Chapter 2

Just then, Lylia hooked her arm through Ethan's and leaned weakly against him.

Without even reading the contents of the dissolution papers, Ethan signed his name right away. Then, he said to Lylia in a gentle voice, "You must've had it rough at home, so whatever gift you want, I'll get it for you."

I was just about to turn and leave when Lylia suddenly looked at me and spoke in a pitiful voice, "Could I have your wolf fang necklace, Elena?"

My fists tightened on instinct.

That wolf fang necklace had been custom-made as a family set for three when Ethan and I were preparing to welcome our pup. The small wolf fang on the necklace had been made from a gemstone mixed with our hair.

Ethan had spent a long time drawing the design by hand and personally watching over its production.

Still, he didn't care about what that necklace meant at all. "Elena, just give the necklace to Lylia. You've got plenty of jewelry, so you're not going to miss that one."

Lylia's face lit up at once, and she reached out to take it.

My throat tightened. "Are you sure?"

Ethan leaned in for a closer look at the necklace and gave a vague nod. "Yeah…"

He hesitated for a long moment, then frowned at me. "Elena, I already promised Lylia. If I go back on my word as the Alpha, I'll be a laughingstock to the pack. How about I buy you another one later, something better than this?"

My nails dug deep into my palms until beads of blood seeped out.

Then again, we were dissolving the mate bond anyway, so what did the necklace matter?

"Fine."

My quick answer made Ethan pause.

He was about to dismiss the idea when I reached up, took off the necklace, and threw it straight into Lylia's arms.

At the same time, I pulled out the other matching piece from my pocket, the bracelet from the same family set for three, with our pup's name engraved on it.

"You can have all of it."

The second I took off the necklace, it felt as if a crushing weight had finally been lifted off me.

…

I packed my things and got ready to leave that very night.

Ethan suddenly chased after me and stepped in front of me. "Elena, are you mad? I'll take you to the jewelry store right now, and I'll buy you whatever you want."

Those pieces of jewelry were all from couples' collections.

I ignored him and kept packing up our pup's room, putting the little clothes and little toys into boxes one by one.

Ethan looked confused. "Why are you packing everything up so soon? When we have another pup, we'll have to set it all up again."

After everything that had happened, he still thought I was only throwing a tantrum.

He didn't know that every little movement our pup had made had pulled at my heart, and my wolf had already become tightly bound to that pup.

I bit my lip hard and fought to keep the tears from falling.

I wanted to turn around and leave, but the second I opened the door, I saw Lylia. She was kneeling right outside my room.

"Elena, please help me out. The reason I got kicked out was that my grandmother is buried all alone in that cemetery back in the countryside. My family wants to move her remains to our pack cemetery. Could you please give her a place there?"

I found the whole thing absurd.

If it were about cemetery arrangements, she should've gone to the cemetery caretaker. What was she asking me for?

But Ethan raised a hand and blocked the door, his voice pleading. "Lylia has never asked you for anything. Just say yes."

Lylia lifted her head, her eyes red. "Your pup was still little, Elena. There's no need for one child to take up such a large burial plot. Could you give me part of the space next to your pup's grave? It's just sitting there empty anyway…"

She was asking my pup to share a grave with a stranger.