Chapter 4

The days without Kaelen flew by.

Before I knew it, my departure was just a few days away.

Even though we had no contact, I still heard bits and pieces about him and Seraphina from Brenna.

Apparently, they'd had a huge fight. Kaelen had even abandoned her at a banquet, a major public humiliation.

Rumor had it, the fight was about me.

I just laughed it off.

I wasn't that pathetic Luna anymore, the one who refreshed the pack's social media feed a hundred times a day, searching for any tiny clue.

The one who would rush to Kaelen's side at the first sign of a crack in their relationship, ready to remind him that I was the one the Moon Goddess chose for him, the one who loved him most.

Lovers fight. It's what they do. They always make up.

What difference did it make to me?

Kaelen would always choose to discard me for a single word from Seraphina.

After that, though, Kaelen's attempts to mind-link me grew more frequent.

But I either blocked him outright or made up an excuse to refuse.

The day before I was set to leave—the "anniversary of when we first met"—Kaelen used his Alpha command, laced with a plea, demanding I attend the Blood Moon Hunt.

"You promised me. Tonight, we'll see each other. Okay?"

"It's our anniversary. You're not going to turn me down again, are you?"

He had never begged me like that before.

Usually, a single word from him, a tiny crumb of kindness, was all it took.

I would have thrown myself at him, desperate to please him.

Only to find out that he would snatch even that crumb away without hesitation, all for Seraphina.

But I didn't know what to say.

Because today wasn't our first-meeting anniversary.

It was the anniversary of our fourth recall ceremony.

After so many rejections and reunions, I was the only one who bothered to remember every single detail related to him.

But I agreed anyway.

The Blood Moon Hunt. I really did want to go, just once.

That night, I waited and waited on the sacred mountaintop where the celebration was held. Kaelen never showed.

I received a message through our mind-link.

His apology filtered through our link, laced with the roar of bonfires and drunken laughter from the hunt.

I could even make out Seraphina's tinkling laugh.

"I'm so sorry, Elara. Seraphina’s scent addiction flared up again. Her wolf is unstable. I have to use my scent to soothe her."

"We'll have countless anniversaries. Next full moon, I'll do whatever you want, okay?"

The horn of the hunt finally blew. Ancient wolf howls echoed from the valley below.

I heard the sound of my own heart breaking.

My wolf roared inside me, wanting to tear them apart.

But there was no point anymore.

I closed the link.

For the first time in over a month, I opened the pack's internal social media app.

A new post from Seraphina, uploaded just minutes ago, was the first thing I saw. It was a selfie of her and Kaelen by the celebration bonfire.

In the photo, she was wearing the Moonstone Necklace. My Moonstone Necklace. Her smile was dazzling.

The firelight illuminated their faces.

Kaelen was looking down at her, his eyes full of adoration.

The caption read: "Dancing with my Alpha on this sacred Blood Moon night. Thank you, Moon Goddess, for finally bringing us together."

The Moonstone Necklace.

It was my grandmother's.

Seven years ago, I gave it to Kaelen for safekeeping, hoping he would one day place it around my neck at our official mating ceremony.

I laughed at myself. Even just a moment ago, a tiny part of me had still held on to one last sliver of hope for him.

Seventh time's the charm, right?

That final sliver of hope inside me died.

But this was the last time. The very last time.

With nothing left holding me back, I went straight to the private airfield and sat there all night.

At 7 a.m., the jet was ready.

Kaelen mind-linked me, asking when I would return.

I didn't answer. I just blocked his mental signature.

At 8 a.m., as I was boarding, Kaelen called my phone.

I didn't pick up. I blocked his number.

At 9 a.m., I had just settled into my seat. Suddenly, Brenna’s frantic mind-link broke through the jet’s shielding.

"Elara, he's going insane! He's tearing the city apart trying to find you!"

Then, another presence slammed into my mind.

Stronger.

More violent.

Kaelen's roar exploded in my head, shaking me to my core.

"ELARA, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

But I threw my shields up again, cutting him off completely.

“I’m somewhere you can never find me.”