Chapter 2

Just then, my wolf, Catherine, spoke in my mind. "You should give Kade one more chance. I still think he loves you."

"You’re damn right he does!" I shot back, my own stubborn hope flaring up again. He had to.

Catherine pushed. "It’s time. Use the secret weapon you’ve been preparing! On his birthday! It will be a decisive move."

I thought of the sleepless nights, the secret efforts. I’d spent weeks secretly gathering rare herbs and moon-touched stones under the full moon, using my strength to weave them into a protective talisman for him. It wasn't much, but it was all I had—a piece of my soul offered to keep him safe.

"This talisman is my masterpiece!" I told my wolf, pride mixing with desperation. No one had ever gotten something like this from me. No one.

On his birthday, I put on the dress he loved seeing me in most and waited for him in my room. But as the day dragged into night, the candles I lit burned down to stubs. He never came. A servant informed me that the Alpha still hadn't returned to the compound, and he hadn't told anyone where he was going.

At 2 a.m., my phone buzzed with a news alert.

Northern Pack Alpha Spotted Escorting Childhood Sweetheart Back to Hotel

The photo was crystal clear. There was Kade, his tall frame protecting a delicate girl in a white dress as he helped her out of his car. The tenderness on his face cut deeper than any claw.

The comments broke me.

“OMG! The powerful Alpha and his fragile white lily! I SHIP IT!” “Holy—! Isn’t that Kade and Sara? They were the golden couple at our university!” “Can confirm! Kade was ice to everyone but her! They’d be married by now if she hadn’t gotten hurt…”

My phone fell from my fingers, hitting on the floor.

I couldn’t breathe. If she was the one he had always loved, then what was I? Just a convenient body? A bedwarmer he could call whenever he wanted?

With trembling hands, I called him. It went straight to voicemail. I called again. And again. On the last try, I didn’t even cry. I just felt…utterly hollowed out with despair.

I ended the call and walked to the place he’d always forbidden me from entering: his private war room, the sanctum where only his most trusted Betas were allowed.

The door was unlocked.

I pushed it open, and what I saw inside shattered whatever was left of my heart.

The room wasn’t a cold strategic center. It was a gallery of her.

Dozens of photos covered the walls—Kade and Sara laughing on a university lawn, hiking in the mountains, dressed for a formal dance. In the center of his desk, in a simple frame, was a recent photo of her, asleep and peaceful.

He had built a shrine to another woman in his heart.

I stood there, frozen, the talisman I made for him feeling like a stupid, pathetic joke in my hand.

A sudden, sharp laugh let out from my lips. With a furious cry, I threw the talisman down and spread my rage on the entire room, tearing photos from the walls and sweeping everything off his desk.

The next day, Kade returned. He discovered the wreckage of his precious sanctuary with calm. He just sighed and called for a servant to clean it up.

He didn’t even look at me, as if my explosive temper was exactly what he expected from someone like me.

I stood there, watching a maid swept the talisman—my soul, my hopes, my sleepless nights—into a dustpan with the rest of the trash.

He didn’t know what it was. He didn’t know I had wanted to spend my life with him. And he would never know that the moment the talisman was swept away with the garbage, I decided I was done loving him.

I walked back to my room like a ghost. "Fine, Kade," I whispered to the empty air. "You want to be heartless? Then I can play that game too." I picked up the speaking stone. My message to the South was short. "I'm considering your offer. What can you offer me?"

The response was immediate and startlingly personal. " Great to know that. We hear you have a passion for weaving. We have prepared an entire wing filled with the finest silks, rare fabrics, and looms from across the continents, waiting for your touch. You can weave to your heart's content. Our entire pack is looking forward to your creations, including our Alpha."

Well, that's...actually appreciated, I thought. This is starting to sound like a decent deal. It was surprising they had put in so much effort to learn about my interests. That alone made them ten thousand times more considerate than Kade had ever been.

"And, for the ritual to work," the voice continued, "you need to arrive in the South within seven days."

Seven days.

I carved the number into my mind. Seven days. A countdown to a new life, or a different kind of end. I looked around my room, and realized there was truly nothing left here worth staying for. The path ahead was uncertain, but this time, it was mine to choose.