Alpha's Brother, My Second Chance.

Chapter 3

ARIA

The morning I decided to leave Mooncrest Territory, I woke up with a strange mixture of dread and clarity twisting inside my chest. My bags stood packed near the door, my documents tucked in a folder, and the little savings I had gathered placed neatly inside my purse. A part of me expected fear to stop me, for guilt to drag me back into the heaviness of responsibility and familiar expectations. But the longer I sat at the edge of my bed, listening to the early rustle of wind brushing against the window, the more certain I became that if I didn't leave now, I never would.

I needed distance. I needed air. And more than anything, I needed a place where the mate bond couldn't reach me every time Luca walked into the same room.

I took a deep breath and stepped outside for a final walk through the pack center. I told myself I wasn't stalling, but perhaps a small part of me wanted one last look at the place that shaped me, my quiet childhood, my rigid adolescence, my brief engagement and the grief that followed like a shadow. The streets were calm this early, only a few wolves finishing patrol and store owners preparing their shops. I kept my head lowered, hoping not to attract questions or pitying looks.

I slipped into a small convenience shop to buy a few snacks for the road, and that was where I stopped abruptly because Maeve stood near the counter.

Her blonde hair was pulled into a loose ponytail, her eyes still slightly red from crying, but she managed a weak smile when she noticed me.

"Aria." She walked toward me cautiously, as if unsure whether I would welcome the approach. "I heard you were leaving today."

I nodded, returning her smile politely. "Just for a while. I need space."

"That makes sense," she murmured softly. "You've been through so much. Honestly, I'm glad you're taking time for yourself."

Her gentleness disarmed me. We had never been close, but she'd never been cruel either. And yet... my gaze drifted toward the window where her car was parked.

"I saw your car at the gates earlier," I said. "Were you... driving Luca out?"

Her expression shifted. Guilt, embarrassment, and resignation flickered through her eyes. She looked down briefly, twisting her fingers together before finally meeting my gaze again.

"Yes," she admitted quietly. "He asked me for a ride to the border. He didn't want to create a scene with his father, and I was already heading that way."

My stomach tightened. I hadn't expected her to still be close to him after everything.

"Oh," I breathed. "I didn't realize you two still talked like that."

Her face changed again, a mixture of discomfort and weary honesty. She sighed softly and leaned a little closer, lowering her voice as if confessing something she had been holding onto for far too long.

"Aria... Luca and I were never what people thought," she said. "Not really. I know the rumors made it seem like we were inseparable, but that was never the truth."

I blinked slowly, unsure what she meant.

She continued, "I dated him in high school because everyone said Adrian only liked girls who stayed far from drama. I thought maybe if I stayed near Luca, Adrian would finally pay attention to me. I liked Adrian, not Luca. I always have."

Her words hit me like a soft blow.

"You... liked Adrian?" I repeated.

Maeve nodded, eyes turning misty. "I know it sounds childish now, but I was young, and I was stupid, and I thought I had a chance if I stayed in his orbit long enough. Luca was convenient. And he never truly cared for me either, not the way the rumors made it look. We were a mess, both of us. And when everything exploded that night, you caught him... it wasn't what it looked like, Aria. He had been drinking, I was frustrated, and Veronica, well... she was playing games of her own."

A strange, cold clarity washed over me.

"Why are you telling me this?" I whispered.

"Because you should know the truth before you go," Maeve replied. "You should know that Luca wasn't the villain people painted him to be. And you should know that he hasn't had a real connection with anyone since he left. Luca isn't careless the way people think. He never was."

I swallowed, overwhelmed by a rush of feelings I didn't want to examine.

Maeve stepped back, offering me an encouraging smile. "Take care of yourself, Aria. And give yourself permission to heal. You deserve that much."

I thanked her quietly and left the shop.

But her words stayed with me for the rest of the morning, echoing louder each time I tried to push them away.

Luca wasn't the villain I made him. And maybe the world outside our territory would force me to accept that.

-----

The bus ride to the city took hours. Long, twisting roads wound through mountains and past empty stretches of land until skyscrapers began to rise in the distance. The journey was tiring, noisy, and strangely lonely. With every passing mile, the air changed, less pine and earth, more smoke and steel. The world felt bigger here, faster, almost as if it didn't have patience for grief or heartache. And maybe that was what I needed. A world too busy to look at me, too distracted to notice the girl who lost her mate.

By the time I stepped off the bus, night had already blanketed the city in shimmering lights. I pulled my jacket tighter around me and dragged my suitcase behind me, determined to find a place to stay before exhaustion stole the last of my strength.

But nothing prepared me for what happened the moment I turned the corner onto the main street.

A massive billboard stared down at me from the rooftop of a tall building. A man's face, strong jawline, dripping water, eyes piercing even through the printed gloss, drew my attention immediately.

Luca.

Luca Morgan. World champion swimmer. The playful wolf who had teased everyone, the reckless boy I remembered... now a man whose image dominated the city skyline.

I stopped walking.

My breath caught somewhere between disbelief and annoyance.

It wasn't just one billbaord. Everywhere I looked, at bus stops, digital screens, enormous posters stretched across shopping malls, his face appeared again and again. His name flashed brightly under bold endorsements. Commercials played him diving into water with perfect form. Ads featured his athletic figure and casually confident smile.

The world knew him, admired him and celebrated him.

And here I was, a lone wolf dragging a suitcase through a crowded city, feeling painfully small under the weight of his success.

"That's just great," I muttered under my breath. "Of all people to be everywhere..."

Every step I took seemed to lead me past another image of him. It felt almost cruel as if fate refused to give me even one night of peace before shoving him back into my awareness.

I forced myself to keep moving, weaving through unfamiliar streets until I finally found a small motel with a hand-written ROOM AVAILABLE sign taped to the window. The motel wasn't glamorous, but the area felt safe, the streets were quiet, and the cost was affordable.

After filling out a few forms and receiving the key, I dragged my suitcase and pushed open the door to my temporary home. The room was small but clean, with warm lighting, wooden floors, and a window overlooking the street outside. I sank into the bed and closed my eyes, letting exhaustion pull me into stillness.

This was it.

A new beginning. A place without whispers, without pressure, without the eyes of the pack studying my every breath. And a place where I could rebuild myself, step by careful step.

Tomorrow, I would start searching for a home. Tomorrow, I would start searching for work in studios and salons across the city. Tomorrow, I would begin creating the life I once dreamed of.

For now, I let the hum of distant traffic lull me to sleep, unaware that the city I thought would give me peace would soon pull me straight back into the path of the one man fate refused to let me outrun.