Caelia’s POV
I had grown up knowing, the same way every wolf did, that our core was sacred. From the time we were pups, it was drilled into us—protect it at all costs, guard it like your very soul, because in truth, that’s exactly what it was. A wolf without a core was incomplete. Stripped of it, we lost our strength, our fire, our very identity. And still… they decided mine was expendable.
Lucien claimed there was no other option. Saving Calista, he said, required my wolf core. When I told him no, his temper erupted, sharp and violent, his words crashing down like a storm.
“You only care about yourself,” he snarled. “So you’d really let her die instead?”
The pain in my chest was unbearable, my wolf raging and clawing inside me, screaming that this was wrong. But I refused to bend. “You don’t get to take this from me,” I said, my voice shaking but firm. “My core is my life. It’s who I am. You don’t have the right to demand it.”
I shouldn’t have said demand. Because he never intended to ask.
His command was swift. His warriors seized me, their grips unforgiving as they hauled me through the halls and into the hospital. I fought them, flailed until my muscles burned, but it was useless. Cold restraints bit into my wrists and ankles. The sharp, metallic scent of silver filled the air, making my stomach churn. Inside me, my wolf howled in terror—then pain tore through me, blinding and final, as they cut into my body and stole the very core of my existence.
When I woke, I knew something was terribly wrong.
I felt empty. Not just weak, but hollow, as though warmth had been drained from my veins. The strength that once thrummed beneath my skin was gone, replaced by a deep, bone-chilling cold. I stared at the ceiling, wondering if I would ever shift again… or if that part of me had died forever.
Then I sensed her.
Calista stood beside my bed, radiant and alive, holding a bouquet of lilies and sunflowers. She smiled at me gently, as if she hadn’t been the reason my world had collapsed.
“Caelia,” she said softly, placing the flowers across my legs. “I came to thank you. If it weren’t for what you gave up, I wouldn’t have survived.”
The scent hit me instantly. My lungs seized, my nose burned, and my throat began to close. I shoved the flowers away, coughing violently as tears streamed down my face.
She recoiled, stunned. “What’s wrong with you—?”
That was when Lucien entered.
His eyes flicked from the scattered flowers to my struggling form, and something icy settled into his expression. His voice was low and furious. “What is wrong with you?” he demanded. “She came here out of gratitude, and you treat her like this? I don’t know how you can be so heartless, Caelia.”
I tried to explain, but every breath felt like fire. “I can’t—pollen—I’m allergic—”
He cut me off before I could finish. He always did. Wrapping an arm around Calista, he pulled her close, shielding her as if she were the one injured.
“Stop making excuses,” he said coldly. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Then they walked away.
They left me alone in that bed—drained, broken, and discarded.
That night, I cried until my body ached, until even the tears hurt. I mourned more than my stolen wolf core. I grieved for my child, for my strength, for the bond I once believed I shared with the alpha who had sworn to protect me… and instead destroyed me.
The moon was high when my phone vibrated beside me.
Cassian’s name lit up the screen.
[Tomorrow, I’ll come get you. Tell me where you are. You don’t have to stay there any longer.]
My hands shook as I typed my reply. [I’m still at the hospital. I’ll leave with you tomorrow.]
For the first time in what felt like forever, my sobs eased. Something close to calm settled in my chest.
By morning, my decision was firm. They had taken everything that mattered—my wolf, my baby, my pride. There was nothing left for me in that place.
Then another message came.
Lucien.
[Let’s have dinner tonight. After all this, we should spend time together.] He even sent the restaurant name, as if a meal could erase the damage he’d done.
I almost ignored him. I should have. But some foolish, lingering part of me wanted closure—wanted to end it properly.
So I dressed in the pale blue silk gown I had worn the night we first met. The fabric had faded with time, but it still clung to memories I hadn’t fully buried. Maybe I wanted him to see what he had lost.
I arrived early. I waited. One hour passed. Then another. The food sat untouched, growing cold, just like the hope I hadn’t realized I was still holding.
When my phone buzzed, my heart sank.
It wasn’t him.
It was Calista.
Her post was public. A photo of her nestled against Lucien at a different restaurant, his hand laced with hers, his body turned toward her as if she were the center of his world. The caption read: I wanted Biscoff tiramisu, and he took me right away. My Alpha always chooses me.
My fingers went numb. The phone slipped from my grasp. But instead of shattering, something inside me solidified.
That was it.
I stood, smoothing my dress, and approached the manager. “If a man comes looking for me,” I said quietly, “tall, dark-haired… an alpha… please give him this.”
I handed her a small box.
Inside was the marriage certificate—fake, unfinished, just like the promises he’d made. Beside it was a sealed glass vial. Inside rested the preserved remains of the child I had lost. Our child.
The last truth he deserved to face.
Then I walked away.
The night air was crisp, biting, alive with the scent of freedom. My heart raced as I dialed the number I knew by heart.
“Cassian,” I said when he answered. “I’m ready now.”
Minutes later, a black car pulled up beside me. Cassian stepped out, tall and commanding, his presence steady and powerful. His sharp features softened when he saw me.
He held out his hand. “Are you sure?”
I drew in a breath and nodded. “I’ve never been more certain.”
As I climbed into the car, something inside me shifted—not my wolf, she was still weak and wounded—but my resolve. My will.
The hospital lights faded behind us. So did the pack. So did Lucien and Calista.
Before we disappeared into the night, I took out my phone, glanced once at Lucien’s unanswered messages, and dropped it into a trash bin on the sidewalk.
No ties. No way back.
When Lucien finally realized I was gone for good, he could tear apart the world searching for me. He would never find me.
Because Caelia—the woman he broke—had been left behind in that hospital.
And whoever I was becoming now… she was done looking back.
