Chapter 10: He Had Moved On

Thea’s POV

Life without Leo was unbearable. Every morning, I’d wake up reaching for him, my hands finding nothing but cold sheets. The house echoed with silence where his laughter used to be. No cartoons blaring too early in the morning. No tiny footsteps thundering down the hallway. No sweet “Mommy, I’m hungry” to start my day.

I grabbed my phone, checking the time again. Leo usually called around now, his excited chatter about beach adventures the only thing keeping me sane these days. Yesterday, he’d spent twenty minutes describing a “giant” hermit crab he’d found, his voice so animated I could almost see his green eyes sparkling.

“Call me as soon as you can, baby. Mommy misses you.” I typed out the message, then deleted it. No need to make him worry about me when he was finally having fun.

I changed the bandages before getting ready for work. The gash from the rogue attack had started to scab over, no longer throbbing with every movement like before. Still, without a wolf’s healing abilities, the recovery was frustratingly slow.

My phone lit up with another message from Sebastian. I hadn’t seen him since the airport, but he’d sent at least fifteen texts already this week. I ignored it. They were all the same anyway—insistent updates about Leo wrapped in thinly veiled commands: Make sure you answer his calls. Don’t upset him. Remember to… As if I needed reminding how to care for my own son.

After the divorce, I’d found a teaching position at this neutral territory school, teaching Werewolf History. The school hallways were already bustling when I arrived. I’d always loved working with young pups—they hadn’t gotten their wolf yet, so they didn’t judge me for being wolfless, didn’t look at me with that mixture of pity and disdain I got from adults. Even back when I was Luna, I spent more time volunteering at the pack school than attending society functions.

Between classes, I was lugging a pile of books down the hall to my classroom when someone slammed right into me. Books went flying everywhere, papers raining down around us. Then I caught that pine and winter wind scent. Kane.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” he says, crouching to help gather the papers. In his police uniform, he looks like something straight out of a romance novel. Not that I’m noticing.

“What brings you to a school?” I clutched my books tighter, very aware of my racing pulse. Could he hear it? Smell my nervousness?

His expression turns serious. “Following a lead on an underground wolfsbane trade. There’s a new synthetic version hitting the streets that gives wolves a temporary power boost but makes them lose control. Dangerous stuff.”

“Near a school?” My blood ran cold. “Wait, wait, is that what they used on my father?”

“We think so,” Kane’s blue eyes darkened. “The attack patterns are too similar to be coincidence.” He paused, then his expression softened slightly. “How are you holding up with all this?”

The genuine concern in his voice catches me off guard. I’m not used to people actually caring how I feel. “I’m fine.”

“So… a history teacher?” The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Wouldn’t have guessed that.”

“Is that surprising?”

“Not at all. Beauty and brains—it’s a compelling combination.”

I felt my cheeks heat. When was the last time anyone had called me beautiful? Sebastian certainly never had.

Nobody had ever looked at me that way before, like I was something worth seeing. Growing up alongside Aurora had taught me exactly where I stood. She was everything a wolf could want—strong, beautiful, with a powerful bloodline. Pack males would practically trip over themselves just to catch her attention. Meanwhile, I was the wolfless disappointment, useful only as a path to get closer to her or curry favor with the Sterling family.

“I should get back to class,” I mumbled, gesturing at my door.

“Have dinner with me.”

“I… what?”

“Dinner. You know, that meal people eat in the evening? Usually involves food, conversation…”

“I know what dinner is,” I snap, but I’m fighting back a smile. “I just… why would you want to have dinner with me?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Beautiful, intelligent woman who can sass me while grading papers? Why wouldn’t I?”

Before I can respond, his radio crackles. He curses under his breath. “I have to go. But think about it?” He hands me a card with his number. “No pressure. Just dinner.”

I watched him walk away, his card burning in my hand like a forbidden promise. What was I doing? I wasn’t ready for… whatever this was. I was barely holding myself together as it was.

The feeling doesn’t last long. The market was crowded with after-work shoppers. I was debating between pasta shapes when I saw them. My whole body froze.

Sebastian and Aurora stood at the end of the aisle, lost in their own world. His arm curved around her waist possessively, and she said something that made him throw back his head and laugh—that rich, genuine laugh I’d never once heard in seven years of marriage.

The pain hits like a physical blow. I know I should look away, but I can’t. They look perfect together—the powerful Alpha and his chosen mate. Everything I could never be.

Sebastian’s head snapped up suddenly, Alpha senses probably catching my scent. The laughter died on his face. Aurora notices his distraction and follows his gaze. When she sees me, her lips curve into a triumphant smile.

I abandoned my cart, practically running for the exit. The cool evening air hit my face as I gasped for breath, trying to hold back tears. Stupid. I was so stupid for letting this still affect me.

My fingers traced over the card Kane left. Sebastian is my past. A beautiful, painful past that I need to let go of. I don’t know how long it will take, but I will find my own happiness. Even if I have to build it from scratch.