276 Ghosts of Neev

    Vander

    We reached Neev in under an hour. Denis handled the helicopter like a pro, I wasn’t surprised–he probably flew Lucian and Darian around more times than I knew. Still, as the familiar skyline of Neev came into view, my stomach twisted. I wasn’t ready for this.

    Neev wasn’t just another stop on the map. It was where I lost Natasha. The ce where everything cracked. I had good memories here–sweet ones–but Neev also swallowed those whole. It gave me love, then ripped it away. I met both myte wife and my current one here. The ghosts of both still lingered.

    As the helicopter touched down on the hotel rooftop, I didn’t move. I stared out at the city, hesitant. What would they think, seeing me again? The man who nearly razed this ce out of grief and fury. I’d buried Neav in my mind out of anger, tried to erase it. But some scars don’t fade.

    I owed a lot of people in this city more than just an exnation. Especially the former Alpha. I’d med him for Natasha’s murder–almost destroyed him because I needed someone to hate. And now, knowing who the real killer was, I felt like a monster. A bullyshing out. I couldn’t undo what I’d done, but I could at least say

    the words: I’m sorry.

    “Father, let’s go inside,” Lucian said. His voice pulled me back.

    I looked at him–my son, now a man. He was just two when it all fell apart. Too young to remember, too

    innocent to carry the weight. I envied him for that. For his freedom from the pain that still sat heavy on my

    chest. He had Natasha’s eyes, but none of her ghosts.

    Strangely, he might mourn Martha more than he ever did Natasha. As toxic as that rtionship was, he still

    cared. That’s why he kept her secret when she told him she was being ckmailed. That’s why he spared Lacy. He didn’t do it for Darian. He did it for Martha.

    If he hadn’t loved her, he wouldn’t have done any of it.

    Thinking of Martha, the guilt hit me like a slow–burning fire. I had been unfair to her–merciless, even. I

    expected her to measure up to Natasha, a woman no one could rece, not even in death. No matter how much Martha gave, it was never enough for me. I saw her through a filter ofparison, always falling short.

    I picked at her ws, magnified her missteps, and never once stopped to see the woman behind the effort.

    She loved mepletely. I knew that. And I took it for granted like it was owed to me.

    Had I known the hell she survived–what ric did to her–I would’ve tried harder. I would’ve put my own grief

    aside and stood beside her. Loved her properly. Protected her the way she deserved. Instead, I judged her. I

    scolded her like a child, humiliated her in public without hesitation. It was easy to discard her when things

    got hard. Too easy..

    And I hated myself for that.

    I did it because I believed–arrogantly–that she would alwayse back. That no matter how cruel I was, she’d keep loving me. I never thought she could leave. I never gave her a reason to stay.

    And yet I expected her to love my son. To be a mother to Lucian while I barely gave her a husband. I saw how Mara was with Richard–gentle, devoted. But Lucian earned that love. He gave everything of himself to her,

    276 Ghosts of New

    and she gave it back. I never gave Martha that chance. I buried her under the shadow of Natasha’s memory and made her fight a ghost she could never beat.

    I told myself she was weak. That she was shallow. A trophy wife with nothing behind the pretty face. But that was a lie I told to protect my pride.

    The truth? She was one of the strongest people I’ve ever known.

    She endured things no one should, suffered quietly under the weight of secrets and trauma, and still found the strength to love me. Tofort me. To put on a brave face when her world was cracking underneath. She lived in fear because of ric, and still, she smiled for me. Still, she gave.

    And I, blind and broken, never saw her for who she really was–until it was far toote.

    Whenever I needed Martha, she was there. Always. No matter how I treated her, ino /imatter how little I gave in return, she showed up. When I grew paranoid, when I used her ior /iquestioned her loyalty, she shrank her world to make me feel safe. She stopped going out. She cut off friends. She isted herself–all because of my insecurity.

    Looking back now, it’s obvious: I didn’t deserve her.

    Yes, sheshed out. Yes, she made mistakes–some unforgivable. But what I see clearly now is that her life

    would’ve been easier if she had done what ric wanted. If she had killed Lucian and me. One move, and all

    her pain could’ve ended. But she didn’t.

    She chose fear and ckmail over betrayal. She chose us.

    And what I’m going to do to ric? That’s not just revenge. That’s my gift to her. My atonement.

    When this is over, I’ll fix what I broke between us. I’ll give her all of me–every scarred, imperfect piece. I won’t

    measure her against Natasha anymore. I won’t make her feel like a ceholder or a mistake. I’ll love her with

    the same fire Lucian loves Mara.

    Because that’s what changed me–watching him. No matter how fierce his temper, he was gentle with her.

    Devoted. A fool in love, and happier because of it. He didn’t hold back. And Darian, too. Both my sons gave

    their mates everything. That’s the kind of man I want to be now.

    Martha and I deserve that kind of love. And I’m ready to build it.

    But to move forward, I need to bury the past–and that means facing it head–on.

    Now that I’m back in Neev, it’s time to close the chapter on Natasha for good. I need to see Katya. I need to

    look her in the eye and tell her the truth–that I never cheated on her niece. That the stories she’s believed all

    these years were twisted.

    Lydia needs to hear the truth too–that thepany will go to Lucian, no matter what. That it was never

    about greed, only about protecting him. I just couldn’t stomach watching Tina manipte her way into his

    life and take advantage of him.

    They may never agree with my choices. But they deserve to understand them. And I need Lucian beside me when I face them–because he knows the truth. Because he forgave me.

    And because now, I want to be the man he can be proud of.