Chapter 6: Watching Her Leave

Ulysses’s POV

My father, Alpha Benjamin, watched me from across the room as I stood at the window of the border outpost, staring out at the forest where Hazel would soon disappear.

“You made a mistake,” he said quietly.

Here we go. The lecture I’d been expecting.

I didn’t turn around. “I protected this pack from a traitor.”

“Did you?” His footsteps crossed the creaking floorboards until he joined me at the window. “Because from where I stand, you just banished the most suitable Luna we’ve ever had.”

Suitable? He thought Hazel was suitable?

“Suitable?” I finally faced him, anger flaring in my chest. “She hired rogues to kidnap her own sister. She’s a calculating bitch who—”

“Who served this pack faithfully for three years,” Benjamin interrupted. “Who never complained when you treated her like a duty instead of a wife. Who gave you an heir and asked for nothing in return.”

“She asked for plenty. She wanted love she didn’t deserve.”

“She deserved all of it, Ulysses. She gave you an heir.” My father sighed. “That boy is your future and he’s half hers. What happens when he grows up asking about his mother?”

Liam would never ask about her. I’d make sure of that.

“He’ll learn the truth about what kind of woman she was.”

My father sighed. “I’ll tell you what kind of woman she was. She was steady and loyal. Wise. Kimberley is beautiful, yes, but beauty fades. Character doesn’t.”

“Kimberley is my mate.”

“Is she? Then why do you look like someone tore your heart out?”

It was true, the mate bond rejection still burned in my chest—a constant ache that made breathing difficult. I’d expected pain, but not this. Not like someone had carved out pieces of my soul.

“Mark my words, son, you will regret this decision for the rest of your life.”

“I will never regret it.” The words exploded out of me. “Never. Hazel showed her true nature, and I won’t be fooled again. I’ve seen through this woman’s evil completely.”

Benjamin shook his head slowly. “Stubborn as your mother.”

At least mother understood protecting the pack from a traitor.

My father was quiet for a long moment, so I turned back to the window, eager to escape his knowing stare.

“You know,” he said finally. “There’s something I need to tell you about the war with Ironheart Pack.”

Thank the goddess. Something I could actually handle. “What about it?”

“Years ago, I killed their Alpha—Brayden—in battle. Honorable combat, witnessed by both packs, but his son Jacob…” My father’s jaw tightened. “Jacob doesn’t care about honor. He wants revenge, and he’s been building alliances for months. This declaration of war isn’t impulsive—it’s calculated.”

“How many allies?”

“At least three neighboring packs, maybe more. He’s promised them territory if they help him destroy us.”

We were outnumbered, possibly outgunned. “What do you suggest?”

“Focus everything on this threat. Jacob won’t stop until one of us is dead.” My father looked directly at me. “And I need you completely present for this fight. Not distracted.”

Distracted by the woman I’d just banished.

I nodded, but my gaze drifted back to the border. In the distance, I could see two figures at the pack border—Hazel and Uma, holding each other while they cried. Even from here, their grief was visible.

Why did watching them hurt so much?

Something twisted in my chest. An indescribable feeling that felt almost like…loss.

But then I remembered what Kimberley had told me. I would not fall for her lies again. Kimberley was the victim here. Not Hazel. Besides, I now had my true love back. What did Hazel matter?

But if I had my true love back, why did I feel so empty?

Even the reunion with Kimberly I’d dreamed about for three years felt hollow, like going through the motions of happiness without actually feeling it.

That should have been my first warning that something was wrong.

I had actually never liked Hazel—had I? She was quiet where Kimberley was vibrant, steady where Kimberley was exciting. I’d married her out of duty, nothing more. So why did severing the mate bond cause such intense pain in my heart?

The ache that lived in my chest now was worse than anything I’d felt when Kimberley disappeared during our mating ceremony, back then, I’d been devastated, yes, but it had felt like losing a dream. This felt like losing a piece of my actual soul.

It made no sense. Kimberley was my destined mate, the woman I was supposed to love.

So why did breaking the connection with Hazel feel like ripping myself in half?

I pressed my palm against my chest where the mate bond used to pulse with life. Now there was just emptiness, a hollow ache that seemed to grow stronger with each passing hour.

I pushed the thought away. It was too late now anyway. Hazel was leaving, crossing the border as I watched. Soon she’d be gone forever.

Later that evening, I sat in my room reviewing pack member files when Kimberley entered. She’d changed into a silk nightgown that left little to the imagination.

“The baby finally went to sleep,” she announced, settling onto the arm of my chair. “He was so fussy without his…” She paused delicately. “Well, without what he was used to.”

“Good.” I didn’t look up from the papers.

Kimberley’s hand trailed down my chest. “You seem tense. Maybe I could help you relax?”

Her touch felt wrong somehow. Why did it feel wrong? “I’m not in the mood.”

“Come on, Ulysses. We’re finally together again after all this time—”

But it didn’t feel like being together! It felt like playing a role.

“I said no.” I moved away from her touch. “The war declaration has me stressed. I need to focus.”

Kimberley’s face tightened with annoyance, but she quickly covered it with understanding. “Of course. The pack comes first. I’ll just…go to bed then.”

Even she didn’t really care. She just wanted to seem supportive.

After she left, I reached for the pack member registry to update some information.

That’s when I saw it.

Hazel’s name was gone. Not just marked as exiled—completely deleted, as if she’d never existed. Her birth record, her mating ceremony entry, even her medical files.

Like she’d never been here. Never been mine. Never given me a son.

Everything erased.