Chapter 5

I turned away before I could hear more. My heart ached in my chest-not just from what I heard, but from what I felt.

After that day, I refused to follow them. Only two days were left to leave the pack. returned home and remained silent.

Meanwhile, within hours, Lucian had brought Nora back to her chambers. The whole night, his scent lingered around her corridor.

He didn't leave the entire night.

I could hear Nora’s giggles from three quarters away. She wanted the world to know.

And the next day, after performing his duty, Lucian went alone into the whispering woods, the darkest wood in the entire Kingdom.

His mission?

Retrieve the White Moon flower, a sacred flower that blooms once in a century. Nora wanted it. And Lucian obeyed.

It was among the things she blurted out when asked about the man she would allow herself to mate with earlier in the auction gala.

Rolan had argued again, of course. "That wood is filled with darkness. They affect the Alphas who have more blood on their hands. Alphas from decent packs don't go there for a reason, Alpha. You can lose your soul there.”

“Do you want to lose everything for merely a she-wolf’s fantasy?"

“I’ll do it." Lucian had said, eyes glowing dimly. "Even if I lose everything."

"Because she wants it. I am willing to bleed." He added.

He did bleed.

That night, I opened the front door to the scent of pain and pine. Lucian stood there like a ghost that had been dug out from an ancient grave; his skin, drained of blood, looked pale, his boots caked in wet earth.

He didn't have a flower in hand this time. He'd already sent it ahead to Nora, probably through Beta Rolan. Of course.

"There was a rogue attack," he said, voice low, eyes avoiding mine. I tilted my head. "I see."

If it were in the past, I would have pulled him inside, and despite his reluctance to my touch, I would have applied the bandage to his wounds after preparing the herbs with my own hands.

But this time I remained quiet, calmly waiting for him to leave.

He nodded once, stiffly. "I'll be gone for a few days. “Maybe a week. I need to rest.”

"Sure," I said softly. " Take your leave. His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was trying to read something deeper. "You're not going to ask more?"

A faint smile touched my lips. "It's fine. I won't need guarding where I'm going."

He looked confused. Good. He had no idea what I meant. No clue that I was saying goodbye. He just nodded again and walked away toward his quarters, probably to collapse in some bruised, self-important heap.

The next morning, the air was heavy with the silence of my imminent departure. I walked down the grand corridor toward the study to finalize my exit clearance.

Passing the private tea room, a sharp, familiar voice brought me to a sudden halt.

"Don't be ridiculous, Father," Nora scoffed, her tone dripping with disdain. "Lucian is a stepping stone, nothing more."

I drew back into the shadows of the archway, holding my breath.

"He brought you the White Moon flower, Nora," our father's voice answered, laced with warning. "He risked his soul in the Whispering Woods for you. He has proven his loyalty to you."

"He did it because he is desperate," Nora laughed, a shrill, cold sound. "Lucian is merely my backup plan—a shield to ensure she stays in her place and knows her irrelevance. If I am to mate with anyone permanently, it will be the Alpha of the Shadow Pack. He has three times the land, ten times the wealth, and real power. Lucian is strong, but he is easily managed. He bleeds when I tell him to bleed. Why settle for a loyal guard dog when I can have a king?"

My chest didn't ache this time. The last embers of pain had finally burned out, leaving behind only a quiet, pristine clarity. She didn't love him. She never had. And Lucian was willingly destroying himself for a phantom.

I turned away and walked back to my room.

On my desk sat a small, carved wooden box. Inside lay the star-engraved dagger Lucian had given me the day he took the oath as my shadow guard— a symbol of my authority over him. I snapped the box shut and wrapped it in plain parchment.

An hour later, a heavy knock echoed against my door. When I opened it, Lucian stood on the threshold. His complexion was still dangerously pale from the darkness of the Whispering Woods, his shoulders stiff with exhaustion, but he was dressed to leave.

"I'm heading to Nora's quarters," he said, his voice rough and low. He wouldn't meet my eyes. "Then I am leaving for the mountain cabin to recover."

"Wait," I said softly.

I reached back and retrieved the small wrapped box, stepping forward to hand it to him.

“Since you are going to Nora’s quarters. Deliver it for me.” I said.

His fingers brushed mine as he took it, and for a fraction of a second, a strange, electric spark passed between us. He looked down at the box, his brow furrowing.

"What is this?" he asked, his dark eyes searching my face with a faint, unsettling flicker of uncertainty.

"It's for Nora," I said, my voice steady, devoid of any bitterness. "It's something I don't need anymore."

Lucian stared at the box, then back at me. Something in my calm demeanour seemed to disturb him—a crack in the reality he had built where I was always chasing him, always hurting, always waiting.

"You're acting strange," he murmured, his gaze dropping to the bare shelves behind me, though he didn't truly process what he was looking at. "When I return next week, we will talk."

"Safe travels, Lucian," I replied with a faint, final smile.

He hesitated, standing on my doorstep for a long moment as if trying to decipher a language he had forgotten how to read. Finally, he gave a curt nod, turned, and walked down the hall toward Nora's chambers.

I closed the door, pulled my single leather travel bag from beside the bed, and walked out through the rear gates without looking back once.

By the time he reached Nora’s quarters, something clicked into his head, and he pulled open the box. His eyes widened, and the box immediately fell from his hands.

‘I won't need guarding where I'm going.’

‘It's fine. Take your leave.’

‘Tell her she can finally have it. I don't need it anymore.’

The words echoed through his mind, suddenly sharp, suddenly terrifying.

Lucian’s heart hammered against his ribs with a violent, sudden panic. He turned on his heel, ignoring the sharp flare of pain in his unhealed wounds, and bolted out of the room.

"Lucian? Where are you going?" Nora, who had just opened her door for him, called out, but he was already gone.

He ran down the corridors, his heavy boots pounding against the stone, his breath ragged. He slammed open the door to my quarters.

"Wait—" his voice choked in his throat.

The room was completely empty.

The bed was neatly made, stripped of its personal quilts. The wardrobe doors stood wide open, bare. The vanity contained no oils, no ribbons, no scent. The air itself was stripped clean of my sweet, subtle fragrance—replaced only by the cold, hollow draft of an open window.

On the small wooden table in the center of the room lay a single sheet of paper with four words written on it.

Do not look for me.

Lucian dropped to his knees, the paper fluttering from his trembling fingers as the realization crashed over him like a suffocating wave.

I hadn't been waiting for him to heal. I hadn't been jealous. I had simply been packing.

And now, I was gone.