Once Love, Double Betrayal Chapter 10

Once Love, Double Betrayal Chapter 10

“Candy still hasn’t woken up.’

Julian hesitated before finally asking, “Adrian keeps yelling that he wants to see you. Could you

“No.” I cut him off before he could finish.

“Adrian and I are done. I didn’t make a scene about how you all helped him keep the truth from me -only because I still valued our years of friendship. I thought of you as friends, Julian, but that doesn’t mean you get to play messenger for him now.”

My parents once taught me something simple: if someone makes you uneasy, they’re not your person-whether it’s a friend or a lover.

So before Julian could scramble for an explanation, I looked past him to the others standing behind and said, “From this moment on, we’re not friends anymore.”

I ended the video call and blocked everything tied to Adrian-his friends, acquaintances, anyone who’d ever crossed paths with him.

When I looked up from my phone, my parents were watching me with quiet relief. I gave them a small smile. “I’m okay now.”

I had been broken, yes-but that didn’t mean I’d lost the will to live.

My parents loved me more than anything. That alone made me luckier than most.

I traveled with them to Mississippi and then to Los Angeles, soaking in places I’d never seen before.

We hugged baby lambs on a farm and rode horses across open plains until the world felt impossibly wide. We drank fresh goat milk and chased sunsets along the West Coast.

Two months later, we finally returned to the pack house.

The moment we stepped through the gates, I saw Candy someone I hadn’t laid eyes on in months.

She was loitering near the entrance, craning her neck to peek inside, until my mom snapped, “What are you doing here?”

Candy jumped like a startled deer and turned around. When she saw me, her face crumpled with awkward guilt. “Claire… can we talk?”

I never imagined I’d sit across from Candy again, just the two of us.

She perched opposite me, endlessly stirring her latte with a tiny spoon.

“How have you been these past few months?” she asked.

Before I could answer, her words started tumbling out as if she couldn’t hold them back anymore.

“I’ve figured out so much,” she said, her voice trembling. “A lot of our mutual friends have cut me

off. Even when I reach out, they dodge me-like I’m something dirty they don’t want to touch.”

Her voice cracked. “One of our old teachers from the pack high school found out what happened and

called me.”

“She said, ‘Candy, losing Claire is something you’ll regret for the rest of your life.

“I didn’t understand,” Candy whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Then she told me-back

when we took the SAT, you tanked your score on purpose so we could go to the same college. She said everyone knew except me. You threw that test… for me.”

“Claire, I’ve always envied you.” The confession came out between sobs.

“You were born with everything—a great family, parents who adore you, and even school came easy to you. Everything you wanted, you got. And my envy just kept twisting into jealousy.”

“Claire…” she choked out. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

There was a time when I would have done anything to protect Candy from a single harsh word. Even

when my parents lost their temper with me–just that once-over the SAT, they still knew why I’d

done it.

But Candy never did.

All she’d said back then was, “Claire, I thought you were unstoppable. Turns out you’re just…

ordinary.”

Now, watching her tears fall, I felt nothing. No ache, no flicker of old tenderness.

I didn’t owe her forgiveness. And I certainly didn’t need to tell her that her apology meant nothing

to me now.

“Candy,” I said, rising from my seat and meeting her red-rimmed eyes, “don’t come looking for

me again.”

As I walked away, her choked voice followed me. “I really know I was wrong.”

I didn’t turn back.

My life doesn’t run on rewind. I’m moving forward-one stubborn, uneven step at a time.

Blair’s POV

I’ve been Christian’s Luna for five years.

But he never marked me. Never sealed the mate bond with me.

Every time I brought it up, he’d brush me off with a smile. “Blair, I’m too busy. Pack matters are piling up. Sealing the mate bond? What difference does it make?”

And I believed him. I always did. Until today.

I saw it with my own eyes-Christian, standing before the pack elders, sealing the mate bond… with

my twin sister Carrie, the one who vanished five years ago.

In that moment, my wolf let out a low, guttural growl inside me, her claws tearing at my heart.

Carrie’s eyes were red with tears as she threw herself into his arms, gripping the bond-sealing

contract tightly.

“Christian, it was my fault… I left you at the altar…” Her voice trembled. “I know you’re only agreeing to this because I have cancer. But I still have to ask-after all these years, did you ever forget me? Did you actually fall in love with Blair?”

He was silent for what felt like a century.

I stood nearby, my nails digging deep into my palms. Blood trickled down my fingers. Even my wolf

was trembling.

“No,” he finally said, voice cold as a winter frost. “Never.”

Carrie instantly broke into tears of joy. She rose on tiptoe and kissed him.

And him… his hand hovered for a moment-then settled on her waist, deepening the kiss.

“No-!”

My wolf let out a furious roar. A violent storm surged through my veins. My fingertips went numb,

my bones tensing until I could feel my claws threatening to break through skin.

But none of them looked my way. Not even once.

Beeeeeeep-