. I couldn’t even protect your children.”

I managed a bitter smile and shook my head. “It’s not your fault. You did the best you could.”

“I just don’t understand Victor,” Nora muttered. “How could he fall for someone like Laura? It’s not like he doesn’t know the truth…”

“They’re childhood sweethearts,” I said softly. “She was his first love. If it hadn’t been for that night, they would’ve been the ones to marry.” My fingers curled slowly. “It was never supposed to be me.”

Once, I had been grateful for that night, the accident of fate that tied him to me. Now I wished I could rip it out of history entirely.

I’d loved Victor for ten years. I knew of his past with Laura. She was the one he loved. When she left him, he came to me for comfort. That was when it happened. The accident of fate that led to my pregnancy and mating ceremony.

He was cold to me afterwards. I had convinced myself that years in marriage and children would change everything.

How naïve I had been.

You can’t expect warmth from stone.

“Nora,” I said quietly, lifting my head. “I need you to accompany me to the grand council to petition for a divorce. I won’t ask for money or custody of Jasper.”

She stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “Are you insane? You can give up Jasper, but walking away with nothing? After five years in prison for Laura? After giving the Moonshadow pack two heirs?” She shook her head fiercely. “No. You’re not leaving with nothing.”

I turned my gaze to the window, watching the sun sink lower, staining the sky the color of dried blood. “I don’t want anything from him. And those five years…” I exhaled slowly. “That was mainly my parent’s doing.”

Nora studied me for a long moment, then sighed. “Alright. I get it. So what’s your plan now?”

I straightened, my wolf lifting her head at last. “I would find out what really happened to June. Then I’m going back to my Grandma’s place and returning to my craft. I won’t let Laura ruin Oliver Hale’s reputation.”

My hands clenched, resolve hardening in my chest. “And I will fight to clear my name. I was going to let it go, my biological parents set it all up, and Laura is my sister—but…”

After everything I’d seen today, after losing my daughter without even a goodbye, I was done being anyone’s scapegoat.

I wouldn’t spend the rest of my life branded a murderer. I wouldn’t let Oliver Hale’s name be dragged through the dirt even after his death.

My wolf bared her teeth quietly within me.

This time, I would fight back.