Despair flooded through me.
Julian’s POV
I’d shoved the divorce papers into my bottom desk drawer, trying to pretend they didn’t exist. Amber’s necklace, however, I couldn’t bring to hide away. Instead, I’d slipped it into my pants pocket, every once in a while slipping my hand in to finger the delicate gold chain.
Amber just left to clear her mind, I told myself. She’d be back soon. I was sure of it.
Maybe I just didn’t want to believe that Amber would truly leave for good.
Despite myself, I stayed in my office at pack headquarters. I was practiced at pushing away my personal life in order to focus on what must be done for the company, and for Thorn Pack. I tried to push past the pain, which usually wasn’t a challenge.
Finally, I fell into a flow, or so I thought, until my Beta cleared his throat.
He was standing in front of my desk, concern on his face.
“Alpha, you seem off today,” he said.
That’s when I realized – without her, breakfast didn’t taste right. There would be no one to help me choose my suit, and no one to wish me “Good Morning.”
Without her, there would be no gentle goodbye kiss as I left each morning, a kiss that always seemed to hold more feeling than I allowed myself to acknowledge.
I did my best to push these realizations to the back of my mind, the place where I stored my feelings and my pain becoming cramped. Olivia and I met with the Elders to discuss the economic trade agreements between our two packs.
The Elders had insisted on meeting Olivia after learning that she carried my child. They suggested that I marry her. Olivia had always been gentle, poised, and noble. She was truly the perfect candidate for Luna.
But I already had a wife. I couldn’t stop thinking about Amber.
Of course, Olivia and I had history. We’d met in college at Wolf University and started dating when we realized we’d come from similar worlds, me as the incumbent Alpha as Thorn Pack and her as the Apha of Obsidian Pack’s daughter. Politically, our partnership had made sense, and I couldn’t deny that she was elegantly gorgeous in a way that any wolf would desire.
However, Olivia had broken up with me. She’d said her parents didn’t approve of our relationship. I’d thought that Olivia was going to be my wife, and I’d already started formulating plans for our future together after school.
I was heartbroken at the loss.
Then, I went to that bar. I met Amber, and somehow, her tenderness stitched me back together.
My life took a toll on me. I’d be the first to admit that I spent most of my time working. I neglected my own feelings. How was I supposed to think about anyone else’s?
Then, two weeks ago, I was at a bar getting drunk after work. I’d sent word home that I was staying at the office that night, and that Amber shouldn’t expect me back until the next day.
Then, I’d run into Olivia while ordering drinks. I’d already had too much, but nobody was going to cut off the Alpha of Thorn Pack.
The next thing I remembered, it was morning, and I was lying in Olivia’s bed. Naked.
“I have a chosen mate,” I said, panic invading my voice and making me cringe.
“That’s okay,” Olivia said, curving her picture perfect lips into a soft smile. “We’ll pretend this never happened. After all, we know my parents don’t approve.”
I sighed, thankful for her consideration, pushing the panic and guilt I felt to the back of my mind.
Then, just days ago, she’d told me she was pregnant with my child. What choice did I have? I had to bring her back to the pack.
Was I going to marry her and divorce Amber?
Beta called me, the ringing of the phone breaking me out of my thoughts. Amber had bought a plane ticket – she really was planning to leave. Rory, my wolf, urged me to go find her. Instead, I told my Beta to bring her back.
Amber was just playing more unreasonable games. If only she could soften to me, I could forgive her.
“Wait,” I said into the phone, a thought forming in my mind. “Why was Amber at the hospital?”
I waited for Beta to return with the information, grabbing the phone as soon as it rang.
“Alpha,” Beta said, “the plane crashed. Amber is dead.”
“That’s not all, Alpha.” Beta paused, then cleared his throat. “She was at the hospital for a prenatal checkup. She was pregnant with your child. They both died.”
The room began to swirl around me.
Amber’s POV
I gazed at the Thorn Pack hospital, thinking back to the last time I’d stepped foot in its halls.
Five years. It’d been five years since I’d last stepped foot in Thorn Pack, nevertheless the hospital where my marriage had ended.
Five years ago, my plane had crashed into the ocean. Luckily, we weren’t so far from the shore of Dawn Pack, the nearest pack, and a group of generous fishers hauled me onto their boat where I sat, shivering, amongst crates of lobsters.
My backpack, where I’d put all my documents and identification papers for safe keeping, was lost somewhere in water. I had no money, nor anywhere to go.
Luckily, the Dawn Pack hospital extended the same unbelievable generosity of the fishermen, and they gave me a job as a nurse. It wasn’t quite the doctor’s position I’d dreamt of in college, but it was just enough to earn a living. I was exhausted, and I was poor, but I was alive.
Plus, I had Eve. My wolf.
She’d awakened during the accident. When I plunged into the cold water, my wolf was shocked awake, her voice appearing in my mind. It grew louder and louder as fell I deeper and deeper into the ocean.
Swim, she commanded.
I flailed my arms.
Turn around, she growled. You’re going deeper.
I did my best to flip myself around, then dug my arms through the cold.
Good, she said. Keep going. Don’t stop.
When I broke the surface, Eve howled inside me in victory, the joy of survival coursing through my bones.
You saved us, she said. All three of us.
With the help of Eve’s strength, I stayed afloat until the fishing boat appeared and the fishermen rescued me.
I awoke in the moment between life and death, Eve told me once we were safe on the shore.
“I’m sorry,” I told her. “I didn’t know you were there. I didn’t know you were a part of me.’
While Eve’s presence required some adjustment on my part, I adjusted quickly. I found myself more likely to take care of myself, as I was taking care of Eve as well. She was quicker to anger, but she was also quicker to feel joy. Her companionship became a saving grace in my new life.
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