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 else will she survive alone without the pack?”
“That’s ridiculous,” Lucy said, rolling her eyes.
“Is it?” Hazel shot at Lucy. Then she gave her a look that could kill. I had to admit, I was lucky to have a friend like Hazel.
“I think it’s something to consider,” Beta Jack piped in. “Hazel makes a point. Casting Trista out like this, without anything. It seems cruel. She worked hard for our pack. If she’s going to stand a chance in the human world, she needs money.”
“The money belongs to the pack. It’s not Trista’s,” Lucy said. “Whoever heard of such a thing? Sharing the money? The only reason the pack has been so successful is because my dear Liam worked so hard.”
“It is an interesting argument you present, Hazel,” one of the elders said. “And one we should perhaps consider.”
“There’s nothing to consider,” Liam said then. Lucy smiled victoriously at me. “Trista can have whatever she wants. Name your price.”
That wiped the smile clear off Lucy’s face. I was shocked, too. Really? Anything?
“Liam?” Lucy gasped, looking confused.
“The divorce is done. I have a mating ceremony to prepare for. With my NEW Luna.” He looked deep into her eyes and she blushed. “We’ll take our leave now. Give whatever. I don’t care. I’m done with all this.”
They pushed their chairs back and strode out of the room.
I was gobsmacked. He was so eager to marry his new Luna, he didn’t even care about money! I literally meant nothing to him.
“You heard him,” Hazel said. “Name your price.”
I sighed and shook my head.
“Go on then,” the elders said.
“I don’t want anything. I don’t want to take money from the pack. The pack needs it. I’ll find my own way.”
It was true. I didn’t want the pack’s money, I just wanted to go, so I left without taking a dime from the pack. Hazel helped me pack up my things, but honestly, I didn’t take much. Just a few changes of clothes, some toiletries, an old teddy bear from my childhood. I was eager to get out there. Everywhere I looked reminded of Liam and our failed life together.
It was quite the send-off, I have to admit. Beta Jack and the servants escorted me to the pack boundary. A stream of people followed. They hugged me and wished me well. I guess I was loved after all, just not by my husband. I promised Hazel I would call her as soon as I found a place to live.
“Close by,” she said, resting her forehead on mine.
“Of course,” I promised her. Then we hugged one last time and Beta Jack drove me to the bus stop.
I was able to snag a decent apartment in a small town called Summerset. It was close to the pack, so Hazel could still come and visit me. It wasn’t the nicest place, a little dingy with carpet that smelled a bit moldy. But the rent was cheap and it was all I could afford at the time. I had enough money for three month’s of rent. I had to get a job ASAP.
I unpacked my few belongings and a small plant I bought to make the place feel more homey. Then I scoured the internet for jobs. Suddenly, though, a wave of nausea swept over me. I ran to the bathroom and made it to the toilet just in time. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. I’d been really stressed out the past few days. I was probably just run down.
But then it happened again the next day.
And the day after that.
‘Time to see a doctor, Trista,’ I thought to myself when I was sick for the fourth day. I figured I had a bug and just needed some antibiotics.
I couldn’t have been more wrong…
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 POV*Five years later*“Billy! Belle! Lunch!” I called. My two precious twins came running in through the door. They just turned five and they’re one heck of a handful, but they’re the most wonderful children in the world. The sun streamed in through my oversized, floor to ceiling window. We sat at the table and I sighed with contentment.I had thought I would have one lovely child, but didn't realize they turned out to be two. So I have both an adorable angelic girl and a smart and handsome boy. They made me the luckiest mom ever.Just then, the phone rang. It was Jonhson, the CEO of JL Jewelry and my boss. He had also become a good friend. When I packed up five years ago and made the risky decision to move here, to Milan, he hired me on the spot. He said he saw ‘real potential’ in my designs. I was a little worried, because I was pregnant. Could I do this all on my own? But when the babies came, he gave me a generous bonus so I could afford the best daycare in Milan.“Trist
Trista’s POVWe boarded the red eye to New York. From there, a driver would take us up the coast to Summerset where we would stay at the Four Seasons Resort.“Nervous about flying?” Jonhson asked me. I was wringing my hands on my lap. “Or is it Billy and Belle? Don’t worry, they’re in good hands.”They were. They were staying with Johnson’s parents. The twins loved his parents. Once Johnson took the kids to his parents on a vacation for a nice summer day in order for me to focus on creating the drawings for my new products. I am truly grateful to Johnson's parents for providing me with very just the right amount of help every time. I think I'll find some time to visit them and tell them my thanks in person.Johnson thought I was anxious about the flight or my kids. I was anxious, yes, but not about the flight or the kids. I was anxious about running into Liam. I didn’t want to tell him that, though, so I just nodded. “I know. You’re right. Billy and Belle will be just fine.
Trista’s POVAs soon as I removed my contact lens - instant relief. I rubbed them and squinted into the mirror. I’ve had my eyes checked several times by optometrists. I even went to see a renowned specialist in Italy. He said it was strange because there was nothing wrong with my optic nerves or my actual eyes. But for some reason, my vision is still really poor. I got contacts when I moved to Italy so I didn’t have to wear my ugly, clunky glasses anymore.My face was blurry in the mirror now because my contacts were gone.“Sorry,” my wolf, Salina, whispered. I don’t hear from her very often. Because of her disability, she’s really quiet and shy, much quieter than other wolves. I could feel her pacing around, though. She’d been a little restless since we landed, and even more so since we got to the restaurant. She can sense the familiarity of this place, and the unease that comes with it.“It’s okay,” I whispered back to her. “It’s not your fault.”For a moment, my nerves got the bet
Trista’s POV“Let’s go check out the JL store,” Liam said, as he took a final swig of his drink. “I’d like you to take a look around. You know, so you can get a sense for the branding.”The mention of the store sent my stomach lurching. My mind flashed back to Lucy. Her mocking laugh. My manager firing me. The embarrassment of being forced out of the store by a security guard.“I…I don’t know,” I stammered. “Is that..is that necessary?” I REALLY didn’t want to go back to that store.“I think it might be a good idea,” Jonhson said. “I personally have never seen a JL store in this area, and I wouldn’t mind checking it out.” He looked to me. My hands were wrapped around my drink and my head was down. “I mean, if that’s okay with you, Trista?” His voice was kind and gentle. He knew something was off. I lifted my head and gave him a confident nod. I was here on business, and part of that meant checking out the store.“Sure, sounds good to me,” I lied through my teeth.“Great. Let me just c
Trista’s POVI quelled Salina. She was upset. She didn’t want to be here. And quite frankly, neither did I. Liam called the manager over. I recognized him immediately. He was the same manager that had thrown me out five years ago! I pushed down the nervous feeling in my stomach.“Mr. Stonewood,” the manager said in a humble tone. “Will you be needing my assistance today?”I squinted at him, but he didn’t recognize me. Fair enough. I was older now, and much prettier. Plus, I didn’t have those awful thick-rimmed glasses anymore.“As a matter of fact, you can,” Liam said. Was it just me or did he look nervous? “I brought a ‘special’ guest to the store.” He emphasized the word ‘special’. Liam pushed me forward. “Don’t tell me you don’t recognize her!”The manager studied my face for a moment, and then realization washed over him.“Of course,” he said, clasping my hands and smiling.“I brought her here to see the…the gift?” Liam was acting strange. He was definitely nervous. He kept wiping
“This isn’t necessary,” I said, helping the manager up off the floor. I didn’t need him to apologize to me! I didn’t care about any of this. I don’t know what Liam THOUGHT he was doing, but this was ridiculous. So I decided to turn the whole thing around on Liam. “In fact, I should be thanking you,” I said to the manager.That rattled Liam. “Thanking him?” His eyes grew wide. “He FIRED you!”“Yes,” I replied, lifting my chin. “But if he hadn’t fired me, I never would have gone to Milan. And then I never would have started my OWN jewelry line. So, I owe him my gratitude.” I smiled at the manager. I wanted Liam to see that whatever he was trying to do, whatever ‘plan’ he had, it wasn’t going to work on me.I was still mad at Liam and I wanted him to know it. I didn’t care about this stupid manager anymore. LIAM was the one who had caused me pain.I turned to Johnson then. “I don’t want any of this,” I said, waving my hand dismissively at the display counter. “If Liam doesn’t want it, ca
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. “