CHAPTER 94: CHAPTER 94 OLD WOUNDS STOP FESTERING

Caroline’s POV

I smelled coffee when I came downstairs next morning. Mom was making pancakes in the kitchen, hair up in a messy bun.

"Morning honey. Sleep okay?" she asked, putting a perfect pancake on a plate.

"Best sleep in weeks," I said. "Where’s Liam?"

Mom laughed while making more pancakes. "He’s with your dad in the barn, milking Daisy."

I smiled, thinking about my city kid trying to milk a cow. "Better go check on Dad."

Walking to the red barn through the wet grass, I heard Liam giggling. Inside, he was sitting on a little stool next to Dad, who was helping him milk the cow.

"Like that, little wolf," Dad said. "Not too hard."

Liam had his thinking face on, tongue sticking out. When milk hit the bucket, his eyes got huge.

"Mommy!" he yelled when he saw me. "I making milk!"

"Good job, baby," I said, watching my dad teach my son just like he taught me.

After breakfast, we walked around the farm. My parents had turned their twenty acres into something amazing after Dad quit being Beta. There were apple and peach trees everywhere, a huge garden full of vegetables, and plenty of animals. They had one cow, two pigs, and about twelve chickens, making it the perfect little farm.

Liam loved collecting eggs with Mom, being super careful with each one. He went crazy for the ducks in the pond, especially when the babies followed their mom in a line.

"Mommy, can Daven come swim with me?" Liam asked, pointing at the pool.

My heart hurt. "Baby, Draven’s in another city. He can’t come right now."

"But he said he’d teach me swimming," Liam’s lip started shaking.

"I know. We’ll see him when we go home," I said, seeing Mom smile.

"Home?" she asked when Liam ran off chasing a butterfly.

"Harbor Bay’s home now," I said. "That’s where our life is."

Mom squeezed my hand. "Wherever makes you two happy is home."

Elle showed up after lunch in her fancy car, bringing presents for everyone. My parents hugged her like another daughter and showed her everything on the farm.

"Oh my god, Robert, this place is amazing!" Elle said, looking at the stream. "I’m telling Nate we need something like this later."

Dad hugged Elle. "This is your home too. You and Nate can come anytime."

Later, Elle wanted to go shopping in town. "Lena, need anything from the market?" she asked Mom.

"Yeah," Mom gave her a list. "Can you get these? The honey here’s way better than Harbor Bay’s."

"We put Liam in Elle’s car and promised him ice cream. Driving through town brought back so many memories."

"Remember sneaking out to that Crescent Lake party?" Elle laughed as we passed it.

"How could I forget? Dad grounded me forever!"

The town square looked exactly the same. Same fountain, same benches, even the same old popcorn guy.

"Popcorn?" Elle asked, and I nodded. Some things never change.

We walked around with Liam eating his popcorn. Everything was fine until we passed some Blood Moon Pack women who started talking shit.

"Isn’t that the one without a scent who got rejected at her ceremony?"

"I heard she got knocked up right after her ex got married."

"That kid’s probably a bastard. Why’s she even back here?"

Elle got super pissed, her eyes turning gold. "I swear I’ll kill them."

I grabbed her. "Don’t. They’re not worth it."

"How are you so calm?" she asked.

"Because none of it matters anymore," I said, actually meaning it. "I used to care so much. Used to cry myself to sleep over what people said. Now? I got my amazing kid, great friends, awesome job, and..."

"And a hot Alpha who’s crazy about you," Elle grinned.

I rolled my eyes but smiled. "I’m not part of Blood Moon pack anymore. Who cares what they think?"

We went to the market to finish shopping fast. Everyone loved Liam, except the gossips. We were almost done when I heard a voice I never wanted to hear again.

"Look who’s back. The girl with no scent."

I turned around and saw Marcus, my ex who rejected me during his proposal ceremony. He looked like shit, all skinny and rough, with red eyes and messy facial hair.

"Marcus," I said coldly, trying to push my cart past him.

He blocked me. "Back already? City life too hard?"

"Just visiting my parents. Move."

"Bet you’re having fun in Harbor Bay," he smirked. "Big city, nobody watching, sleeping around with everyone."

Elle gasped. Thank god Liam was busy looking at cereal.

"Shut up, Marcus! You’re nobody to talk to me like that," I snapped.

"But I used to be somebody. Or did you forget I was your first?" His words made me sick." Everyone knows you got knocked up by some random guy right after I dumped you. Such a slut."

"That random guy gave me more pleasure in one night than you ever did," I shot back, surprising myself. "And I don’t regret it. I only regret wasting years with a loser who couldn’t satisfy me and then embarrassed me in front of everyone."

His face got ugly with anger. "You bitch! I did you a favor. Who wants a mate with no scent? You’re broken."

"Better no scent than no balls," I said. "Funny how Selina was sleeping with that Crystal Lake warrior before your wedding. And now she’s pregnant... guess you’ll never know if it’s yours, huh?"

Marcus grabbed my arm hard. "You don’t know shit."

"Get your hands off her!" Elle growled, eyes turning gold. Liam got scared and grabbed her leg.

"What you gonna do, Larson?" Marcus sneered. "Your daddy’s not Alpha anymore. Your brother can’t help this nobody."

"My brother would throw you in the dungeon for threatening a mom in front of her kid," Elle said coldly. "He’s been wanting to punish you for hurting those young wolves last month anyway."

"Hey! What’s going on here?" Mr. Aginor shouted, rushing over. "Everything okay?"

"No," I pulled away from Marcus. "He was leaving."

"This isn’t over," he hissed.

I got in his face. "Yeah, it is. I’m not in your pack anymore. Found something way better. My new man is a real Alpha—driven, powerful, and drop-dead gorgeous, and he loves everything about me.Standing next to him, you look like a boy still pretending to be a man. Plus, unlike you, he actually knows how to please a woman in bed."

Marcus went white, couldn’t even speak.

"Let’s go, Carrie," Elle took Liam’s hand. "We’re done here."

While checking out, Liam asked, "Mommy, why’s that man mean?"

My heart hurt. I knelt down. "Some people are just sad inside, baby. Makes them say mean things."

"Like mean kids at my old preschool?"

"Just like that," I nodded.

"But we don’t gotta be sad, right? We got Draven now, and he makes you happy."

Kids say the truest things. I hugged him tight. "Yeah baby, we got Draven."

In the car, Elle lost it. "What an asshole! We gotta tell Sebastian!"

"No," I said. "I’m not in Blood Moon Pack anymore. Not getting involved."

"But Marcus..."

"Is sad and lonely," I said. "That’s enough payback."

Elle sighed, starting the car. "You’re so different now, Carrie."

"Good different?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "You finally know how special you are. Not like before when Marcus hurt you."

I thought about it while we drove. Getting rejected hurt like hell back then. The shame, the pain, everything. I was so messed up that when I met that mysterious man at the party, I couldn’t even feel what was right in front of me.

"When Marcus dumped me, I thought my life was over," I said quietly. "Hurt so bad I couldn’t feel anything else. That’s probably why I missed what was special about Liam’s father that night."

"You were protecting yourself," Elle said. "Makes sense."

"And now?"

Elle looked at me softly. "Now you’re getting better."

Liam was sleeping in back, looking so peaceful. Looking at him, I realized what really mattered now. All the gossip and pack drama meant nothing compared to my kid being happy and me being okay.

"You know," Elle said pulling up to my parents’ house, "you don’t fit here anymore, Carrie. Not cause they don’t want you, but cause you’ve changed."

"I know," I said. "But my parents..."

"Can visit you," she said. "Or you can come here sometimes. But your real life’s in Harbor Bay now. With Liam and Draven."

I thought about Draven asking us to move in, to join his pack. I was still scared, but something else felt stronger now, like maybe this could work.

"Yeah," I said. "I think you’re right."