Chapter 2

Back home, I had just stepped into the bedroom to pack when the door slammed open with a thunderous crack.

Jonathan stood there, face dark, Alpha aura roiling off him. Leo and Finn hovered behind him, little wolves baring their teeth like I’d committed an unforgivable sin.

“It was you.” Jonathan’s voice was low and dangerous. “You went to the hunters to accuse Isabella? Murder? Elara, your madness should end now.”

Before I could answer, Leo charged me and shoved hard. “Bad Mom! You want those silver-armed hunters to take Aunt Isabella away?!”

Finn swung tiny fists at my thigh. “You’re the worst! Aunt Isabella is so nice. Why did you frame her?”

I stumbled back and slammed into the cold stone wall.

Eyes burning, I looked at them, my voice trembling with despair. “She switched the dummy with Alex… Jonathan, you gave the order that threw him off that cliff. I accused her according to the law. How is that wrong?”

All three froze.

Jonathan’s laugh was scathing. “Absurd. Isabella wouldn’t bear to harm a mouse. How could she do such a thing?”

I laughed, tears spilling. “Really? Call Alex right now. See if he picks up.”

Jonathan’s brow furrowed. Determined to crush my “lie,” he dialed Alex’s number.

Beeps droned through the silence. The call timed out.

Jonathan’s expression shifted. He opened his mouth when the door eased open.

Isabella Reed stepped in, pale and delicate, leaning against the frame. “I heard… Alex went on a graduation trip. Somewhere very remote. The signal’s bad. You might not reach him,” she explained softly.

Leo and Finn rushed to her, propping her up on either side.

“Aunt Isabella! Why did you leave the hospital? The doctor said you need rest!” Leo’s voice brimmed with concern.

Isabella smiled ruefully, then turned to me with a gracious, wounded look. “I heard Elara reported me to the Silver Order… I had to come clarify. Elara, I understand your unease. Jonathan and I were once fated mates, but that time has passed. You two are bonded now. I’ll only wish you well. I would never break up your family. You don’t have to accuse me of something as grave as ‘murder’…”

Leo tipped up his chin. “See? That’s Aunt Isabella’s magnanimity.”

Finn sneered. “Mom just hurts people with lies.”

I shook with fury; nails were almost pinched into the palm. “When the Silver Order investigators come with truth serum, the facts will speak.”

“Investigators?” Jonathan stepped in close, derisive. “Your so-called ‘investigation’ is slander. I personally withdrew your absurd accusation and made it clear this is internal pack business. Outsiders won’t meddle. No one will take your case.”

As if on cue, my phone buzzed. The Silver Order liaison.

“Mrs. Blackwood… I’m sorry. We have to withdraw your accusation. Please… accept our condolences. Alpha Jonathan has ordered, and I’m afraid…”

The line clicked dead. I stood there as if plunged into an ancient glacier.

Pain. Despair. Fury. Every emotion battered my ribs until I couldn’t breathe.

In the end, I laughed again.

I looked at the man and the pups I’d once loved like life itself—and laughed until the tears blurred my vision.

He shifted, and curbed his temper with effort. “Enough. This farce ends. The dummy scare was my fault. I apologize.”

A beat. “What compensation do you want? New jewels? The new territory Northern Wind Pack has discovered? I’ll give it to you.”

Tears still fell, but my gaze cooled.

I wiped my face, turned to the desk, and moved with slow, deliberate steps—saying goodbye to the woman who’d loved him and swallowed every indignity.

I took out the paperwork I’d already prepared—the dissolution of our mating bond. My fingers trembled when I touched it, not from grief, but from a dawning peace.

“Sign.” I flipped to the last page and covered the header, my voice barely above a whisper.

He skimmed it, assumed it was another jewelry or estate. Eager to end the “scene,” he signed without looking.

Then he lifted his eyes. “Isabella’s unwell and has no one to care for her. She’ll stay here a few days.”

I nodded numbly, took the document, and left without a word.

—

At the law firm, the attorney checked the papers carefully. “The signature is valid. Luna Elara, after a one‑month cooling‑off period, your mating bond with Alpha Jonathan will be officially dissolved.”

I clenched the documents until my fingertips blanched.

It was finally ending.

That night, I returned to the villa to the sound of laughter.

Isabella sat on the couch; Leo and Finn nestled on either side, listening to ancient wolf tales.

“…In the end, the great Wolf God Fenrir rewarded their courage, and the Wolf King and his Luna led the pack into a new age,” Isabella crooned, stroking their hair.

Leo cupped his chin. “Aunt Isabella, you’re so much gentler than Mom.”

Finn nodded. “I wish you were our Luna.”

At the doorway, it felt like a knife stabbed hard between my ribs.

I said nothing. I went upstairs to the guest bath.

Warm water ran over my skin but couldn’t wash away the cold in my chest.

I closed my eyes. Don’t worry. Your wish will come true soon.

Not long after I lay down, the other side of the bed suddenly sank.

Jonathan climbed in beside me, damp from his shower. His arm slid around my waist; his mouth brushed the back of my neck—the place mates mark and soothe.

I flinched and shoved him away.

He frowned. “I gave you the compensation. Your brother wasn’t really hurt. When will you stop?”

I drew breath—

Knock, knock.

The door opened a crack and Leo’s head popped in. “Father! The lunar phase shows a thunderstorm tonight. Didn’t you say Aunt Isabella is most scared of thunder?”

Finn squeezed in, too. “Father, come stay with Aunt Isabella! Her wolf is afraid!”

Jonathan glanced at the flicker-riddled sky and rose.

At the door, he tossed, “Sleep by yourself tonight. Cool off. I’ll keep you company another day.”

The door didn’t latch. From the next room, laughter drifted in.

“Jonathan, you came?” Isabella’s voice was syrup-soft.

“Father! Aunt Isabella’s stories are amazing!” Leo chirped.

Finn wheedled, “Father, can Aunt Isabella live here forever?”

Jonathan chuckled. “All right.”

Flat on my back, I listened to them laugh and slowly closed my eyes.

—

In the morning, laughter rang from the kitchen.

Jonathan—wearing an apron—stood at the stove, long fingers working a spatula. Isabella hovered close, leaning in to breathe the aroma, eyes smiled like crescents.

Leo and Finn buzzed around their legs, jabbering.

“Jonathan, I didn’t expect you to remember after all these years—the moonwort seasoning I like,” Isabella said, touched.

He glanced at her with a tenderness he’d never given me. “I never forgot anything about you.”

He slid a sunny-side-up egg, full of energy, onto a plate and pushed it to her. “Taste. See if the flavor’s changed.”

Isabella took a bite, pleasure easing her brows. “Even better than I remember.”

Leo raised his hand. “Aunt Isabella, when Father’s busy, I’ll prep prey for you!”

Finn bounced. “I’ll learn hunting too! I’ll bring back fresher kills than Father!”

Isabella laughed and ruffled their hair. Jonathan’s sharp features gentled.

From the stairs, I tugged a brittle smile.

For years, because Jonathan was an exalted Alpha with exacting standards, and because the pups were prodigies with refined, fussy tastes, I’d studied cooking, nest‑keeping, pack soothing—serving this home with care.

Turns out…

Even an Alpha used to be served will cook for the one he loves.

Even spoiled little wolves like Leo and Finn can be thoughtful—just not for me.

I was dust beneath their feet. But for Isabella, they would bend.

The one who loves first always loses completely.