(Evelyn's POV)

The smell was wrong.

I still had the shopping bag in my hand-lamb chops, rosemary, garlic, and a bottle of red wine.I won the case today. I wanted to cook something with my own hands to mark it.

The Thorn villa was quiet, and as I pushed open the door, the scent of a different she-wolf made my wolf stir.

I followed the scent up the stairs. A wolf's scent. Jasmine. Permeating our bedroom.

I set the bags down. Opened the closet. Lucian's charcoal jacket, back of the rack. I lifted the collar.

Jasmine. Stronger here. And a strand of hair clinging to the lapel. Not my color.

I closed the wardrobe and crossed to the bed. I crouched down and opened the bottom drawer of the nightstand, the one Lucian always said was for old documents.

There was an envelope inside.

Three photographs. I spread them across the duvet.

The first was a beach, golden light, Lucian laughing with a woman I didn't recognize. The second was a restaurant, candlelit, her hand resting on his. The third was the inside of a car. She was asleep on his shoulder. He was looking down at her like she was something fragile he didn't want to disturb.The woman's profile resembled mine somewhat.

The date stamp on the earliest photo: five years ago.

We didn't meet until two years later.

At the bottom of the envelope was a bracelet. Moonstone, silver-white, strung on a delicate chain. I turned it over. The inner clasp was engraved: C.W.

I set it on the nightstand.

Then I unclasped my own bracelet. Moonstone, same design, same weight. I'd always thought it was chosen with care.

I turned mine over.

Blank.

I placed them side by side on the nightstand. One with a name. One with nothing.

I sat there looking at them for a long moment.

Then I reached back into the drawer. Beneath the envelope was a notebook, old, the spine cracked. I opened it to the middle.

The heading was written in Lucian's handwriting: "Evelyn Project."

A scoring chart. His handwriting.

Hair color: 7/10.

Build: 8/10. Much higher than C, deduction. Larger chest than C, - a plus. A fuller butt than C - a plus.

Clothing style: 5/10 - "needs guidance toward the type of dresses Celeste prefers → sent a sundress in month three, she's started wearing them."

The way she laughs: 6/10.

Speech habits: 4/10.

Personality: 5/10 - Too conservative, which isn't necessarily bad; easier to manage.

Overall resemblance: 6.5/10 - "sufficient to fill the gap." - "sufficient to fill the gap."

Enough to fill the void.

I read it twice.

Those dresses. Sage green, dusty rose, ivory. Three years ago I thought he was learning my taste.

I was a project. A substitution. A 6.5 out of 10 approximation of someone else.

I closed the notebook. Put it back. Envelope on top. Book on top of that. Drawer shut.

Bracelet off my wrist. On the dresser. Click of stone on glass.

At that moment, I heard a sound coming from downstairs-Lucian had returned. He didn't know I was home.

"Celeste is back, I'll deal with that. Break up with Evelyn? No need for that, buddy."

I stopped.

"It doesn't matter if she knows." A short laugh. "You know how well-behaved and obedient she is. For three years, whatever I say, she does. Anyway, she's just a small omega without a background or connections, so she can continue to be my secret lover."

I pressed my back against the wall.

"I won't let her go. I haven't had enough fun with her yet. Once Celeste is settled, I'll figure out how to talk to Evelyn. No rush."

He laughed in a way that was both disgusting and vulgar, a side of him I had never seen before.

He thought that if he didn't let me go, I couldn't leave? I sneered - that's because he didn't know who I am. Fine, then I'll play a little game with him.

I popped one earbud in. Let the other dangle. Then I deliberately let my heel click against the floorboard and walked down the stairs.

He jumped. "Evvie? When'd you get back?"

I waved the earbud. "Just now. I was upstairs listening to music.Won a case today. Thought I'd cook."

He looked relieved, and he believed what I said. "Don't wait for me, sweetheart. I'm just coming back to take a shower and change clothes. There's a meeting at the pack tonight, and I won't be back until late.

He grabbed his keys by the door. Looked back. "You seem tired, Evvie. Get some rest."

I went back to the kitchen.

I stared at the lamb. Then I put it back in the fridge. Then I boiled water and made myself a bowl of tomato pasta.

Martha appeared in the doorway. "Miss Storm, that soup you made this morning - shall I heat it?"

"Throw it out."

She looked at me. Nodded. Took the pot without a word.

I ate the pasta at the kitchen table alone. It wasn't bad. I finished every bite.

Later, I stood on the balcony.The balcony was freezing. I could see the Pack House lights in the distance - the place Lucian had never once brought me.

I thought about my father, about Stormhaven,and of the resolve I had when I left the Northern Territory three years ago.

I called my father.

"Evelyn?" His voice held a note of surprise. We hadn't been in touch for several months.

"Hello, Dad. I agree to come home and accept the arranged marriage."

A pause. Then his voice, careful. "What happened?"

"Nothing." I said. "I'm just tired of playing around. I want to settle down and get married."

I tried to make my voice sound more calm, "I was too childish and rebellious before. I shouldn't have run away from home to the Eastern Territory. I'm sorry, I was wrong."

"Evelyn, you seem to have grown up."said the father with relief.

"Give me two weeks to settle things here. Then I'll return to Northern Territory"

He didn't push for details."I'll be waiting."

We hung up.

My phone lit up on the railing. A message notification.

Evvie. Haven't heard from you in a while. Everything okay? If you need anything, just say the word.

Henrik Ember. The alpha heir of the largest pack in the Northern Territory, the boy I grew up with, my arranged mate.

Actually, I am the daughter of the Alpha of Stormhaven Pack, one of the oldest werewolf bloodlines in Northern Territory.

Three years ago, my father asked me to accept the arranged mating with Henrik Ember.Because I didn't want to accept the marriage, I secretly escaped from Stormhaven Pack and settled in Thornwood Pack under a hidden identity.

Here I met Lucian, the alpha heir of Thornwood Pack, who saved me, and I fell in love with him, even though he was not my fated mate.

I pulled myself away from the memories. I typed back: I'm fine. Thanks, Hank.

I set the phone face-down on the railing and looked out at the city.

Lucian didn't come home that night.

I lay in the dark and listened to the silence of the villa. The scent of jasmine still lingered heavily in the bedroom.

Zoe stirred restlessly within her, and I could feel her excitement. My wolf had never liked the way Lucian treated her.

Finally.We were leaving.