Chapter 2
Lily replied almost instantly:
[Huh? Ms. Carter, what are you talking about?]
[The Alpha and I aren't like that. You must be mistaken!]
[My pup's father just happens to have a similar name. We recently got back together, that's all.]
I looked at her hurried excuses and scoffed.
Emma came running up, tugging at James's sleeve to go play in the snow. But James sighed.
"Emma, Dad just got back from patrolling the border. I'm exhausted."
I scooped our daughter into my arms. "Come on, sweetie. I'll take you."
James paused mid-step, looking startled. "Don't you hate the cold? Stay by the fire. I'll take her outside for a quick round, and we'll be right back."
Emma chimed in, "Yeah, Mom! We'll be right back."
"Alright," I said, forcing a warm smile. I grabbed a fur coat and helped James put it on.
My fingers lingered on his inner coat pocket for an extra second, slipping in a small tracker.
Once they left, I sat on the couch, watching the glowing dot move across the screen.
I called a cab and followed them.
The Western District of Oak Bay.
Rich in game and blessed with open borders, it was one of the prime territories in the pack. Only senior pack members had the right to build cabins there.
From what I knew of Lily, she had zero qualifications to live in a place like this.
Through the bare wooden fence, I watched them meet.
Emma ran straight into Lily's arms.
In the dim cab, my Bluetooth earpiece glowed faintly with a blue light.
Their voices filtered through clearly.
"Aunt Lily, you look so pretty today!"
Emma's sweet voice sounded soft and tender, yet every syllable stabbed like a dagger into my chest.
She called her *Aunt Lily*.
She knew. She had known all along.
I stared at my daughter's back through the tinted window in utter disbelief.
This was the child I had poured my heart and soul into raising for nine years.
Emma giggled. "When Dad said we were playing in the snow, I knew we'd get to see you, Aunt Lily!"
Lily slipped a silver bracelet onto Emma's wrist.
"Happy New Year, Emma."
James reached out to stop her. "You work hard for your coin. I already got Emma a gift."
Lily took the opportunity to loop her arm through his. "Emma is my little girl too. It's the least I can do."
Then she looked up at him with longing. "When can you finally spend a real New Year's Eve with me?"
James looked pained. "Next year. I'll spend it with you and our son..."
He cleared his throat. "Let me go check on that broken fence first."
Lily leaned her head gently against his broad shoulder. "I just want to stay like this with you for a moment."
A chill settled over my bones.
Every word out of James's mouth shredded my heart into pieces.
I dialed his number.
He picked up after two rings.
"When are you coming home?" I asked calmly.
James glanced at his watch. "Heading back right now, honey."
The call ended.
Emma's voice came through the earpiece right on cue.
"I wish Aunt Lily was my mom instead."
James's eyes darkened with raw emotion.
He gently ushered the kids inside, pulled Lily into his arms, and kissed her passionately.
A wave of nausea hit me so hard I nearly threw up right there in the car.
Trembling, I hit save on the video recording.
I didn't want this child anymore.
Yet one persistent thought kept nagging at me—that little boy's features looked strikingly similar to Lily's.
With a heavy knot in my chest, I heard James say through the mic,
"I'll take Emma home first. I'll come back to spend the night with you."
Perhaps driven by guilt, James was unusually affectionate that evening.
He wrapped his arms around me in bed, but I shoved him away.
A short while later, his phone rang. He leaned over and whispered in my ear,
"Honey, there's an unfamiliar scent near the border. I need to go check it out. It's snowing hard, and the mountain passes might get blocked by morning."
I kept my eyes shut tight.
Suppressing the tremor in my throat, I muttered, "Go ahead."
I didn't sleep a wink that night.
Through my earpiece, the sounds of their frantic, breathless passion echoed until dawn.