Chapter 5：She Was Gone

Kent POV:

I watched Corie shut the door behind her, my limbs frozen, making no move to stop her.

I knew her stubborn heart all too well.

Though small and frail, she carried a fierce, unyielding pride that ran deeper than anyone in this pack realized.

Besides... after what I did last night, I knew I had shredded her world to pieces.

My mind went completely blank for a moment, hollowed out by a strange, creeping dread, until my gaze settled on the coffee table.

Wait—

A picture frame had always rested there.

Now it was gone.

Her books on the shelf—gone.

Her personal items and clothes—all stripped away.

A few trash bags were piled up by the door.

I yanked them open; sure enough, everything was dumped inside.

I picked up the picture frame and set it back on the coffee table.

In the photo, Corie was leaning into my chest, flashing a peace sign at the camera with a brilliant, glowing smilethat used to light up my darkest days.

A sudden thought flashed through my mind, sending a cold shiver straight down my spine.

She didn't just throw away her stuff.

She was planning—

To cut ties completely and leave for good!

My heart skipped a violent beat, my breathing faltering.

I immediately dialed her number, only to remember she had blocked me the night before.

She’ll be fine, I lied to myself, bolting out the door and jumping into my car.

She's never left the pack in her life. She must have just run back to her parents.

~~~

Corie’s mother, Camila, opened the front door.

The moment she recognized me, a warm, eager smile spread across her face.

"Kent! Where's Sarah? Didn't she come back with you?"

"Is Corie here?"

I cut in, my eyes sweeping past her shoulder into the hallway.

Camila caught herself, her artificial smile faltering as her expression darkened.

"No, she isn't."

Still, she stepped aside.

"Come on in."

I brushed past her, striding straight toward Corie's bedroom with long, frantic steps.

Camila trailed a few paces behind, biting her tongue, not daring to question her new Alpha.

I threw open her bedroom door—and my heart sank into a dark abyss.

It was dead silent and completely empty.

When Camila tried to follow me inside, I shut the door behind my back, locking her out.

Just like her rented cottage, the room was completely stripped bare, with several trash bags heaped near the door.

Every single memory, every item that proved she had ever lived here, had been discarded.

A tight, suffocating grip squeezed my chest.

The horrific reality I had been desperately trying to deny was unraveling right before my eyes, thread by thread.

I knelt down and lifted one of the bags—it felt strangely, unnervingly light. The second I pulled open the plastic, a phantom knife plunged straight into my heart.

It was the snow-white lace wedding dress she had worn last night.

The dress she had spent months dreaming about.

I could still see her twirling in front of me in that very room, her cheeks flushed as she laughed, asking if she looked like a real bride for me.

Now, it lay tossed in the trash like a piece of worthless garbage.

The silk hem was shredded, caked in mud, and smeared with bloodstains.

Bloodstains?

A cold sweat broke out across my back. How the hell did Corie get back last night?

Did she... walk? Did she run all the way home in the dark?

It was nearly ten kilometers from the venue to this house...

A wave of dizzying guilt washed over me. I braced my forearm heavily against the low  cabinet, my throat constricting until I could barely draw a single breath of air.

A knock rattled the wooden door.

"Kent?" Camila called out.

I took a deep, forced breath to compose my frantic expression before pulling the door open.

"Is something wrong?" Camila asked, her sharp eyes scanning every inch of my face like an analytical Instrument, searching for a crack in my composure.

"Nothing."

I had already slipped back into my familiar skin as the Alpha.

Cold. Unshakable. In control.

"My two daughters may look identical, Alpha, but I feel obligated to remind you: Sarah is the one you married."

She stared at me, a subtle, loaded smile playing on her lips.

I returned a faint, emotionless smirk that carried zero warmth.

"I know exactly who I married.

"Excuse me."

I strode back to my car, my hands still trembling violently against the steering wheel.

Corie was gone.

When she said she was leaving this morning, she wasn't just throwing a desperate tantrum to get my attention—she genuinely meant to leave my life.

To erase me completely from her world.

My throat tight, I dialed Linda's number.

She answered immediately, her voice flat as she told me Corie wasn't with her.

As the line went dead, a sudden, sickening wave of unease washed over me.

Linda hadn't demanded answers. She hadn't screamed at me or cursed my name on Corie's behalf.

She was far too calm.

So calm it felt as if she had already processed her rage.

My stomach dropped into a cold abyss.

Corie had definitely been there!

I yanked the wheel around, speeding straight toward Linda's house.

~~~

The second Linda unlocked the front door, I pushed past her and stepped inside.

"She isn't here." Linda said instantly, her tone deadpan.

My eyes swept through the few rooms; sure enough, there was no sign of Corie.

Then my gaze landed on a duffel bag resting in the corner—the exact bag she had been carrying earlier.

"Where is she?"

"Gone."

"Where?"

"Don't know."

I slowly closed the distance between us, my tone dropping into a cold threat.

"I warned you about the consequences of lying to me."

Linda kept her head down, but the usual fear a low-ranking wolf should feel was nowhere in her eyes.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

She snapped her head up, her eyes blazing with unbridled rage.

"You publicly humiliated her in front of the entire pack, tore her heart out, and now you want to hunt her down?"

I froze, the air leaving my lungs.

"Was she just something for you to throw away when you felt like it?

"Remember this, Alpha. You chose Sarah. Not Corie."

My fingers curled into tight fists, but I forced my posture to hold its Alpha composure.

"I just need to know where she went."

Linda let out a harsh, bitter laugh.

"She left. And she's never coming back to you."

Deep inside my consciousness, my wolf, Mateo, whimpered in agony.

"I told you this would destroy us. I told you to choose her."

Shut up, I growled back in my mind. It's already done.

My stomach sank into a dark, hollow pit.

"Tell me where she was heading."

"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you."

Linda glared straight into my eyes.

"Go ahead and use your dirtiest tricks against me, my noble Alpha.

"I—am—not—afraid of you."

She delivered every word with agonizing slowness, each one driving into my chest like a nail.

Deep down, I knew I had zero grounds to punish Linda.

Neither she nor Corie had done a single thing wrong.

The betrayal was entirely mine.

Yet admitting that truth felt a thousand times harder than losing her.

I turned on my heel, forcing myself toward the front door.

"If you hear anything from her... just let me know."

It was the last desperate shred of my pride.

"Don't hold your breath, Alpha."

Linda's voice cut through the air behind me.

"She’s done with you."

My hand locked onto the cold metal door handle, my chest heaving.

Mateo let out a long, mournful howl in my mind.

Back inside the car, I lowered my head and buried my face deep into my palms.

The girl who was meant to be my Luna, my mate, my entire life... was gone.

She had walked away with absolute finality.

A damp warmth slowly seeped into my hands.

My own bitter tears.