Chapter 219

[ 953 words ]

Emilia’s POV

My eyes went wide. “Mom, how did you know?”

Something I couldn’t read crossed Mila’s face, there and gone in an instant. “I saw you this afternoon. Talking to someone.”

“Wait, you know Claudine too?”

“Yes.” The word came out clipped, careful. “I know her.”

I let out a surprised laugh. “Well, that’s one hell of a coincidence. Her son used to be my boss at Hanson Group.”

“I know.” Mila’s tone was flat, matter-of-fact. “Kurston Scott’s son.”

I didn’t actually know Scott’s father’s name, but the way Mila said it left no room for doubt. I nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s right.”

“Did she say anything to you? Anything… specific?”

Her voice had an edge now. I watched her face, trying to figure out what she wasn’t telling me.

“No, nothing important. We just talked. Small talk, really.”

Mila’s shoulders dropped a little, and she let out a breath. “Emilia, I need you to promise me something.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t meet with her again.”

I blinked, caught off guard by how sharp the request was. “Are you worried Sebastian might get the wrong idea? Because of Scott?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, my mind already turning over what it meant. Sebastian’s hostility toward Scott had always seemed personal. And Mila’s ice-cold reaction to Claudine now. There was bad blood between the families, that much was clear. But what kind? Was it a pack thing, some old territorial fight between Silver Moon and the Lightning Pack? Or was it business, corporate warfare spilling into personal grudges?

I was curious as hell, but neither Sebastian nor Mila seemed inclined to fill me in. And if they weren’t talking, they had their reasons. I was Luna of the Silver Moon Pack now. My loyalty was here, with them.

I reached out and gently took Mila’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry, Mom. I wasn’t planning to keep seeing her anyway. Today was just a random run-in on the street.”

“Good.” Mila’s expression softened. “I’m glad to hear that.” She paused, then added casually, “Do you have her number?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Could you give it to me?”

That threw me. After everything she’d just said, now she wanted Claudine’s number? But Mila wasn’t the type to act rashly. If she was asking, she had a plan.

“Sure.” I pulled out my phone and sent her the contact. “There you go.”

“Thank you, dear.” Mila patted my hand.

Author’s POV

Throughout the night, Mila tossed and turned, old ghosts pressing down on her chest. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Claudine’s face at her wedding, that same smile hiding the venom underneath. She’d thought those days were buried, dead and gone. But the past had a nasty habit of clawing its way back up.

By dawn, she’d made her decision. She reached for her phone and dialed the number Emilia had sent her.

The call connected.

“Claudine Tucker speaking.”

“It’s Mila.” Her voice was steady, giving away none of the turmoil in her gut. “We need to talk.”

A bitter laugh. “Well, well. I was wondering when you’d work up the nerve to call. Took you long enough.”

“I want to see you. Name the place.”

“There’s a wine bar on Westwood Avenue. Tomorrow, two o’clock. Don’t be late, Mila. I’d hate to think you were avoiding me.”

The line went dead before Mila could answer.

The wine bar was one of those places that screamed money and power. Mila got there five minutes early, her wolf Sera pacing restlessly.

“This is a mistake,” Sera growled. “That woman has always been poison.”

“I know,” Mila thought back. “But if she’s circling Emilia, I need to know why.”

Claudine was already seated when Mila walked in, perfectly poised in a tailored suit. She didn’t stand, didn’t even look up from her glass of wine.

“My dear Claudine,” Mila said as she took the seat across from her. “It’s been a while.”

Claudine’s lips curved. “I don’t recall us ever being close, Mila. Especially not with the woman who stole my fiancé.”

There it was. Thirty years of resentment.

Mila set her purse down. “It’s been so long. You still haven’t let it go?”

“Let it go?” Claudine’s laugh was sharp. “Tell me, Mila. If your fiancé had been promised to your best friend first, could you let it go? If you’d watched them plan a future that was supposed to be yours?”

“You can’t force a mate bond, Claudine. You know that as well as I do.” Mila’s voice stayed calm, but Sera was snarling now, hackles raised. “Titus and I are fated mates. The bond was always there, whether either of us wanted to admit it or not. He never had feelings for you, not from the start. Even if your packs had gone through with that alliance marriage, neither of you would ever have been happy.”

“But at least I’d have been happier than I am now.” The bitterness in Claudine’s voice was thick enough to taste.

Mila sighed. She knew about Claudine’s divorce from Kurston eighteen years ago, knew how badly it had ended. “Kurston was a good man. He loved you. You were the one who never learned to appreciate him.”

“Enough with your self-righteous nonsense.” Claudine’s glass hit the table with a sharp crack. “You got everything you wanted—the fated mate, the powerful pack, the perfect family. But you left me alone to suffer, Mila. You took everything from me. And now I’m going to make you feel every bit of the pain I did.”

Claudine’s voice shook with anger. No matter how many years passed, she could never forget the humiliation of that one year.

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