Chapter 8: His wolf spoke

According to January, Knox left with Emerald two days ago, right after their baby's gender reveal party. He told me Knox probably just wanted to give her space, her due date was only weeks away.

Unlike humans, werewolf pregnancies are faster. Emerald is due in three weeks.

I should be excited because the baby would be the next in line Alpha. Once she gave birth, Knox promised me we would have a long talk. 

But deep down… I knew what would happen. 

That look in his eyes when he watches her, it’s not an obligation. It’s not a duty. It’s love.

Still, my wolf refuses to accept it. She believes that maybe Knox would change his mind. Says if Knox truly wanted to reject us, he would’ve done it long ago.

So why hasn’t he? Why hasn’t he claimed us or rejected us?

"You seem pretty distracted," my best friend said, snapping me from my thoughts.

"Huh? Sorry. What were you saying?"

She’d been going on about Knox and Emerald’s baby shower plans—something I hadn’t even known existed.

"I said Emerald fits perfectly as our Luna. She’s kind. The whole pack loves her. She’s Knox's perfect mate, everyone's just happy about it.”

My stomach twisted.

"He told you that?" I asked.

"He didn’t have to," Kaila said with a little laugh. "He mentioned he’d propose after she gives birth for an official wedding. Honestly, he should have done it the moment she got pregnant."

My wolf growled.

Kaila had always liked Emerald. But saying this in front of me? But I understood her, she was clueless.

"You know Emerald’s not our true Luna," I said coldly.

Kaila blinked.

"She’s not Knox’s mate. He’s marked her, but you felt it too, didn’t you? That emptiness when they touch. No bond. No true connection."

"November…"

"Don’t act like I’m crazy. The bond between an Alpha and Luna should be undeniable. Between them? It’s not. You felt it. I know you did."

Kaila looked torn.

"Look," I said, softening just a bit, "maybe Knox and Emerald just… settled. Maybe their real mates are still out there."

"And what if you think you’re his mate because you want to be?" she asked gently.

I didn’t answer.

"Knox is the Alpha. He can choose. Even if you are his mate, it doesn’t mean he’ll choose you."

I hated how calmly she said it. Like it wasn’t tearing me apart.

"Okay," I continued, trying to shift the topic, "what about you and January? When are you planning to have a baby? This house is way too big for just the two of you."

"After graduation," she muttered. "We're taking things slow."

She raised a brow. "You haven’t found your mate yet, have you?"

I shook my head too quickly. "Not yet."

A lie. A secret I’ve been choking on. Knox told me to keep it to myself. Even from Kaila.

After spending the day at her house, I finally went home.

Strange men lingered around Zeus’ place, probably his new pack members. I haven’t spoken to him after his proposal of saving me. I shrugged. 

I unlocked the door, the emptiness of my house swallowing me whole.

I stared at myself in the mirror: pale skin, dark circles under my eyes. My reflection looked like a ghost of the girl I used to be.

Knox had told me he’ll clarify everything once he’s home. I missed Knox. I missed him more than I could bear.

Every time my phone buzzed, I prayed it was him. It never was. He was off with Emerald—laughing, cuddling, maybe kissing her. Living his perfect lie.

And me? I was just the unlike one, he never intended to keep.

He’d told me to wait. That he was still sorting everything out. But each day that passed without a word, without a sign… it felt like dying in slow motion. Sometimes, my wolf screamed at me to go find him, to drag him away from her.

But I couldn’t.

Because no matter how much I wanted him, I refused to be the villain in someone else’s story.

Still, every part of me ached.

If only we’d met first.

If only fate hadn’t been so cruel.

Why give me a mate I couldn’t have? Why pair me with someone already claimed, already loved, already gone?

And Emerald…

She wasn’t even his true mate. Did she know that? Did she feel it?

Where was her mate? Had she rejected him? Or never found him?

It didn’t matter.

She had Knox.

And I had nothing.

Finding your mate was supposed to be beautiful. It was supposed to bring joy, peace, love.

But for me, it was agony.

And no matter how hard I tried to forget him…

My heart—my wolf—still whispered the same desperate plea every night:

"Come back to me."

It had been four days.

Four days since the gender reveal.

Four days since Knox left with her.

Four days since I heard his voice.

And then today, he called.

I nearly dropped my phone when I saw his name. My heart leapt like it had been waiting just for this moment—this tiny sliver of hope.

"Knox?" I breathed, voice shaking.

"November," he growled through the bond, the voice rough, cold, clipped.

My breath caught. 

“Knox?"

My stomach dropped. There waa a long pause. 

“I’m his wolf,” the voice said. “I’m sorry.”

"No," I whispered. “He promised—"

"Promises don’t matter to him,” the wolf said. "You are not to be the Luna."

"You know that’s not true," I whispered. My voice cracked like thin glass. "We’re mates. You feel the bond as much as I do."

There was silence. Heavy. Choking.

And then:

"It doesn’t matter what I feel. He already made a choice."

"But he hasn’t rejected me!" I cried. "He couldn’t go through with it. Because he can’t. Because he—"

"Because he’s weak," his wolf said sharply. "Because he’s torn. And I’m tired of watching him suffer."

I could feel Knox on the other end—could feel him fighting it, resisting. But his wolf was louder. Stronger. For now.

"You don’t belong in his future, November," the wolf said, softer now. Crueler, somehow. "You’re the past. A mistake he doesn’t have the courage to erase."

Tears slid down my cheeks.

"That’s not true," I whispered. 

"He loved you as a sister," Wolf said. "Before she came and she got pregnant. Before he realized what he had to lose."

I clutched the phone tighter. "She’s not even his mate!"

"And you think that matters anymore? Look around. Who’s at his side right now?"

Silence.

My wolf whimpered deep inside me.

"He won’t say it," Wolf continued. "So I will. I want this bond gone. I want you out of his head. Out of my head."

I felt the burn in my chest—the threads of our mate bond being yanked. Not severed yet. But fraying.

"You’re going to force him?" I whispered, horrified.

"He won’t reject you because he’s still holding on to guilt. To hope. I’m done with both. I’ll reject you myself if I have to."

"No," I gasped. "Don’t. Please—"

"Move on, November," Zeus said coldly. "He already has."

The line went dead.

I stared at the phone, the silence louder than any scream.

Something broke in me.

And I didn’t even know if it was my heart…

…or the bond itself.