Rejected and Pregnant I Fled The Pack (Evelyn and Damon) novel Chapter 207

Damon pov

I heard the knock before I saw who it was, and something in the particular hesitancy of it, quiet but insistent, already told me exactly what kind of conversation we were about to have.

Evelyn opened the door, and I watched her expression soften immediately with tired, sympathetic understanding at the sight of the young woman standing there—a she-wolf from a neighboring territory, her eyes red and swollen, her composure clearly holding together by only the thinnest thread.

"Is Ethan home," she asked, her voice carrying the particular fragile hope of someone who both wanted and dreaded an answer.

"He's at football practice," Evelyn said gently, stepping aside. "Would you like to come in? I think we should probably talk."

The girl nodded, and I recognized her now—Talia, from the western border pack, someone Ethan had apparently been seeing for the past several weeks according to whatever fragments of information had filtered back to us through the usual channels.

She settled onto our couch, and I sat across from her, understanding this had become an uncomfortably familiar routine—offering tea, offering tissues, offering quiet, patient space for young women to process whatever version of heartbreak my son had most recently caused.

"He told me I was different," she said, once she'd gathered enough composure to actually speak, her voice carrying genuine, raw hurt. "That what we had was genuinely serious, that he'd never felt this way about anyone before. And then three days ago, he simply stopped answering my messages entirely. I finally caught him today, and he acted like he barely remembered half of what he'd apparently told me."

I felt my jaw tighten, genuine frustration building beneath my attempted composure. "I'm genuinely sorry," I said, meaning it completely. "That's not acceptable behavior, Talia. You deserve considerably better than being told something's serious only to be discarded so carelessly."

"I keep thinking it's my fault," she said quietly, tears welling fresh. "That I somehow wasn't genuinely interesting enough, or did something wrong."

"It's not you," Evelyn said firmly, settling beside her, offering steady, maternal comfort. "This is a pattern with Ethan, unfortunately. You're not the first, and I genuinely doubt you'll be the last unless he actually changes his behavior."

Something in that admission seemed to offer Talia a small measure of comfort, understanding this wasn't some unique personal failing on her part, but rather a genuine, ongoing issue with my son's character that required actual address.

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