Jaxon’s POV

I waited. Patiently waited for her to come back. I wasn’t sure where she’d gone, but I had a pretty good fucking guess. The pups were still playing at my house with the babysitter watching them, so I wasn’t worried.

The sound of the door lock turning made me spin around. Thea walked in, stopping when she saw me.

“Jaxon? I thought you’d left hours ago,” she said, surprise evident in her voice.

I shrugged. “Figured you might need someone to talk to.”

She moved toward the couch and sank into it heavily, one hand automatically going to her swollen belly. “Today was a nightmare.”

“I can imagine,” I sat down across from her. “Seeing Wyatt in this situation…”

“That poor child,” she murmured. “I guess I can relate to him in some ways, but it’s different too. At least my Sterling parents pretended to maintain a relationship with me. Aurora won’t even give Wyatt that much.”

I hadn’t expected this level of honesty from her. I didn’t know much about Thea. In school, I was two years ahead of her. We weren’t friends then; I didn’t pay attention to any girl except Aurora.

“He’s so much like you, you know,” she said suddenly. “Wyatt has your eyes, your patience. But that smile… the first time I saw it, it felt familiar, and now I know why—it was Aurora’s smile from when she was younger.”

My fists clenched involuntarily. The next question was inevitable.

“Anyway, I want to know the truth, Jaxon,” her eyes fixed directly on mine. “Can you tell me how Aurora ended up being Wyatt’s mother?”

I took a deep breath. This story had been festering inside me for too long.

“You know I loved her since high school,” I began, and she nodded.

“Like I did with Sebastian,” she said softly.

“The difference is, my wolf recognized her as my mate,” I saw Thea’s eyes widen. “During that Mating Ball in senior year, her scent suddenly changed, and my wolf nearly burst out to mark her. But she chose to reject what fate had planned for us—rejected me.”

“I thought she and Sebastian never found their fated ones and they chose each other,” Thea said.

I gave a bitter laugh. “The pain of rejection completely changed me. I started to transform myself. I worked my ass off until I actually felt proud of how I looked.”

“I became unrecognizable when I went to college. I immersed myself in college life: girls, parties, and alcohol. Life was great. Girls were all over me. I could take my pick from a very large pool. Soon, I started forgetting about Aurora. There was no point crying over a mate who didn’t want me when I could have others.”

Thea nodded understandingly.

“Everything was fine until my grandfather had a stroke. I transferred schools to be closer to him, which happened to be Aurora’s college. When I saw her again, she was in bad shape, like she was dead inside. I later found out she and Sebastian had broken up. I couldn’t believe it. Especially when I learned Sebastian had betrayed Aurora.”

“I wanted to comfort her, but I knew she wouldn’t let me near her. By coincidence, my project partner was her best friend and roommate.”

I didn’t want to be involved in Aurora’s life again. Yet, when Helena was assigned as my partner, my eyes turned to Aurora. She seemed captivated by me, as if she couldn’t take her eyes off me even if she wanted to. But even then, I was still avoiding her. I didn’t want to be that despised person like I was in high school, didn’t want to experience that rejection pain again.

“Then one day, unexpectedly, Aurora showed up at my dorm room and kissed me. When she asked me to fuck her, I thought it was a dream. And my wolf still craved every inch of her. She had rejected the mate bond, but a wolf’s instincts don’t give up so easily.” I paused to let my emotions settle.

“I fell asleep thinking it was finally happening. Finally, she wanted something with me. Only I was wrong. When we woke up the next morning, she was disgusted with herself. I tried talking to her. I tried telling her I still loved her, but she said she used me to get back at Sebastian for sleeping with you.” That was also the first time I learned that the girl Sebastian had slept with and gotten pregnant was Thea. Thea sucked in a breath like my words had triggered some memory of her own.

“You can’t imagine the pain I felt. I was crushed. I loved her with my body only to find out she felt nothing. She was just using me. The betrayal I felt nearly destroyed me, and it was during that time my grandfather passed away. We kept our distance again until she told me she was pregnant but wanted an abortion.”

“You stopped her,” Thea said quietly.

“I threatened to tell her parents,” I admitted. “I couldn’t let her kill my pup. When she started showing, I took her to my grandfather’s house and cared for her until she gave birth.”

“Living with her was hell. She would curse me, and the baby. It was difficult, and I wanted to leave many times, but then I would think of my pup.”

Thea grabbed my hand and squeezed.

“When Wyatt was born, she refused to see him. She told me she never wanted to see me or him again. I left the hospital with my child. I didn’t hear from her again until about a year later.”

“What did she want?” Thea asked.

I didn’t want to tell her this part because I was ashamed of it. Ashamed of how I let Aurora use me for years.

“Sex,” I breathed. “She said she tried sleeping with other men, but she couldn’t do it. I gave in. The next morning, she was already gone. She didn’t even want to see her son.”

I continued, “It went on like that for years. She would come to me just to fuck. I let it continue because I hoped she would change, hoped she would learn to love us, but she was only interested in what my body could do for her.”

“The day Wyatt saw her, he was about five, and she was sneaking out in the morning. He asked me if she was his mother. I couldn’t lie to him. She was angry that I told him the truth and left without even greeting him.”

“I called her, told her to give her relationship with Wyatt a chance. When she refused, I revoked her rights to see him. I wanted a fresh start, so we moved here. I just didn’t know you would be my neighbor, or that Aurora had also moved back home.”

“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through, but I’m glad you’ve recognized your worth. You deserve someone who loves you wholeheartedly,” she smiled at me.

I pulled her into my arms, hugging her. I felt relieved, like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

I didn’t tell Thea this, but when I realized she would be my neighbor, I was pleased. I wanted her to figure it out. I wanted her to tell everyone the truth because I was tired of Aurora’s secrecy about Wyatt. I was glad everyone now knew exactly what kind of woman she was.