Just then, my communicator chimed.
Haldrick’s name glowed across the crystal screen.
I stared at it for a few heartbeats before accepting the call.
“You ignored my calls earlier,” he said, his voice taut beneath a carefully controlled calm. “What happened?”
I closed my eyes and answered evenly, “Nothing important.”
Silence stretched between us.
Then his tone shifted, softer, cautious—almost apologetic.
“Vireya… I traced it. Those rogues weren’t sent by you. They were hired by Danella’s former mate. I was wrong.”
A pause. “I’m sorry.”
Sorry…
Such a small word.
It struck my heart like a war hammer.
I didn’t respond.
As if afraid I’d hang up, he rushed on, “Tomorrow marks our sixth year as bonded mates. I’ve decided—it’s time to announce our union to the Alpha Council. I want every pack to know you’re my Luna.”
He continued, voice growing earnest. “And I noticed your bond ring is missing. Are you upset? If you dislike it, I’ll have the silversmith craft you a better one—”
“Haldrick,” I interrupted.
“Yes?”
I swallowed the ache rising in my chest and said simply, “It’s nothing. You should return to your duties.”
He hesitated, clearly wanting to say more, but I severed the call.
***
I stayed out until dusk before returning to the den.
When I pushed the door open, cold, stagnant air greeted me.
There was no trace of me left inside.
Instead, the space was saturated with Danella’s presence.
Her shawl lay draped over the sofa. A half-finished cup of warm goat’s milk rested on the low table, her unfamiliar floral scent clinging to the air. Near the entrance, a pair of soft pink house-slippers sat neatly aligned—like she had always belonged here.
Like I never had.
I stepped into the bedroom.
On the nightstand lay an old, forgotten notebook.
My academy journal.
The cover had yellowed with age, the edges worn thin. I flipped it open and the first line of clumsy handwriting made me laugh through the burn in my eyes.
Haldrick, you probably don’t notice me, but I like you.
Back then, I believed devotion could conquer fate. That if I stayed warm enough, patient enough, I’d melt his frost—just like in those naïve romance legends whispered under the moon.
But real life wasn’t a legend.
Love didn’t reward endurance.
I sat at the desk and, for the final time, wrote him a letter.
Not truly for him.
For the girl I used to be.
Ink soaked into the parchment as my tears fell silently.
Haldrick,
I have loved you for nearly fifteen years.
From that first foolish note in the academy to the night I became your Luna, I believed loving you harder would make you see me.
I was wrong.
I thought a bond was between two souls. In the end, I was only an obstacle to your happiness.
I can’t wait anymore.
This time, I release you—and myself.
Let us never meet again.
I don’t wish to love you anymore.
I placed the letter on the desk.
Beneath it, I tucked the healer’s parchment.
A termination certificate.
Six weeks gestation.
Then I erased myself.
My scent. My access rune from the warded door. Every trace of my existence.
I packed my single suitcase and walked away from the den I had once mistaken for home.
When sunlight brushed my face outside, I smiled for the first time in years.
“Happy severance, Haldrick,” I whispered. “There will be no next life for us.”
***
By the time Haldrick returned, night had fully claimed the sky.
He entered carrying two bags of moon-sugar desserts—my favorites. He looked weary, as though procuring them had cost him effort.
Then he saw the letter.
The color drained from his face.
His hands trembled as he unfolded the parchment, the ink still faintly smudged with dried tears.
The words Let us never meet again struck him like a blade through the chest.
Then he saw the second document.
The healer’s report.
Six weeks pregnant. Complications. Procedure completed.
His communicator vibrated.
A new message appeared:
[Alpha Haldrick Nightreaver, the dissolution of your bond with Vireya Bloodwyn has been finalized.]
The den was silent.
For the first time…
So was his heart.
