110

Emily POV

Lucy's unexpected return sent ripples through our tranquil pack, casting a shadow over the serenity we had carefully nurtured. It was a cloudy day, and the air was pregnant with tension. The entire pack sensed the disturbance, much like the charge in the atmosphere before a thunderstorm.

As the Alpha's mate, my relationship with Roman had endured countless trials, but this one had struck a chord within me. Lucy, a name that carried a weight of history and unfinished business, had reemerged from the shadows of the past. She was Roman's former fling, a chapter that I had known existed but hoped had long been sealed and buried.

The first time I saw her, she appeared like a ghost from my husband's past. Her hair, a cascade of chestnut waves, framed a face that retained the same striking beauty. Her emerald eyes, once windows to my husband's secrets, now locked onto me with an unsettling familiarity.

It was as if she had never left, as if time had stood still in her presence. Her