Addison’s POV
The ride back to the pack house was silent, save for the low hum of the engine and the occasional sigh from the driver. But silence never lasted long when fate wanted to test me.
The driver’s phone rang. He answered, and before he could lower the volume, Alpha Cole’s voice filled the car on loudspeaker. His tone was sharp, almost frantic.
“Where are you? How much longer until you’re back?”
The driver straightened immediately. “On our way, Alpha.”
Cole’s voice carried the edge of panic. “Hurry. Athena’s body is weak. I need her taken to the healers right away.”
I froze, my fingers tightening around the hem of my dress. Of course. Even now, his mind was with her. Always her.
The driver hesitated, then glanced at me through the rearview mirror. “But, Alpha… Luna Addison is frightened. She asked me to send her back to the pack house first.”
The word Luna hit me like a lash. I nearly laughed at the irony. I was never truly Luna, not once. No ceremony. No mark. Only a hollow title Cole forced onto the staff, as if words could patch over his negligence. He had promised me—promised me before the Moon Goddess herself—that he would marry me no matter what, or die trying. And yet, here we were.
His reply was instant, cold, and final. “Why are you worried about an outsider instead of obeying me?”
Outsider.
The word sliced through me like claws. My chest burned, but my voice stayed steady when I leaned forward. “Drop me here,” I said.
The driver looked horrified. “But—”
“Drop me,” I repeated firmly. I would not put him in the middle of this. He had his Alpha to obey.
The car slowed. I stepped out onto the roadside, the chill of Windsor’s night air wrapping around me. The alcohol from earlier still fogged my mind, and I began walking with unsteady steps. The road stretched ahead, lit by faint lanterns, and each footstep felt heavier than the last.
I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering back. Same gathering. Same date. One year ago.
That night, I had been the one in pain. My stomach had twisted until I could barely breathe. Cole had been drunk, his words slurring, his steps unsteady. Yet when he saw me collapse, he didn’t hesitate. He shifted into his wolf, his massive body lowering so I could cling to his fur. He carried me all the way to the hospital. His heart had pounded against me like thunder. His scent had surrounded me, safe and strong.
That was then.
Now, on the same night, he left me to walk alone while he rushed to Athena.
By the time I reached the pack house, my hands were trembling from the cold. I stood before the door, staring at it as though it belonged to a stranger. My fingers fumbled at the key. Just as I was about to turn it, hands suddenly covered my eyes.
“Guess who I am.”
The scent gave him away instantly. My wolf stiffened. Alpha Cole.
I nearly screamed, but swallowed it down, pulling away from him with a calmness I didn’t feel. I didn’t play his games anymore.
He frowned at my reaction, his eyes sharp even in the dim light. “Mother said you left something behind.”
When I looked down, he was holding a box. A familiar one, its structure too distinct to mistake. My pulse leapt.
Without thinking, I snatched it from his hands. “Give it to me.”
His brow arched. “You’re keeping secrets now?”
I hugged the box to my chest. Once, long ago, we had made a vow—never secrets, never lies. For fifteen years, we had shared everything. Until Athena appeared. Until his promises became dust.
“It’s not a secret,” I said quietly. “There’s no need to tell you.”
His expression darkened. He reached out, trying to grab it again. “No need? Is this from a man? Why would you hide it?”
I twisted away, clutching it tighter. He gave a low chuckle, as if this reminded him of the old days—of our playful tug-of-war, when every stolen trinket was followed by laughter.
But I didn’t laugh. My throat burned, and tears spilled without warning.
He stilled. “You’re crying? Just because you don’t want to tell me?”
I shook my head, unable to find the words. My heart screamed with everything I wanted to say—that I cried not because of the box, but because he had reduced me to nothing. Because the man who once carried me to safety now let another woman’s name always be his first thought.
I almost gave in. Almost handed him the box, thinking perhaps if he saw what was inside, he would return it gently. But then her name broke the air again.
Cole’s phone lit up. Athena. Her call buzzed once. Twice. A third time. Relentless.
Cole’s gaze flickered. He shifted uneasily.
I tugged at his arm, stopping him, surprising even myself. His eyes widened slightly, hope flashing there—as if my touch meant something still. But the phone continued to ring, vibrating with urgency.
He sighed, his voice heavy. “I’m worried. She wouldn’t keep calling unless it was serious.”
Of course.
I let my hand fall away. “Give me the box,” I whispered.
For a moment, he hesitated, caught between me and her. Then he shoved it back into my hands, almost carelessly.
It slipped. Fell. The lid cracked open, and a single paper fluttered out, landing at my feet.
I bent down, my breath catching when I saw it.
Engagement papers.
The very document that could end everything—cleanly, officially, finally.
Cole only glanced at it, uninterested, before turning away. His phone rang again. He answered this time, his voice softening immediately as he spoke Athena’s name. And then he was gone, walking away without looking back.
I stood there in the cold night, clutching the paper to my chest. My tears blurred the ink, but the words were clear enough.
This was it. The end.
