Chapter 2

The next day, I left the villa with the suitcase I had brought with me.

In the airport lounge, I turned on my phone and saw a photo Isabella had posted from the amusement park.

In the picture, Lucas had his arm around her shoulders, and Finn was holding her hand.

The caption read, "There will always be someone who feels happy about your arrival!"

Finn was grinning as he hugged a pile of junk food with zero nutritional value.

I remembered that when I was with pup for the first time, the healer had warned me that I wasn't suited for pregnancy. My body would become extremely weak during the process, unable to sustain the pup's nutrition.

But I loved Lucas too much, and I dreamed of having a pup that belonged to both of us.

So, unsurprisingly, I had a difficult labor when I gave birth.

Of course, Lucas wasn't there for me. I struggled alone in the operating room before Finn was safely born.

After that, I became extra attentive to his health, worried that my weak body had affected him. I carefully planned all his meals and strictly kept him on his training schedule.

But none of that could compare to Isabella buying him ice cream and the latest toys.

If they were the ones who truly looked like a family, then so be it.

I called a friend I hadn't spoken to in a while.

"Is that teaching position at the prestigious school you mentioned still open for interviews? I think I'm finally ready to leave the Moonhowl pack."

…

Back at Lucas' villa, Sophia, who was cleaning the house, found the document I'd left behind.

It was an application to break the mate bond, addressed to the pack council.

I had no desire to confront Lucas face-to-face about this anymore, and that paper was my notification to him.

Sophia was shocked and hurried to report to Lucas, who was helping Finn pack.

"Your vacation's over, Finn. It's time to go back to school."

Finn looked devastated, sitting on the floor with teary eyes.

"I don't want to go back! If I do, I'll have to see that annoying mom again! I won't get to see Isabella every day!"

Lucas picked him up. "Who said that? Isabella's coming back with us."

Finn immediately broke into a smile. "Really? You mean it?"

He rubbed his cheek against Lucas's neck affectionately. "Dad, I want Isabella to become my mom. When can she become my mom?"

Lucas froze for a few seconds. Then, for the first time in forever, a smile crept onto his usually stern face. "If that's what you want, it'll happen very soon."

Sophia shook her head as she watched them and quickly stepped forward. "Alpha Lucas, Luna Claire left this. You—"

"She was here?" Lucas' expression darkened immediately.

Sophia swallowed. "Luna Claire came yesterday and left early this morning. She didn't look very happy, and she left this."

She rushed through her words as fast as she could, watching Lucas's expression carefully.

But even just hearing my name made him visibly irritated.

Now completely ignoring Sophia, Lucas turned away with Finn. Sophia had no choice but to pack the application into their luggage.

Naturally, I didn't know any of this, nor did I care anymore. Whether Lucas signed the application or not wouldn't stop me from walking away.

I returned to the pack and quickly packed everything up, taking all the money Lucas had been transferring me each month without hesitation.

Before, I never touched a dime of it. I used the money I earned myself to buy things for him and Finn.

Now that I was taking it back, I didn't feel guilty about it at all.

I had already sent my résumé to that prestigious school in the Stormcrest pack, and my abortion surgery was scheduled for a few days later.

Only then did it finally feel real, as though I was starting to cut everything off.

I didn't go back to my own house with my suitcase. That place hadn't felt like my home ever since Isabella arrived.

Isabella was actually my father's illegitimate daughter.

He had an affair with his secretary and had her. Then, he brought her home and declared she would be his official heiress.

My mother couldn't bear the betrayal of her mate. She fell ill shortly after and passed away within a year.

From then on, my father openly gave Isabella the best of everything.

Even when he found out Lucas and I were fated mates, he still shamelessly tried to set her up with him.

Things only calmed down when Isabella chose to mate with an Alpha from a larger pack.

That night, Lucas got drunk after hearing the news. We spent a wild night together, and he kept calling Isabella's name.

And then, I became with pup.

"It was all a mistake from the start," said my wolf in my head.

She was right—this was all one big mistake.

In a few days, I would set everything right.

I drove to a hotel and checked in.

…

Meanwhile, Lucas and Finn had returned to the Moonhowl pack.

They looked around the obviously emptier villa and didn't react, completely unaware that I was gone.

They were still happily planning Isabella's birthday, which was the day after tomorrow.