Emily/Shenaya’s POV
After a long day roaming the streets of Paris with Andrew, we ended up at Lilah’s store, Eleven-Twenty-nine, for a quick break. Lilah had always been our friend, so it was easy to unwind there, chatting and sipping coffee. But the exhaustion of the day began to weigh on me, and I could barely keep my eyes open as Andrew offered to drop me off at the pack house. It was nothing unusual-Andrew had driven me home plenty of times-but tonight, there was a strange tension in the air.
As we got into the car, silence filled the space between us. I rested my head against the window, the cool glass soothing my tired body. I just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and forget everything that had happened today-especially Aiden.
The silence lingered until Andrew’s voice sliced through it. “Do you know Verona in Italy?” he asked suddenly.
I raised my brows, a little startled. “Yeah, why?”
He kept his eyes on the road. “Have you ever been there?”
“Sure,” I replied while I recalled my childhood in Verona. “I lived most of my childhood there, my dad had to move us to Rome for safety when rogue wolves started invading our pack.”
Andrew’s lips curled into a small smile as if he had been waiting for me to say that. “Do you remember a boy named Evans?” His voice was softer now, almost nostalgic.
My breath caught in my throat. “Evans?” I whispered, thinking back to that time. I used to defend a boy named Evans from bullies at school. He had been small and frail, always picked on for being different. I would stand up for him even though I also get bullied alongside him. We became best friends in the process. It had been so long, that I completely forgot about him.
Andrew turned to me, his smile growing wider.
“Hello Shenaya, I’m Evans.” I blinked as disbelief washed over me. It’s been so long since I heard someone call me that particular name. A name I had left in the past.
“Wait, you’re… Evans? Why are you just telling me? How long have you found out I was Shenaya?” I asked in disbelief
“Slow down” his eyes still on the road “I wanted us to become friends naturally that is why I am just telling you. I didn’t want our friendship to be based on childhood memories,” he said with a shrug.
I was in awe, piecing together the strange connection between us. No wonder we clicked so well. No wonder we always felt familiar.
“What a small world,” I muttered.
Andrew chuckled softly, he continued driving with one hand and placed the other hand on my thighs. I shifted uncomfortably under his touch.
“Do you remember the promise we made to each other back then?” his tone shifted and his words were laced with something deeper.
“What promise?” I turned to him, my heart sinking. Praying it isn’t the one I thought it was
“You promised to be my mate when we were old enough.” His voice dropped to a whisper, but it hit me like a punch.
My mind raced back to those carefree days when we were just kids and everything was simple. We made a lot of stupid promises back then because no one got us like each other. The silly promises we made as pups.
He’s now a grown-up, I didn’t expect him to take such promises to heart but apparently, he wasn’t joking. Here he is, bringing up childhood promises after almost two decades.
I was speechless because I didn’t want to believe he was serious about this. The tension in the car was thick enough to be cut with a knife. I became desperate to get out of the car and luckily for me, the car came to a halt as we reached the pack house.
I unbuckled my seatbelt hurriedly ready to escape, but before I could rush out, Andrew grabbed my arm, pulling me back towards him.
He pressed his lips against mine in an impulsive kiss and I froze. When I realized what just happened, I quickly pulled away from him.
“Think about it, You know we’ll do better as a couple” Andrew murmured.
“Goodnight Shenaya” he whispered.
I opened the car door and got out with my legs feeling weak. I almost ran into the pack house, I didn’t look back as if I was running away from the arrow of his words.
Once I stepped into my room, I closed the door and leaned against the door trying to steady my breathing.
“Who takes a childhood promise seriously?” I muttered to myself, still surprised by the unexpected kiss. I changed into something more comfortable, a simple nightgown, and decided to check on the pups.
They always helped clear my mind. As I entered their chambers, I was expecting them to be asleep by now because it was late, passed their bedtime but to my surprise, Ethan was there reading them a bedtime story. I smiled softly at the sight, but as soon as I stepped in, Zoey’s little nose picked up my scent.
“Mummy!” she squealed, jumping out of bed and rushing toward me. Leo quickly jumped out too and followed her, and before I knew it, I had two energetic pups clinging to me. I kissed the tops of their heads, signaling to Ethan that he could leave. He gave me a knowing nod and slipped out of the room quietly.
I tucked them both back into bed and grabbed the storybook to continue from where Ethan stopped.
I read about a family of foxes and casually mentioned the father fox, and that’s when Leo interrupted. “Mummy, where is Papa?” His innocent question pierced through the air and made me freeze in my tracks.
“Erica said I can’t be her friend because I don’t have a papa.” Zoey chimed in, her voice small and curious.
“Whenever my friends talk about their papas, I don’t know what to say.” Leo’s voice grew more serious, his little face scrunched up in confusion.
I couldn’t help but feel bad for them because they had to go through this. Their innocent faces stared up at me, waiting for me to say something. I wasn’t prepared for this even though I knew this day was coming. I just didn’t know it was going to come sooner than I expected
I took a deep breath, knowing I couldn’t dodge this. I had to tell Leo the truth about his father and I had to lie to Zoey. Zoey’s truth will come as well but not today, not right now.
“Your father,” I began slowly trying to choose my words carefully, “is Alpha Aiden Casaer. He has a very powerful empire in Rome.” Their eyes widened, hanging onto every word.
“And I promise, you’ll meet him very soon.” I finished speaking, they smiled, content with the promise. But deep down, I knew the storm that would come once because this was the only truth for Leo and not for Zoey. I kissed her forehead and stayed by their side until they drifted off to sleep.