Chapter 2: Shadows and Signatures

I did not go home right away. Instead, I drove to the cemetery where my brother was buried. His headstone was simple, just his name and dates. Thomas Carter. Beloved son, brother, and mate.

I sat down on the grass in front of it, pulling my knees to my chest.

"I don't know what to do, Tommy," I said quietly. Talking to a gravestone felt pathetic, but I had no one else to ask.

"Ethan wants me to pretend to be you. Well, not you exactly. Just close enough that his wolf won't completely lose it."

The wind rustled through the trees. No answers came from the dead.

Tommy had been everything I was not. Confident, strong-scented, and charismatic. When he walked into a room, people noticed. When I walked into a room, people looked right past me to see if someone more interesting was behind me.

We looked similar, though. Same dark hair, same blue eyes, same general build. If you didn't know us well, you might mistake us for twins instead of brothers two years apart. Ethan clearly thought the resemblance was close enough.

"He loved you so much," I continued. "I remember when you came home after meeting him for the first time. You couldn't stop smiling. You said you found your forever."

Forever turned out to be five months. A car accident on a rainy night, gone in seconds. Ethan had nearly died too, but his Alpha healing saved him. Physically, anyway. Emotionally, he became a walking corpse.

I had gone to the funeral. I stood in the back while Ethan stood at the front, his face blank and his eyes empty.

He looked at me once, and I saw the moment he registered the resemblance. Something flickered in his expression, something that made my skin crawl. Then he looked away, and just like that I was invisible again.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out and stared at the caller ID. It was my sister, Sarah. My heart skipped as my father's image flashed into my mind.

"Could something be wrong?" I thought before answering.

"Where are you? I'm worried," Sarah asked as soon as I put the phone to my ear.

"At Tommy's grave. I'm okay. Just thinking."

"About Ethan's offer?"

I hesitated. "How did you know he offered something?"

"Because I know that look you get when you're about to do something selfless and stupid. Noah, please tell me you're not actually considering whatever he proposed."

I didn't answer.

"Noah."

"Dad is dying, Sarah. We can't afford the treatment. What else am I supposed to do?"

"Literally anything else. We'll find another way. We'll fundraise, we'll take out loans, we'll sell everything we own."

"And it still won't be enough. You know it won't."

She was quiet for a long moment. "What did he offer you?"

I told her everything. The contract marriage, the three-year timeline, the money, and the part where I would essentially become a living memorial to our dead brother.

Sarah made a sound that was half sob, half growl. 

"I hate him. I hate that he's putting you in this position. And I hate that we're desperate enough that you might actually say yes."

"It's not forever. Just three years. I can survive three years."

"At what cost? You'll die like the rest, Noah. Why can't you just listen to me? If Ethan has intimacy with you three times, you'll end up dead after a couple of months, just like the rest."

"And how do you know about this?" I asked, raising my brows in surprise.

Sarah didn't say a word for a few seconds. When she finally did, she sounded different from earlier.

"Well, how I knew isn't important right now. Your safety is my priority. Don't accept his offer, Noah."

"You're missing something, Sarah. You've been lecturing me about Ethan's curse and his dead mates. Have you ever asked yourself this question: Is Noah his mate?"

I let the words sink in before continuing. "The answer is simple—no, I'm not. My job is to pretend, Sarah. Pretend!"

"But... you're going to disappear. I mean... you will become what everyone already thinks you are. Tommy's lesser copy. The backup brother. Is that really how you want to live?"

Her words hit like a physical blow because she was right. This would not just be three years of pretending. It would be three years of erasing myself completely.

But what choice did I have?

"I have to go," I said. "I'll call you later."

"Wait, Noah. Promise me you won't let him touch you if you accept his offer. Promise me you'll stay far away from him whenever you're alone."

"I promise, Sarah. I promise."

I hung up before she could argue more. Then I pulled out Ethan's business card and stared at it until the numbers blurred.

Twenty-four hours to decide. Twenty-four hours to choose between my father's life and whatever was left of my dignity.

I stayed at the cemetery until full dark, hoping for some kind of sign, some indication of what the right choice was. Nothing came. Just silence and the weight of impossible decisions.

Finally, I stood up and brushed grass off my jeans. "I'm sorry, Tommy. I don't think you would want this for me. But I don't know what else to do."

I drove to Ethan's estate on the edge of pack territory. The gates opened automatically, like they were expecting me. Maybe they were. Maybe Ethan knew I would come crawling back because desperate people always do.

A butler answered the door and led me to Ethan's office. The Alpha sat behind a massive desk, papers spread out in front of him. He looked up when I entered, his expression unreadable.

"I accept," I said before I could change my mind. 

"I'll do the contract marriage. Three years, then we're done."

Ethan nodded slowly. He slid a thick stack of papers across the desk. "The contract. Read it carefully. If you agree to the terms, sign on the last page."

I picked up the papers with shaking hands and started reading. It was all there in cold legal language. The timeline, the expectations, the money, and the part where I would live in his house, attend pack functions as his mate, and provide emotional support during his worst moments.

The part where I would stop being Noah Carter and become whoever he needed me to be.

I signed my name at the bottom, sealing my fate.