Chapter 155
Chapter 155
Gideon’s POV
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I was sitting in my office behind my desk perusing through the folder about Ivan that Xavier had previously brought for me, when Xavier again arrived at the door to my office.
I had been searching through the folder, reading every line, searching for any hint of an indication that Ivan would treat Claire with anything short of dedication and kindness. So far, he seemed an upstanding Alpha in most respects. Capable. A good leader. Well–loved by his close–knit pack.
The files seemed almost too clean of any criticism, but I knew the man and his pack. In their isolation and secrecy, his pack members were very devoted to Ivan, fiercely protective of their Alpha.
Frankly, with all that stood against him, I was surprised that Xavier managed to gather even this much information about Ivan. Xavier had my respect and appreciation for it regardless, but there was nothing damning within this folder.
Now, seeing Xavier at the door, I looked up. “Did you find something?”
“Yes,” Xavier said. Having been acknowledged, he stepped into the room and then handed me the photo he had been holding.
At first glance, I thought it was a photo of Claire that he had just handed me. I needed to look twice to realize that it was actually the former Luna Queen in the picture, standing next to the Alpha King.
The similarities were immediately striking: the shape of the eyes the slope of the face and her nose, even the curve of her bottom lip.
But there were differences too, albeit subtle ones. The texture of the skin, the way she wore her hair, the angle of her brows.
Looking longer, studying the image closely, I realized with a jolt that the photo I had seen in Ivan’s office hadn’t been Claire at all. Much more likely, it was this woman…
“What was her name again?” I asked, not quite remembering now. She had died as a young woman many years ago when I had been barely a toddler. I regretted that I didn’t know much about her, or if we had ever even met.
“Lena,” Xavier provided.
The name slid in place in my memory, and I nodded, accepting it at once. “Ah, that’s right.”
I stared at the photo, as I put together all of my thoughts.
Ivan had been in love with Lena, though she had married his step–brother the Alpha King. That must have hurt, and the painful rejection must have hurt Ivan for years. Possibly still was since he kept Lena’s picture on his desk.
But what did that mean for Claire? How could his feelings for Claire possibly be genuine if he was so hung up on a woman who simply looked like her?
Was he only using Claire as a replacement for the person he loved and lost?
Did Claire know about this?
The last question struck me, bringing all other thoughts to a screeching halt. If Claire knew, and she accepted Ivan anyway, then that was her decision. But I had a suspicion that Ivan had played this all very close to the chest and not revealed much
about Lena to Claire.
Claire was a strong werewolf. Even when we had been together, he had been confident and powerful.
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Chapter 155
I couldn’t imagine her accepting a place as second best in her lover’s life, trying to fit into a role she couldn’t possibly fill. No matter what she did, she would never be Lena. And that meant she would never be enough for Ivan.
I was willing to bet that Claire didn’t know.
Which put the question on me, should I tell her? She wasn’t going to like me bringing this to her. It could make her angry and that anger could lash out at me.
But she still deserved to know.
I couldn’t stand the thought that she was in a relationship under false pretenses. If Ivan was lying to her about Lena, even if it was a lie by omission, then Claire deserved better.
I had to tell her. She had to know.
Claire’s POV
I was looking for Ivan after having separated from him for a bit. The Alpha King’s palace was so big that I felt like I was lost in a maze. One of the servants told me that he believed Ivan was in one of the sitting rooms. He offered to guide me but I opted for directions instead, not wanting to interrupt the servants duties. I regretted that now.
Yet, after being lost for a while, I finally heard voices coming from one of the rooms, so I followed the sound to a door that seemed to go to a sitting room. The servant had been right.
I reached for the handle, to open the door and make my presence known.
But then I heard the Alpha King’s voice.
“You have to tell Claire.”
I froze.
“There’s no need for that,” Ivan replied.
I pulled my hand back from the door.
“She’s very similar to the one we both loved,” the Alpha King said “Not just in appearance, but in some of her thoughts, her actions. There’s a lot of overlap.”
“Clare is her own person,” Ivan said.
“Yes, she is,” the Alpha King said. “So I ask you, are you certain that your intentions are pure here?”
When Ivan didn’t reply, the King continued.
“You could never have Lena. Is Claire some kind of consolation prize to you?”
I was so still, I didn’t even breathe. Only the pounding of my heart made any movement at all within me.
“I care about Claire,” Ivan said. “She is her own person, and I like the person that she is. That is the woman I want to marry.”
“And Lena?” the King asked.
Ivan was quiet a moment more, before he said so softly that I didn’t hear it. “Lena is gone.
The King grunted and after a moment, the conversation turned to other things. It was clear, from the way they talked, that the two had a tense but familiar relationship. They must have known each other an incredibly long time.
The King had said the one we both loved. They had loved these woman! Was that the one that Ivan had lost!
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Chapter 155
Even though it would have been the appropriate,thing to do, I don’t want to walk into the room anyone I didn’t wat
beside Ivan while I tried to understand what they had been taking about and what it could mean for the
If I was so similar to this past lost love…
Did Ivan have more motives for this marriage other than just his affection for me and our friendship?
Moving away from the door, I started wandering back toward my room, needing some time and space to think. The war was too thin right now. I felt like the world was closing in on me a lie.
Ivan was my friend. He wouldn’t lie to me.
Yet
My phone rang from my pocket. Pulling it free, I checked the screen.
Gideon.
What could he possibly want?
I thought of ignoring him, but as he had the children in his care at the moment, I knew I couldn’t.
Going into my room, I answered the call, not knowing what to expect.
AD
