Chapter 4

My fingers dug deep into the rough tree bark as splinters pricked my palms. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony tearing me apart inside.

I wanted to flee that suffocating place, but my feet felt as though they were rooted to the ground. I could not move. All I could do was stand frozen, listening to the sounds of their ragged breathing echoing in my ears.

I had no idea how long I stood there before a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky. Through the soft patter of rain, Elara's languid, satisfied voice drifted out. "It's Elias' birthday tomorrow. He really wants you here. Can you do that for him, just this once?"

Cassian said nothing and walked straight into the bathroom. When he emerged, he was dressed in fresh clothes that were identical to the ones he had arrived in. He left without a word.

I could no longer distinguish the rain on my face from my tears. I took out my phone and sent Cassian a message, asking him to bring me supper from a part of the territory that was in the complete opposite direction. It would buy me enough time to get home before him.

I returned home with a broken spirit and curled up on the couch.

Soon, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from the door. Cassian stepped inside, wearing the same gentle smile he always carried when he came home.

Looking at him, who appeared as though everything was perfectly fine, I felt as if I were seeing him for the first time. Just half an hour ago, he had been intimate with another she-wolf. Now, he was putting on this devoted act.

He had braved the rain, scouring more than half the territory to buy me food, but the sight of it now disgusted me. I turned my face away and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm exhausted. I don't feel like having it anymore."

Cassian paused for a moment before smiling helplessly. "Okay. You don't have to eat it if you don't want to."

There was no reproach or complaint from him. He always put me first. Yet that didn't stop him from having a pup with another she-wolf.

Lying in bed that night, the memories of the past few years flashed before my eyes. My heart ached so much that it felt numb.

After his shower, Cassian got into bed and wrapped his arms around me from behind. His warm breath blew over the mark he left on my nape. "Happy fifth anniversary, Kaia. I'll spend every year in the future with you."

But his words fell on deaf ears, for not a single ripple stirred in my heart. Cassian and I no longer had a future.

…

The next morning, before he left, Cassian told me, "I have a dinner engagement tonight. I'll be back late. Be good and wait for me at home."

I wanted to give him one last chance, so I looked straight into his eyes and asked, "Cassian, is there anything you're hiding from me?"

He hesitated for a fraction of a second, then gave an utterly natural smile. "What could I possibly be hiding from you? Don't overthink things."

With that, he pressed a kiss to my forehead, just as he always did, and turned to leave.

The moment the door clicked shut behind him, I booked a flight for that very afternoon. I packed my bags and placed an enchanted scroll to dissolve our mate bond, which I had bought from a witch and signed with my name, on the desk.

Just as I was wheeling my suitcase toward the door, my phone vibrated. It was a message from Thalia Shadowbeam, an old healer of the pack.

"Luna, I heard you've been exhausting yourself trying to conceive. I can't bear to see you suffer anymore. The truth is that Alpha Cassian's mother, Ingrid Moonthorn, was poisoned when she was pregnant with him. He was born without the ability to sire pups."

I froze. So, it was Cassian who was infertile, not me. In that case, who sired Elara's pup?

…

Meanwhile, things got really exciting over at Elias' birthday party. A towering five-tiered cake was wheeled before the pup, who had a paper crown on his head. He lifted his chin proudly, beaming.

Beside him, Elara smiled just as brightly, clapping her hands as she sang "Happy Birthday" to him.

Cassian, however, barely looked up. His gaze was downcast as he was focused entirely on sending a message to me.

"What would you like to have tonight, Kaia? I'll bring it back for you."

He received a response from me at the very next second.

"What I want is for you to never see me again."