The Alpha's Nine-Year Lie

Lynn has stood beside James Wilson since the inter-pack trade summit where they met, helping him build Oak Bay into one of the strongest packs in the mountains. When a Beta named Lily posts a photo of her son in a white buckskin hunting coat, Lynn recognizes the hide James tanned himself last winter—one of only two coats he ever made. The second coat is missing from her closet, and James denies knowing anything about it.

As Lily's posts and replies pile up, the truth closes in: the boy's Alpha father is James, and the six months of border patrols were spent with another woman and her pup. Lynn follows James and their daughter Emma through the snow to the Western District, where Emma runs into Lily's arms and calls her Aunt Lily, and where James promises Lily a real New Year's Eve with her and their son.

Lynn records it all, and a ruby necklace and bite marks in Lily's next post confirm what she already knows. She no longer wants this child, yet one detail keeps nagging at her: the little boy's features look strikingly like Lily's.