Page 7 of Framed and Forgotten (Ashen Wolves #3)

____________________

A V R I L

Tomorrow, Koen told me shortly after I entered our room. He had arranged with Nerine to visit Elias the next day.

I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Then again, it made sense - there was no reason to delay this father-son reunion - but I wasn’t ready. I didn’t know what to expect, and I wasn’t one to walk into a sketchy situation unprepared.

Before panic could take over, I forced myself to take a deep breath.

I recalled my recent conversation with my beta, reminding myself there was no reason to be nervous.

Koen and I had been tested time and time again, and our love had always persevered.

This was just another challenge we would face and conquer together.

As if sensing my wavering confidence, my mate wrapped me in his arms and pulled me into a resolute, grounding kiss.

It was all the reassurance I needed, steadying my resolve and chasing away my fears.

Then, he took my hand, leading me out of the alpha chambers with a quiet certainty, as if he’d been doing it all his life.

As if he intended to keep doing it until the day he died.

And I convinced myself that this would never change.

The hours slipped through my fingers like water, impossible to grasp. Tomorrow loomed closer with every tick of the clock. Before I could wrap my mind around it, the sun had risen, and we were in the car, speeding toward Crystal Pond.

Koen sat beside me, his gaze focused on the road ahead, his jaw tight with a mix of anticipation and nerves. His hands gripped the steering wheel just a little too hard. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, searching for a sign of hesitation or doubt. But there was none.

I wished I could say the same about myself.

The closer we got to Nerine’s pack, the more restless I felt.

Kea paced around inside my head, wary. A bad feeling nagged at me, quiet but persistent, like a distant echo I couldn’t quite place.

My thoughts spiraled, questions popping up as I tried and failed to anticipate what would happen next.

Maybe Koen was ready to meet the son he never knew he had, but was I?

As if worrying about how to behave around my mate’s pup wasn’t enough, I also hesitated at the thought of being around his ex-wife and her family.

Would they resent my presence? Probably.

Nerine might have tried to appear mature by inviting me to tag along, but I struggled to believe she’d done it purely out of kindness.

Did she have an ulterior motive for wanting me there?

Were she and her uncle planning to belittle me for being an omega?

Even if that wasn’t the truth, it was what they thought.

Although lengthy, the ride wasn’t nearly long enough for me to prepare myself for this afternoon.

Sooner than I would’ve liked, we crossed the borders of Crystal Pond, where we were stopped by a group of sentinels.

Upon confirming our identities, two of them shifted into their animal form to guide us through their peaceful, picturesque lands.

Aside from Whispering Hills, I’d never visited another pack.

My only glimpses of other territories came from picture books.

I had little to compare it to, but Crystal Pond was undeniably beautiful.

Hidden within a dense forest, the towering trees gave way to a picturesque village with stone-paved streets and cottages draped in climbing ivy, their windows adorned with flower boxes overflowing with vibrant blooms. At the heart of the territory lay a pond with crystalline waters – the pack’s namesake.

As soon as we parked in front of the packhouse, Alpha Hector stepped outside to greet us.

Koen got out first, helping me from the car before approaching the leader.

They shook hands and exchanged a few words while I lingered slightly behind, feeling like an outsider.

The man’s gaze flicked to me briefly, his expression neutral at first. Then, he offered a kind smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Nerine and Elias are waiting for us in the dining hall,” Hector announced. “Please, follow me.”

The alpha led us through the first floor of the packhouse down to the room at the end of the hallway.

Pushing the golden double doors open, he revealed a luxurious, spacious room with a long table, fancy chairs, and a crystal chandelier.

But I could barely admire the venue before my gaze settled on the only two people standing inside.

Nerine stood by the table, her son clinging to her legs. The moment she spotted Koen, her face lit up with a warm smile. Her attention flickered to me for just an instant, soon returning to him. Elias peeked out from behind his mother, his wide, curious green eyes hauntingly familiar.

My heart tightened at the sight.

“Koen,” Nerine greeted softly. “It’s good to see you again.”

My mate exhibited no sympathy for her, despite clearly trying to maintain a political relationship with his pup’s mother. Instead of replying - likely because he didn’t reciprocate her feelings - he simply nodded, moving toward the two with his eyes locked on the little boy.

When he was close enough, he crouched right in front of the pup, the corner of his lips turning with uncertainty, but also immeasurable fondness. “Hey, Elias.”

“Daddy!” Elias chanted, and I felt through the mate bond how it spread warmth through Koen. “You came back.”

“Yeah.” My mate’s grin brightened. “It took me a while, but I’m here now,” he reassured the little boy.

Even as I watched the cute, heartwarming scene, trying to accept that all of this was actually true was like a bucket of cold water.

Leaving her son and Koen to have a moment, Nerine stepped closer to me. She stretched her hand to me, and I tried not to let my hesitation show as I took it. Exchanging faint smiles, we pulled away from each other again.

“This is a moment we’ve all been waiting for,” Hector said, his powerful voice echoing through the room.

“I, for one, have always wanted to know who my grandnephew’s father is - and I’m nothing short of delighted to finally learn that it’s you.

” He spared Koen a sympathetic glance before gesturing toward the feast laid out on the table.

“But the food is getting cold,” he added, inviting us to take our seats.

Lunch was surprisingly pleasant. There were no snide remarks aimed at me, no subtle attempts to humiliate me or make Koen second-guess his decision to stay with me.

Nothing in their behavior suggested this was a ploy to drive us apart.

In fact, they were all remarkably polite and respectful toward me.

The same, and more, applied to Koen. Nerine’s family welcomed him as if he were one of their own, and I couldn’t ignore the ease with which he slipped into their conversations.

He laughed at Hector’s jokes, listened attentively as his ex-wife shared stories about Elias’s early years, and even managed to coax a giggle out of the little boy himself.

Watching them, an uncomfortable thought wormed its way into my mind: he fit here.

It was a stark contrast to how things had been for us.

When I was at Whispering Hills, I never got along with any of his family members.

And when he moved into Azure Smoke, I couldn’t say it got much easier for him.

The Ashen Wolves treated him with suspicion and distrust. My uncle, my only living relative - though not nearly as insistent as the bullies at my former pack - wasn’t exactly welcoming toward him, either.

“What was that, son?” Hector’s voice broke the silence, pulling me from my thoughts.

At the head of the table, I found him leaning closer to the pup, who whispered something into his ear.

Distracted, I wasn’t able to catch it, but the alpha soon did the favor of announcing it to us.

“Alpha Koen, my grandnephew would like to take you on a tour around our lands after lunch. I’m sure you’re familiar enough with them already, but-”

“I’d love that,” my mate promptly agreed, his eyes glowing as he stared at the sheepishly joyful pup.

Hector nodded. “I might just join you,” he said, shifting his attention to me and Nerine. “So we can leave the ladies to chat in privacy.”

At first, I was startled. Being alone with my mate’s ex-wife wasn’t on my to-do list. However, I soon realized it would be a great opportunity to analyze her. If she was a fake, I had no doubt I could easily find out.

A moment later, Koen asked, “Will you two be okay here by yourselves?” Although the question was directed at the both of us, he looked only at me, concern in his eyes.

“You don’t have to worry about us,” I replied, encouraging him, “You and Elias should get to know each other better.”

A little hesitant, he squeezed my hand in agreement and gave me a gentle smile. As soon as we finished our meal, the males left. I immediately honed my senses, my wolf and I ready to force the truth out of this manipulative woman. Yet, she was faster than me.

“I’m glad you came today, Avril,” she told me, catching me off guard. Her tone was measured as she continued, “I want you to know that I have no intention of getting in the way of your relationship with Koen.”

I blinked, unsure of how to react. This is not how I expected this conversation to begin. My mouth opened, Kea ready to bark at the woman to quit playing games, but I held my tongue. I was curious to see where she would take this.

Instead, I simply lied in the most amicable manner I could manage, “I didn’t think so.”

She smiled with…relief? “I know how it looks - how this situation feels. But I assure you, I don’t want Koen back. I’m grateful for what he’s doing for Elias, but that’s where it ends.”

I searched her face for any hint of deception, any flicker of an ulterior motive. But all I saw was sincerity.

“I regret how things happened,” she continued, her voice softening. “I regret tricking him all those years ago. And I regret how he found out about Elias. He deserved better.”

Her honesty was disarming. Try as I might, I couldn’t find a single crack in her act - if it even was an act. Utterly distraught, I failed to conceal my shock, or to mumble any response at all. I’d mentally prepared myself for a hundred different scenarios, and this was definitely not one of them.

At my silence, Nerine cleared her throat, initiating an entirely different subject.

She tried to strike up a conversation as if we were friends, but not trying to force a relationship between us.

It didn’t make me uncomfortable as she wasn’t overly friendly.

Yet, I couldn’t say I felt at ease either.

When Koen returned, he seemed lighter, his tension from earlier in the day almost gone. For his sake, I tried to mask my perplexity. We said our goodbyes, and as we drove away from Crystal Pond, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted.

Perhaps, deep in my heart, I had hoped to find proof that they were wicked - that Nerine was a psychotic liar, and we should stay away. But I couldn’t. Nothing they did or said supported my hunch that we should be wary of them, though the feeling never truly disappeared.

Maybe, just maybe, Nerine wasn’t the enemy I had painted - had craved - for her to be.