Chapter 2

I hung up the phone, cleared my throat, and began to speak to the crowd.

The elder, assuming there was good news, quickly handed me the microphone.

"I'm sorry for making everyone waste a trip today," I said.

Silence gradually fell over the hall.

Eloise gripped the armrests of her chair tightly.

"Kyle has something more important to attend to today. He won't be coming. Therefore, the bonding ceremony is canceled."

The room erupted into chaos.

Phillip rushed onto the stage to stop me. "Ms. Crane, please calm down. We can handle this behind closed doors. Don't—"

I stepped away from his reaching hand. "I am completely calm. From start to finish today, I'm the only one who was made a fool of."

The setup on the big screen was still frozen on that final frame with the caption.

I sighed and signaled the crew to cut the feed.

"Thank you all for coming. I'll reimburse the travel expenses for anyone who came from out of town. The banquet is already set, so please stay and eat if you'd like."

I pulled off the ring and tossed it into Phillip's arms. "Give this back to him for me. As of today, Kyle and I are ending our mate bond. I'll be filing a petition for a forced dissolution with the Werewolf Council shortly."

Eloise chased after me and grabbed my arm, her grip so tight it bruised my wrist.

"Serafina, I'm begging you on his behalf. Naomi's parents aren't in the territory right now. If something terrible happened to her, Kyle would regret it for the rest of his life. I know you're always the sensible one who sees the bigger picture. Just give him one more chance, okay?"

The bigger picture again.

When we were 18, Naomi had her heart broken, and Kyle spent the entire night drinking with her.

When we were 21, he promised to pick me up for graduation, but Naomi's dog ran off, so he spent until dawn helping her look for it.

When we were 25, on the day we registered, Naomi suddenly called crying, saying she was being bullied. He left me waiting alone at the council for three hours.

Every time, people praised me for being sensible, understanding, and knowing how to see the bigger picture.

So time and again, I nodded and said, "It's okay. Go ahead. I'll wait."

Only today did I realize that praise was nothing more than a trap.

I wrenched my hand free. "Mrs. Stanton, haven't I been sensible enough today? I didn't cause a scene at the healing center, nor did I force him to abandon Naomi for our bonding ceremony.

"I stepped aside for him. Isn't that what he wanted? From now on, he can stay with whoever he wants. It has nothing to do with me."

Back in the dressing room, I peeled off the intricately embroidered gown.

I had custom-ordered this dress months in advance, back when Kyle used to tease me for caring so much about formalities.

I had told him we only get to do this once in a lifetime, so of course it mattered.

He had wrapped his arms around me then, tenderly stroking my cheek as he said, "Alright, whatever you want."

Yet today, he never showed up for this once-in-a-lifetime bonding ceremony.

I touched the necklace around my neck, changed into my regular clothes, and left the gown behind.

By 4:00 pm, Kyle finally showed up at the hall.

The crew was already tearing down the setup.

They later told me that when he pushed open those silver-framed doors, the room was empty except for half-dismantled floral arrangements and Phillip, standing with his head down, afraid to meet his eyes.

And in Phillip's hands was the ring.

"Where is she?" Kyle asked.

Phillip trembled. "I'm sorry, Alpha Kyle. Ms. Crane insisted on leaving. I couldn't stop her."

Kyle's hands clenched tight into fists.

"Useless thing!" he snapped, turning on his heel and walking out.

Since I had blocked his mind-link, all he could do was call my phone incessantly.

When I finally picked up, I had just finished processing the last refund.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Back at my place."

"Come back. We need to talk."

"I've said everything I needed to say," I replied calmly.

His voice strained with suppressed anger. "You think you can just call it off like that? What about the dignity of our families, packs, and the council? Did you even think about—"

I cut him off coldly. "Did you think about any of that when you failed to show up?"

"Naomi was in a dangerous situation. If she had—"

"The healer told me she was stabilized by 11:30 pm."

He froze. After a long pause, he fell completely silent.