Chapter 0007

Sylvia’s POV

The moon hung low in the sky, casting a silvery glow through the bedroom window. His tall frame casts a shadow over me.

My breath catches in my throat as he reaches out, his fingers brushing my cheek. The touch was electric, sending shivers down my spine. We hadn't been this close in months.

"I'm sorry," he finally said, his voice low.

"I'm truly sorry, little wolf, forgive me." His apology was filled with regret and longing.

I want to forgive him and let go of the sadness and anger that has consumed me for so long.

But part of me is scared, scared that if I allow myself to feel again, it will only lead to more pain.

"Don't, Raven," I said, pushing his hand away, but not firmly. "We both need time to calm down. "But Raven didn't care. He continued to kiss me "I don't want to calm down," he murmured, his breath rolling over my skin. "I want you, little wolf. Right now. "

The intensity in his voice turned me and my wolf on, and my wolf let out a moan of pleasure in my head.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of his lips on mine, soft and insistent. It had been a long time since we had kissed like this, and a long time since I had felt the heat of his desire.

He licked over the spot I'd marked and growled, his eyes were all over me now, "Baby, spread your legs." His voice got hotter, "Please baby, let me in."

My body trembled with anticipation as I obeyed, opening up for him. Raven's hands were gentle but firm as he guided himself to fill me completely. The sensation was overwhelming, the mixture of pleasure and pain bringing tears to my eyes.

"Look at me," he said with emotion in his voice. "Don't hide from me."

I meet his gaze, my vision blurred by tears. He kisses my face, kisses away my tears, and begins to move inside me. I can feel the wolf inside him, its primal instincts driving him forward, demanding fulfillment.

"That's it," Raven growled, his hips shaking harder. "I love you, little wolf, believe me."

For a moment, everything felt perfect—like we'd finally found our way back to each other. The mate bond hummed between us, stronger than it had been in months, carrying echoes of his desire, his guilt, his need for forgiveness.

Afterward, we lay tangled in the sheets, our scents mingled in the air. His hand traced lazy patterns on my skin as my wolf purred contentedly within me.

Our knots of tension and mistrust had loosened, if not completely untied. I was in the crook of his arm, drifting off to sleep.

But in the middle of the night, I woke to cold sheets beside me. Raven's warmth was gone, his scent fading. My weakened wolf stirred uneasily, the mate bond pulling me toward... Astrid's room.

No. Not tonight. Not after we'd just...

But my feet carried me forward anyway, drawn by an instinct I couldn't ignore. The hallway seemed endless as I approached her room, my heart pounding with each step.

Through the doorway, I saw them—my husband, who had been making love to me just hours ago, now holding Astrid in his arms as she cried.

I pressed against the wall beside the door, my wolf straining to hear their words.

"It's not fair," Astrid sobbed, her face pressed against his chest. "None of this is fair." "I know." Raven's voice was so gentle, so intimate. It made my stomach turn.

"We had something real," she whispered. "Before the moon goddess interfered, before her destiny tore us apart..."

My heart stopped. What?

"Astrid..." Raven's voice held such history, such pain. "We can't change the past."

"Can't we?" Her fingers clutched his shirt—the same shirt I'd helped him remove hours ago. "Tell me you don't think about it. About us. About what we had before she came along."

The silence that followed was deafening. Raven's hesitation spoke volumes.

"My marriage to Sylvia..." he finally said, his words careful, measured. "It's not reluctant. I do care for her."

Care. Not love. Never love.

"But it's not the same," Astrid pressed. "What we had was real. The moon goddess might have chosen her for you, but your heart chose me first."

My legs trembled as memories realigned in my mind. Every time he'd pulled away. Every time he'd chosen Astrid over me. Every time he'd made me feel like I was asking for too much by wanting my mate's full attention.

"The child..." Astrid's voice dropped to a whisper, her hand moving to her belly. "Sometimes I wonder..."

Raven cut her off quickly. "Don't. That path only leads to pain."

I listened as Astrid continued, her voice breaking with practiced perfection as she detailed her struggles, her loneliness, and her fear. Each word was carefully chosen to twist the knife of guilt deeper into Raven's heart.

My wolf whimpered within me, but for once, it wasn't from weakness. It was from heartbreak.

All this time, I'd thought Astrid was trying to steal my mate. But she'd had him first. She'd loved him first. And some part of him had never stopped loving her.

The Moon Goddess herself broke them up, forcing him to accept me as his mate. I was the Moon Goddess's choice, but not his heart's, and our union was never complete.

I struggled with my emotions, torn between rage and devastation. Part of me sympathized with Astrid—losing the man she loved to another woman must have been painful.

But then I remembered her calculated manipulations, her triumphant smirks, her deliberate interference in my marriage. My sympathy withered.

"I know I should let you go," Astrid was saying, her voice thick with tears. "But seeing you with her... knowing what we once had..."

Raven's silence was another knife in my heart. He should be denying this. Should be pushing her away. Should be honoring our mate bond, especially after the intimacy we'd just shared. Instead, he held her closer, offering comfort that wasn't his to give.

The wolf inside me—my proud, fierce wolf that had been growing mysteriously weaker—finally stirred with purpose. She wanted to burst in there, to confront them both, to demand answers about all the lies and I needed to think. Needed to plan.

This wasn't just about a widow seeking comfort anymore. This was about a woman who'd lost her lover to a mate bond, who'd married his best friend instead, and who was now using that friend's death and her pregnancy to reclaim what she'd lost.

And my mate... My Raven... he was letting her.

I pushed away from the wall, my feet silent on the carpeted floor as I retreated. Their voices followed me—Astrid's perfectly timed sobs, Raven's gentle comforting words. Words that should have been mine. Comfort that belonged to his mate, not his former lover.

In our bedroom—the same room where he'd touched me so tenderly just hours ago—I sank onto the bed. His scent still clung to the sheets, but now it felt tainted. Every kiss, every touch, every whispered promise... had he been thinking of her? Wishing I was her?