Chapter 6
Max
I walked into the room and stopped. The air felt heavy, like a storm was about to break.
Ana was standing there, and the way she looked at me made my skin crawl. Why does she look like she wants to kill me?
Her eyes were not the soft, loving eyes I knew. They felt sharp. They felt like danger. I have been an Alpha for a long time, and I know when someone is a threat. Right now, my own wife looked like an enemy.
I looked down at the table. There was a file lying there. She had pushed it toward me with a look of cold determination. She asked me to sign it with my blood.
My mind raced. Why would she want my blood on a document? Usually, pack business is done with a pen and a stamp. Using blood is old stuff.
"Ana, are you okay?" I asked her.
I tried to make my voice sound kind, like the husband she expected me to be. I needed to see if she was still the same broken woman who had been crying over her daughter just yesterday.
She didn't cry. Instead, she smiled at me. It was a strange smile—thin and tight.
"I am fine, Max. Truly. I just want you to sign this. It is important to me."
I reached for the file, my curiosity growing. What was she up to?
Before my fingers could touch the paper, Emily stepped forward. She had been standing in the corner, watching us with my daughter, Mai. Emily reached out and held my hands, her fingers trembling slightly. She looked at Ana, then back at me, her eyes filling with tears.
"I hope I'm not trying to bring issues between you and the luna," Emily spoke, her voice shaking. "I only came here because you asked me to. If my being here is causing trouble for your bomd, I will go. I will take Mai and leave right now."
I felt a rush of protectiveness. I couldn't let her leave. She was the woman I truly loved, and Mai was the child I actually wanted. I squeezed her hands to show her I was on her side.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Emily," I said firmly. I turned my head to look at Ana, my voice turning a bit harder. "Ana, if you are angry, you can be angry with me instead. Don't take it out on our guest."
I expected Ana to shout or get upset. I expected her to point at Emily and tell her to get out of our house. But she didn't.
She just smiled again. She even reached out and held my hands, her touch light and cool.
"I am not angry, Max," she said softly. "Why would I be angry? You have been so thoughtful lately. You took care of me after the accident, and you even brought Emily here to help. You adopted Mai so I wouldn't be lonely. You did all of this for me. So why would I be angry?"
I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I looked at her face, searching for a lie, but she seemed so sincere. I leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead.
For a second, a dark thought had crossed my mind. I thought she must have found out what I did—about the crash, about Lily, about everything. But as she stood there smiling, I realized I was being too worried. She was just a woman who had lost her child. She was weak and looking for something to hold on to.
"I'm glad you understand," I whispered.
I didn't want to argue anymore. I wanted this to be over so I could go back to my real life.
I lifted my hand and bit the tip of my finger. I felt the sharp sting as my teeth broke the skin. A small drop of dark red blood formed. I pressed my finger against the paper, leaving a perfect red mark right where she wanted it. Then, I wrote my name.
I gave the file back to her, feeling a bit smug. I knew she would not do anything foolish. She had nowhere else to go. She say her father had cast her out years ago. I was the only person she had left in this world.
She took the file and held it against her chest. She looked at me with an expression I couldn't understand.
"In seven days," she said, "everything will finally end."
I blinked, confused by her words. "What do you mean by that? What ends in seven days?"
Then, I remembered. I felt a bit guilty for forgetting. In seven days, it was her birthday. I thought she was talking about the end of her year of mourning or something similar. I smiled at her, trying to be the charming Alpha again.
"You should not worry, Ana," I told her. "I know what day it is. I will not miss out on your birthday. We will do something special."
She didn't answer me. She just turned around and walked up the stairs, her movements slow and graceful. She didn't look back once.
After she was gone and the sound of her footsteps died away, Emily moved closer to me. She rested her head against my shoulder, her long hair brushing against my arm.
"Did you notice Ana was acting a bit strange, Max? That smile... it didn't feel right."
I looked up at the empty stairs. The house was quiet, but it didn't feel peaceful. I felt like I was being watched by someone I couldn't see.
"I don't know," I whispered, pulling Emily closer to me. "But we are going to find out what she's thinking. Don't worry about her."
…
Later that night, the mansion was silent. The only sound was the wind hitting the glass of the windows.
I lay in bed next to Ana, watching her sleep. She looked so still, like a statue carved from white stone. Her breathing was slow and steady. I waited for a long time, making sure she was deeply asleep.
Finally, I slowly stood up. I moved quietly, not making a single sound on the floorboards. I walked out of our bedroom and closed the door behind me with a soft click. I headed down the hall to the guest room where Emily was staying.
When I opened the door, Emily was already awake. She was lying on the bed, the moonlight from the window lighting up her face. She was waiting for me. I walked over and pulled her into my arms, feeling the heat of her body.
"You took so long," she whispered into my ear. Her voice was full of want.
I looked at her, my heart beating fast. "You know Ana is still around. I have to be careful. Whatever we need to do right now, she doesn't need to find out. Not yet. We have to keep this a secret for a little longer."
Emily held my hands and looked me in the eyes. Her expression turned serious.
"When will you get rid of her, Max? When will you finally tell her the truth and send her away? I'm tired of living in the guest room. I want to be the Luna of this pack. I want our daughter to have her father's name."
When she asked me that, I felt a flash of anger. I stood up quickly, moving away from the bed.
"Never bring that up again," I snapped. "I told you, I have a plan. Ana is still useful to me. I can't just throw her out yet. People would ask questions. The pack would talk."
I was about to say more, but then I heard a sound.
It was a soft noise, like a footstep or a door closing somewhere in the house. My Alpha instincts kicked in. I ran out of the room fast, my heart hammering against my ribs. I looked up and down the hallway, but it was empty. The shadows were still. No one was there.
I walked back to Ana's room, my breath coming in short gasps. I opened the door and looked at the bed.
She was still lying in the same position, her eyes closed. She looked like she hadn't moved an inch.
I looked at the small table near the bed. There was a fruit knife lying there. I picked it up, the cold metal feeling heavy in my hand. I walked over to the side of the bed and looked down at my wife. I called her name softly.
"Ana?"
She did not answer. She didn't even twitch. I called her name again, a little louder this time.
"Ana! Are you awake?"
Nothing. She stayed perfectly still, her breath steady and slow.
I stood there for a moment, the knife gripped in my hand. I watched her for any sign that she was faking it. After a minute of silence, I realized I was just being paranoid. The stress of everything was getting to me.
I dropped the knife back onto the table with a small clatter and slowly walked out of the room.
Maybe the sound I heard was just the house settling. Maybe it was nothing after all.
