Ava pressed end.
Her fingers trembled, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst through her ribs.
Did Damon have a child somewhere?
His own flesh and blood?
Then why had he married her?
Why wasn’t he with the child’s mother?
A sharp pain throbbed at her temples.
No wonder he’d been willing to marry a woman fresh off being dumped by Victor.
No wonder the terms were so generous.
She’d just regained her sight, been abandoned by her fated mate, and clung to an unstable job.
She was the easiest target.
Even if she found out he had a child, even if he kept a lover somewhere, she wouldn’t dare question him.
So that was why she was “suitable.”
Of course there’d been a catch.
The shortcut to a respectable life in the pack was paved with traps she hadn’t seen coming.
The humiliation of being played, the helplessness of having her dignity trampled, made Ava’s stomach churn.
She rushed into the bathroom and dry-heaved into the sink.
Cold water on her face pulled back a thread of composure.
Ava stared at her reddened eyes in the mirror and bit down hard on her lip.
Work.
Work was what mattered.
She still had the project presentation in Paris.
She had Grandma to take care of.
She had her own life to live.
This marriage was a transaction.
She needed money, resources, status, a way out of her past.
Damon had provided all of it.
She’d signed the agreement.
As for whether he had someone on the side, whether he had children… what business was it of hers?
As long as he didn’t drag the mess to her doorstep, as long as he kept his end of the deal, she could keep playing Luna Queen.
The Royal Pack, Sterling Medical Center.
Dawn had broken outside the window.
The anesthesia had worn off, leaving a dull ache from the surgical site.
Damon woke.
He’d gone under yesterday afternoon for an old injury, a wound from a territorial war six years back that had left his wolf unable to sense fated mates.
Ragnar had pushed for the procedure, arguing the damage dulled his combat readiness.
The doctor had warned that a wound this old would take several sessions to heal.
This first surgery hadn’t changed much, though Ragnar claimed to feel a little sharper.
He turned toward the nightstand and reached for his phone.
Several work messages, and a report from Cole confirming Ava had landed safely in Paris and settled into the villa.
He also found a record of a video call from last night.
With Ava.
Five seconds long.
Damon frowned.
Last night, between the anesthesia and the pain medication, he’d slept like the dead.
He had no memory of making a call.
Must have hit it in his sleep.
He opened the chat, thought for a moment, then typed: Did the video call last night wake you?
It’d be early morning in Paris.
He waited a few minutes.
No reply.
Damon set the phone down and pushed himself upright.
A woman in a light gray cashmere dress came through the door, carrying a thermos.
“You’re awake?” Mara set the thermos on the table and came over to adjust his bed.
“How do you feel?
Does it hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Damon’s voice was hoarse.
“You’re here early.”
“You were in surgery last night.
Jax, Leo, and I waited outside the whole time.
We stayed at a hotel nearby.” Mara sat beside the bed and opened the thermos.
The rich smell of homemade broth filled the room.
Queen Mother Margaret had three children.
Her eldest, Axton, born when she was twenty-four.
Her second, Mara, at thirty.
And her youngest, Damon, at thirty-five.
Axton had died when Damon was eighteen.
To secure Damon’s place in the royal line, Mara Sterling had married into the Ironridge Pack, becoming Luna to its Alpha, Jax.
It had turned out to be a good match.
Jax doted on Mara, and the union bound the northern packs tightly to the crown.
Together they had a son, Leo, barely four, and the pride and joy of the entire family.
“Honestly.
You never say a word when something’s wrong with you.
If Beta Cole hadn’t tipped me off, were you planning to do this alone?”
Damon took the spoon she handed him.
“Minor procedure.
Didn’t want to worry anyone.”
Mara sighed.
“That’s you all over.
Carrying everything by yourself.
At least you’re married now.
You can talk to your wife instead of bottling it all up.”
At the mention of Ava, something flickered in Damon’s eyes.
He said nothing, just lowered his head to sip the broth.
Mara watched him, then probed gently.
“You and Miss Bennett getting along?”
Mara had always been close to Damon growing up.
She was probably one of the few in the Sterling family who knew about his six years of silent devotion to Ava.
“Yes.
Very well.”
“Good.” Mara smiled.
“Mother called me yesterday.
Said she’d met her.
The girl’s lovely, she said, in looks and temperament both, even if her background’s a little modest.
But you know Mother.
At this point she’s just grateful you’re willing to marry at all.
She’s in no position to be picky.
What matters is that you’re happy.”
Happy.
The word felt foreign and heavy at once.
Six years of watching and waiting had long since outgrown anything so simple as happiness.
It had hardened into something closer to obsession.
Now she was right beside him.
His wife.
Within reach.
And he still couldn’t quite believe it was real.
He was terrified of doing something to disturb it.
His phone buzzed.
Damon set the spoon down at once and picked it up.
Ava had replied: No.
“What is it?” Mara caught the shift in his expression.
“Nothing.” Damon locked the screen and picked the spoon back up.
“The pack—”
“I know you’re worried, but Jax is handling the Council end for you this morning.
No one’s going to make a move while he’s watching,” Mara cut in.
“Just rest these two days.
The world won’t end.”
Just then Mara’s phone rang.
It was Leo’s preschool teacher, saying the boy wasn’t feeling well and asking her to come get him.
“I’ll have the driver take you,” Damon said.
“No need.
I drove.” Mara stood, gathering her coat and bag.
At the door, she turned back.
“Oh, one thing.
Last night, while you were still under, Leo got hold of your phone.
He’s obsessed with phones lately.
Always jabbing at Jax’s phone at home too.
You should check whether he caused any trouble.”
Leo had been playing with his phone?
Damon picked it up again and opened the call record with Ava.
If Leo had hit the call by accident, then once it connected, Ava would have seen Leo.
What had the boy said?
What had Ava heard?
Damon called back on video, at once.
It rang for a long time.
No answer.
Dread climbed up his chest.
This wasn’t like Ava.
She’d misunderstood something.