Chapter 19: Her Shadow
Connor
The garden was quiet, save for the distant hum of crickets. I should’ve been back at the pack house hours ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave—not while she was so close. Definitely not while I burned with the desire to touch her.
Aria.
The memory of our first meeting after so many years burned brighter than anything else in my mind. Even after days and weeks have gone by, I couldn’t discard it. The way my wolf—Theo had howled for joy in the corner of my mind and the guilt that threatened to destroy me.
The moment I saw her, clinging to that bastard, I felt a spark in a world that felt dull and lifeless to me since I discovered she might be dead. A single look, and I was lost.
When I first discovered that she was my mate,Theo, had claimed her the moment her scent hit me—a mix of lavender and rain, intoxicating and impossible to forget. But I couldn’t accept her and now, I burn with regret.
I’d become her shadow after that last meeting, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. From a distance, I watched, memorizing her movements, her habits, her smile. She never noticed me, or if she did, she didn’t show it. It was better that way. Aria didn’t need to know the depth of my obsession.
Tonight, though, the circle I was used to when it comes to stalking her changed. I saw him.
Leo Ashton. Her fiancé.
I thought he was gone for good. Accepted defeat in a way, after the last message I sent to his office to leave my mate alone.
It’s been two weeks and now, he’s back! He’d crept into her room under the cover of darkness, thinking no one was watching. But I was. I always was.
The thought of him touching her sent a wave of fury through me. My claws itched to tear through him, to rip him away from her. My wolf howled in desperation at the back of my mind, the sound echoing in the darkest corners of my thoughts.
‘It’s all your fault! You rejected her,’ I heard him growl and couldn’t even argue with him. He was right.
I’d cut the power to the estate, hoping to create a moment of chaos that would give me time to sneak into her room—to be closer to her, to see her as she slept. To touch her. But the blackout only worked in his favor.
From the garden, I heard them. Her soft moans, his groans, their shared breaths. My chest tightened, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
Theo snarled, his rage matching my own. “He doesn’t deserve her. She’s ours.”
I turned and fled before the sound could tear me apart completely. My paws pounded against the soil as I ran through the woods, the familiar scent of pine and earth doing little to calm me. I couldn’t stay. Not when I’d just heard the proof that she still feels something for him.
By the time I reached the pack house, my body was on fire—anger, jealousy, and longing all twisting into a storm I couldn’t control. I slammed the door behind me, my chest heaving as I tried to steady myself.
“Rough night?”
Lila’s voice was soft and teasing, but it grated on my nerves. I turned to find her lounging on my bed, her black hair falling in its glory over her shoulders. She wore one of my shirts, the fabric hanging loose and inviting, her bare legs crossed.
Normally, the sight of her like this would have stirred something in me. But not tonight. Not after discovering that my mate, Aria is indeed alive.
“Not now, Lila,” I said, brushing past her.
But she didn’t take the hint. She stood, the shirt slipping off one shoulder as she moved closer. “You’ve been distant lately,” she murmured, her fingers trailing down my arm. “I thought I could remind you of what we used to have.”
I flinched at her touch, guilt and frustration warring within me. “Whatever we had is over.”
Her eyes flashed with hurt and anger, but she quickly masked it with a sultry smile. “It doesn’t have to be. You need someone, Connor. Let me help you forget her.”
Before I could respond, she stepped back and tugged the shirt over her head, letting it fall to the floor. My breath caught as I took in her bare skin, but it wasn’t her I saw.
It was Aria. She was her twin sister after all.
My mind betrayed me, filling in the gaps with memories of Aria’s smile, the softness of her voice. I stepped closer, drawn in by the fantasy, by the ache in my chest that only she could fill.
Lila’s lips found mine, hungry and insistent. For a moment, I let it happen, my hands gripping her waist as she pressed against me, kissing her back with a hunger and eagerness reserved only for Aria. But then she moaned, the sound snapping me back to reality.
It wasn’t Aria’s voice.
“Stop,” I growled, shoving her away.
She stumbled, her eyes wide with shock. “Connor—”
“This was a mistake,” I said, my voice harsh. “I can’t do this. Not with you.”
Her expression twisted with anger and pain. “You’re still hung up on her, aren’t you? Why did you change suddenly? You didn’t care about her, remember? You wanted me! You loved me, not my sister.”
“Don’t,” I warned, my wolf stirring beneath my skin.
“She’s not coming back, Connor,” Lila spat. “You’re wasting your life chasing after a ghost. And when you realize that, I won’t be here waiting for you.”
I met her gaze, my own cold and unyielding. “Do you know what I just realized? All those years of chasing you, of craving and worshipping your body? It was all because you look so much like my Aria. Don’t for one second think that I ever loved you. It has always been Aria.”
The room fell silent, the weight of my words settling between us.
“I hate you, Alpha Connor,” she said through gritted teeth, calling me Alpha for the first time in years, “I hate you, I hate Aria, I hate all of you.”
Lila’s eyes filled with tears, then she turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
I sank onto the edge of the bed, my head in my hands. The silence was suffocating, but it was better than the alternative.
Aria’s face filled my mind, her scent lingering in my thoughts like a cruel reminder of what I could never have.
But I would find a way to get her back.
Even if it destroyed me.