Eulalie POV
The dead calm in my veins held steady as Caden walked past me, his broad shoulders brushing mine without a single spark of our mate bond. He stopped at the private elevator, Adalynn clinging to his arm and Elara holding his hand.
Before the brass doors opened, Caden glanced over his shoulder. Not at me, but at Martha, our elderly pack servant who was hovering near the kitchen.
"Martha," Caden's voice rumbled, laced with the heavy, undeniable weight of an Alpha's Command. "Don't bother preparing dinner for the Luna tonight."
Martha's shoulders instantly slumped under the compulsion, her eyes dropping to the floor. Adalynn shot me a triumphant, mocking smirk as the elevator doors slid open. Desperate, I threw myself against our mind-link. Caden, please.
Nothing. Just a solid, impenetrable wall of ice.
The doors closed. Under Martha's pitying gaze, I dismissed her, leaving myself completely alone in a massive penthouse that reeked of cheap, synthetic rose perfume. The scent was suffocating. I couldn't breathe. I had to get out.
Driven by Nyx's restless pacing in my mind, I wandered out into the biting October night. My feet carried me along the familiar sidewalks of the Upper East Side, my wolf's instincts guiding me, drawn blindly by the pure, sweet scent of my pup. I stopped in the shadows of a large sycamore tree outside Le Jardin, Elara's favorite French bistro.
Through the warm, glowing floor-to-ceiling windows, I saw them at Table 4. The visual was agonizing, but the scents were worse. Even through the glass, my heightened senses picked up Caden's authoritative sandalwood, Adalynn's sickening rose, and Elara's innocent cub scent, all twisting together into a foul stench of betrayal.
Adalynn was feeding Elara a spoonful of wolf-safe organic fruit gel, wiping the girl's chin with the practiced affection of a real mother. Beside them, my fated mate—the Alpha who swore to protect me—watched them with a soft, doting smile I hadn't seen in years. They looked like a flawless family blessed by the Moon Goddess herself.
He is replacing us, Nyx snarled in my head, her icy blue eyes flashing with agony and rage. He is letting that she-wolf claim our cub!
Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my coat pocket.
It was a social media notification. Adalynn had just posted a video. My hands trembled as I tapped the screen.
In the video, Adalynn was holding her phone up for a selfie, framing herself and my daughter. "Tell everyone who your favorite is, Elara!" Adalynn coaxed.
"Auntie Adalynn is a million times better than Mommy!" Elara chirped happily to the camera. "Mommy is mean, she doesn't let me have dessert."
The camera panned slightly, catching Caden in the background. He didn't correct her. Instead, he offered the lens an approving, mocking smirk.
A violent, soul-tearing agony ripped through my chest, far worse than any physical wound. My own maternal protection—keeping Elara away from potential allergens—had been twisted into cruelty, and my mate was endorsing it. The mate bond inside me didn't just fracture; it shattered into a million irreparable pieces.
I turned away from the window. The weeping, pathetic Luna died right there on the pavement.
I walked back to the penthouse, the silence of the empty foyer no longer intimidating me. I walked straight into Caden's study, the very heart of his Alpha power, thick with his sandalwood scent.
Moving to the wall safe, I punched in the code and pulled out the divorce papers I had drafted six months ago—a secret I had kept out of a foolish, cowardly fear of losing my daughter.
I sat at his heavy mahogany desk and clicked a fountain pen open under the brass reading lamp. With cold, mechanical precision, I struck through every clause I had previously fought for. I crossed out my demand for Elara's custody. I crossed out the alimony. I crossed out any claim to the Madden Pack's assets.
If I fought him now, a penniless, rejected Luna against a powerful Alpha, I would lose. And even if I won, Elara would hate me for taking her away from her "magic" aunt. To save myself, I had to sever the chains completely. I was leaving with nothing.
The screen of my phone lit up on the desk. A direct message from Adalynn.
Thanks for letting me steal the spotlight on your birthday. Hope you have fun alone, sister.
I stared at the glowing text. There was no anger left. No tears. Just a chilling, absolute void. I didn't type a reply. Instead, I pressed my thumb against the power button, holding it down until the screen went pitch black.
Deep within my soul, Nyx stopped her sorrowful pacing. The White Wolf settled into the darkness and let out a low, lethal growl.
