Chapter 3

I clung to the doorframe, trying to hold back the trembling rage and sorrow building inside me.

Kyle's face was a mask of impatience.

"Serene, can't you be reasonable for once? What happened to the compassion you're meant to have as the future Luna?" he chided.

Was this man defending the woman who had ruined me truly the same Kyle who had once shielded me from every harm?

Had my memories twisted things? Or had all that "protection" just been a delusion I'd clung to all along?

Agony consumed me as I stressed out each word. "Unless Vivian dies right in front of me, I will never forgive her. Never."

Kyle's temple pulsed with a throbbing vein. The air grew thick with his Alpha's oppressive presence, suffocating the room.

"Serene, we've only been apart for two years. How did you get so vicious? You won't forgive Vivian? Fine. Then at least apologize to her.

"I won't have the whole pack whispering behind your back, mocking their future Luna as some petty, bitter woman! Your mother chose to end her own life! If she hadn't, your father wouldn't have remarried.

"Stop blaming Vivian and her mother for everything. And if you're as weak as your mother was, then you deserve to be haunted by your past!"

The word "haunted" cut through the air like a curse, venom dripping from his voice.

I caught the flicker of disgust on Kyle's face. The man who once promised to protect me forever had finally grown tired of me.

All my pain and scars had become nothing but weapons in his hands, wielded to tear me apart. He'd pulled me from the abyss once, only to shove me right back in.

For Vivian's sake, he said I deserved to be haunted and even demanded I apologize to her.

I trembled, my fingers slipping from the doorframe as I reeled back. Kyle caught me just in time, only to notice my swollen and bleeding knees.

He dropped down in an instant, and the tension in his voice slipped through without him catching it. "How did you get hurt so badly?"

After a pause, his voice grew gentler, but the commanding tone stayed strong. "Forget it. If you won't apologize, I'll do it for you. But watch your attitude."

I yanked my hand back, my face draining of color as I pointed toward the door.

"I don't want to see either of you… Get out!" I shouted.

Kyle knew how fragile I was, so he tried to pull me into his arms and steady me.

Vivian's tears traced down her cheeks as she bowed her head. "Serene, I'll go. Just stop tearing yourself apart over me."

She was about to run, but she spun around too fast. Her body crashed into the doorframe with a sickening thud, sending her stumbling sideways.

Kyle let go of me instantly and lunged to catch Vivian, but they both tumbled outside, crashing to the ground. Her head hit the doorframe, blood blooming fast as it seeped from the wound.

He scrambled up, gathering her into his arms as he rushed out.

"Vivian, does it hurt? I'm taking you to the hospital!"

And just like that, they were gone.

Silence wrapped around me like a shroud, and my soul felt like it was falling into an endless pit.

I spent ten years with Kyle, and we ended up as strangers.

I pulled out my phone and booked a flight for the day our mate-bonding ceremony was scheduled. Seven days was all I needed to cut every last tie to my past.

Kyle was right. I had to move forward.

Ten years of love and pain had scarred me to the bone. Now, I'd rip it all away, flesh and soul, even if it bled me dry and even if the marks remained.

The old me was dead. From now on, I'd live for no one but myself.