The day I found out Gideon had gotten my mother’s adopted daughter pregnant, I petitioned the Gray Harbor Council of Elders to dissolve our marriage pact. Then I formally renounced my ties to the White Ash River pack and left for France.
At the gate, my phone buzzed without stopping. The screen was a wall of messages from Gideon.
“This isn’t what you think. Let me explain.”
“Don’t do anything rash. The elders haven’t dissolved our pact yet.”
“Pick up. I’m begging you.”
Ours was never a fated mate bond, but an arranged union witnessed by both our families. It had lasted four years. Four years in which Gideon had refused to so much as touch me, yet here he was, admitting Ophelia was carrying his pup.
I stared at the name on the screen, the man who always wore such a cold mask. It was the first time I had ever seen him use the word *beg*.
My fingertip hovered over the power button for a full forty seconds.
My wolf knew his cedar scent. It remembered his promise to protect me. But now, all it gave me was silence.
In the end, I shut down the phone, removed the SIM card, and snapped it cleanly in two.
It wasn’t until my mother fell critically ill, six years later, that I returned to Gray Harbor.
After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 46 It was a door I had chosen to open with my own hands. For the first time since leaving White Ash River, my wolf gave a clear answer to a new collective link. *Acceptance.* I pushed my mother’s wheelchair out of the inpatient building
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After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 45 The magnolia tree at the old house would bloom again next year, and when it did, I would bring my mother back to see it. As for Gideon and Ophelia—and how White Ash River would correct its Luna and inheritance records—I left that to
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After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 44 He picked up on the second ring. “Reese.” “Yeah.” “I’m cold.” There was a brief silence on the other end. Then he said, “Wait there.” An hour later, he knocked on my door carrying a space heater, his shoulders dusted with snow. The plug
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After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 43 He took a small velvet box from his inner pocket but didn’t open it. “It’s not a marking token, and it’s not a mate ring. Don’t panic.” He let out a soft laugh and pressed the box into my hand. “Open it.” I did.
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After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 42 Beyond the corridor windows, the sky had gone completely dark. One by one, the lights of Gray Harbor flickered on, and the bridge over the river became a flowing band of brightness. I looked out at the lights for a long time before I
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After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 41 I didn’t know how to respond, so I just took her hand and listened. “The debt he owes isn’t to anyone else. It’s to himself. You think you’re the only one he saved? He saved many people when he was a guard. But the
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After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 40 “The worst is over,” he murmured, his voice near my ear. “You’re the one who got her through this.” That evening, my mother woke from the anesthesia. She opened her eyes and saw me sitting outside the ICU glass. She blinked at me, and
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After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 39 At seven on Wednesday morning, my mother was wheeled into surgery. Before the anesthesia took hold, she squeezed my hand and smiled. “Avery, I had a dream last night. That dress you secretly bought when you were twelve? It fit perfectly.” The operating room
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After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 38 My family came twice. The first time, Franklin came alone. He stood in the doorway for a long time, looking at my mother, but didn’t come inside. He also didn’t try to use the Calloway bloodline to demand anything of me. The second time,
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After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 37 I saw the faint color rising at the tips of his ears and didn’t call him on it. That night at ten, the evaluation files for the three volunteer donors and two signed consent forms were entered into the transplant center’s independent system, awaiting
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