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Chapter 23
Rachel didn’t flinch.
Her voice was calm, composed. “He’s an adult. He’s responsible for his own choices.”
She glanced toward the hillside beyond the fence, where fiery orange and gold leaves danced in the breeze. Then she turned back to Justin with a quiet determination in her
eyes.
“I was thinking of heading up into the mountains to shoot some fall landscapes,” she said. “Wanna come with me?”
“Of course,” Justin said without hesitation. “Wherever you go, I’m going with you.”
Rachel finally smiled again. “I’m thinking of staying somewhere near the Alps for a while. Sound good?”
“I’ll start packing for us,” he offered.
While they were making plans for the mountains, miles away, Aaron sat alone in a dimly lit room, flipping through a stack of documents.
Only one wall sconce was on, casting flickering shadows across his face.
A knock came from outside the door.
Adam said, standing at attention. “I’ve found a few more candidates who
match your parameters.”
Aaron didn’t look up. “Show me.”
Adam placed the file on the desk, then stepped back cautiously. Lately, anything could
trigger Aaron’s temper.
But Aaron barely glanced at the profiles. It was as if none of them mattered.
Absentmindedly, he struck a match and lit a cigarette, not even noticing how deep he
inhaled.
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Drama last.
As he flipped through the files one by one, his hand suddenly froze midway–eyes locking on a particular photo.
He stared, unmoving.
The cigarette burned lower and lower, nearly to the filter. Only when it scorched his skin did he flinch, dropping it onto the couch. It almost singed a hole in the fabric.
“Alpha!” Adam rushed forward in alarm.
Aaron blinked, finally aware again, then crushed the cigarette in the ashtray.
He pulled out one specific profile from the pile and handed it to Adam.
“This one. Give her some money–enough to do whatever she wants. And send her on her way.”
Adam blinked. “We’re not bringing her in?”
Aaron narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
After the frenzy of searching had burned out, Aaron had stopped scouring every corner of the continent for Rachel. But he hadn’t moved on. Instead, he’d pivoted into something darker–sending teams to locate women who resembled her, closely enough to pass at a glance.
Adam had assumed he wanted a stand–in. A way to dull the ache. But now…
Aaron caught the confusion on his face and gave a bleak, almost haunted smile.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said quietly. “But no one can replace her. What’s
lost… is lost.”
From that day on, he didn’t try to get better.
He stopped eating, stopped sleeping. When he did pass out, it was from
-not rest.
pure exhaustion
And when he was awake, it wasn’t much better. He barely moved, barely spoke. He
Chapter 23
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smoked like it was the only thing tethering him to the world.
Adam, one of the few people still close to him, finally worked up something.
the courage
to say
“Alpha… I know you’re hurting. But if you keep doing this–starving yourself, chain–smoking, not sleeping–it won’t bring her back. And if she does come back one day, what will she see? A ghost of the man she knew?”
Aaron didn’t reply at first.
Then, hoarsely, “Maybe that’s better.”
He couldn’t close his eyes anymore. Because when he did, he saw her–Rachel. Staring
at him with that cold, dead look in her eyes. Walking away without hesitation.
He missed her so much it physically hurt. And that pain was the only thing that still felt
real.
“I wonder…” he whispered. “If I got sick–really sick, on my deathbed… would she come back just to see me one last time?”
Adam didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t lie. He couldn’t promise hope.
So he tried another angle. “We could send more scouts. Signal wolves. There’s still no
record of her leaving Europe. Maybe she’s just… traveling. Laying low for a while.”
Aaron was quiet. Then, finally, his voice rough with exhaustion, “No. She made her
choice. She doesn’t want to be found. Even if I do catch up to her, she’d just look at me
the same way she did before–like I’m nothing. And honestly… can you blame her?”
He closed his eyes, every breath laced with regret.
“If I’d just trusted her… even a little… none of this would’ve happened.”
Chapter 23
