Chapter 23: The Perfect Daughter's Secret

Aurora’s POV

I sat motionless on my bed after Sebastian left, unable to shake the image of how he’d stared at Thea and Kane. Pain radiated through my chest like shards of ice. I hated showing weakness, but tears escaped despite my best efforts to hold them back.

Daddy’s death had shattered me. As the Alpha of the Sterling Pack, he’d been my hero, and I was his pride and joy—the daughter who inherited the purest Sterling bloodline. After what happened seven years ago, I’d moved to a different state and rarely visited the Pack. But whenever I did, he’d look at me with those proud eyes, always bragging to others: “This is my Aurora, my precious treasure.”

I thought I’d never recover from his murder by those rogues. Then Sebastian told me he was divorcing Thea and asked if I wanted to start over. His words gave me new hope. The truth was, I’d never stopped loving him, even after he broke my heart, even during his seven-year marriage to Thea. I knew I wasn’t his mate, but I was willing to be the one he chose.

During the years I was away, Roman and other Pack members kept me updated about Sebastian and Thea. They said Sebastian never accepted that wolfless thing, always remaining cold and distant. They told me he frequently asked about me, his feelings for me obvious, while everyone could sense his rejection of Thea.

So why was he suddenly so obsessed with her now? Had Roman and others missed some crucial detail?

Lost in confusion and anger, I called Helena. She wasn’t our Pack’s werewolf; I met her at college, and we became best friends. She’d always given me wise counsel, helping me get back on my feet when Sebastian and Thea’s situation nearly destroyed me. I trusted her completely.

“Darling, how’s the reconciliation with Sebastian going?” Her excited voice came through the phone.

“Not great,” I said softly. I’d thought everything was finally falling into place, but reality had given me a harsh wake-up call.

“What do you mean? Didn’t Sebastian ask to get back together?”

“It started well, but now I’m doubting his feelings for me.” The words felt like glass in my throat.

“Tell me why you’re doubting, and we’ll analyze it together.” Her voice was gentle but steady.

I’d studied law in college and became a lawyer after leaving the Pack. At work, I was always calm and analytical, planning carefully after examining every detail. But when it came to Sebastian, all my professional composure vanished.

“Sebastian’s been unusually focused on Thea lately. He thinks I don’t know, but he’s been watching over her for weeks. He assigned the Pack’s elite warriors to protect her, bought her the latest luxury car, even hired a private nurse to care for her.”

I’d never told Sebastian I knew about any of this. I kept waiting for him to tell me himself. But in my view, an Alpha doing so much for his ex-wife went far beyond normal boundaries.

“Why would he do all that? Did something happen to She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?” Confusion laced her voice.

“Apparently, someone’s targeting her. She was attacked by rogues at my Dad’s funeral, and a few weeks ago someone rigged her car with wolfsbane that nearly killed her.” I paused. “But honestly, I think she staged it all to get Sebastian’s attention.”

After all, Thea was nothing to us. Why would anyone specifically target her?

Helena sighed heavily. “If I were there, I’d slap you. Aurora, you were the smartest law student in our class. How can you think your sister would do something like that just to get Sebastian’s attention?”

In fact, as a lawyer, I’d seen many cases where rejected she-wolves did insane things to regain so-called love, hurting others or even themselves.

“Wolves will do crazy things for their mates. And while Thea isn’t Sebastian’s mate, don’t forget she’s always been synonymous with ‘crazy.’”

I said this remembering our teenage years, all the things Thea did to get attention, especially Sebastian’s: ruining our dates, destroying the dress I’d planned to wear for Sebastian, putting dye in my shampoo… and those were just the mild incidents. She kept causing chaos until she finally succeeded in splitting Sebastian and me up.

“I’m no fan of Thea, especially after what she did to you. But I don’t think she’d do this… besides, didn’t she initiate the divorce?” Helena asked.

I was about to say this could be another of her tricks, but Helena didn’t give me the chance.

“I understand your concerns, but Sebastian and Thea were married for seven years and have a child. Even if he doesn’t love her, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care at all. It’s normal for him to worry and take care of her after these incidents.”

She had a point, but that wasn’t what worried me most.

“I understand that, but what really concerns me is his reaction to seeing her with other men. There’s this wolf named Kane who’s been hanging around Thea. We’ve run into them together twice, and Sebastian’s behavior was terrifying both times. Tonight, when he saw Kane standing close to Thea outside the restaurant, he nearly broke my hand!”

The other end went quiet for a moment as I struggled to contain my pain. Watching my beloved male go berserk because the she-wolf who stole him was with another male was almost unbearable.

“Define ‘terrifying’ specifically,” Helena pressed.

“He looked possessed with rage. That level of possessiveness and jealousy went way beyond concern for his child’s mother; it was almost like a mate reaction! If Thea didn’t being wolfless, I’d be really confused. That’s why I’m worried—has he fallen in love with Thea without realizing it?” Voicing this fear felt like dying inside.

I didn’t want to consider this possibility, but I couldn’t lie to myself. Could Sebastian have truly fallen for Thea without knowing it? The mere thought made it hard to breathe.

“Listen, this is complicated, and I don’t know what to tell you. From my perspective, you have two choices—either give him up or fight for him. The Pack members couldn’t all have been wrong; his feelings for you can’t be fake.”

“I’ll fight,” I said without hesitation. “That wolfless thing already ruined us for seven years. I won’t let her succeed again. She doesn’t deserve to be Sebastian’s Luna.”

Hearing my answer, Helena let out a long sigh. “I knew you’d say that. But Aurora…” Her next words made me freeze. “If you’re going to fight, you need to reveal that secret. You’ve hidden it too long, even starting to deceive yourself. A relationship without truth won’t last.”

I hated her bringing this up. I knew Helena was right, but revealing that secret would cost me everything I’d built. My carefully crafted image, the respect I’d earned—all of it would crumble.

Even though Thea had stolen Sebastian and birthed the Pack’s heir, she was still just a defective wolfless thing. I was the Sterling family’s perfect daughter. And “Perfect” was my only advantage over Thea.

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t give up the one thing that made me better than her.