I nodded, feeling the weight of years of abandonment lift off my chest. "Yes. Ayla needs you more than I ever will. After all, you’ve already been acting like you’re not part of this life. Once I'm gone, you won't have to hide it anymore. You can be with her openly."

Luke stared at me in disbelief. For a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of regret in his eyes. But he quickly shook it off, his jaw clenched. Without another word, he slammed the door, revved the engine, and disappeared into the night, leaving me standing alone under the watchful moon.

Luke and Ayla had been inseparable once, back in their days as young wolves. They grew up in the same pack, shared the same dreams of running wild beneath the full moon together. After graduation, they were supposed to start a new life as mates. Everyone thought they were destined for each other.

But fate had other plans.

One night, Ayla disappeared without a trace, and Luke was left broken, confused. He searched for her for years. He was a shell of himself when we met—he found comfort in me, or maybe he just saw a ghost of her in my eyes. Either way, we mated, but it was clear I was only ever a replacement for her.

I didn’t know who Ayla was at first. Luke only ever called her "a friend." One night, shortly after our mating ceremony, he got a call. The kind of call that makes your heart stop.

"I need to go," Luke had said, his voice distant. "A friend of mine... she’s hurt."

I was naïve. I asked if he wanted me to come with him.

“No. I can handle it,” he said, and left me standing alone in our house, staring at the flickering firelight. He was gone all night.

The next morning, he returned looking haggard, haunted. His eyes, usually cold and distant, were filled with something I hadn’t seen before—fear and guilt. It wasn’t until later that I learned the truth.

Ayla, my Alpha’s first love, had returned.

Emily’s POV

I always knew Luke didn’t love me, at least not the way a mate should. I’d tried convincing myself for years that maybe I wasn’t enough—too quiet, too different. But deep down, I knew the truth: it was never about me.

Then I found out why.

Ayla.

The cursed wolf from Luke’s past wasn’t just an old pack mate. She was his first love. The one who disappeared years ago, leaving him hollow. She came back, twisted by a curse, but he didn’t care. He was still obsessed with her.