Estelle’s POV
Asher stared silently at the backseat window. For a mont, I wondered if he could see through the tinted windows and right at .
Then, I realized that he was muttering to himself. He didn’t sound sure that it really was . However, I wasn’t planning on waiting for him to confirm it either. He would eventually find out in due ti, and I didn’t want to spend a second longer in his presence.
“Let’s go, Caleb.”
“Yes, Luna.”
Caleb rolled up the small crack in his own window before flooring the gas pedal. The tires made a screeching sound. Only then did Asher seem to snap awake from his daze.
“Wait, no!” he said, but it was too late.
The car surged forward without a care.
I watched as Nigel’s eyes widened before he jumped to the side at the very last minute to make way for the car. Their two figures quickly beca small dots in the mirror before disappearing completely.
I slumped into my seat.
“Are you alright?” Caleb asked, checking in on through the rearview mirror. “You seem to really hate those two people.”
I coldly laughed before joking, “Sotis, I feel like your observation skills are more of a curse than a blessing.”
Caleb gave a lopsided grin as he shrugged.
“It’s a talent,” he said. Then, his expression turned serious. “Would you like to do anything regarding the Moonveil Pack?”
“Yes,” I replied. “Blacklist them. I don’t want to hear anything about the Moonveil Pack from this mont forth.”
***
Third POV
Asher stood frozen in the middle of the parking lot, watching the black SUV disappear down the winding road. His chest rose and fell rapidly. Sweat dripped from his forehead despite the cool morning air.
“Alpha, are you alright?” Nigel approached cautiously, brushing dust off his jacket. He muttered under his breath, “That driver is absolutely insane. If I hadn’t moved out of the way, I would’ve been roadkill.”
Asher didn’t respond. His mind replayed that voice over and over again. It sounded exactly like Estelle’s. However, there was sothing different about it too. The tone was different. It was much colder and more commanding.
It couldn’t be her. The woman he knew was soft-spoken and gentle. She never raised her voice or gave orders, only requests. She certainly never spoke with such icy authority.
The Luna of the Blackmoon Pack sounded like a completely different person. She was everything that Estelle wasn’t. Besides, there was no way Estelle could manage a pack as big as the Blackmoon Pack, even if he did help out around the Moonveil Pack.
These two packs were on completely different playing fields. Just because Estelle did well in the Moonveil Pack didn’t an that she could handle the Blackmoon Pack.
“Alpha?” Nigel waved a hand in front of Asher’s face. “We should head back. The ceremony is starting soon.”
Asher shook his head slowly. He was letting his desperation get to him. The stress of recent weeks was making him hear things that weren’t there.
“You’re right,” he said finally. “It can’t be her.”
***
Three days later, Asher’s car pulled into the Moonveil Pack territory. The familiar sight of the pack house should have brought him comfort, but instead, it only reminded him of how much everything had changed.
The event had been a complete failure. No new alliances. No business prospects. Just wasted ti and resources they couldn’t afford to lose.
His phone buzzed constantly during the drive ho. There were dozens of missed calls from pack mbers reporting all sorts of problems—financial issues, border disputes with neighboring packs, and even supply shortages.
Everything was falling apart.
Ever since Estelle had stopped answering his calls and ssages, the pack’s situation had grown worse by the day. She used to handle so many details he never even noticed. Now he was drowning in responsibilities he’d never realized existed.
Hazel wasn’t helping either. As the acting-Beta, she should have been managing pack affairs in his absence. Instead, she seed more interested in planning their official mating ceremony than dealing with actual problems.
Nigel had been forced to take on both Beta and Gamma duties just to keep things running. The man looked exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked like he had aged a decade in the last week alone.
Ashley had bombarded Asher’s phone call twice during the event to complain about Nigel’s absence. Her husband was never ho anymore. The twins needed their father. She blad Asher for keeping Nigel away from his family.
Everyone wanted sothing from him. Everyone had complaints. No one was offering solutions.
Asher rubbed his temples as he walked up the pack house steps. When did everything beco so complicated? He rembered when life felt easy.
Estelle had handled the household, the pack finances, Finn’s care, and even the occasional social obligation when Asher didn’t feel up to it. She’d made everything run smoothly without him ever having to think about it.
Now he was drowning in details and responsibilities that seed to multiply every day.
The front door opened before he could reach for the handle.
“Oh, good, you’re back.” Hazel appeared in the doorway, her face tight with worry. “I need your help.”
Asher loosened his tie, irritation flaring in his chest. After three days of dealing with pack politics and failed negotiations, the last thing he wanted was another problem.
“What help?” he snapped. “Can’t it wait till tomorrow?”
Hazel shook her head quickly, frowning slightly at his tone. However, she didn’t press on that matter.
Instead, she said, “No, this can’t wait. Finn is sick. He has been running a low fever for a couple of days now, but this morning, it suddenly spiked.”
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