Chapter 3

After returning home, I started packing.

Perhaps because I hadn't rested, the injury on my ankle suddenly flared up terribly.

The whole joint was swollen like a purple plum. The slightest movement made me shake with pain, so I had to stay in bed.

Arnold sat on the edge of the mattress, carefully holding an ice pack to my skin.

"How did it get this swollen? I didn't think that fall in the elevator was that bad." His face was etched with heartache and guilt as he handed me two strong painkillers. "Go to sleep. I'll stay right here with you."

Looking at his worried face, my memory flashed back to when we first completed the bonding ceremony.

Back then, if I was even slightly sick, he looked ready to absorb the pain for me.

The painkillers kicked in fast, and I slipped into a deep sleep.

At 2:30 AM, I woke up parched.

I reached for the water glass on the nightstand but accidentally clipped the lamp.

Crash. The lamp shattered across the hardwood floor.

The space beside me was empty and freezing. Arnold was gone.

I grabbed my phone and fired off two messages. Nothing.

I gritted my teeth through the pain, sat up, and called him.

It wasn't until the third try that the line finally clicked open.

"Hello?" Arnold's deliberately hushed voice came through the receiver, the background eerily silent.

"Where are you?" I demanded coldly.

"Daphne got attacked by a rogue on her way home." Arnold's voice sounded ragged. "A passerby saved her so she wasn't hurt, but she was terrified. I was worried, so I came to check on her. She just calmed down and fell asleep."

"Did you need something?" Before I could speak, Arnold fired back.

I laughed out of pure, unadulterated anger, the sound echoing bleakly in the massive bedroom.

"Arnold, your mate's ankle is so swollen she can't even stand, and you ditch her in the middle of the night to play nurse for a scared employee?" I gripped the phone, my knuckles turning white.

"Rowena, can you not be so petty?" Arnold's voice instantly snapped with impatience. "Daphne is new to the Silver Moon Pack. She doesn't know a single soul here. Who else is she supposed to call? Besides, I'm the Alpha. Protecting pack members is my duty."

"Duty? Your duty is to stay by her bedside in the middle of the night?"

"You're being entirely unreasonable." Arnold sighed heavily. "I'll have the Omegas come upstairs to take care of you. I'm hanging up."

The call went dead.

Early the next morning, Arnold finally walked back in.

He looked haggard, a dark shadow of stubble clinging to his jaw.

"Daphne had nightmares all night and wouldn't stop crying. I had to stay with her," he mumbled, walking to the edge of the bed to explain.

I leaned against the headboard, staring at him blankly. "Got it. You can go keep her company again tonight."

"Rowena!" Arnold barked, growling in defensive anger. "I already explained! She's just a weak female who needs protection! As the Luna, why don't you have an ounce of sympathy?"

I didn't bother arguing. I just lifted my gaze to the top of his head.

66%.

The number finally plummeted past the 70% mark. Just one step away from total collapse.

I pulled my gaze back and closed my eyes, letting the silence stretch.

"I'm too exhausted to fight with you." Arnold irritably yanked at his tie. "I've arranged for Daphne to move into the highest-security apartment downtown. Once she finishes moving today and is safe, I obviously won't bother with her anymore."

With that, he slammed the bedroom door and marched out.

Listening to his engine roar to life and fade away down the driveway, I threw off the heavy duvet.

Luckily, after a full night's rest, my foot felt significantly better.

I limped over to Lily's room.

She was sitting on the plush rug, playing with the doll Arnold had bribed her with.

"Lily." I crouched down and looked deep into her eyes. "Mommy is leaving here. Going very, very far away. Do you want to come with Mommy?"

Lily glanced at the doll in her hands, then back at me.

She tossed the toy aside without a second thought and threw her little arms around my neck. "Wherever Mommy goes, Lily goes."

I choked back my tears, stroked her blonde curls, and started double-checking our duffel bags.

Aside from IDs and absolute essentials, I didn't pack a single thing tied to Arnold.

I had given the entire manor staff the day off early this morning to make our escape seamless.

I pulled out my phone and booked two first-class tickets to the Blade Pack's territory.

That was where my best friend Stella's pack resided—the strongest neutral pack in North America.

Dragging the suitcase to the grand living room, I pulled out the papers Arnold had signed yesterday.

I placed the mate rejection agreement flat in the exact center of the glass coffee table.

Then, I grabbed Lily's tiny hand and walked out of the house I had called home for five years without a single backward glance.