Chapter 2

Finally, my pup left me… forever.

The healer said my wolf was too weak and too broken.

How could she protect a tiny pup when she couldn't even save herself?

She tried.

She fought so hard to hold on to him.

But she failed.

And so did I.

When I heard those words… I felt like a corpse lying in a bed of ice.

The pain had spread through every limb.

Even breathing felt like knives in my chest.

Leo tried to comfort me with a forced smile.

"Fiona, you'll have another pup one day. Don't be so sad—"

I cut him off, my voice hoarse and raw:

"Where's Charles?"

His body stiffened.

His eyes avoided mine.

That was all I needed to know.

He hadn't come. Not even once.

Not since I was attacked two days ago.

Not even when our pup died.

I smiled bitterly, tears spilling freely.

"He's with Lisa and her pup, isn't he?"

"So what am I to him? What was our pup to him?"

I couldn't take it anymore.

I grabbed my phone with trembling fingers and called him.

He picked up after a few rings.

In the background, I could hear the shrill scream of ambulance sirens.

"Are you... at the infirmary?"

My voice cracked like shattered glass.

"Well, Fiona, you know... Lisa's pup still isn't feeling well. I brought them to the infirmary. I'll come back once everything is settled. Don't worry about me."

My heart sank to the bottom of a cold, dark sea.

Still, I forced myself to tell him, through trembling lips,

"I'm in the infirmary too."

There was a pause.

Then I heard it—his wolf.

The low growl in his throat. The sound of impatience, of frustration.

He didn't say it, but I could feel it through the bond:

He wanted to tear the phone apart.

He was trying—really trying—to keep his temper in check, but I could hear the tremble of anger in his voice.

"Fiona, I've already told you—Lisa's pup is sick. I'm just helping her bring her here."

"You're my only mate. Why can't you just trust me? There's nothing between me and her. I'm only trying to make up for her mate's death..."

"So stop competing with her. No one has replaced you in my heart."

But his words… fell into the void of my frozen heart.

He thought I was lying just to get his attention.

He didn't even bother to come check on me—even though we were in the same infirmary.

The pain in my belly was still sharp, but I forced myself to sit up. I couldn't lie there any longer.

I had to see it with my own eyes.

The pup's department was just a few doors away—so close.

But he hadn't even walked those few steps to see if I was telling the truth.

Each step I took sent bolts of pain through my body. My hands clutched my hospital gown tightly, and my legs nearly gave out beneath me.

When I reached the room and looked through the glass window, I saw it.

Charles. Holding Lisa's pup gently in his arms.

And Lisa—her head resting on his shoulder, her eyes closed with a faint smile playing on her lips.

That scene stabbed into my chest like a dagger.

I remembered how Charles used to press his hand gently against my belly with such tenderness when he had just found out I was pregnant.

How his eyes sparkled when he spoke of our future—the three of us, living happily.

How he dreamed our child would become a stronger werewolf one day...

But now...

Our pup was gone.

And he had already found his happy family—just not with me.

My heart ached so badly that I could barely breathe. As I looked toward the room, my eyes locked with Lisa's.

She froze for a moment, then turned to Charles with a soft voice.

"Charles... my pup is fine now. You should go stay with Fiona tonight. I'm sure she's really worried about you..."

Charles let out a sigh, frustration flashing across his face.

"She's always like this. Always doubting me, always convinced there's something between us. And now Leo's siding with her—they're lying to me together."

His voice turned cold.

"Don't believe anything she says. Let her stay in the den and calm down. She needs to reflect on her actions. I'll go see her when she comes to her senses."

His disdain made my body tremble.

I swallowed my tears, refusing to let them fall again.

In my heart, I had always believed he was the mate the Moon Goddess had chosen for me — that our bond was sacred and unbreakable. I thought that, with time, it would only grow stronger.

But now I finally saw the truth.

I was the only one clinging to this bond, while he... he was nothing but a flawless actor.

Charles gently laid Lisa's sleeping pup on the bed, then wrapped his arms around her.

He looked at her with guilt in his eyes and said softly,

"I'll spend more time with you and the pup… before Fiona gives birth. It's the only way I can ease the guilt I carry."

At that moment, Lisa turned to me with a triumphant smile. She had gotten exactly what she wanted.

My heart shattered. I could feel our mate bond slowly breaking, like threads unraveling one by one.

I no longer wanted explanations.

My body felt numb, my steps stiff and heavy, but I turned away without a word and walked out — carrying the last pieces of my broken soul with me.

"Have you seen Charles?" Leo ran up to me as soon as he saw me slowly approaching my room.

"Yes, I have. But I don't want to be his mate anymore."

After saying that, I closed my eyes, already planning my next move.

Before bonding with him, I was the daughter of the Alpha of the Moonclaw Pack. To stay by his side, I rejected the mate my father had chosen for me and left my home to join his pack.

But now I've realized that I never truly mattered to him. So I made my choice—I was done with him, for good.

The moment I made that decision, I mind-linked my father and told him I would return in ten days.

Without hesitation, he replied that he would send someone to bring me home.