Unmatched Wife: Not His To Claim Anymore novel Chapter 45

Chapter 45

BIANCA

“I’m not-” I started, but the woman wasn’t listening.

Her grip tightened, her other hand coming up to cup my face like she needed to confirm I was real.

“I thought you were dead,” she whispered, tears gathering in her eyes. “They said the council had–but you’re here. You’re alive. How?”

“I’m not Elara,” I managed, my heart pounding. “My name is Bianca. Elara was my mother, but she died seven years ago.”

The woman’s expression shifted from joy to devastation so quickly it was painful to witness. Her hands dropped from my face, and she stepped back, really looking at me now.

“Of course. Of course you’re not.” She pressed a hand to her chest, breathing hard. “I’m sorry. You just–you look so much like her. The same eyes. The same-” She broke off, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

She was already turning away when I noticed it. Her sleeve had ridden up during our exchange, revealing a portion of her forearm.

And there, in faded black ink, was a symbol I recognized from my mother’s

‘s journals.

A circle intersected by three curved lines, each ending in a small spiral. The mark of a curse–breaker.

“Wait,” I called out before I could stop myself. “That tattoo. What does it mean?”

The woman froze, her hand moving to cover the mark. When she turned back, her expression was guarded, wary.

“Where did you see this symbol?”

“My mother’s journals. She had the same mark. She-“I hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. “She was a healer. A curse- breaker. Is that what you are too?”

The woman’s eyes widened, and she glanced around the store like she was checking for eavesdroppers.

“Not here,” she said quietly. “If you want answers about your mother, about what she was, we need to talk somewhere private. Somewhere safe.”

“Mummy?” Louis tugged on my hand, his small face worried. “Who is this lady? Why is she upset?”

The woman’s gaze dropped to Louis, and something in her expression softened.

“Smart boy, staying close to your mother.” She pulled a card from her pocket and pressed it into my free hand. “My name is Vera. I knew your mother well. Very well. If you want to learn about her life before she had you, about the work she did and why she had to hide it, call me. But be careful who you tell. The same people who drove Elara into hiding are still out there, still hunting anyone with our gifts.”

She left before I could respond, disappearing into the crowd of shoppers like she’d never been there,

I stood frozen in the produce section, staring at the card in my hand. Just a name and a phone number. No address. No indication of what kind of business she ran or how to reach her except through that single number.

“Mummy?” Louis said again. “Are you okay? You look scared.”

I forced myself to smile, to project calm I didn’t feel. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Just surprised. That lady knew my mother a long time ago.”

“Oh.” He seemed to accept this easily, his attention already shifting back to the apples. “Can we get the red ones? They’re

Chapter 45

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prettier.”

“Sure, baby. Get whichever ones you want.”

But my mind was racing as we finished shopping and headed back to the car.

My mother had been a curse–breaker. I’d known that, had her journals documenting her techniques and knowledge. But I’d thought she was alone in that work, isolated and hunted for abilities most packs feared.

But Vera had the same mark. Spoke about “our gifts” like there were others. Like my mother had been part of something larger before she’d been forced into hiding.

And she’d said people were still hunting anyone with these abilities.

People who might come after me if they discovered I’d inherited my mother’s gifts.

I thought of Louis’s curse, of the sophisticated magic that had nearly killed him. Of the signature I’d recognized but hadn’t been able to fully identify.

Maybe Vera had answers. About curse–breaking. About my mother. About who might have targeted an innocent child and why.

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