Laila POV

Turns out, I didn't have to worry about any of that.

His gaze swept past me. Empty. Dismissive.

Like I was just another face in the crowd. Some random woman cluttering up his space.

He didn't recognize me. Of course he didn't.

I wasn't that girl anymore.

The elevator doors started to slide closed, and my body finally remembered how to move.

I stepped inside on legs that felt like water. Pressed myself against the far wall. As far from Jason as the small space would allow.

His scent hit me immediately. Pine and leather, threaded with that wildness only an Alpha carried. It wrapped around me before I could shut it out, ripping through defenses I'd spent six years building.

I clenched my jaw. Forced myself to breathe through my mouth instead of my nose.

No breakdowns. Not here. Not in a damn hospital elevator with him.

He was looking at his phone, completely absorbed. Professional. Distant. Everything he'd always been.

The same man who'd whispered my name in the darkness. Who'd made me believe I mattered.

The same man who'd called me nobody important.

"What floor?" he asked without looking up.

His voice. God, his voice was exactly the same. Deep. Commanding. It used to make my pulse race.

Now it just made me want to disappear.

"Three, please." I managed. The words came out steadier than I felt.

He pressed the button. Still didn't really look at me. Just a polite glance, the kind you'd give any stranger.

His phone rang as the elevator lurched upward. He answered without checking the caller ID.

"Marcus? What's the update?"

My stomach clenched. Marcus - his Beta. Even after six years, some things never changed.

"Good. So the final acquisition papers went through?" Jason's voice carried clearly in the small space. "Mercy General is officially ours now?"

My blood turned to ice. Jason owned this hospital. The hospital where my daughter was a patient.

"Excellent. This expansion will give us exactly the medical edge we need. Both human and werewolf patients under one roof." He paused, listening. "Yes, I'm here now for the final walkthrough. The board agreed to all our terms?"

When the doors opened onto the pediatric floor, I bolted.

"Be sure to schedule a meeting with the administrators tomorrow…" I heard Jason say behind me as he stepped out. For a moment, I thought I felt his gaze on my back, but when I glanced over my shoulder, he was already heading toward the administrative offices, phone still pressed to his ear.

After checking on Ava one more time, I escaped to the cafeteria for coffee. Something bitter to hold onto while I tried to process what had just happened.

My hands shook as I studied the hospital map on the wall. My heart dropped when I realized exactly where we were.

Not just "near" werewolf territory. Right on the edge of it. Close enough to Moon Ridge that Jason showing up here wasn't even weird.

I hated that it made sense.

Of course he'd be expanding his territory. Of course, he'd want to control the medical facilities in the area. Jason had always been ambitious. Always thinking three steps ahead.

And now his world was colliding with mine again.

I pulled out my phone, scrolled until I found Riley's number. She was the only one from that old world I hadn't cut off. The only one I would call 'friend' in Jason's pack.

Riley had been a late shifter too. Back then, we'd been the outcasts in school together. We shared secrets and dreams and the bone-deep loneliness that came with never quite belonging.

Although Riley did not shift as late as I did -- she shifted at the age of 16 -- we still had a good relationship after that.

So Riley was the only soul who knew I was alive. The only one who knew Vanessa Harper and Laila were the same person.

"Riley? It's me."

"Nessa!" Her voice was warm, familiar. "How's Ava? You sounded worried in your text."

"She's stable for now. They want to run more tests." I dropped into a quiet corner booth, lowering my voice. "Listen, can we meet for a quick dinner? Somewhere near the hospital? "

"Of course. What's wrong? You sound off."

I closed my eyes. Pressed my palm to my forehead. "I saw Jason today."

Silence. Then a sharp exhale. "Shit. Did he recognize you?"

"No. Thank god." My laugh was humorless. "But Riley—if he's here, if Moon Ridge has their claws in this hospital... I don't want him to find me, or Ava. It's gonna make things too complicated."

"You've been hiding everything well for six years. You can keep doing it." Riley cut in, firm. No room for argument. "And now you're Vanessa Harper. Businesswoman. Mother. Badass. Don't let one ghost make you doubt everything you've built."

Her certainty was a rope to cling to.

I thought about my company. The deals I'd closed. The respect I'd earned. The life I'd built from nothing.

"There's a little Italian place—Marco's, ten minutes from here. Seven o'clock?"

"I'll be there. And Nessa? Don't spiral. It's fine."

When the call ended, I sat staring into my coffee until it went cold.

Six years I'd been Vanessa Harper. Six years of building a life that had nothing to do with Jason Bradshaw.

So why did one look at him and I panicked again?

Like I was still that unwanted and naive eighteen-year-old girl who'd thought love could conquer anything. Who'd think an Alpha's son could actually want someone like her.

Third Person POV

Jason stood at the large window overlooking the parking lot as he waited for Marcus to arrive. Distracted, he couldn't stop thinking about the woman in the elevator. Something about her nagged at him - the way she'd pressed herself against the far wall, the careful way she'd avoided eye contact.

"Alpha?" Marcus walked up to him. "The staffing reports?"

Jason blinked, refocusing. "Right. Sorry."

The hospital was his now. His pack had just acquired it through months of careful negotiation and strategic financial maneuvering.

This expansion was about more than profit. It was about progress. Healthcare was evolving. Offering specialized services for both humans and wolves would give Moon Ridge the edge they needed in an increasingly competitive world.

And maybe it would put him in the path of Vanessa Harper.

The name carried weight in their world. Every Alpha he spoke to mentioned her like she was untouchable. The gold standard for trade liaisons between humans and wolves.

Her reputation was nearly mythic. Deals closed nobody else could touch. Connections that seemed impossible.

But she wouldn't take his calls. Wouldn't even respond to his proposals.

Months of offers, all ignored.

He had been trying to expand his business and wanted to engage with humans. He'd been searching for that human-werewolf trade salesperson, but he had yet to find her.

Jason was somewhat frustrated, not understanding why that woman wasn't willing to do business.

"The human staff are adjusting well," Marcus reported as they moved through the pediatric wing. "A few complaints about scheduling during full moons, but nothing major."

"Good. The equipment installation?"

"Should be complete next week. The healing chambers are already functional."

Jason nodded, but his mind was already elsewhere. Circling back to stubborn trade specialists and what it would take to break through Harper's resistance.

When he returned to the pack house later, Marcus lingered at the door of Jason's office. That hesitation put Jason on alert instantly.

"What is it?"

"It's about Laila."

The name was a punch straight to the gut. Even after all these years, hearing it tore something open in him.

The woman who left without a word.

Six years ago, in front of Jason's parents, Brittany had told them that Laila had asked for fifty thousand dollars before she left, saying she'd earned it after everything she'd done for Jason.

"She said not to feel guilty. That she'd known from the beginning you were just using each other. That she was glad to finally cash in." Brittany had paused, watching his parents' shocked faces. "She was quite detailed about what those services included."

That's when Jason's parents learned that Jason had been secretly involved with Laila for over a month.

Jason still remembered his parents' shocked faces and all the questions that came after Brittany's innocent reveal.

Jason tried not to think about this woman over the years, but his mother kept wondering if Laila was living a good life even after she left.

Recently, after a major surgery, his mother had clearly stated that she wanted to meet her adoptive daughter one more time because she was getting old and feared she might die before getting to see her again.

So, Jason started searching for Laila. It was harder than he had imagined, but now his searching had finally dug something up.

Marcus held out a file. His Beta informed him that he had news about Laila.

Over the years, Jason had been searching for any trace of her.

"Tell me."

The Beta hesitated before speaking. "Her records end abruptly six years ago. Medical, employment, social security—all of it just... stops." Marcus's voice was grim. "Laila's files have been completely canceled."

Jason's hand tightened on his desk. "What does that mean?"

Marcus met his eyes with difficulty. "It suggests that she might be dead."

The words shook Jason to his core.

Jason POV

The possibility that Laila was gone forever somehow set a burning pain in my chest.

Marcus stood in front of my desk looking grim, like he had just delivered a death sentence.

No. It couldn't be true.

"How could Laila possibly be dead?" The words tasted wrong in my mouth. "And where is your concrete proof?"

He shifted his weight. Cleared his throat. The way he always did when he knew I was about to lose it.

"Jason, the investigator did his best. But when someone's records are completely scrubbed—"

"I want specifics!" My fist hit the desk hard enough to rattle the picture frames. "If you ever report such careless information again without checking every detail, you'll face consequences."

The Alpha command in my voice made him flinch. Good. Maybe that would get through to him.

"Yes, Alpha. I'll investigate further. Get actual proof one way or the other."

Proof. Right.

Complicated feelings simmered inside of me.

I always believed my perfect fated mate would be my perfect match, so I convinced myself I just wanted to give it a try with Laila. Just an impulsive move, and nothing serious.

However, it was harder than I thought to tell Laila that I was just curious about sleeping with her, especially when she stared at me with tears in her eyes.

But later, Brittany told us that Laila had left already. Laila even asked for money from her and sounded like she was okay with leaving me forever.

I then blamed her for leaving without even saying goodbye to me or, at least, to my parents, who raised her and gave her a home.

Now realizing she might be dead, I could feel... fear rising inside of me.

That's when Brittany decided to make her entrance. She glided into my office like she owned the place. That smug expression plastered across her face.

I jerked away from her reaching hands. "I'm not in the mood, Brittany. Just go away."

Her lips twisted into that familiar pout. The one that used to make me feel guilty. Now it just pissed me off.

After we met each other six years ago, it took me a while to realize that Brittany didn't care about pack business at all and was always mean to our pack servants.

Our relationship had been circling the drain for years. I'd been looking for reasons to reject her. But pack politics made it complicated as hell.

An Alpha couldn't just toss aside his fated mate without a good reason, while Brittany never made serious mistakes and clung to her Luna position like her life depended on it.

My thoughts spiraled back to Laila. They always did.

I remembered the way she used to curl up against my side after we'd been together. How she'd trace patterns on my chest while talking about little things - a book she'd read, a sunset she'd seen, dreams of traveling to places beyond the pack lands.

She'd been kind and genuine in a way Brittany never was.

I couldn't help but think that if I didn't meet Brittany at that mating ceremony six years ago, maybe I would give up finding fated mate one day and announced Laila as my Luna. And maybe I would have had a much better life than I have now.

But it was never going to happen because Laila had left and tried to get money out of my family before she went.

For the first time in six years, I started to wonder: how could a girl who seemed to love me so sincerely leave the pack like that? Like she'd prepared everything already and never really cared about anyone.

Was there something wrong? Did I miss anything?

Then Brittany saw the document on the table with Laila's name on it.

"Are you really finding that pathetic human ?" Brittany's voice cut through the memories like a blade. Sharp with accusation.

My head snapped up. Something dangerous must have shown in my expression because she took a step back.

Her voice climbed higher. More desperate. "She couldn't even shift properly! What's the point of finding her back?"

"Don't you ever talk about her like that," I said, my voice low and lethal. "And you know my Mother wants to see her."

"She's gone for six years! She left you for money. She's never coming back!"

The words rang inside my head. Gone. Never coming back.

"Stop there," I said bluntly. "And leave. Now."

Her eyes flashed with anger. But she knew better than to push when I was in this mood. She stormed out, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the windows.

I slumped into my chair. Ran my hands through my hair.

My phone buzzed. Text from my mother about dinner tonight. Family dinner. The kind where they'd pressure me about marking and marrying Brittany and producing heirs.

I suddenly felt tired of all these bonds and responsibilities, just wanting to lose myself a moment longer in the good memories between Laila and me.

Laila POV

Before leaving for dinner with Riley, I made sure everything in the hospital was arranged.

Ava was settled for the night with a kind nurse keeping watch. I'd kissed my daughter's forehead, promised I'd be back soon, and slipped out while she dozed.

Riley had already arrived when I walked into Marco's.

The restaurant was perfect for this kind of conversation. Dim lighting. Private booths. The kind of place where werewolves came to discuss things they didn't want overheard.

Riley fidgeted with her napkin. Picked at the antipasto.

Then she dropped the bomb.

"I heard Jason's been searching for you for a while."

My wine glass froze halfway to my lips. "He's been looking for me? Why? After all these years..."

"I don't know, but he seems pretty serious about it." Her expression was grim. "At first he didn't find anything. Now he's hired multiple private investigators. He's offering huge rewards for any information."

"It doesn't matter." I said calmly. "The Laila he wants to find no longer exists."

Before I could respond, Riley's face went white. She was staring at something behind me.

"What?" But I already knew.

"Don't turn around," she hissed. "Jason's family just walked in. All of them."

My blood turned to ice. "All of them?"

She nodded. "Jason, his Beta, his parents... and Brittany."

Against every ounce of better judgment, I turned.

There they were. Taking a large table in the corner. Jason sat like a storm barely contained, his presence filling the room. His parents looked older. Worn down.

And Brittany. Still beautiful. Still polished. Still everything I could never compete with.

That's when our eyes met across the restaurant.

When Jason saw my face clearly for the first time, he froze. Bewilderment flashed across his features.

"Laila?"

Jason's POV

"Laila?"

The name slipped out before I could stop it. Like a reflex I couldn't control.

The woman at the nearby table went stone-still. Her brown eyes found mine across the restaurant. One heartbeat. Two.

Something passed between us. Recognition maybe. Or fear.

Then she was shaking her head, backing away from our conversation. "I'm sorry. You've got me confused with someone else."

I studied her face like I was trying to solve a puzzle. She looked nothing like the Laila I remembered. Different hair. Fuller figure.

The resemblance was barely there. Maybe I really was losing my mind.

"I apologize," I said, running a hand through my hair. "I haven't been feeling well today."

She nodded quick and returned to her friend. But I caught her glancing back. Like she was listening to every word we said.

My family had gone dead quiet after Marcus's bomb about Laila maybe being dead. The whole table felt heavy.

Everyone processing the news in their own way.

Mother broke the silence first. Her voice came out soft but clear in the restaurant noise. "So she's really gone."

Real grief shadowed her face. She'd always had a soft spot for Laila. She'd been the only one who asked where Laila went when she disappeared. The only one who seemed to actually miss her.

"If a human dies, then they die," Brittany said with a shrug. Her voice pitched just loud enough to carry. "She was nothing important anyway. Just another mouth to feed."

I couldn't believe how cruel Brittany could be.

How had I ever convinced myself I could live with someone so heartless? How had I let this woman stand beside me for years when she had zero capacity for compassion?

The contrast between her and Mom's genuine grief was stark. Painful.

It reminded me why I'd been trying to find a way out of this engagement for months.

"Laila wasn't suited for pack life anyway," Brittany added with malicious satisfaction.

That's when I noticed the woman at the nearby table tense up. Her shoulders went rigid when she heard Laila's name. Her coffee cup froze halfway to her lips.

Her friend leaned closer, whispering something that made the woman's face go pale.

They were definitely listening. Too closely to our family's private conversation.

But something about the woman's reaction felt personal. Like our words were cutting her as deep as they were cutting me.

"We should discuss this somewhere more private," I said, glancing around. Too many ears here.

But my father was already warming up to lecture mode his expression stern. "Brittany's right though. The pack would never really have accepted a wolfless. Not to mention a wolfless... luna."

He talked about Laila like she'd been a liability. A political problem solved by convenient disappearance.

The cold calculation in his voice made my stomach turn.

I wanted to argue. To defend Laila's memory. But the words stuck in my throat like glass.

What right did I have to defend her now? I'd told her she was just an experiment to me when she was alive. And then she left me immediately without a word.

The fact that we probably had nothing left in between before her death somehow made me feel angry about myself.

Mom's voice cut through the cruelty like a blade. "You're both wrong."

Steel in her tone I rarely heard. "Laila was a sweet girl with a good heart. Kinder than most wolves in our pack, if I'm being honest. She deserved to be accepted by everyone."

Her voice cracked with real emotion.

"It doesn't matter now," Father said firmly. Clearly uncomfortable with feelings. "She's gone."

I found myself thinking about the last time I'd seen Laila alive.

She looked devastated when I brought Brittany back. It's hard to believe that the exact same person would leave that night without even telling me.

Once again, I started to wonder why she would leave so hastily?

The Laila I'd known hadn't been greedy.

Would she really have taken money from Brittany and disappeared without a word?

Or had there been something else. Something I'd been too blind to see.

"Jason," Mother said softly, pulling me from the memory. "You've barely touched your food."

I looked down at my plate, surprised to find it still full. My appetite had vanished completely somewhere between Marcus's news and Brittany's casual cruelty.

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"This whole thing has you rattled," my father observed, his tone more understanding than before. "But you can't let the past consume you. Dead or alive, Laila made her choice when she left."

"Did she?" The question slipped out before I could stop it.

Everyone at the table went quiet.

"What do you mean?" Mother asked carefully.

I looked around the table. At Dad's stern disapproval. At Brittany's smug satisfaction. At Mom's genuine concern.

"Nothing," I said finally. "Forget I said anything."

But I couldn't forget. The doubts had been growing.

That's when Marcus's phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, his expression shifting to something serious. Professional.

"Excuse me," he said quietly, stepping away to take the call.

I watched him move toward the restaurant's entrance, phone pressed to his ear. His body language was tense. Alert.

Whatever he was hearing, it was important enough to interrupt family dinner. Important enough to make his face go pale.

The woman at the nearby table had gone completely rigid now. She was watching Marcus with an intensity that made my skin crawl.

Like she was listening to every word of his conversation.

Her friend kept tugging at her arm, clearly wanting to leave. But the woman stayed frozen, her attention locked on my Beta.

After several minutes of hushed conversation, Marcus came back. His expression was strange. Carefully controlled in a way that put me on guard.

"Alpha," he said carefully, glancing around at our audience. His eyes took in the other diners, my parents, Brittany. "I just received the investigator's full report."

My stomach dropped like a stone. Something in his tone warned me that whatever he'd learned was going to change everything.

"What did he find?" I asked, though part of me already dreaded the answer.

Marcus hesitated. His eyes darted to the other diners, my parents, Brittany. The kind of hesitation that meant bad news was coming.

Really bad news.

"Her last recorded interaction with any official system was medical," he said finally.

The word hung in the air between us. Medical could mean anything. But something about Marcus's tone suggested this wasn't routine.

"What kind of medical?" I pressed, my voice rougher than intended.

"Childbirth," he said quietly this time.

The word hit the table like a physical blow. Everything went silent. Even the background noise of the restaurant seemed to fade.