Kelsey POV
I perched precariously on the freezing rim of the bathtub, the porcelain biting through my jeans and into my skin.
The bathroom was silent, a tomb save for the rhythmic, maddening *drip, drip, drip* of the faucet. I held a pair of tweezers in my trembling hand, navigating the bloody landscape of my shoulder to extract a stubborn shard of glass.
With a sharp inhale, I yanked it free.
I hissed, dropping the bloody fragment into the sink, where it clinked against the ceramic like a dropped coin.
Usually, I would go to the Pack Hospital. Or Bennett would be here, his eyes dark with concern, licking my wounds—a wolf's primal instinct to heal their mate.
But the Mind-Link was silent. Dead air. I had erected a mental barrier, a wall of gray fog, blocking him out. Not that he was battering against the gates trying to reach me.
I reached for the jar of Moonshade paste I had hidden under the sink. It was an archaic herbal remedy, forbidden by modern healers because it didn't just numb the flesh; it dulled the soul, silencing the mate bond itself.
I smeared the thick green paste over my cuts. The stinging stopped almost instantly. And then, the mercy spread deeper—quieting the constant, dull ache in my chest where Bennett’s heart used to beat in time with mine.
A tentative knock on the door made me jump.
"Luna?" It was Sarah, a young Omega. "Are you okay? The Alpha... he's asking for his ceremonial dress robes."
"I'm fine," I said, my voice sounding hollow, like it belonged to a ghost.
I didn't open the door.
Three days passed in a gray blur of motion without feeling. I stayed in my room, packing. Not everything. Just the essentials.
On the fourth night, restless and suffocating, I walked to the edge of the pack lands. The moon was full, casting a silver, unforgiving glow over the forest.
Then I saw them.
Bennett and Aria lingered near the treeline. He wasn't just talking to her. He was *grooming* her.
His fingers tangled in her hair, gently pulling out a twig before smoothing the strands. It was a deeply intimate, instinctual gesture—one reserved solely for mates.
Aria turned her head. She saw me standing in the shadows.
She didn't look away. Instead, a slow, poisonous smile spread across her lips. She leaned into Bennett, rubbing her cheek against his chest, forcing her scent glands to release a wave of cloying vanilla and artificial roses. It was a territorial mark.
*I have him,* her eyes said. *You are nothing.*
I turned and walked toward the Pack House. Bennett looked up then. His eyes met mine. There was no guilt. Just annoyance. A flicker of irritation, as if I were a nagging fly interrupting his peace.
He turned back to Aria, whispering something that made her laugh—a sound that grated against my bones.
I walked into our bedroom—no, *his* bedroom.
On the dresser sat a small velvet box. Inside was the Luna's necklace, a silver crescent moon with a diamond tear, passed down through generations of Bennett's family. He had clasped it around my neck on our mating ceremony day, promising me the world. Now, it looked like a noose.
I took it out. It felt heavy, like a shackle.
I walked downstairs. Bennett had just entered the living room, Aria trailing behind him like a smug shadow.
"Bennett," I said.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Kelsey, not now. I have pack business."
I held out the necklace. It dangled from my fingers, catching the light.
"Take it," I said.
He frowned, looking at the jewelry as if he didn't recognize it. "Stop the theatrics. Just put it back upstairs."
"I don't want it," I said, my voice steady. "It belongs to the Luna. And clearly, that position is vacant."
He snatched it from my hand, his skin brushing mine. There were no sparks. The static electricity that once defined us was dead.
"Fine," he snapped. "If you want to be childish, go ahead."
I turned and walked away. I didn't go to our room. That sanctuary was gone. I went to the guest room down the hall.
Inside, on the desk, lay a paintbrush set he had given me for our first anniversary. "To paint our future," the card had read.
I picked up the finest brush. With a calm, deliberate motion, I snapped the wooden handle in two. *Snap.*
The sound was final. A period at the end of a sentence.
*
A week later, I was sitting by the communal fireplace in the Pack House. My bags were packed and hidden in the trunk of my car.
Bennett walked in. He was holding the necklace. But it was different. The silver chain had been shortened, the diamond polished.
He walked straight to Aria, who was lounging on the sofa.
"For the mother of my future heir," he announced, his voice booming with the Alpha's Command, forcing the air from the room and ensuring absolute attention.
He clasped my necklace around her neck.
The pack members in the room went silent. They looked at me, then at the floor. The disrespect was palpable, a physical weight in the air. He wasn't just replacing me; he was erasing me.
I felt... nothing. The numbness from the Moonshade paste had seeped into the marrow of my soul.
Aria stood up and sashayed over to me. She held a cup of steaming tea.
"Thank you for stepping aside, Luna," she whispered, low enough that only I could hear. "The Alpha needs a real woman. Not a broken vessel."
Something sparked in the cold ashes of my heart. Not pain. Anger.
I looked up, meeting her gaze. "You can wear the necklace, Aria. You can sleep in the bed. But you will never have what we had. You are nothing but a placeholder."
Her eyes widened. Her mask slipped.
"You bitch!" she shrieked.
It was a calculated performance. She stumbled on purpose, throwing the hot tea at me. I dodged, but the liquid splashed onto the rug.
"Ah! She pushed me!" Aria screamed, falling to the floor and clutching her stomach. "My baby! The heir!"
It was acting worthy of an award.
"Kelsey!"
Bennett's roar shook the walls. He stormed over, his Alpha aura flaring, crushing down on everyone in the room. It was a physical weight, forcing the wolves to bare their necks in submission.
I stood my ground, though my knees trembled under the pressure of his dominance.
"Get out," he growled, pointing at the door. "You endanger my heir? You attack a pack member? Get out of my Pack House! Do not step foot in here until I say so!"
He didn't ask what happened. He didn't check the cameras. He chose.
I looked at him, really looked at him, for the last time. The boy I loved was dead. This man was a stranger wearing his face.
"Gladly," I said.
I picked up my purse and walked out.
As I reached my car, my phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
*He only loves what I can give him. You are useless waste.*
I stared at the screen. Then, I opened my contacts.
Select All. Delete.
I opened the Mind-Link settings on my phone app—a modern backup for when distance weakened the telepathic bond—and hit 'Disconnect'.
The silence in my head was absolute. And for the first time in years, it was mine.
