Chapter 255 I want you to track her
Ethan’s POV
Our meeting, our recognition—it had felt like fate. Like the Moon Goddess herself had brought us together.
Clara had gone on that mountain trip. She had the small red mark behind her ear, exactly where I remembered it.
So I never questioned it. Never doubted.
But over time, small things didn’t add up.
Whenever I talked about those three days and nights we spent together in the snow, Clara’s emotions never matched mine. She’d cut the conversation short, acting shy, like she didn’t want to discuss it.
And her birthmark... it disappeared.
"Ha..." A laugh bubbled up from my chest. Bitter, broken. "Ha... haha..."
I laughed harder, couldn’t stop. Tears burned my eyes.
Ryan looked terrified. He mumbled some excuse and practically ran.
The others followed quickly, sensing something was very wrong.
Mario tried to say something but his wife dragged him away.
Sophie glared after them. "Useless friends," she muttered.
I stumbled again. Sophie caught my arm, voice panicked. "Ethan, are you okay? Talk to me!"
"I fucked up." I looked at her, tears blurring my vision. Still smiling that horrible smile. "Sophie... I fucked everything up."
She shook her head. "No, it’s Clara’s fault. And Aria’s—"
"No." My voice cracked. "It’s mine. All mine."
A tear slid down my face, tasting bitter when it reached my mouth.
The drive home passed in silence. I stared out the window, watching the city blur past.
I didn’t want Grandmother to see me like this, so I’d called Sophie instead. She drove me to my house—the one that used to feel like home when Aria lived here.
After Aria left, after Clara disappeared, after Dad’s arrest, I’d let all the staff go. At the pack house, there were still people to take care of things. But here, it was just me.
"Ethan, maybe I should stay tonight?" Sophie suggested as we pulled up. "You’re hurt. You shouldn’t be alone."
I didn’t answer at first. Just walked inside and collapsed on the couch.
My wolf was howling inside me. Broken. Betrayed. Everything hurt.
Sophie repeated her question several times before I finally shook my head.
"Go home," I said, voice barely above a whisper. "I need to be alone. I’m fine."
"You’re not fine. You’re injured. Let me—"
"Don’t." The word came out harsh, final. "Just... don’t."
Sophie hesitated, then sighed. "Call me if you need anything. Please."
After she left, I sat in the darkness.
Dawn was coming. Pale light crept through the gaps in the curtains.
But it didn’t matter. Light couldn’t reach me anymore.
My long night—the real one—was just beginning.
---
Author’s POV
7:30 AM.Sophie’s car barely made it two blocks before she grabbed her phone, fingers trembling with rage.
That bitch. That ungrateful, conniving bitch.
She pulled up Aria’s contact—still saved under "Brother’s Wife" even now—and hit call.
The line didn’t even ring. Just went straight to that cold, automated message: "The number you have dialed is not available."
Sophie stared at the screen, disbelief flooding through her.
She tried again. Same result.
"No. No way."
Her thumb moved frantically, opening her messages. She typed fast, angry words spilling out.
*You think blocking me changes anything? You’re still a nobody. Still the same pathetic orphan my brother was stupid enough to—*
The message bounced back immediately. Red exclamation mark. Failed to send.
"She blocked me?" Sophie’s voice pitched high, shrill. "She actually blocked me?"
Her husband Derek glanced over from the driver’s seat, jaw tight. He’d been silent since they left Ethan’s place, hands gripping the wheel like he wanted to strangle it.
"Sophie, maybe just leave it—"
"Leave it?" She whipped toward him, eyes blazing. "Did you see what she did to my brother? He’s destroyed, Derek! Beaten bloody in some bar because of her, and now she won’t even answer my calls?"
"The bar thing wasn’t—"
"I want you to track her." Sophie cut him off, voice going cold and certain. "Right now. Pull up her location."
Derek’s hands tightened on the wheel. "What?"
"You heard me. Your company does cybersecurity. You’ve got those tech guys who can ping phones, trace GPS—"
"Sophie, that’s illegal."
"I don’t care."
"I care." Derek’s voice hardened, taking on an edge she rarely heard. "You want me to commit a federal crime because you’re pissed off?"
Sophie’s wolf bristled at his tone. She forced it down, leaning closer. "This isn’t about being pissed off. This is about protecting our family.
That woman took Ethan for everything—do you know how much money she walked away with? Money that should’ve gone to pack resources, to securing our future—"
"Money from a fake marriage," Derek interrupted quietly. "Money she probably had every legal right to take considering your brother committed fraud."
The words hit like a slap.
Sophie went very still.
"What did you just say?"
Derek kept his eyes on the road, but his jaw worked. "I’m saying if she wanted to, Aria could destroy your entire family. Fake marriage certificate?
That’s not just fraud, Sophie. That’s a felony. Criminal charges. If she reports it, Ethan doesn’t just lose his pack status—he goes to prison."
"She wouldn’t dare—"
"Wouldn’t she?" Derek’s voice rose, frustration bleeding through. "Your brother humiliated her for years. Faked legal documents. Passed off another woman’s child as theirs. You think she’s just going to roll over because you’re angry?"
Sophie’s phone was already out again, fingers flying across the screen.
Derek caught the motion from the corner of his eye. "What are you doing?"
"Calling our lawyer." Her voice was clipped, efficient. "If she wants to play dirty, fine. We’ll sue her for damages. She took money from Ethan’s accounts—accounts that technically belonged to him and Clara as a married couple. We can argue she stole marital assets—"
The phone flew out of her hand.