Chapter 179

Chapter 179: Chapter 179

Lena’s POV

"I want you to know this—I truly do like you," Celeste said. "And I’m grateful for everything you did for Dominic when he was at his lowest. When everyone else bailed, you stayed. You went down into that cellar and faced his curse head-on. What this family owes you... honestly, words don’t even cover it."

The second she said that, Lena’s mind just blanked out.

She had always thought that one day, those words would come from Dominic himself. She’d braced for that, in a way. Turned it over in her head more than once.

But she had never, not even once, imagined hearing them from his mother over afternoon tea.

After that, most of what Celeste said turned into background noise. Like the words were there, but they just weren’t landing.

"Did Dominic say that?" Lena asked.

"No." To Celeste’s credit, she didn’t dodge it. "That was me."

"Can I ask why?"

"The woman I always hoped would be Dominic’s mate is back." Celeste held her gaze and said it flat-out, no sugarcoating, no attempt to hide what she meant.

It wasn’t Eliza. Celeste had never liked Eliza. Not even a little.

So that really only left one name.

"Gemma?" Lena blurted out.

For the first time, Celeste’s calm cracked. "How do you know about her?"

"Dominic told me."

Celeste blinked, clearly thrown. "He told you about Gemma."

And just like that, everything clicked into place.

Dominic’s sudden trip. Those late-night calls. The weight in his eyes that morning, the one thing he refused to explain.

He hadn’t left because of pack business.

He had gone because of Gemma.

"He went to find Gemma," Lena said quietly. "Didn’t he?"

"Yes." Celeste didn’t hesitate. "He’s with her now."

The answer to the question that had been stuck in Lena’s head for days had finally landed.

And yeah, it tasted exactly the way she’d expected.

Bitter. Clean. Final.

She saw it plainly on Celeste’s face. Celeste’s feelings for Gemma were real, deep in that bone-level way. The kind of affection a mother had for the woman she’d personally chosen for her son.

Gemma had been gone for eight years, and still, the second she reappeared, Celeste was ready to shift the whole board and make room for her all over again.

"This has to wait until Dominic gets back," Lena said. "I’m not ending this relationship just because you said one sentence and called it done."

Celeste gave a small nod. She’d expected that.

"But," Lena went on, steadying her voice, "I get it. What Dominic and I have was never built on love. It started as a deal to break his curse. That was the foundation from day one. So if he comes back and tells me it’s over, I won’t fight him on it."

Celeste visibly relaxed, like a string inside her had finally loosened. "You’re a good girl, Lena. I’ve always said that."

Her smile came back, softer now, warmer too, with a hint of relief she wasn’t even trying to hide. "You and Dominic have been together almost two years. If there were pups involved, I never would’ve come to speak to you about this. But you two aren’t in love, and this thing was never going to last."

Lena forced out a faint smile. "You’re not wrong."

"I’ll make sure you’re taken care of," Celeste said at once. "Money, property, whatever you need to start over. You won’t have to worry about a thing."

"Good." Lena didn’t turn it down.

If this relationship was really ending, then she deserved what was owed to her. She wasn’t some charity case, and she wasn’t about to act like two years of her life meant nothing. No shot.

Celeste paused, then let out a quiet little laugh. "I really do like you."

"That’s sweet," Lena said lightly, almost casual, "but your son doesn’t love me. Your approval doesn’t exactly fix that."

Celeste sighed. "You came into his life too late. Timing matters in these things, and timing was never on your side."

"I agree."

They finished their coffee in silence.

Lena still had work waiting for her, so she said goodbye and left.

Back at the office, she stopped by the break room, poured herself another cup of coffee, and went to stand by the window.

It was snowing outside.

The flakes were light and thin, drifting through the gray air like something fragile. It almost never snowed here. That alone made the whole world outside feel weirdly unreal, like the day had glitched.

Her phone buzzed once in her hand.

A message from Dominic. A photo.

A landscape drowned in white. Trees bent under the weight of heavy snow, buildings sealed in frost, the whole place buried under winter.

Wherever he was, the season had swallowed everything.

I stared at the photo.

It was him and Gemma. Before Eliza. Before me. Before the curse started eating him alive. The she-wolf he had once truly loved.

The she-wolf who vanished and left behind a hole in his life that had never really closed.

And while he was with her, he was still sending me pictures of the snow.

What was that supposed to be? Was he trying to soften the blow before letting me go? Or did he seriously think he could keep both of us hanging in his hands like it was no big deal?

I didn’t reply.

I set my phone down, went back to my desk, and flipped open my laptop. The year-end report sure as hell wasn’t going to write itself.

That afternoon, Anna texted and asked me to come over for dinner at her new place. She and Daniel had already moved in.

I said yes.

Anna opened the door in an apron, her hair tied back, and for a second she looked more like a perfect housewife than I had ever seen her before.

“Where’s Daniel?” I asked, slipping off my shoes.

“I sent him out to buy fruit.”

I stepped inside. Their place looked amazing. Everything was neat and in place, all warm tones and soft lighting, little details everywhere that showed they’d really put their hearts into it. It felt cozy. Solid. Real.

A few minutes later, Daniel came in. When he saw me, he gave a small nod. “Luna.”

“Don’t call me that.” I scratched behind my ear. “Dominic’s the one who pulled you out of that mess. I had nothing to do with it.”

“You’re his mate. The title comes with that.”

I let out a faint laugh, but the words slipped out before I could stop them. “Not for much longer.”

Anna was carrying a plate over to the table and caught the end of it. “What do you mean, not for much longer?”

“It’s nothing.” I waved it off and forced a joke. “I’m starving. Let’s just eat.”

Anna and Daniel had only just gotten together for real, only just survived her parents’ brutal interference, only just settled into their new home. No way was I dumping my mess all over them right now.

But Daniel heard me.

His eyes stayed on my face a beat too long.

The three of them started eating. Daniel was quiet as usual, barely saying a word, leaving Lena and Anna to keep the conversation going.

Anna asked when Dominic would be back. Lena said she didn’t know.

"Daniel, do you?" Anna turned to him.

Daniel flicked his eyes toward Lena, then shook his head. "Alpha didn’t say."

"Christmas is almost here. What kind of trip takes this long?" Anna sounded annoyed on Lena’s behalf. "The least he could do is call you, right?"

"He sends me photos from wherever he is every day."

Anna visibly relaxed. "See? He’s thinking about you the whole time."

Lena smiled a little, but didn’t say anything.

After dinner, Daniel went to wash the dishes. Lena and Anna sat out on the balcony with fruit in their hands and blankets wrapped around their shoulders. The cold wind cut straight through them, sharp and brutal, but it also made their heads feel clearer.

Lena leaned against the railing and looked out at the rooftops covered in thick white snow.

"Lena."

"Mm?"

"You don’t seem right tonight."

Lena shook her head. "I’ve just been thinking about going away for the holiday."

"Going away? Christmas is only a few days off."

"Christmas doesn’t feel like it used to anymore. Might as well get out for a bit."

"Is Dominic going with you?"

Lena neither nodded nor shook her head.

Anna frowned. "Did something happen between you two? Did you fight?"

"No. Everything’s fine." Lena checked the time and pushed herself away from the railing. "It’s getting late. I should head back."

She gave her shoulder a light squeeze. "Good night."

Anna walked her to the door. While they waited for the elevator, Anna asked again, like she still couldn’t let it go. "Are you sure you’re okay?"

"I’m fine." Lena flashed her a bright, almost too-perfect smile.

The elevator arrived. Lena stepped inside and lifted a hand in a small wave.

As the doors slid shut, she watched Anna’s face slowly disappear through the narrowing gap. The worry in Anna’s eyes was impossible to miss.

Lena went back to the manor first. She packed everything into one bag, then moved it all back to her own apartment.

Clothes, toiletries, and the random personal stuff she had accumulated over the past few months at Dominic Voss’s place.

In the end, all of it barely filled one suitcase.

After that, she started packing for a trip. As for where she was going, she still had no clue. She would figure it out after the contract was officially over.

Dominic called.

"I’ll be back before Christmas."

Lena set the phone on the bed and switched on speaker. She folded a sweater and placed it neatly into the suitcase. "Okay."

"Is it snowing over there?"

"A little."

"When does your office start break?"

"The twenty-fifth."

"That’s soon."

"Yeah."

They talked about the most ordinary things, the kind of small talk any two people might have. On the surface, everything sounded normal. But underneath, it felt hollow, like all the warmth had already drained out.

Lena pulled the zipper shut on the suitcase, looked at the phone screen, and said, "I’m going to sleep."

“Okay.”

She ended the call.

Chapter 180

Lena’s POV

Early the next morning, Lena took a cab to the airport.

A few hours later, she was somewhere warm. She checked into the hotel she’d booked, took a shower, changed clothes, and then went out to find something to eat.

She wandered around all day, stopping whenever she felt like it, strolling through streets she’d never seen before. If something smelled good, she bought it and ate it. By the time she made it back to the hotel, it was already dark, and her feet were killing her.

Dominic kept sending photos. He also called a few times to check on her.

She answered, kept the conversations short, and didn’t tell him she had already left. He didn’t ask where she was, and she didn’t bring it up either.

Ever since her mother died, she had spent most holidays alone. Last Christmas at Voss Manor had been the exception.

Back then, silence used to make her uneasy. Now it didn’t.

On Christmas Eve, her phone was basically blowing up with group messages and holiday greetings. Aria sent her a Happy New Year text, and a few former coworkers and old acquaintances sent their wishes too.

Anna called as well. Her parents had been hounding her nonstop, trying to get her and Daniel to come home. Anna said no. This time, she didn’t budge, no matter how loudly her mother yelled. She still got scolded hard, but she held her ground.

At midnight, huge fireworks burst across the dark sky, bright and colorful, flashing on and off like the night itself was breathing. Lena sat alone on the hotel terrace and watched them in silence.

She didn’t take any pictures.

On New Year’s morning, she slept in, had a slow, lazy breakfast, then went for a walk by the lake.

Her phone rang. It was Sylvain.

Whenever he called, it was always because he wanted something.

She was in a decent mood, so she picked up.

“Happy New Year, sweetheart.”

At the sound of his voice, Lena blinked. “What do you want?”

“Nothing, really. I just wanted to hear from you.”

“Well, now you have. Bye.”

“Lena, wait!” His voice turned tight, rushed. “Are you coming home this year?”

“No.” She answered without even pausing.

Ever since her mother died, she had never spent a holiday with her father again. And she wasn’t about to start now.

He went quiet for a few seconds. “I’m going to visit your mother’s grave tomorrow.”

Lena clenched her teeth. “Don’t. If you go, she’ll come find you in your sleep.”

Silence swallowed the other end of the call. She hung up and kept walking.

She sat down on a bench by the lake and stared at the water until her mind went completely blank.

Her phone kept buzzing in her pocket with text messages, and every now and then she glanced at it. Most of them were generic holiday greetings from people she barely even talked to.

A few days later, she switched to another hotel. Then a few days after that, she switched again. She ate alone, walked alone, sat alone in cafés.

She refused to think about Dominic, Gemma, Celeste, or whatever was waiting for her back home.

A few days before the office reopened, she flew back.

The second she stepped out of arrivals, she saw Dominic standing near the exit, hands in his pockets, scanning the crowd.

Their eyes met, and he started walking toward her.

Lena lifted a brow. She hadn’t told him her flight number.

“How was the trip?” He reached for her suitcase.

She let him take it. “Pretty good.”

“Before we go home, we should stop by the main estate.”

I stopped in my tracks.

He turned and looked back at her. "What is it?"

"I’m not going."

He studied her for a few seconds, then walked back, took her hand, and turned toward the parking lot. "Then let’s go home."

She let him lead the way. Once the car started moving, she finally asked the question she’d been bottling up for more than a week.

"Where is Gemma staying?"

His hand paused on the seat belt buckle. She caught the shift in his expression, that flash of surprise he didn’t quite manage to hide. She smiled.

"Luna Celeste told me. Missing for eight years, and somehow she’s alive and back. That’s basically a miracle."

He fastened his seat belt and pulled the car out of the lot. "Her health has always been bad. I took her to other territories to see specialists."

Lena nodded. "Did it help?"

"No."

She frowned. "How bad is it?"

"Very bad."

"When you recovered from the curse, everyone said that was impossible too. She could still get better."

His hands tightened around the steering wheel. "I hope so."

She tilted her head and looked at him. "Dominic, do you want to end the contract?"

He shot her a glance, his brow drawn tight. "Her being here doesn’t change anything between us."

"Your mother wants us to split up."

"Ignore her."

"What if Gemma wants us to?"

Gemma wasn’t Eliza. Eliza had always been trouble, and Dominic only put up with her out of guilt.

Gemma was different. She was the she-wolf he had loved before the curse started eating his life alive. The one he had searched for like crazy, mourned for, and kept tucked away in his heart for eight long years.

If she asked him to leave Lena, would he?

“She wouldn’t.” His tone was firm, no hesitation at all. “Gemma’s not the type to stick her nose into our relationship.”

“Did you talk to her about us?”

“She knows I have a partner.”

Lena looked at him. He was calm as ever, completely sure of every word coming out of his mouth.

She couldn’t help wondering what kind of woman Gemma really was.

Eight years had passed. She came back only to find the man she had once loved was already bonded to someone else, and she just... accepted it? No fight, no pressure, no desperate attempt to win him back. So what exactly did she have that made her so different?

Lena had never met her, so she couldn’t judge. If Gemma really was as levelheaded and clear-minded as Dominic said, then maybe whatever existed between them really could survive this.

“What about you?” she asked. “Do you still have feelings for her?”

The she-wolf he had loved for years. The one whose disappearance had somehow kept him guarding Eliza for almost a decade. The one who held a place in his heart no one else could touch.

He kept his eyes on the road, both hands steady on the wheel. “We’re friends.”

Lena said nothing.

They got back to the estate. Dominic carried her suitcase inside for her. “You want to eat out, or stay in?”

“I’m going to shower first.”

“I’ll make pasta. We’re going out to dinner with everyone tonight. Anna, Daniel, and Samuel.”

“That sounds good.”

She walked into the bathroom and stood under the hot water, trying to sort through the mess in her head.

None of this had gone the way she thought it would. She had already packed her bags, already braced herself for a breakup, already run through what life would look like when she was on her own again.

Dominic told her none of that was necessary.

Could he really let Gemma go that easily?

When Lena came out of the bathroom, she saw a plate of pasta waiting on the table. She sat down and started eating. No matter what kind of mess her life was in, her appetite never really took a hit. At this point, that was the one thing she could count on.

"Do you want to meet Gemma?" Dominic asked while she was eating.

So he was really going to introduce his mate to the she-wolf he used to love? Either he was being brutally honest, or he was pulling something she still couldn’t read.

"Sure."

The way Celeste and Dominic treated Gemma was obviously not the same as how they treated Eliza. Sooner or later, Lena was going to meet her anyway.

Better to face it now, on her own terms, than get blindsided at some awkward family dinner.

"I’ll invite her tonight."

"Okay."

After finishing her food, Lena lay down. Dominic followed her into the bedroom and stopped by the bed.

"You moved your things out."

"Yeah." She didn’t deny it. "I wasn’t planning to come back."

"There’s something between you and me. You don’t need to listen to anyone else. Not even my mother."

Lena looked up at him. He was direct, as always. No beating around the bush, no vague hints.

"Okay." She accepted it.

"Get some rest. I’ll wake you before dinner."

"Mm."

He left the room. Lena turned over and stared at the wall with her eyes wide open.

That night, they met at a private restaurant. The second Lena walked in, Anna dragged her aside and immediately launched into a nonstop update about her new house.

Samuel was already seated, taking slow sips of whiskey, his face so dark and stormy it looked like he could curdle milk just by glaring at it.

"I really shouldn’t have come," he said, slouching back in his chair. "Everyone in this room is all coupled up, and I’m just sitting here alone at the end of the table. Honestly? Kinda tragic."

"You do just fine on your own. That’s basically your superpower." Lena smiled at him.

"I’d rather have someone to lean on," Samuel said, swirling the liquor in his glass. "Finding someone who actually wants the same thing I do is harder than any case I’ve ever handled. No joke."

"Did Aria send you a New Year’s message?"

Samuel clutched his chest like he’d been stabbed, baring his teeth in mock pain. "Lena, wow. You’ve changed. You talk like a rock now. Cold-blooded."

She laughed.

Anna tugged lightly at Lena’s sleeve and leaned closer. "Is someone else coming? Dominic keeps looking at the door."

Lena had noticed a while ago. Ever since they’d sat down, every few minutes Dominic’s eyes would flick toward the entrance, and even his body kept angling that way without him meaning to.

Each time, he seemed to catch himself just in time and turn away, acting normal again, but it was way too obvious.

He’d said Gemma was "just a friend," but his body language was telling a completely different story.

Gemma got to him. Just the thought of her showing up had him restless, like he couldn’t sit still for even a second.