Alpha Kaidan had barely returned to the pack house when Grace informed him that his mother was waiting for him.
"She’s in the sitting room, Alpha."
Alpha Kaidan stopped.
"Did she say why?"
"No, Alpha."
He nodded and walked toward the sitting room.
Christine was seated near the window when he entered. She looked up immediately. "You’re back."
Alpha Kaidan removed his jacket. "Yes."
"How did the council meeting go?"
Alpha Kaidan looked at her. "You already know there was a meeting."
Christine gave a small smile. "I have people on the council."
"That doesn’t answer my question."
She studied him for a moment. "They told me what happened."
Alpha Kaidan walked farther into the room. "Then you already know I made my position clear."
"You made your position clear about Naomi."
His expression tightened. "I made my position clear about my marriage."
Christine sighed. "Sit down, Alpha Kaidan."
"I’d rather stand."
She looked at him for a moment before speaking "The council isn’t wrong to have concerns."
Alpha Kaidan’s jaw tightened. "Mother."
"Listen to me."
"I listened to them this afternoon."
"And they listened to you. But that doesn’t mean the matter is settled."
Alpha Kaidan’s eyes narrowed. "What exactly do you want from me?"
Christine rose from her seat. "I want you to think about Blackclaw before you make an emotional decision."
His expression changed. "An emotional decision?"
"Yes."
"You think defending my wife is an emotional decision?"
"I think refusing to acknowledge Serena’s place because you don’t want to hurt Naomi is an emotional decision."
Alpha Kaidan stared at her. "You’re assuming I have chosen Naomi."
Christine held his gaze. "Have you not?"
He didn’t answer. She stepped closer. "You didn’t deny it at the council."
"I didn’t confirm it either."
"Exactly."
Alpha Kaidan’s expression hardened. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you’re hesitating."
"I am considering my situation."
"You have been considering it for four years."
The words landed heavily.
Alpha Kaidan’s eyes darkened. Christine continued before he could respond. "Serena disappeared four years ago. You believed she was gone. You built a life without her because you had no choice."
"I didn’t build a life without her."
Christine looked at him. "You married Naomi."
"That was a contract."
"And Serena was still the woman you loved."
Alpha Kaidan looked away. Christine’s voice softened. "She came back."
"I know."
"She came back to you."
"I know."
"Then why are you making this harder than it needs to be?"
Alpha Kaidan turned back to her. "Because it isn’t that simple."
Christine frowned. "Why?"
"Because Naomi is my wife."
Christine’s expression tightened. "She is your contract wife."
"She is still my wife."
"For how long?"
Alpha Kaidan said nothing. Christine took a breath.
"That is what the council is asking. That is what I am asking."
"You don’t get to ask me that."
"I am your mother."
"And Naomi is the woman I married."
Christine’s eyes hardened. "You married her because you needed someone after Serena disappeared."
"I know why I married her."
"Then why are you defending the marriage now?"
Alpha Kaidan didn’t answer immediately. Christine noticed his silence. "Is it because you are beginning to care about her?"
His jaw tightened. "That isn’t your concern."
"It becomes my concern when your decisions affect the future of this pack."
"My marriage isn’t a pack decision."
"Everything about an Alpha’s marriage affects the pack."
Alpha Kaidan shook his head. "That is exactly what I told the council."
Christine moved toward the window. "And yet you haven’t given them an answer."
"I don’t owe them one."
"You may not owe them an answer today, but eventually you will have to make a choice."
Alpha Kaidan’s expression hardened. "I know."
Christine turned to him.
"Then make the right one."
He stared at her. "What does that mean?"
"You know what it means."
"No. Say it."
Christine held his gaze. "Serena was supposed to be your Luna."
Alpha Kaidan’s face became cold. "That was four years ago."
"She is still your true mate."
"Mother!"
"And Naomi cannot give you the future Blackclaw expected."
His eyes narrowed. "Don’t."
Christine paused. "She has been your wife for four years and there are still no pups."
Alpha Kaidan’s voice dropped. "I said don’t."
Christine looked at him. "You know the council will continue asking questions."
"They can ask."
"They will eventually expect an answer."
"They can expect whatever they want."
Christine sighed. "You are making this difficult because you are thinking only about what Naomi wants."
Alpha Kaidan’s eyes flashed. "And what exactly do you think Naomi wants?"
"A marriage that was never supposed to last?"
His expression changed. Christine continued.
"She knew what the contract was when she entered it."
"No."
Christine frowned. "She knew she wasn’t Serena."
Alpha Kaidan’s voice became firm.
"Don’t speak about Naomi as if she deliberately took Serena’s place."
Christine was silent. Alpha Kaidan continued.
"She didn’t ask Serena to disappear. She didn’t ask me to marry her. She didn’t force me to sign that contract."
Christine looked away. "I know."
"Then stop treating her as though she is standing between Serena and Serena."
"I am trying to protect this family."
"And I am telling you that Naomi is part of this family."
Christine looked back at him. For several seconds, neither spoke.
Finally, she said quietly, "You have changed."
Alpha Kaidan’s expression remained unreadable.
"Maybe."
Christine picked up her handbag from the chair.
"But changing doesn’t erase what Serena was to you."
He looked at his mother. "But neither does Serena’s return erase what happened during the last four years."
Christine didn’t respond. Alpha Kaidan walked toward the door. "Mother."
She looked at him. "Don’t speak to Naomi about this."
Christine’s expression tightened. "Why?"
"Because this is between the council and me."
"And Serena?"
Alpha Kaidan stopped. "That is between Serena and me."
He left the room. Christine remained by the window.
She had expected him to be angry.
She had not expected him to defend Naomi so firmly.
For years, Christine had believed the contract marriage would eventually end when Serena returned.
Now she wasn’t so certain, and that worried her.
Because if Alpha Kaidan was truly beginning to see Naomi as more than the woman who had filled an empty place, then Serena’s return might not be enough to bring back the life Christine believed had been taken from her son.