ARIA'S POV
I made it exactly three steps from the building before my legs gave out.
Marcus caught me before I hit the pavement, his strong arms the only thing keeping me upright. My chest felt like someone had reached inside and squeezed my heart until it burst.
"Breathe," Marcus ordered. "Aria, breathe."
I couldn't.
The mate bond—the cursed, horrible thing I'd spent three years burying—was alive again. Every cell in my body screamed to go back. To run to Dante. To let him hold me.
To forgive him.
*No.*
"Get me to the car," I gasped. "Now."
Marcus practically carried me to the SUV. Ash looked up from his tablet, his face crumpling with worry.
"Mom? You're shaking."
"I'm fine, baby." The lie tasted like poison. "Just... tired."
"You're crying."
Was I? I touched my face. Wet. Damn it.
I'd sworn I wouldn't cry for Dante Blackwood ever again. I'd used up all my tears three years ago, sobbing in that cheap motel room while my body tried to bring two babies into the world two months too early.
I'd cried when River stopped breathing.
I'd cried when they told me Ash might not make it.
I'd cried until I had nothing left.
And then I'd gotten angry.
"Marcus, drive." My voice came out steadier than I felt. "Take us home."
"Aria—"
"I said *drive*."
He drove.
I stared out the window, watching Silverpine City blur past. Somewhere behind us, Dante was probably still on his knees in that boardroom. Good. I wanted him broken. Wanted him to feel a fraction of what I'd felt.
*You're being cruel,* a small voice whispered. *He didn't know about River.*
*He didn't care enough to know,* I shot back. *He didn't care about anything but his precious Sienna.*
My phone buzzed. Unknown number.
*We need to talk. -D*
I blocked it immediately.
Another buzz. Different number.
*Aria, please. Let me explain.*
Blocked.
A third.
*I'm sorry.*
I hurled my phone across the car. It hit the opposite door with a satisfying crack.
"Mom!" Ash yelped. "Your phone!"
"I'll buy a new one."
"But—"
"Ash." I turned to him, forcing my voice soft. "Mommy's having a bad day. Can you just... play your game? Please?"
He studied me with those too-smart eyes. Eyes exactly like his father's. Sometimes I hated that. Sometimes it was the only thing that kept me breathing.
"Okay," he said quietly. "But Mom? The man in that building. He smelled like... like..."
My blood went cold.
"Like what, sweetheart?"
"Like home." Ash frowned, confused. "Why did he smell like home?"
Because he's your father, I wanted to scream. Because the mate bond doesn't care that he destroyed me. Because even your wolf—the wolf that hasn't even emerged yet—recognizes him.
"I don't know, baby." Another lie. They were piling up. "Some people just smell familiar."
We pulled up to my penthouse. I practically ran inside, needing space. Needing air. Needing to not feel like my chest was caving in.
"Take the rest of the day off," I told Marcus at the elevator.
"Aria—"
"I'm *fine*."
His expression said he didn't believe me. Smart man.
The elevator ride up felt like an eternity. Ash held my hand, quiet. Too quiet. He always knew when something was wrong.
Inside the penthouse, I headed straight for my office. I had work. Contracts to review. Deals to finalize. A revenge plan to execute.
I didn't have time to fall apart.
My new phone—the emergency one I kept in my desk—had seventeen missed calls. All from Dante's numbers. All blocked.
One voicemail.
I shouldn't listen.
I pressed play anyway.
"Aria." His voice was raw. Broken. "I know you won't answer. I know you hate me. You should. But please... please, let me see him. Let me meet Ash. I'll sign whatever papers you want. I'll give you the company. I'll give you *everything*. Just... he's my son. I've already missed eight years. Don't make me miss the rest."
The message ended.
I stood there, phone in hand, hating myself for the part of me that softened at his pain.
*He deserves it,* I reminded myself. *He deserves worse.*
A knock on my office door.
"Mom?" Ash poked his head in. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course, baby."
He came in, laptop tucked under his arm like always. My little genius. My miracle.
"Why did we really go to that building today?"
"I told you. Business."
"Mom." He gave me that look. The one that said he was eight going on eighty. "You're lying. You never lie. Except when you're protecting me from something."
Damn. Too smart for his own good.
I sighed, gesturing for him to sit. He climbed into the chair across from my desk, waiting.
"What do you want to know?"
"Who was that man?"
My heart stuttered. "Which man?"
"The one who looked like me."
*Oh god.*
"Ash, I—"
"I have a twin, don't I?" His voice was small. Scared. "I look in the mirror sometimes and feel like half of me is missing. Like someone's supposed to be there but isn't. Is that crazy?"
Tears burned behind my eyes.
Wolf twins bonded before birth. Even when separated, they felt the absence. The loss. Ash had been feeling it his whole life—the ghost of his brother.
"No, baby. That's not crazy."
"So I'm right? I have a twin?"
"*Had*." The word cracked. "You had a twin. His name was River. He... he didn't make it."
Ash's face crumpled. "He died?"
"When you were born. You fought to live. He couldn't."
"Did I kill him?" Ash whispered. "By being stronger?"
"No!" I pulled him into my arms, holding tight. "No, sweetheart. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault."
*Liar,* my mind whispered. *It was Dante's fault. His coldness. His betrayal. His—*
"Then why do I feel guilty?" Ash sobbed into my shoulder. "Why does it hurt?"
"Because you loved him. Even before you knew him. That's what twins do."
We sat there, both crying. Both mourning a boy who'd lived twenty minutes. Long enough to be held. Long enough to be loved. Not long enough to stay.
My phone buzzed.
I almost ignored it.
But the caller ID made my blood freeze.
*Silvercrest Elementary School.*
The school where Kai went.
With shaking hands, I answered.
"Ms. Winters?" The principal's voice was tight with panic. "I'm calling about your son—"
"I don't have a son at your school."
"Your records say... wait, there's been a mix-up. But ma'am, we need you here immediately. There's been an incident with Kai Blackwood. He's asking for his mother, but Ms. Frost isn't answering her phone, and Mr. Blackwood is in a meeting—"
"I'm not his mother."
"He says you are. He's quite insistent. He's also... ma'am, he's hurt. He fell during recess and he's hysterical, screaming for someone named Aria. We found your number in his father's emergency contacts from three years ago—"
My world tilted.
*Kai was asking for me.*
The son I'd left behind. The baby I'd kissed goodbye. The child who shouldn't remember me.
Was calling for me.
"I'll be there in ten minutes," I heard myself say.
I hung up.
Ash stared at me. "Who's Kai?"
The question I'd been dreading for eight years.
"Your twin brother," I whispered. "The one who lived."
Ash's eyes went wide. "River lived? You lied—"
"Not River. Another brother. A twin who... who grew up somewhere else."
"I have a living twin?" Ash stood, laptop falling forgotten. "Where? Why didn't you tell me? Why isn't he here?"
"Because his father took him from me."
"Then let's take him back!"
"Ash, it's not that simple—"
"You said River died!" Ash's voice rose, angry and hurt. "But you have another son somewhere and you just... what? LEFT him?"
The accusation hit like a physical blow.
"I had to," I choked out. "Staying would have killed me. And I was pregnant with you. I had to choose—"
"So you chose me and left him?" Tears streamed down Ash's face. "What if Dad chose him? What if you're the bad guy, Mom?"
The words shattered something inside me.
What if he was right?
What if I'd been so focused on my pain, my betrayal, my wounds, that I'd abandoned an innocent child who needed me?
Kai had been two when I left. Young enough to forget.
Old enough to hurt.
"The school called," I said quietly. "Kai's hurt. He's asking for me."
"Then we're going." Ash grabbed his jacket. "Right now."
"Ash—"
"He's my brother. I don't care about the rest. He's my brother and he's hurt and we're going."
I looked at my eight-year-old son—so fierce, so sure—and realized he was braver than I'd ever been.
"Okay," I whispered. "We're going."
Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to Silvercrest Elementary.
And standing in the parking lot, holding a crying five-year-old with a bandaged arm, was Dante.
He saw me.
Saw Ash.
Watched us both get out of the car.
And his face went white.
Because Kai—his son, my son, our son—looked up.
Saw Ash.
And screamed.
"THAT'S HIM! THAT'S THE BOY FROM MY DREAMS!"
The two brothers locked eyes.
And I realized with horror that wolf twins didn't forget each other.
Even when one lived and one died.
Even when separated.
They remembered.
And Kai was staring at Ash like he'd found half his missing soul.
"You're me," Kai breathed.
"You're me," Ash echoed.
Dante's eyes met mine across the parking lot.
And I knew—*knew*—that everything I'd built was about to come crashing down.
Because you can't keep twins apart.
Not when they've already found each other.