THE NIGHT GEORGINA returned to the pack was the night my world began to unravel.
I had been sitting by the fire in the Alpha’s mansion, relishing the quiet evening, when Alpha Damon came in, his arm around her shoulders. She looked fragile and lost. There was a haunted look in her eyes, a reflection of the pain I knew must have brought her back.
But I didn’t see it as a reason for Alpha Damon’s sudden and all-consuming care.
“Kierra,” Alpha Damon’s deep voice broke through my thoughts, “Georgina needs a place to stay. It’s… only for a while. She’s lost everything.”
Lost everything. The words struck me, but not in the way he meant them. I felt the heat of jealousy rising, fierce and overwhelming.
I forced a smile, nodding stiffly. “Of course, Alpha Damon. Whatever you think is best.”
But as I said the words, a part of me already knew that “temporary” would become something else, something worse. Every time I saw him by Georgina’s side, helping her settle into her new space, giving her the kind of attention, I felt like an outsider.
My days became filled with painful glances, stifled sobs in empty hallways, and nights lying awake, wondering what Alpha Damon saw in her. I didn’t want to feel this way. I knew she’d suffered, and I wanted to have empathy, but my jealousy was stronger.
One day, after another evening of watching Alpha Damon’s concern for Georgina, I couldn’t keep my silence any longer. My heart pounded as I approached him, cornering him in the library.
“Alpha Damon, why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Why is she so important?”
He looked at me with surprise, a slight frown creasing his forehead. “Kierra, what are you talking about?”
“She’s… she’s just here, taking up all of your time, your attention,” I stammered, feeling foolish but unable to stop. “Do you even see what this is doing to…u-us?”
Alpha Damon sighed, stepping closer and taking my hands in his. “Kierra, Georgina has been through more than you could know. She doesn’t have anyone else, and right now, she needs support. This isn’t about you or me. It’s about doing what’s right.”
But his words didn’t comfort me. Instead, they stoked my resentment further. “I’m here, Alpha Damon. I need you too… We ne” My voice trembled, but he just shook his head gently.
“Kierra,” he said softly, “it’s not the same. She’s just a friend.”
Those words echoed in my mind, a bitter refrain that wouldn’t go away. He didn’t understand how deeply I felt, how much his attention to her tore at me. I wanted to believe him, to feel secure, but every time I saw them together, the pain came rushing back.
And then one night, I couldn’t take it anymore. It was late, and the mansion had gone quiet. I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling as if I were suffocating under the weight of my own emotions. I had tried to be patient, to understand, but the ache in my heart was unbearable.
“Maybe it's time…” I whispered.
Without thinking, I got up, packed a few things, and slipped out of the house. The darkness wrapped around me as I left the mansion, left the pack, and walked away from the life I had known. I was carrying Alpha Damon’s child, his heir, but I couldn’t stay any longer… not when staying felt like I was losing myself piece by piece.
I didn’t tell anyone where I was going. Not even my father. I simply disappeared into the night, determined to start a new life, away from the pain and jealousy that had consumed me.
“I can do this,” I told myself with a bitter smile on my lips before looking down on my bulging stomach. “I have you, baby. We can do this without your… d-dad.” My voice cracked a bit but I still smiled despite my heart aching.
For five years, I lived in hiding, raising my son alone. Aaron was a bright child, full of laughter and life, with eyes that reminded me of Alpha Damon every time I looked at him. He was my world, my reason for getting up every day, and he made the ache of the past a little easier to bear.
But some nights, I would lie awake, haunted by memories of his father. I had tried to let go of the past, but the pain lingered, a dull ache in the background of my quiet life.
One day, as I was preparing dinner, Aaron tugged on my sleeve, his young face scrunched up with curiosity.
“Mommy,” he said in that innocent tone, “where is my daddy? Why isn’t he with us?”
My heart skipped a beat. I had known this question would come eventually, but I hadn’t prepared for it. I knelt down, forcing a gentle smile, even as my heart ached with the weight of what I was about to say.
“Your daddy… he’s not with us anymore,” I whispered, hoping that would be enough to satisfy him.
Aaron looked at me, his young face full of quiet wisdom, as if he could sense the truth beneath my words. “What do you mean, mommy? Most of my friends have their dads. They pick them up in our school. Maybe what Trevor told me was right,” he said, pertaining to his classmate.
I smiled bitterly and caressed his face that resembled his dad's so much. “You will understand everything soon, honey.”
“Why, mommy? I don't… really have a dad, right? Is it true? Maybe I'm just… adopted,” Aaron said bitterly.
I immediately shook my head. “No, you're not an adopted, okay? Don't listen to him, okay?”
“Yes, but… I want to know where my dad is, mom.”
I gulped the lump in my throat as I stared longer at his eyes. I didn't know how I would explain everything to him. I didn't know how I would tell him that… I left his dad for him to be happy with the woman he truly loves… that I just did the right thing.
I don't want to tell a lie on my son's face saying that his dad will be back soon. Because there's no guarantee. And I don't want him to hold onto something that there's no possibility that will happen.
“Y-You're… dad is… gone. He's gone, honey. He won't come back to us anymore,” I answered with my trembling lips.
