I waited in silence, hidden behind the shattered remnants of a fallen pillar as gunfire echoed through the shattered ballroom. The scent of blood mixed with the sharp tang of silver and gunpowder, thick in the air. My wolf whimpered within me, wounded and weak, her strength ebbing as the bullet lodged in my side burned like fire.
No one came. No pack, no mate. Not even a whisper of help.
By the time the attackers finally fled, leaving behind their trail of chaos and shattered bodies, I was barely clinging to consciousness. The pain was blinding, but I dragged myself from the ruins, bleeding, broken, betrayed. My body shifted halfway, claws scraping the pavement in desperation, fangs bared in agony. I shifted back only when I stumbled into the pack’s private hospital.
The doctor greeted me, his eyes wide with disbelief, as he quickly began treating me. He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t have to. The scent of betrayal clung to me like death.
When I returned to the Packhouse, my home for years, I expected… something. But all I saw was a warm hearth and laughter. Talia, Alpha Kale, little Marcus, and Elder Luna sat at the long stone table, feasting on roasted venison and red wine as though they hadn’t just left their Luna to die among silver-laced bullets and feral rogues.
Kale met my gaze, and his smirk faded, replaced by a flicker of guilt. “Alina… I’m so sorry. Talia was in critical condition. I had to shift to save her. I couldn’t-”
“Yes. Critical,” I replied, my voice cold as ice, my wolf stirring with quiet rage.
Without another word, I ascended the stairs, I ripped open the trunk of memories I had sealed away, and dragged it out under the moonlit sky. The night air was thick with the scent of ash and betrayal as I set fire to the box. Flames consumed wedding photos, blood-signed mating papers, and the pendant Kale had given me on our bond-night.
I watched it all burn. No grief. No tears. Just… satisfaction. One memory after another, gone.
The fire danced, reflecting in my amber eyes when I heard the heavy thud of boots behind me.
“What the hell are you doing?” Kale snarled, his voice laced with dominance.
He stormed toward the fire, shifting partway in anger, his claws bursting through his skin. He grabbed a nearby extinguisher, dousing the flames just in time to save a charred corner of our mating certificate and part of a photograph. “Are you insane?! Why would you do this?”
I stared at him, unfazed. “Because I’m done, Kale. I want a divorce.”
His expression morphed into something cruel. “You can’t divorce an Alpha. You’re my bonded mate. You have no pack, no wealth, and no strength without me. You’re nothing without this union.”
I turned, heading back inside. “Then I’ll be nothing. But at least I’ll be free.”
That night, I ignored the endless knocking. He slipped apology notes under my door, something we once did after petty arguments. But now they meant nothing. Since the moment that silver bullet struck me and he chose another, I had no heart left to break. Only a frozen shell remained.
The next morning, I woke up with a strange lightness in my chest. My escape was hours away.
As I opened the door, Kale stood there like a ghost of the past, holding a single white rose, my favorite.
“Forgive me, Alina,” he murmured, his voice low, soft. “Let me take you out. Just one last day. I found the perfect sundress for you.”
He handed me the yellow bag like it was a peace offering from a war he started. I accepted it.
He smiled. “It’s the place where we had our first moonlit run, remember?”
I said nothing, but my wolf, despite her pain, flicked her ears in recognition.
After he left, humming like an idiot, I texted Magnus.
‘I’m not backing out, Magnus. I’ll see you soon.’
Then I packed three boxes, one for each year of our doomed bond, and left them on the bed. Today was our third mating anniversary, though Kale had clearly forgotten. Not that it mattered.
I slipped into the sundress Kale gave me, adjusted my hair, and was fastening my necklace when the door slammed open. Kale stormed in, followed by Talia and his ever-snarling mother.
“You set it up, didn’t you? The attack last night, just to test me?!” Kale shouted, his claws out, eyes glowing with fury.
Before I could respond, his mother slapped me. Then another. Talia pretended to sob, hiding behind Kale like the helpless little she-wolf she loved to play.
“You wanted to see who I’d save?” Kale accused. “What if she’d lost the baby?!”
“I don’t know why you hate me so much, Alina,” Talia sniffled. “If you want me dead, just kill me, but spare my children.”
Kale’s mother growled, “You’re unfit to be Luna. You need to be flogged.”
They spat venom, but I stayed on the ground, unmoving. It was useless. I could shift right there and tear them all to pieces, but that wouldn’t give me peace.
Alpha Kale turned away. “Stay in this house. When I return, we’ll discuss your punishment.”
The moment they were gone, I called Magnus Vale.
“Release the video,” I said calmly. “Let the kingdom see what their noble Alpha has done.”
“Done, princess,” he said. “Your ride’s waiting.”
I didn’t waste another breath. I walked out with my small bag, passed the gates for the last time, and slipped into the waiting sedan.
The driver bowed his head. “Welcome, Luna. Or should I say… Mistress of the Northern Fangs?”
I smiled. For the first time in years, it felt genuine. The Northern Fangs, King Magnus’s royal pack, awaited me. A new future. A new identity.
The driver drove me to the airport, and as the wind rushed past the window, I watched the Alpha mansion fade into the horizon.
Suddenly, my phone started vibrating.
Dozens of calls. All from Alpha Kale.
I sneered and turned my phone off, without any hesitation.
