“It was,” I admitted. “Especially at first. I had no job and I was terrified that me and the babies would be forced to live out on the streets. But as soon as I moved to Milan, I met Johnson.” I stopped and smiled faintly. It was impossible to tell Liam about my struggles with Billy and Belle without mentioning Johnson. I worried for a moment that Liam would take offense to me talking about Johnson. Liam had, after all, made it pretty clear how he felt about Johnson. But to my surprise, he squeezed my hand and urged me to continue.“Johnson was a god sent,” I told Liam. “He gave me a job and took me under his wing. We became…really good friends. And with time, we became more, even though I don’t really know what that is yet. Johnson was always there for us, all three of us, and Billy and Belle adore him. They love him, they really do. And I’ve come to rely on him. I know you and Johnson don’t exactly see eye-to-eye, Liam. But he’s a good man. A loyal man. A kind, loving man. He’s my…”
Trista’s POVI woke up groggy on the plane just as it was about to land. My head was still resting on Liam’s chest, and when I lifted it, I noticed I had left a small drool stain on his shirt.“Oh my god,” I said, mortified by the stain. “I’m so sorry.”Liam chuckled. “You should apologize to the other passengers, too. You were snoring so loud, it literally rattled the windows.”“What?” I asked, horrified. I was snoring? “Why didn’t you stop me?”“You were so cute, all fast asleep, snoring like a train and drooling like a toddler,” Liam teased, “Kidding.”I elbowed him hard in the ribs.“Did you get any sleep?” I asked, concerned.“A little,” he winked. “In between your snores.”“Ha ha,” I mocked, rolling my eyes. The seat belt fasten sign came on and we prepared for landing. Now that we were back in the United States, I was anxious to see Billy and Belle. Hazel, too. I’d missed them all a lot.I whipped out my phone as we de-boarded the plane. I called my house but no one answered. I
Trista’s POV“I want a divorce and to end our mate bond.” I didn't expect this to be the first thing my alpha husband said to me on the night of our 3rd wedding anniversary… -Few hours ago-“Please, Moon Goddess, open the mindlink!” I prayed, but it didn’t work. Liam had closed it.I prepared a fancier-than-usual dinner for this special day, but my husband turned off the mindlink to me.It's already 9:40pm, so I scraped his plate of steak and mashed potatoes, (now cold), into a container. My maid could take it home for her children. I worked hard on that dinner. I wanted someone to enjoy it.I squinted as I tried to snap the lid shut. I reached for my glasses. My eyesight isn’t so great, so I have to wear these thick-rimmed glasses. That’s more than I can say for my poor wolf, though. My wolf was born blind. There’s no glasses to help with that.I sighed deeply and sat at the kitchen table. I’d been Luna of Blue Moon Crescent Pack for three years, but I didn’t feel like a Luna at a
Trista’s POVI tossed and turned all night. I got up with the sunrise, but Liam was already gone. So I slapped some makeup on my face to try to cover the dark circles under my eyes. It didn’t help though. My eyes were too swollen from crying. Divorce.The word hit me again and my stomach turned. I couldn’t…I couldn’t even think about it. So instead I started my daily cleaning routine. The maids tip-toed around me, casting me sympathetic looks. They knew something was off with me and Liam. But they were kind enough not to mention it. They gently helped with my housework to show their support.Divorce.I scrubbed the kitchen floor on my hands and knees as hard as I could, like I was trying to scrub away the word. It just kept coming back though.At 10:00am, the kitchen door flew open. It was Hazel, Beta Jack’s daughter and my best friend.“Tell me everything,” she said, her eyes wide and sympathetic like my maids’.I smiled gratefully at her. Judging by the look on her face, she alr
Trista’s POV “He’ll reconsider, I know he will,” Hazel said.Hazel and her dad, Beta Jack, walked with me to meet Liam at the elders on Monday morning.“You’ve been a good Luna, Trista,” Jack assured me. “There’s no reason for him to divorce you.”We got to the elders but Liam wasn’t there yet. I hadn’t seen him since he told me he wanted the divorce.The elders instructed us to take a seat and wait.“Do you know where he’s been staying?” I asked Jack. Jack shook his head.“But it looks like you can ask him yourself, because here he is,” Jack said.Sure enough, Liam had entered the room…with another woman on his arm!!!I blinked in disbelief. Another woman? But who?“Trista,” he said snidely. “Meet the NEW Luna, Lucy.”New Luna? But we weren’t even divorced yet! I squinted, trying to make out the woman’s face. But I couldn’t see her clearly. They took their seats across from us. The elders stood. The woman looked at me smugly. Was she…was she the reason he wanted a divorce?“W
Trista’s POV“And sign the divorce paper as well,” Liam snidely slid the files across the table. I breathed deeply. This was for the best. I would leave the pack and reintegrate into human society. I could start over. I had my degrees and experience in the human world. It wouldn’t be that bad.“Here, I have a pen,” Lucy scoffed. I locked eyes with hers. If this was the woman he loved, an omega from a different pack, then so be it. I was done. I was so over this. I grabbed the pen and quickly slapped my name onto the papers. Then I slid it towards the elders. They read the papers recognizing our divorce.And just like that, it was over.I was no longer Luna.“Trista is entitled to half the pack’s wealth,” Hazel said.What was she doing? I shot her a look that said, ‘stop it, no,’ but she continued. “The pack is only rich now because of Trista. All the wealth we have, Trista earned it. When humans divorce, they share their wealth. It’s the law. Trista should receive compensation. How e
Trista’s POVMy paper gown crinkled as I laid down on the bed for an ultrasound. I wouldn’t normally go to a human hospital but what choice did I have? I was exiled. So I’d found a small but cheap hospital one town over from Summerset. Because the hospital was small and cheap, I knew their equipment wouldn’t be very accurate. They wouldn’t pick up on any of the ‘wolf’ in me.The doctor was nice. I described my symptoms and he suggested an ultra sound. He smeared the cold jelly on my stomach.“Ah,” he said, smiling. “I thought that might be the case. See here?” He pointed at the screen and I looked over. “That small ball, right there. That’s your baby. Congratulations! You’re pregnant!”Preg…nant?What?He smiled kindly at me. “I assume from the look on your face that you weren’t planning this?” I shook my head in disbelief. I’d been trying to conceive for three years! To give Liam the heirs he so desperately wanted! How was it possible that I was finally pregnant…now…right after he di
Trista’s POV“Stop your foolish tricks! I haven’t even touched you for months! It can’t be my baby!” Liam spat out, his voice seething. “Who’s bastard seed is in your fucking womb, Trista. Who were you screwing around with?”I gasped, shocked by his words. We’ve been together for three years, he should have known what kind of a person I am. “Liam, I never cheated on you. The baby is yours.” He must have forgotten the night he came home drunk from the pack social night. We had sex that night. It was about a month ago before we divorced.Lucy looked nervous. She bit her lip. But then he started yelling at me and she relaxed. “Are you stupid?” he scoffed at me. “Do you think I want a blind heir? Blind like you and your useless wolf?”“I…no…I,” I stuttered.“It’s not mine,” he stated. “I can’t feel my heir. If it was really mine in that disgusting womb of yours, I’d be able to feel it.”No, you wouldn’t, I said to myself. You already rejected me. Plus, the baby was still so tiny. Only six
Trista’s POVI woke up groggy on the plane just as it was about to land. My head was still resting on Liam’s chest, and when I lifted it, I noticed I had left a small drool stain on his shirt.“Oh my god,” I said, mortified by the stain. “I’m so sorry.”Liam chuckled. “You should apologize to the other passengers, too. You were snoring so loud, it literally rattled the windows.”“What?” I asked, horrified. I was snoring? “Why didn’t you stop me?”“You were so cute, all fast asleep, snoring like a train and drooling like a toddler,” Liam teased, “Kidding.”I elbowed him hard in the ribs.“Did you get any sleep?” I asked, concerned.“A little,” he winked. “In between your snores.”“Ha ha,” I mocked, rolling my eyes. The seat belt fasten sign came on and we prepared for landing. Now that we were back in the United States, I was anxious to see Billy and Belle. Hazel, too. I’d missed them all a lot.I whipped out my phone as we de-boarded the plane. I called my house but no one answered. I
“It was,” I admitted. “Especially at first. I had no job and I was terrified that me and the babies would be forced to live out on the streets. But as soon as I moved to Milan, I met Johnson.” I stopped and smiled faintly. It was impossible to tell Liam about my struggles with Billy and Belle without mentioning Johnson. I worried for a moment that Liam would take offense to me talking about Johnson. Liam had, after all, made it pretty clear how he felt about Johnson. But to my surprise, he squeezed my hand and urged me to continue.“Johnson was a god sent,” I told Liam. “He gave me a job and took me under his wing. We became…really good friends. And with time, we became more, even though I don’t really know what that is yet. Johnson was always there for us, all three of us, and Billy and Belle adore him. They love him, they really do. And I’ve come to rely on him. I know you and Johnson don’t exactly see eye-to-eye, Liam. But he’s a good man. A loyal man. A kind, loving man. He’s my…”
Trista’s POV“What?” I blurted out, but I was immediately hushed by a man behind us.“For the love of God, just go to sleep,” the man said. Liam and eyed each other, then we both brought our heads closer together so we could keep talking, but more quietly.“They’re mine, aren’t they?” he repeated, without even the slightest hint of anger in his voice. “Billy and Belle?”I’d feared this conversation for so long. I’d been carrying this secret with me from the day they were born. I’d spent years swearing to myself that Liam could never know the truth about his children, that it was a secret I’d keep from until my grave. But from the moment Liam had come back into my life, I’d questioned whether lying to Liam was the right thing to do.Hazel and I had talked about it many times. She gently asked me if raising my kids without a pack was really what I wanted. As far as they knew, they were human. The human world was all Billy and Belle had ever known, but I knew I couldn’t keep their true i
Trista’s POV“Because I still had feelings for you?” I asked.“Yes,” he said, his eyes fixed on his hands. “Because I still had feelings for you so I thought maybe you did too.”“I didn’t,” I said gently. I was surprised that Liam was confessing this all to me, but at the same time, it didn’t really matter to me. If he had been struggling with regret and lingering feelings for me during his marriage to Lucy, well, that was his own damn fault. I was tired of conversations like these. I needed him to understand that whatever feelings he might still be harboring for me were not reciprocal on my part. “Well, thanks for clearing that up,” he said flatly. Then he turned away from me, back to the window. The easy, casual feeling between us was gone. The air was tense now and I didn’t like it. The plane ride had been enjoyable up until that point, and I wanted it to be that way again. I decided to change the subject. I didn’t want to talk about ‘us’ and our past anymore. I wanted to focus
Trista’s POV“A confession?” I asked, momentarily stunned by the seriousness of his voice and expression. What could he possibly have to confess, I wondered. But a moment later, he continued.“It wasn’t just after Lucy betrayed me that I wanted to win you back,” he said, his voice steady.“What? What do you mean?” I asked. Where was he going with this? What was he insinuating?“This is hard for me to admit, Trista. But I wanted you back long before that.”“Liam,” I started. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this, but he cut me off.“You’re right. Lucy and I travelled a lot. We went to tons of beautiful places. Tropical beaches with white sand. Stunning European cities with ancient architecture. We even did a safari in Africa.” He paused.“Sounds nice,” I said dryly. What was his point? I already knew all this. I’d seen pictures of him and Lucy at various galas all over the world. Her in a long silk dress, him in a tuxedo, both smiling, hand in hand. I’d also seen the pictures of them on
Trista’s POVLiam and I arrived in Paris with plenty of time. We had dinner at the airport and waited for our flight to board. They called us for boarding and we both took our seats in first class. Liam offered me the window seat but I insisted that he have it. His wound was bothering him – I could tell – and if he sat by the window, he could sleep more easily with his head against the wall. As we settled in, a strange feeling washed over me. I realized that Liam and I had never travelled together. In all our years of marriage, we never strayed far from our pack, at least not as a couple. I glanced over at him. He was fastening his seatbelt.‘How odd,’ I thought to myself. ‘Here we are, together on a plane. I never, in a million years, could have imagined our first trip together would be like this!’“Champagne?” the stewardess asked, her eyes bright. Champagne was one of the perksof flying first class. Liam wasn’t much of a champagne drinker, though, so I went to shake my head and
Trista’s POVBack upstairs in the small cottage, Dagny rummaged through her cup boards. She produced a small, crystal jar.“This ointment will make Liam well enough to travel back to the United States,” she told us. Darren eyed the small jar and I looked at him for confirmation. He nodded, indicating that the ointment was fine.Dagny walked over to Liam, lifted his shirt, and removed his bandage. I gasped when I saw his wound. It was red and angry-looking, with small black veins spread out over his stomach and chest like a spider web. Dagny scooped up some of the ointment with her fingers and roughly rubbed it on Liam’s stomach. Liam inhaled a sharp breath and winced.“That hurts,” Liam said as Dagny continued to apply the ointment in a belligerent way. I had to admit, she could have been a lot gentler. Dagny didn’t reply to Liam’s comment so Liam put his hand over hers to stop her.“Dagny, do you have some sort of problem with me?” Liam asked. “You’ve been very polite to Trista and D
Johnson’s POV“My father wanted to hand over the family business to me,” I told Jake. “But I wanted to go to New York.”“Because of that bitch?” Jake asked smugly. I nodded.When Trista left to go to the US, I felt a void in my life. I realized how much she meant to me. My feelings for her were complicated since we were such good friends. But I missed her so much it hurt. And the twins too. So I’d asked my dad if I could follow her to New York and set up business there. My father had been very reluctant at first. He wanted me to stay in Italy for the family business. He was preparing me to take over, but he said there were a few loose ends he needed to tie up first. I argued with him. I was a grown man and if I wanted to go to New York, then I could. He disagreed. He said my responsibility was to the family first.But then, one day, he just changed his mind one day.“My father allowed me to go to New York because there was someone he wanted me to find.”My father’s instructions had be
Johnson’s POVThe bullet ripped through my shoulder. A bolt of pain ripped through my shoulder, so intense it made me dizzy. Jake chuckled at my reaction.I expected to die. I expected to bleed out from the bullet wound. So did Jake and his men. But as they held me, something unusual happened. The bullet wound spurted blood at first, thick and warm. Within seconds though, the blood stopped. The pain still radiated through my body, but I could feel it healing, as though my muscle fibers were somehow weaving themselves back together with extraordinary speed.Jack frowned, his eyes narrowing. He could see what I felt, that my wound was healing with remarkable speed. He didn’t like this. Flummoxed, he marched right up to me and grabbed my collar. He tore open my shirt to see the wound for himself. Sure enough, the hole from the bullet was already growing over with fresh skin.“I thought that was a special gun,” one of his men said.“Shut up,” he seethed at the man. Then he turned to me. “