A faint click rang in my ear as the door of the boutique closed behind me, but that noise got lodged in my head and battled against my heart. I dashed out of the street as if I tried as much as possible to run far away from Landen.Even when I accelerated my pace and walked as fast as my legs would carry me, I was unable to run away from the strong emotions that were triggered by the sight of him.Gripping my bag which was made of leather and which was damp from my sweaty hands, my hands were shaking hard. I had believed he was gone and out of my life.I had assured myself that I had moved on, that the impacts he had brought upon me had faded away. The rush of realizing his presence was however very painful. There are feelings I managed to bury so deep, that I thought they were long gone and would never come to surface again.Pieces of our conversation played in my mind, and his voice moved with images of us to penetrate the threatening headaches. The way he gazed at me and the way h
Hannah’s POVLanden had been acting strange for days now. Initially, I thought it was just stress from work but after observing him closely I became convinced that there was something deeper than that.He always appeared to be preoccupied with other things even when we were together. This made him seem far away yet near because he was never fully present in our midst and this started to irritate me.In the living room, Jasper played quietly with his toys on the floor and I could not resist checking out Landen every now and then. He sat in his favorite armchair staring blankly at a wall while holding an unopened book for half an hour or so.His forehead creased but there was no visible reason for this tension as he seemed to be carrying some heavy burden within himself“Landen?” I called softly, hoping to snap him out of his reverie.“Hm?” His head jerked slightly as if he had just remembered where he was. He looked over at me, his eyes dull and distant.“What is it?”“What’s going on
Anna’s POVLike an unwanted ghost from the past, the invitation had shown up in the mail. An exquisite invitation to an elite social event in the city, written in a golden envelope with fine script.The type of gathering where entrepreneurs mingled and struck up business over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. It was the kind of thing that individuals like Hannah and Landen would surely end up at.I spent hours staring at it and considering my alternatives. It was an excellent chance. I had been putting a lot of effort into building my business, and going to this event might help me reach people I haven't even tried to reach yet.However, it also seemed like stepping into a trap.I knew Landen and Hannah would be there. I knew the moment Hannah saw me again, she’d start digging into my life. She’d start wondering why I was still alive when she thought I was long dead.I wasn’t ready to face them again. Not yet. Maybe not ever.At the window I stood clutching the invitation tightly in my ha
The sound of murmurs and glasses clinking surrounded me as I entered the huge ballroom, but all I could think about was breathing. I nodded and smiled at a few familiar faces as I made my way through the crowd, the silky fabric of my emerald dress skimming the ground.My heart was thumping harder than the background symphonic music beneath my ribs. Hannah and Landen were here, and I knew it.It was a question of time till our paths crossed.I had not planned to attend. The idea of seeing Landen again, especially with Hannah at his side, felt like walking into a storm. But Navian had insisted.This event was too important for our business, he’d said. I couldn’t let my past keep dictating my future. And he was right, I knew that. But knowing didn’t make it any easier. Now I was just Anna, a mother and a businesswoman trying to keep her life together. But tonight, with so many familiar faces from that past life, it felt like I was being sucked back into the storm of old memories and unr
LANDEN'S POVAnna. My mate. My heart stopped for a split second, then picked up its pace, beating faster than it had in years. The air had heaviness to it as if populated by opposing forces of life itself and my wolf became restless inside me.He wanted out, wanted to charge toward her, claim her again as if nothing had changed.But everything had changed.What a sight, she was more exquisite than what I could imagine! The emerald dress she wore fit her physique so well that every contour looked familiar to me.Her tresses flowed down like a river over her shoulders crowned with gentle curls while those eyes, which used to greet me each dawn, seemed lost in another world far away from mine. Not anymore.I clenched my fists, my wolf growling inside me, frustrated and possessive. I could feel his rage bubbling up. She was our mate, the one the Moon Goddess had chosen for us, and yet, there she was, mingling in the crowd with another man.Navian.He was the one holding her now. The one wh
HANNAH'S POVI couldn’t believe it—Landen was slipping away from me. Slowly but surely, I could feel it. His mind wasn’t with me anymore, and his heart? It hadn’t been fully mine for a long time.No matter how hard I tried to hold onto him, I knew I was losing him. I didn’t need more proof to know that he was fighting the bond he still had with Anna. I could see it in his eyes, the way they followed her at the business event.The way he looked at her, even though we were right there, together.I hated the way Anna carried herself with such confidence, acting like nothing had happened between us all those years ago. She walked around like she was untouchable like she hadn’t stolen Landen’s heart, even if he was my husband now.And that little boy, Owen. There was something about him that didn’t sit right with me.The more I thought about it, the more the pieces started coming together. That boy wasn’t just some random child. He had to be Anna’s son from four years ago—the one I thought
HANNAH'S POVThe girl I had met after digging too deep to know who Owen was couldn’t find anything, but she helped me realize the truth. It was exactly as I suspected—Owen was Landen’s son.Dr. Navian had lied to us to protect Anna and her child. His fiancée, Elena, who could no longer endure how close Navian and Anna were getting, had revealed something I needed to know.As much as I tried to dig into Anna’s past, it was like she had vanished into thin air. My boys couldn’t find anything because she had hidden her tracks well. Anna had changed her name from Annabeth Luther to Annabeth Kurtna.She’d even gone so far as to reduce Owen’s age by a year and had erased all traces of how she had arrived in this pack. It was almost impressive—if it didn’t threaten everything I had worked so hard for.Anna was clever, I’d give her that. But no matter how well she hid, no matter how many lies she told, I was smarter. I wouldn’t let her sneak back into our lives and take what belonged to me and
Hannah’s POVI was back in the Moonlight Pack with Landen and Jasper, and our business trip was finally behind us. But my mind was elsewhere, spinning with the new information I had received from Elena.Anna was planning a solo trip with Owen, just the two of them, away from the city. It was the perfect time to strike.Elena had been incredibly helpful, feeding me every detail I needed to know. We had been in communication constantly since the event, when Anna had shown up, pretending to be a perfect woman.It had infuriated me. But now, with this trip coming up, everything was falling into place."She’ll be vulnerable," Elena had told me during our last call. "It’s just her and Owen. No one to protect her."As I waited for Elena to call, those phrases kept repeating in my head while I stood by the window with my phone out. Ever since my boys had lied to get rid of Anna and her son, I had been thinking about this moment for years. I couldn’t believe she had managed to survive, much