Unmatched Wife: Not His To Claim Anymore novel Chapter 106

Chapter 106

MATTHEW

The decision to return to Silver Moon territory felt both necessary and impossible. I sat in our temporary apartment at eleven PM, staring at my laptop screen and the mounting crisis reports Marcus kept sending.

Three more families filed transfer requests today. Beta Adam is openly questioning your leadership. The pack is fracturing, Matthew. You need to come home.

Home. The word felt hollow when I thought about the house where Bianca had died, where Mia was apparently being harassed daily, where everything reminded me of my failures.

But Theo needed stability. Needed his own bed, his own toys, the familiar rhythms of his actual life rather than this temporary existence in a city where we were guests.

And Dr. Fisher had offered a solution that made returning possible.

“We can continue Theo’s therapy via video sessions,” she’d explained during our meeting that afternoon. “The technology is excellent now–secure, HIPAA compliant, virtually indistinguishable from in–person sessions for children Theo’s age. He’ll have the comfort of being home while still receiving the specialized treatment he needs.”

“You’re sure that will work?” I’d asked, skeptical.

“I’ve been doing remote therapy for years with excellent results. And honestly, Matthew, Theo needs to reintegrate into his normal life at some point. Staying in BloodMoon City indefinitely isn’t healthy for either of you. You’re in limbo here–not tourists, not residents, just people passing through. That’s no way to build stability.”

She was right. I knew she was right.

So I’d made the decision. We’d leave BloodMoon City tomorrow morning. Return to Silver Moon, to the pack that was falling apart, to the house where Mia waited.

To the reality I couldn’t avoid forever.

I was booking our travel arrangements when Theo appeared in my doorway, clutching his stuffed wolf.

“Daddy? Are we really going home tomorrow?”

“We are, buddy. Is that okay with you?”

He considered this seriously. “Will Dr. Fisher still be my doctor?”

“Yes. We’ll talk to her through the computer, just like we video call Uncle Marcus sometimes.”

“Oh.” Theo seemed satisfied with this. “Can I bring my dinosaurs from the park?”

“Your dinosaurs are already packed, remember? We put them in your backpack this afternoon.”

“Right.” He shifted his weight, looking uncertain. “Daddy? Will it be different when we go back?”

The question caught me off–guard. “What do you mean?”

“Will everything be the same as before Mama died? Or will it be different?”

I set down my laptop and pulled him onto my lap, this small boy who’d been forced to grow up too fast.

“I said hone

“It will be different,” I said honestly. “Because Mama’s not there anymore. And we’ve both changed–we’re learning how to he sad without letting the sadness take over completely. But buddy, different doesn’t always mean bad. Sometimes it just means we’re figuring out a new way to live,”

Chapter 106

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“Will Aunty Mia still be there?”

I hesitated. “No. Aunty Mia is going to live in her own house now. She won’t be staying with us anymore.”

Theo’s expression was complicated–relief mixed with something that might have been guilt.

“Is that because I said I hated her?”

“No, sweetheart. It’s because it’s not healthy for either of us to have her there right now. We need space to heal, and Aunty Mia needs space to figure out her own life.”

“Oh.” He was quiet for a moment. “That’s good. I don’t want to hate her, but I also don’t want to see her every day.”

“I understand. And Theo? It’s okay to have complicated feelings about people. You don’t have to hate Aunty Mia or love her. You can just feel however you feel and know that it’s okay.”

He nodded against my chest, and we sat like that for a while, just being together in the quiet.

“Daddy?” His voice was very small. “I miss Mama.”

“I know, buddy. I miss her too.”

“Do you think she knows we miss her?”

The question was impossible, theological, the kind of thing I had no answer for.

“I think if there’s any way for her to know, she knows,” I said carefully. “And I think she’d want us to be okay. To be happy, even though we’re sad. To keep living even though she’s gone.”

“That’s what Dr. Fisher says too.”

“Dr. Fisher is very smart.”

We sat together until Theo fell asleep in my arms, and I carried him to bed, tucking him in with the careful gentleness I’d learned over weeks of late–night comfort sessions.

Tomorrow we’d go home. And somehow, we’d figure out how to keep living.

The next morning dawned gray and cold, matching my mood perfectly. I loaded our bags into the car while Theo said goodbye to the apartment that had been our temporary refuge.

“Bye, BloodMoon City,” he said seriously, waving at the window. “Thank you for helping us get better.”

The drive to Dr. Fisher’s office for our final in–person session felt surreal–this ritual we’d performed dozens of times, now for

the last time.

I was helping Theo out of the car when I noticed a man standing near the building entrance, watching us with uncomfortable intensity

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