No More Am I the Luna Devoted to You

For six cycles, Aldric Wolfsbane devoted himself to prove I was the center of his universe. His devotion bordered on obsession and for a while, I truly believed I meant the world to him. He treasured me in ways I once thought would last through countless moon cycles.

But those “countless moon cycles” crumbled far too soon. Four cycles into our mating bond, Aldric betrayed me. He wandered and the cruellest truth was that every wolf in the pack territories seemed to know. Every wolf … except me.

That was the moment I decided to wipe away the Luna I used to be.

“Luna, are you completely sure you wish to dissolve your identity seal? Your pack mark, travel sigils, everything?” the registry keeper asked, her voice trembling.

“If you ever wish to reclaim them, it will be nearly impossible. It will be as though you never existed in any kingdom.”

Her warning hung heavily in the air, yet I didn’t waver. I slid the parchment across the stone counter with unwavering hands.

“That’s exactly why I’m doing it,” I murmured. “I need to vanish to begin again.”

I knew Aldric better than anyone. The Alpha who once adored me would never stop hunting my scent unless I ensured there was nothing left for him to trace.

So I would strip away every fragment of the life he thought he possessed—every clue, every memory—and wipe them out completely.

I would ensure he could never chase me again, leaving him to drown in the chaos he created.

For my final act, I left him a parting gift.

A neatly tied box containing our bond severance, delivered on the night that would have marked our fourth bond anniversary. Inside sat a simple note: [May your new Luna bring you joy.]

By the time Aldric unwrapped it, I was already gone. I was no longer Seraphina Greyclaw—no longer his Luna— and he was chasing nothing more than the remnants of a ghost.

——

Since erasing my identity required a full lunar week, I trudged home with a weary sigh.

However, as I reached the den’s entrance, I sensed Aldric inside. He approached with that radiant smile, brushed a kiss across my forehead and pulled me into a tight embrace.

His scent, warm, earthy, unmistakably his—hit me first. But beneath it lingered another scent, floral, sweet and sharp like thistle. Not mine.

Something within me cracked, a quiet crack beneath my ribs.

“Where did you run off to? And why are you getting back later than I did?” he asked lightly and tears pricked at my eyes before I could stop them.

In four cycles together, he had never needed to question my whereabouts. I had always been the obedient mate, staying within our territory, keeping his world stable and clean.

In contrast with the young version of me, who loved roaming the forests to escape the suffocating ache of my broken upbringing. The reason I had always sworn never to bind myself to anyone.

Too bad, Aldric had never understood. He never realized why I made him wait two full cycles before accepting his courtship.

It was not because I lacked feelings for him. It was because I was terrified of giving my heart only to have him crush it.

And still, after four cycles spent loving him, trusting him and weaving our lives together, he broke our bond with such ease, such thoughtlessness. As if the cycles I devoted to him held no value at all.

It hit me then—Aldric had been returning later and later, blaming his delays on endless tasks. The classic lie in the book for a mate hiding another she-wolf.

And Mirael Ashmoon, his Beta, was far more than a simple another she-wolf.

In that afternoon, I had planned to give him a surprise, stirring his favorite moon-herb stew and expecting that familiar, tender smile.

Instead, I was the one got a surprise, watching him and Mirael tangled in a heated kiss as the runstone lift doors glided open.

He had her pinned against the engraved wall, his back to me.

They didn’t even flinch when I stepped into the runestone lift, nor when other wolves did, like it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Mirael even glanced at me, a victorious glint in her eyes, daring me to react.

Some of the wolves finally spotted me, their shock expressions revealing everything.

All of them knew.

All of them—just not me.

As soon as the runestone lift door opened to the top floor, I already slipped away. I tossed the stew container into the nearest trash can and went straight to the Registry to begin erasing my existence.

So facing Aldric now, a place that once felt like safety but now reeked of another she-wolf, my emotions roared through me.

The heartache and disappointment cut so deep that my tears slipped down before I could force out a word.

Since I offered no reply, he loosened his grasp, his forehead creasing at the sight of my tears.

“What’s going on?” he asked in a soft, almost frantic voice. “Did someone hurt you?”

I swallowed, forcing the truth not to slip out of my mouth. “No … I’m fine. I just lost track of time reading a lore book at the moonbrew den, so heartbroken and sorrow and I got carried away.”

His face softened with relief as he lowered himself to me, his cheek brushing mine—warmth and concern seemed to mock the painful truth I had in my life.

"Please stop reading such sad lore books, okay?" He whispered. “I told you I would make you the happiest Luna in the world.”

His words, once sweet, then felt hollow.

To outsiders, my life in the Wolfpine Forest appeared perfect.

Bonded to the heir of a powerful bloodline, lived in a grand manor, adored by a mate who seemed devoted.

Yet perfection shattered easily, especially when a third wolf forces herself into a bond meant only for two.

So I chose to step back. I would let Aldric have his newfound joy with another she-wolf, even if doing so meant wiping myself from his world.

Saying goodbye to the luxury I had lived in for the past four cycles was simple.

The most agony was sharing a den with a mate who no longer loved me and already planned his life with another.

"The misery you read in those lore books are just fantasy.” He added. "But the joy in our life is."

If only you knew, Aldric ....

The heartache and sorrow consuming me was not fantasy. It was painfully, devastatingly real till it suffocated me more than any tragic story ever could.