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Julian’s POV
Holding Amber in my arms again felt like a dream. I was practically floating on air, having her pressed so close to me. Her scent was familiar, yet also somewhat new.
We had so much to talk about. What happened to her hair, and her scent, since she got on that ne? And how had she survived? There was so much I wanted to hear from her, so much I wanted to learn. Yet it never felt like the right time to talk about it.
Right now, for instance, in the middle of the dance floor being watched by most members of high society was not the right time.
I kept my eyes on Amber, trying to relearn the dips and nes of her face. Even this close, she was absolutely beautiful. She would have made such a perfect Luna. I had been such a fool back then.
“Amber…” I said as the song came to an end. Slowly, our movements stopped and we stood still in the center of the room. Our
dance might have been over, but that didn’t mean I wanted this moment to be over.
I wanted to make this momentst as long as physically possible. If I could have made itst forever, I would have gone for that.
“Maybe we can go somewhere quiet and talk,” I said gently.
Others were starting to dance now, with a new song beginning. I didn’t want them to overhear me.
She shook her head. “I have to go.”
“But you just got here,” I said.
“An hour ago.”
Had it been so long? “Amber, please. Let’s just talk for a minute.”
“No,” she said. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“But -”
“Please excuse me,” she said, and started to back away.
I stood frozen for a moment, shocked by her rejection and how it affected me.
Since I thought she had died, it was as if I turned off a part of my emotions, like I was trying to protect myself from feeling too much of anything, including grief.
Now that she was back, it was like that switched had been flicked back to on. Suddenly, I was feeling everything again, the good
and the bad.
I felt out of control, like buzzing bees were trapped under my skin.
Her rejection stung, and it didn’t make sense. If we could just talk about things, then we could work everything out. I was so sure
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of it.
And I could lose her again by watching her walk out of my life once more.
So I followed her, staying on her trail as she walked out of the banquet hall, and then out of the building entirely.
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The cool night air did nothing to bring me back to my senses. I was still so convinced that if I could just speak to Amber, if she
could listen to me, then I could fix everything.
All the hurts of the past would disappear.
Except…
“Mommy!”
A small girl jumped down from Roman’s arms and rushed up the sidewalk to fly into Amber’s. Roman was on the sidewalk,
moving closer like he hade from the parking lot.
Amber kissed the girl’s cheek. And I could see now this girl was the friend I had made in the hallway at the hospital.
Alice.
She’d called Amber, Mommy. Which meant…
My gaze slid to Roman, as I desperately tried to math out the timeline in my head.
Alice was in kindergarten…
If Roman was her father, then that meant that…
My stomach dropped and my blood went cold.
For Roman to be the father meant that Amber had to have cheated on me. It also meant that when Amber’s ne went down, it wasn’t my child she was pregnant with.
Roman had fathered her child…
She had cheated on me even then!
“Who is that? Isn’t that Alpha’s ex-wife? I thought she died?” came the loud gossip from some of the smokers, where they stood just beside the door.
“But didn’t that little girl call her Mom?”
“And how is that guy? The Dad?”
“How old is that girl?”
“When did Alpha and Amber get married again?”
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It was as if they were arriving at the same conclusion that I was.
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“This makes sense,” said one of the smokers. “After all, I heard just tonight, confirmed facts, that Amber was cheating on Julian
when they were together.”
How could she know that? What confirmed facts?
Although… what more confirmed facts did I need? Alice was right here in front of me, the living breathing result of their affair.
I was so fond of the child, not knowing she had been a symbol of personal betrayal against me. Even now, I felt myself happy to see
her. She was a smart child, and a bundle of energy.
It wasn’t her fault. I couldn’t be angry with her.
Amber and Roman though….
How could Amber do that to me? She was my wife.
Yet… that line of thinking made me the worst kind of hypocrite, didn’t it? After all, it was my drunken night with Olivia, in getting
her pregnant, that had driven Amber away from me in the first ce.
She had left me, boarded that ne, and nearly died trying to leave me.
Which of us had betrayed the other first?
Or were we both the worst kind of despicable people?
The rumors spread quickly, and before I could even think to suppress them, some of the guests from within the party spilled out
onto the sidewalk, everyone eager for gossip.
Olivia, I noticed, was among the crowd.
She whispered to the woman beside her who called out.
“Is it true, Amber? Were you cheating on our Alpha? Did you have an illegitimate child with someone else!”
Amber jumped, seemingly surprised that so many people had followed her outside. She looked at me searchingly, but I was still
frozen solid, still trying to understand what I was seeing and the right way to react to it.
The things I wanted to say, I wouldn’t dare say in front of Alice,
Alice, who under the sudden attention, buried her face against Amber’s shoulder.
Roman stepped forward, stepping in the way of Amber and Alice protectively, as a father and husband would protect his family.
A growl rumbled out from the back of my throat unbidden. Even my wolf felt on edge by what was happening here.
Not the usations, the gossip, or Roman’s possessive behavior sat right with me.
“The child is mine!” Roman called. Grinning, he turned to Amber. “And I would very much like to make it official.”
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Amber’s eyes went wide. “What are you talking about?” she asked.
Alice slunk further into her mother’s arms, like she was trying to hide herself away from the world.
Roman didn’t answer with words. Instead, he reached into his pocket, withdrew a ring, and then dropped to one knee.
Was he…?
What gave him the right to propose to my mate?!
My wolf mmed at the corners of my mind, raging to be free, to intervene.
“Roman, what are you doing?” Amber asked.
“Something I should have done a long time ago,” Roman replied. He lifted up the ring, presenting it to Amber.
My vision went red.
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