ELORA'S POV

Three Years Later.

"I never should have sent you off."

Selene's tone sliced through the quiet hum of the city outside the apartment window, and I could see her hand clamped firmly onto the edge of her coffee mug.

I didn't answer right away. I sat before her, legs folded up beneath me on the couch, staring blankly at the steam rising from my own cup, the warmth barely seeping through the ceramic to my palms.

"I just figured.maybe it would help you find some kind of peace," Selene said, her voice soft with regret.

"Closure, maybe. I don't know. But if I'd known it would break you like that-if I'd known what he'd do, El, I swear to God, I would've prevented you from going."

I raised my eyes slowly to meet hers. There was no anger in them, not anymore. Weariness, yes- a deep, bone-deep tiredness that time hadn't erased, no matter how hard I'd tried to outrun it. "It wasn't your fault."

"It does feel like it was," Selene muttered, her gaze dropping to her hands.

I sighed as I settled deeper into the couch, the soft fabric cold against my elbows. Manhattan light streamed in through the window, casting a golden ray around us, as if trying to warm the chill that lingered in the air.

It had been years-three? Four? Days blurred together, slipping through my fingers when I wasn't paying attention.

Time moves differently when you stop expecting anything at all, when each day is just another step to get through, no anticipation, no hope.

"I've got no calls from them, Selene. Not one. Not even a single message." My voice trembled, and I hated how fragile it sounded, how raw the pain still was after all this time. "I wonder sometimes if my own daughter remembers me."

Selene set her mug down gently on the coffee table and sat beside me on the couch, placing her hand softly on my knee- a small, steady anchor in the chaos of my mind. "Of course, she remembers you. She was just a child. She probably isn't aware of what really happened."

I laughed bitterly, the sound hollow in my own ears. "She doesn't need to know. Lucian saw to that. He cut me loose from her so neatly, it was as if I never existed. As if I was just..a phase."

The silence that followed wasn't awkward, just deafening- heavy with all the things we didn't say, all the pain we couldn't put into words.

I thought back to the day I first landed in Manhattan, fresh off the subway, still reeling from the humiliation Lucian had heaped on me.

I could barely breathe then; the city was noisy, fast, a jarring shock to the throbbing quiet that had taken up residence inside me. But I survived anyway- I always did.

That first night, after I hauled my suitcase into the small apartment Selene had leased for me, I cried on the floor until my eyes were dry, until my throat burned, until I had no tears left to give.

Then I stood up, washed my face, and typed out my letter of resignation. No hesitation, no second thoughts. I didn't even hesitate to resign from Weston's company.

I printed the letter the next morning and took it to headquarters myself- Lucian's name was still emblazoned on the building, and I wanted nothing to do with anything that had to do with him, nothing that bore his mark.

That part of my life was over. At least, that's what I tried to tell myself, even when the lie felt heavy on my tongue.

Then I started over. Selene found me a position at a tech company, one where no one knew my name, no one knew my past- a clean slate.

I worked tirelessly, days and nights, even weekends, whatever it took to keep my mind busy, to keep the memories at bay.

I moved up quickly; I got promoted after a year, and with that promotion came an endless stream of achievements, all of which silenced the pain for a little while. but never truly filled the empty space I'd lost when Lucian took Nora away.

But even then, I walked away from it sometimes- moments when the sorrow crept in, unannounced, like an approaching wave that I never saw coming. A child in the subway, clinging tightly to her mother's hand.

A father yelling his daughter's name in the park, laughter echoing. Every time I heard the name "Nora"- a name that used to be my whole world- it felt like a knife to the chest.

Each time, I'd smile, pretending it didn't hurt. I'd blink away the burn behind my eyes and keep going- keep working, keep living, keep breathing. Because what else did I have left to fight for?

"I was mad at him," I whispered, the words barely audible, even to myself. "But I think I was more angry at myself. For thinking he would fight for us. For thinking he wouldn't shove me out the minute he found his true mate."

"Maybe he was afraid..or confused," Selene offered gently, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt- a kindness I couldn't bring myself to extend.

"No," I answered flatly, the word sharp with the weight of all my disappointment. "He was selfish."

Selene didn't argue. She simply nodded, letting me pour out the thoughts that had been festering in my heart for years, letting me say the things I'd never dared to voice out loud.

"I suppose a part of me. a small part of me expected he would call one day. Maybe he'd want to explain, or ask how I was doing, or at least let me talk to Nora.

But he didn't. He never did. And I didn't bother either." My throat tightened, and I struggled to swallow past the lump there. "What sort of mother does that make me?"

"A hurting one, El. One that's going through a lot." Selene exhaled, her hand squeezing my knee softly. "A woman who did all she could."

I turned my face away, my eyes stinging with tears- but I had promised myself, so many times, that I wouldn't weep again.

Not for him. Not for a man who had chosen to cut me out of his life, out of Nora's life, as if I meant nothing.

"I suppose I just have to accept it," I said to her, my voice steady despite the tears threatening to spill. "That she's gone. That he made sure I'd no longer be a part of her life. And he probably sleeps just fine at night because of it."

I stood up and walked to the window, arms crossed tightly across my chest as I glanced down at the city below- a sea of people, all with their own lives, their own happiness, their own families. I envied them, even as I knew I shouldn't.

Selene stood beside me, her shoulder brushing mine. "Don't ever think you're not enough. Because that's never true. He made a choice. That choice doesn't define your worth."

I let my forehead fall forward, my eyes shutting as I whispered, the words breaking on a breath. "I just miss her. That's all. Just her."

We stood there together for a while, the city humming around us, the silence now softer, less overwhelming.

I had no clue what the future would bring. Maybe Nora would one day come looking for me. Maybe Lucian would one day face what he'd done.

But in that moment, I had this life- the one I'd built with my own hands, brick by brick, even when it felt impossible. It wasn't much. But it was mine.

And that was enough- at least for now.

I decided to step back to my desk and get some work done, anything to distract myself from the ache in my chest.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard, the sound of the keypads suddenly loud in the quiet of the apartment.

I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my temples- the weight in my chest hadn't gone away; it had just learned to hide under routine, under the busywork, under the pretense that I was okay.

Then the phone rang.

I glanced at the screen- an unknown number. I stared at it, telling myself it was probably spam, or someone from work, calling to ask me to take on an extra project.

I nearly let it ring out, my finger hovering over the ignore button- but something, a gut feeling, a flicker of hope I thought I'd long since extinguished, made me reach for it.

"Hello?"

Silence.

I almost hung up, my patience already wearing thin.

Then a voice called from the other end- familiar, in a way that made my breath hitch and my heart ache, a voice I hadn't heard in years, a voice I'd tried so hard to forget.

"Elora."

For a second, I couldn't breathe. My hand trembled, the phone nearly slipping from my grasp. Years of silence, years of pain, years of pretending I didn't care- and now. this. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might shatter, right there in my chest.

Then I swallowed hard, forcing the words out, my voice shaky but clear.

"Lucian?"

NORA'S POV

"Thank you, Evelyn," I thanked our house keeper and my personal maid, Evelyn, as she served me breakfast with a smile on her face. She filled my glass with water and bowed politely before she walked out of the room.

I stared at the food and lost my appetite instantly. This has been happening repeatedly for days.

Don't get me wrong, the meal looks good. The eggs were perfect. The toast was buttered the way I liked it. But I couldn't eat. My stomach felt too tight with guilt.

I'm Nora Weston----the only child of Lucian and Elora Weston and the future of the Erelis pack bloodline. My father is proudly the CEO of Weston's company and Alpha of the Erelis pack, which makes my mother Luna of the Erelis pack-well that was before my father found his fated mate or so I heard from the pack members who wouldn't stop gossiping about it.

Three years. Three good years.

That's how long it had been since I last saw my mother.

It didn't bother me at first. Aunt Maya gave me everything I asked for. She braids my hair even when I insisted that i could do it on my own now, buys me new dresses every now and then, and she lets me sleep in her room anytime i want. The feeling was so good that I didn't notice when it all stopped-The calls, the text, even the way my mother sent me gifts. Her morning call ceased like it was never there to start with.

But now I noticed it. I had to.

Because Aunt Maya became a new person overnight. Now she was always too busy to attend to me, she barely create time to hang out with me, she even told me to stop calling her mama.

That has never happened whenever mommy was around.

Something started to twist in my chest. Guilt, maybe? Maybe this was my fault. Maybe mommy stopped calling because I treated her badly. I said she never should've come home. I hurt her feelings. And now.

How could I be so mean to her when all she did was take care of me and made sure I was okay?

I moved the breakfast aside and walked out of my room. I needed to see daddy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I found him in his study, going through his phone with a frown on his face.

"Daddy?"

He looked up immediately, his eyes softened as soon as he saw the worry look on my face.

"Nora, what's wrong?"

I hesitated, my palms damped with sweat out of nervousness. "Did.Any news from mom yet? Did you call her like you promised?"

The little smile on his face dropped. He stood up slowly and crouched in front of me.

"No, baby," he said gently. "There's no message from her."

The tears fought their way out, but I held them in. I caused all this anyway. I had no right to cry.

I wanted to tell him it was okay. That I didn't care. That I didn't miss her. That he shouldn't bother calling her. Three years ago, I would have said just that. But the truth was.I miss her. A lot.

"Maybe she doesn't want to talk to me," I whispered. "Because I was mean to her."

I picked up the phone so many times and tried to call her. But each time I did, I ended up not calling her. What if she doesn't pick up? What if she picked up and yelled at me? Those thoughts crossed my mind each time I tried to call her.

"Hey," my dad said, his voice interrupting the little conversation I'd going on in my head. "You were just a kid. You didn't understand everything that was happening. None of this is your fault."

I looked down, fidgeting with my fingers again.

"Do you think maybe she'd talk to you instead? If you called her?"

"Nora."

"Please dad," I cut him short, a tear slipped before I could hold it in. "You always promise to call her, but you never tried once."

His eyes searched mine and I could see something shift in them. Sadness? Maybe even regret. I couldn't figure it out. It was gone as soon as it came.

Then let out a sigh.

"Okay," he said softly, "I'II call her."

I blinked the tears away, then my face lit up in excitement.

"Really? You'll really call her this time?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Maybe it's time I did."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LUCIAN'S POV

I hadn't said Elora's name out loud in over a year. Not once. Not even to myself.

It had become a scar I refused to pick at. A box I'd locked shut with its key buried deep. Calling her again was the last thing I thought I'd ever do. But then Nora walked in and everything changed. How could I look into those teary eyes and say No?.

"You're sure you're only doing this because of Nora? Just get over yourself and bring her back already."

My wolf, Rowan, snapped for the hundredth time today. He has been restless and would seize any opportunity to blame me ever since Elora left. I mean, he should be happy we found our fated mate. We've been waiting for that for years, and now he suddenly has a problem with Maya being our fated mate. Maybe he wasn't the only one who had issues with her now, Maya has been..distant these days.

"Shut the fuck up, Rowan."

"Don't tell me to shut up when you're the one who couldn't keep your dick in your pants and got her pregnant in the first place. Not that I'm complaining though. I love Elora."

I could feel him smirking inside me. Horny bastard.

"I heard that, Lucian."

I block him off and cut off the mindlink. I've had enough lectures for today.

I made sure Nora went back to her room. Then I stepped out onto the balcony and drowned in my train of thoughts for a while.

It's been so long. I wasn't even sure if she still uses the same line. My thumb hovered over the screen.

Then I pressed the call button.

It rang once. Twice.

Then again.

I was ready to hang up when it connected.

"Hello," the voice at the other end was hesitant. One I haven't heard in years.

The silence stretched between us.

I closed my eyes for a minute.

Then I said her name. "Elora."

There was a pause at first.

Then she said, "Lucian?" It was more like a question, like she was making sure if it was really me.

Even hearing her voice stirred something within me. Something old and buried. Something I didn't want to feel.

I told myself it's because I'd promised my daughter I'd call her. That I'd broken enough promises to last a lifetime.

But is that the only reason? Could Rowan feel something I couldn't feel? Or was my heart starting to beat for another?

ELORA'S POV

"Lucian?"

His name felt strange on my lips-familiar, but has a little weight to it. For a moment I believed I'd dreamed of this call. Maybe I'd longed to hear from him that I conjured it up in my head. But no. He was there, reaching out to me, and I could feel the weight in his silence. I could feel the distance in the very air that moved around us.

"Elora," he finally said, his voice a bit tense. Not cold, no, but not relaxed either. As if he were attempting not to feel.

I leaned back in my chair, my heart pounding against my chest. "What do you want, Lucian?

There was a pause.

Then he said, "It's about Nora."

And just like that, everything stopped. Fear spiked through my veins.

I swallowed hard. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She just..she misses you."

That hurt more than I thought. My fingers gripped the edge of the desk. I hadn't cried in years. I wouldn't start now. Not with him on the line. Not with the man who made me feel invisible.

"She asked me to call you." He continued.

I nodded to myself, not daring to speak. My throat burned with words I couldn't say. I knew if I opened my mouth, the tears would come.

"You don't have to say anything," he whispered. "I just thought you should know. And maybe, talk to her. She needs you right now."

"Thanks.for the call," I managed after what felt like an eternity of silence.

"Elora, I." he continued.

"Yes?"

"Nothing. Never mind."

I heard him exhale. Then the line went dead.

No goodbye. Just the silence again.

I stared at the empty black screen of my phone. My throat burned like I'd gulped down the strongest liquor. I hadn't even realized I was holding my breath until Selene appeared, offering me a glass of wine.

She stood in the doorway. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but was that."

I nodded.

She came over and handed me a glass of water. No questions asked. Just quiet support. She sat beside me, steady as always.

"I think she really misses me," I whispered. "And I think I miss her more than I ever admitted."

Selene rested her head on my shoulder.

"Then go see her, El."

I didn't answer. I couldn't. Not yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The early morning sun casted that golden shade of orange. But it was still bright enough to go out there for a stroll and maybe have some nice coffee.

I figured I needed to breathe. I couldn't stay cooped up in my apartment thinking about that call, so I did something I hadn't done in years.

I went back to the Academy-the biggest fashion school in Manhattan. My first love. My once-upon-a-dream.

As I arrived and stepped into the building, it felt like walking through old memories. The same marble floors. The same trees lining the entrance now seem..taller. The art building still stood-smelling faintly of paint, rust, and dreams that never quite left.

And then I saw him.

Lucas---A shareholder at Preston's Academy and one of Oliver's final students alongside me, a loyal and a very supportive friend of mine. He's also a member of the Queenwood's pack here in Manhattan. A pack known for education, reform and integration in human society.

"Lucas?" I called.

He turned, grinning from ear to ear like we were still in the Academy. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the world's best herself?"

I couldn't help but smile. "You've aged."

"And you haven't." he teased. "Come on. There's a café across the street. I've been dying to catch up."

We walked over, and once we sat down with a cup of coffee in hand, all the memories came flooding back-late nights in the studio, stolen lunch breaks, wild ideas, and dreams we used to chase with fire in our eyes.

"I heard what happened," he said gently, after a moment. "About your marriage. The pack."

I sipped my coffee and gave a short nod. "It wasn't what I expected. Or what I wanted."

"You were the best of us, Elora," Lucas said.

"I still have some of your pieces in my office. Do you know how many designers at Queens ask about it? How much clients will pay just to have that piece? But I just can't. They're the last pieces of your design that I have left."

I blinked. "You're with Queen's fashion now?"

"Not just with them. I built it. It's mine. And I need you."

I laughed. "You want to hire a washed up designer and a forgotten Luna with a ten-year gap in her portfolio?"

"I want Elora Parker. The woman who creates designs from imaginations and dreams. The woman who sketched designs with her eyes closed. The woman you were before you got married. I want her back to work."

I stared at him for a long second. "I'm not that girl anymore."

"Then be whoever you're now. Just ..come back to work."

His voice cracked a little when he said it. I could tell it wasn't just about the company. It was about belief. About trust. About giving me a chance to reclaim what I'd lost."

"I'II think about it." I said.

Lucas grinned, his eyes lit up like he'd just won a prize. "That's all I ask, Elora."

Before we parted, he mentioned they were interviewing another designer today. "You two would hit off. She's brilliant. Young. I think her name was.damn, I forgot. I will send you her details later."

"I never said I'd do it yet, Lucas." I replied, rolling my eyes at him.

"I like to hope you will, El."

I smiled with the hope of getting back to a life I once cherished more than anything. My dream of becoming a famous designer and owning my academy vanished into thin air the night I discovered I was pregnant with Nora.

But was I ready to overwhelm myself and dive into that world again after all that happened?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I left the café and walked back towards the Academy gates, another familiar face appeared.

"Elora?"

I stiffened.

Mira.

Lucian's older sister. Rude, nasty, and always ready to make my life hell.

During the years I was her sister-in-law, she treated me more like a servant than family.

Whenever she went to the spa or met up with her friends, she'd always make me look after her son George.

As if her husband - the Alpha of the Crescent Pack, one of the five major packs in the North - couldn't afford a nanny.

No. She just wanted to demean me. To show me through her actions that I didn't deserve to be called a Luna, only a servant.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice coated in venom. "You haven't been invited to these events in years."

I kept my voice even. "Just visiting an old friend."

She scoffed, giving a fake smile out of the corner of her lips. "I suppose even discarded Lunas crave attention sometimes."

I turned to leave, but she stepped closer. "George's birthday is next week. You should bake him something and bring him a present."

I stopped cold. Then slowly turned to face her "I'm not doing shit for you."

Her eyes narrowed. "Still proud, even after being cast aside."

I glanced at the other people around. Many of them were watching. Mira wouldn't dare mention the divorce here even if she knew. Lucian's image had to be preserved.

"I'm not that girl you used to push around," I whispered. "And you better get used to having things done yourself, seeing that I won't be your brother's wife for long."

Her lips parted slightly.

"Yeah," I said with a tilt of my head. "I filed for a divorce. Signed. Sealed. Delivered."

And with that, I walked away, my hips swaying with every step I took.

~~~~~~~~~~~

That night I opened my laptop and scrolled through old files-my designs from my days in Preston's Academy.

The last one was dated ten years ago.

But maybe, just maybe. It was time.

Time to update it.

Time to live for myself again.

Time to return to the world that once loved me for my work.

As I typed a text to Lucas, my other phone buzzed on the desk beside me.

A new message from Lucas.

Lucas: Here's the info on the designer you'd be working with. Trust me you'll love her.

I opened the file to see there was a photo.

No.

It couldn't be.

Then I zoomed in for a better look.

"Maya?"