50%


    For a second, I assumed Roman had been the one to reach out and stop me, but his touch had never set my skin on fire like this.


    I turned to see my suspicions confirmed.


    Julian.


    “Amber?!”


    I could read Julian’s expression clearly, something that was rare considering his stoicism. He was in shock. And he could see me


    clearly for who I really was.


    He stared at me in a daze, as if he had seen a corpsee back to life. Then, his shock shifted into a kind of urgency, an urgency I


    couldn’t understand –


    He strode toward me, then paused once again.


    His gaze shifted to Roman, and his expression turned fierce, his eyes zing.


    “Who is he? Are you two together?”


    I stared at Julian, shocked at his behavior. He’d misunderstood my rtionship with Roman and thought we were together. And he


    was angry about it.


    Why would he be angry? He didn’t have any right to be.


    I needed to think. I suddenly realized that Julian was still gripping my wrist.


    “Let go of me,” I said, trying and failing to rip my hand from his grasp. “Mind your image, Alpha. Isn’t that what you always cared


    about most?”


    “You’re my wife,” Julian replied, his firm words making my heart race. “You owe me an exnation. I thought you were dead… for


    five years!”


    “Hey, man,” Roman said, stepping in to try to redirect Julian’s attention.


    “Don’t ‘hey man’ me,” Julian growled. “This is personal. It has nothing to do with whoever you are.


    “Why did you leave Thorn Pack without my permission?” Julian said, his attention focused back on me again. “What about the


    ne crash? There were supposed to be no survivors. Where are you even living now? Why are you with this guy?”


    Julian was interrogating me. I didn’t appreciate the bombardment of personal questions, and I didn’t intend to give him any


    answers.


    “Answer me,” he ordered.


    “Who are you to question me like this?”


    2:36 PM Tue 26 Aug


    “As your husband.” Julian said. “I never signed the divorce papers. Legally, you are still my wife.”


    50%


    “Sign them as soon as possible, then,” I said, confusion and rage storming inside me. Who was Julian to act like he had im over me when he’d abandoned me five years ago? “If you don’t, I’ll take the case to the Werewolf Court, and they’ll force it due to


    irreconcble differences.”


    “I won’t do it,” Julian replied. “I’m an Alpha. The court will rule in my favor, not yours.”


    Julian and I began to bicker back and forth. I’d never, ever spoken to him like this before, and it felt good to stand up for myself,


    even though it didn’t seem to be getting us anywhere.


    Suddenly, my wrist felt lighter. I grabbed it with my other hand, rubbing it. Roman had pried Julian’s hand away.


    “Didn’t you not notice, Alpha Julian?” Roman asked, polite yet firm. “You were hurting her.”


    Julian’s POV


    Fury coursed through my entire body.


    I felt the urge to shove the man away. Rory snarled inside me, and I was d to have him with me. He, too, was ready to rip the man apart limb from limb.


    We were in public, though, and especially after our bidding war, ourmotion was beginning to attract the interest of the


    onlookers. I was the Alpha. I couldn’t let things get ugly or out of hand.


    She is MATE, Rory roared. Take her back.


    “Hold back,” I told Rory. “Amber is angry as well. It would be a mistake to push her further now.’


    I forced myself to rein in my own rage and turned my attention to the man standing next to her. I finally ced him – he was the


    Alpha of Dawn Pack, Roman. We’d met at a previous counsel meeting.


    Roman maintained a conservative leadership style. His pack hadn’t grown over the years, but it hadn’t shrunk, either. He’d


    seemed content to keep things steady.


    He’d been polite and soft-spoken, but it had alwayse off as an act to me.


    Why was Amber with him? I couldn’t figure it out.


    I raced through the possibilities in my mind until a terrible thought struck me. What if, back then, Amber had left to be with Roman? She’d been flying to Dawn Pack, after all.


    The thought unsettled me deeply, making my stomach feel sick.


    “Come home, Amber,” I said, trying to keep my voice authoritative, not pleading like I felt inside. “The pack needs you.


    Our house needs her. My office needs her. My coffee, my clothes; my cheek needs her kiss. I didn’t realize that all of this added up to me needing her.


    12:36 PM Tue 26 Aug


    But I could never say it out loud.


    12:36 PM Tue 26 Aug