Chapter 342
“Mom, no,” I protested immediately. “You’re still recovering. You shouldn’t-”
“Mother knows her limits,” she interrupted firmly, her eyes never leaving Ethan’s face. “Some things are worth standing for.”
Reluctantly, James and I helped her to her feet. She swayed slightly but steadied herself with our support. For a moment, she simply stared at Ethan, her eyes searching his face as if memorizing every feature.
Then, without warning, she slapped him.
The sound cracked through the night air like a gunshot. Ethan’s head snapped to the side, more from surprise than force. When he turned back, his cheek bore the red imprint of her hand.
“Ethan Stone,” my mother said, tears gathering in her eyes, “if I had known that saving you would bring so much pain to Liv, I
never would have done it.”
Ethan stood frozen, his wolf momentarily submitting to the older she–wolf’s fury. Confusion clouded his amber eyes as he processed her words.
Victoria’s reaction was immediate and panicked. She forced her wheelchair between Ethan and my mother, her face contorted
with desperation.
“What are you talking about?” she demanded, her voice shrill. “You didn’t save Ethan. My mother did!”
She fumbled with the Jade Identity Pendant around her neck, holding it up like a shield.
“Ethan, you gave me this jade pendant yourself,” she insisted, her fingers trembling. “You told me to wait for you. I am Little
Orange.”
Her eyes darted wildly between Ethan and my mother. “She’s lying to help Olivia! Don’t let her deceive you!”
James laughed openly, the sound sharp with mockery. “If what you claim is true, why are you so afraid?”
His hazel eyes flashed with amusement as his wolf recognized the scent of her deception. Victoria’s face paled further, her
desperation growing visible with each passing second.
Suddenly, Victoria’s eyes rolled back, and she began to slump in her wheelchair–a perfectly timed faint. But before Ethan could
react, Dr. Bennett was there, steadying her with clinical efficiency.
“She’s fine,” he assured Ethan, his tone dry. “Just a bit overwhelmed.”
He wheeled Victoria slightly aside, positioning himself between her and the others. His professional demeanor barely masked his
distaste for her theatrics.
My mother turned back to Ethan, her expression softening slightly. She didn’t argue with Victoria over the identity of Little
Orange. Instead, she began to speak quietly, her voice carrying memories only the real Orange Mama would know.
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Chapter 342
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“You were ten when the hunters attacked,” she began. “They killed your mother and left you for dead. When the pack found you
six months later, you were blind and traumatized.”
Ethan’s face remained impassive, but I could see his wolf stirring beneath his skin, recognizing truths long buried.
“For months after your return,” my mother continued, “you would wake screaming from nightmares. You wouldn’t let anyone touch you except me.”
Her voice grew softer, more intimate. “Every night, you would run to our cottage at the edge of the territory. You would leap into my arms and call me ‘Mother.‘ You said I smelled safe, like home.”
Ethan’s breathing had become shallow, his amber eyes wide with dawning recognition.
“You would only sleep if I sang to you–that lullaby about the moon protecting all wolf pups. And Liv would curl up beside you, her little hand in yours.”
My mother’s eyes filled with tears. “You made me promise never to tell anyone that the mighty future Alpha needed someone to hold him through the night. That was our secret–yours, mine, and Little Orange’s.”
Victoria made a strangled sound of protest, but no one paid her any attention. All eyes were on Ethan, whose face had gone completely white.
“You called her Little Orange because of her scent,” my mother said, nodding toward me. “You said she smelled like sunshine and citrus–like hope.”
Ethan’s gaze shifted to me, his amber eyes filled with a terrible, dawning realization. His wolf whined with recognition of a truth long buried.
“It can’t be,” he whispered, but his wolf already knew.
The truth stood before him, undeniable and devastating: Evelyn was indeed Orange Mama, and I was truly Little Orange.
