Kyra’s POV

I was driving home at exactly 6 PM when I spotted a familiar figure sitting alone in front of a convenience store. She was drinking a canned beer, her shoulders slumped in a way that spoke of deep troubles.

Sylvia said, "It’s Phoebe. She looks very sad."

"Yes," I said. I couldn’t leave her there looking so defeated. I had always treated her like my own sister.

I pulled the car over and rolled down the window. "Phoebe."

When she lifted her face, there were tears in her eyes.

My forehead creased as I quickly got out of the car and settled into the empty chair across from her.

"Why are you here alone? Are you okay?" I asked.

She stared at me. "Why did you marry my brother even when you knew Sophia rejected him and he was still in love with her?"

This question surprised me. I thought back to the sweet but painful times before.

I pressed my lips together, unable to respond.

This wasn’t just an idle question. Phoebe was clearly in the same situation I had been in before. She loved someone who deeply loved someone else.

She laughed without humor and took another swig of beer. "I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me."

I took a deep breath. "Your brother is important to me, Phoebe. When Sophia rejected him, I saw him broken and shattered. I was actually planning to leave that day, finally giving up on what I thought was my hopeless one-sided love." I paused, remembering the pain of those days. "But I saw the darkness surrounding him, how his wolf, Alaric, was nearly feral with grief. He had lost hope, and I couldn’t bear to leave him that way... because I loved him."

She sighed heavily, looking down at her hands. "The Moon Goddess is cruel sometimes. Love is complicated."

"Love is mysterious, beautiful, and complicated, Phoebe. In our world, we’re taught to wait for our fated mates, but sometimes... sometimes the heart wants what it wants." I leaned forward. "You don’t always get what you want when it comes to love. You’ll go through hardships. You’ll experience heartaches..."

Suddenly she sobbed, her control breaking. "I hate being in love, Kyra. I feel like it’s drowning me. I keep reaching out, but there’s no response."

I shook my head firmly. "No, Phoebe. Don’t let this ruin you. Love shouldn’t destroy you. It isn’t true love if it does. Even the bond between mates shouldn’t consume you completely."

She bit her bottom lip and stared at my face, tears streaming down. "I don’t know, Kyra. I don’t know..."

I reached across the table and gently took the beer from her hand. "I’ll take you home."

"I don’t wanna go home," she protested. "Nathan will see my distress and start asking questions."

"Phoebe..."

"Can I stay with you tonight, Kyra? Please?"

I sighed and nodded. "Okay. Let’s go."

I didn’t want to force her to go home, especially since she clearly wasn’t ready to discuss whatever was troubling her with her family. An Alpha’s sister had certain expectations placed upon her, and sometimes those were hard to bear.

The drive to Emily’s condominium was quiet. I kept glancing at Phoebe, who stared out the window lost in her thoughts, her reflection pale against the glass. When we reached Emily’s building, I squeezed Phoebe’s hand reassuringly.

Inside, I gave Phoebe a pair of spare slippers as I slipped on mine. Snow and Emily were in the kitchen, cooking something that smelled delicious.

"Mommy!" Snow greeted us enthusiastically when she saw us. Her eyes immediately widened with delight when she spotted Phoebe behind me.

I kissed Snow’s cheek. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Aunt Phoebe!" she squealed.

I settled onto a chair in front of Emily, who was stirring something on the stove while watching Phoebe carry Snow to the couch.

"Why’s the Alpha’s little sister here?" Emily asked quietly.

I sighed. "Love troubles."

Emily rolled her eyes. "No! At 21? That’s way too young to be dealing with love drama."

"You fell in love once too, Emily."

"Twice, actually," she corrected me with a smirk. "Both were Carvers."

I stared at her, surprised by her candor. "You knew about Kieran’s connection to your past?"

She gave me a knowing look. "I know everything about the Carvers, Kyra. When I saw Kieran years after my first love died, I had him investigated. The resemblance was... uncanny."

"Was that why you fell for him? Because he reminded you of your dead fiancé?" I asked carefully.

Emily nodded, a sad smile playing on her lips. "At first, yes. I was drowning in grief, and Kieran’s appearance gave me an emotional outlet. But then I got to know him, the real him, and that’s when things got complicated."

"Do you think everything would still have turned out this way if his mother hadn’t met my dad?" I wondered.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows? The Moon Goddess works in mysterious ways. The only thing I know for sure is that he was meant to fall in love with you, and since he has no control over his feelings... that love was destined to ruin him."

I bit my bottom lip and glanced at Phoebe. She was talking animatedly with Snow now, her face finally showing some life again.

"Did she talk to you about Caleb Walter?" Emily asked suddenly.

I looked back at her sharply. "What did you say?"

Emily turned the stove off and leaned closer. "I’m well-connected in the social scene, Kyra. A colleague of mine saw them hanging out in a bar last weekend."

My lips parted in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"I saw the photo. My colleagues are terrible gossips but excellent sources."

I glanced at Phoebe again and leaned on the counter as I looked back at Emily. "Emily, I think Caleb is involved with Sara Foster somehow."

She raised an eyebrow. "You mean your aunt who looks eerily like you?"

I slowly nodded. "Yes. I’m not entirely certain, but from what I observed, they seemed to be hiding something. I noticed how they looked at each other when she visited Snow in the hospital."

Emily covered her mouth. "Oh my Goddess! You said Sara wasn’t involved in your mother’s death, right? Do you think their connection might be similar to what I had with Kieran?"

"What do you mean?"

"Kyra, I fell in love with Kieran Carver and became blinded by it because he looked exactly like my dead fiancé. What if... Caleb is attracted to you because you look like Sara Foster?"

I was lost for words. After a few seconds, I shook my head. "No. It’s not always like that."

"What if it is?" she pressed. "What if there’s a history there we don’t know about?"

I sighed heavily. "That’s too complicated. I mean... why would Caleb and Sara... I can’t even wrap my mind around it. Are you suggesting he tried to court me because I remind him of her?"

Emily stared at me intently. "Desperate people do desperate things, Kyra. And that young woman over there," she nodded toward Phoebe, "I think she’s fallen hard for Caleb Walter."

I frowned. "It’s... too complicated."

"Phoebe is a competitive swimmer, right? Caleb Walter was a swimming champion before. Love often starts with admiration and innocent crushes, Kyra. What makes it complicated is that her love interest might be pining for someone else."

I bit my bottom lip, struggling to process all these connections.

"Now, let’s talk about you," Emily said, her tone shifting. "Why are you keeping the truth from Nathan Anderson?"

I swallowed hard, Sylvia suddenly alert within me. "W-What truth?"

She sighed. "Kyra, no matter what happened in the past, he deserves to know everything. It would be far more painful for him to learn certain truths from other people. What if Kieran suddenly reveals something to him? How do you think he would feel?"

I sucked in a breath, unable to counter her logic.

"This isn’t just about him anymore," Emily continued. "Snow is content having only you as her parent, which is why she’s not actively searching for a father figure. But she’s growing up, Kyra. You have to tell them both the truth as soon as possible, before it becomes something you can’t control. I’m pushing you now because I don’t want you to regret your silence later."