Chapter 3: She’s Gone

Irene’s Point of View

For a second,

Eugene lowered his head.

He looked… broken.

Like something inside him was too heavy to carry.

Like he might collapse under it.

But I felt nothing for it.

No pity.

Only pain.

Sharp.

Burning.

This was him?

This was the man I waited for?

My mate.

My future.

The one I thought I would spend my life with.

“The battle was intense,” Eugene said.

His jaw tightened.

His voice came out rough.

“You wouldn’t understand. You weren’t there.”

He paused.

“I was lonely,” he added. “And you weren’t there.”

My chest twisted,

but anger rose faster than the pain.

Hot.

Uncontrolled.

“So your first thought was to find another woman?” I snapped.

My voice shook, but I didn’t stop.

“You couldn’t even wait a few months?”

The words cut through the space between us.

Sharp.

Unforgiving.

But I didn’t care.

His excuses,

they sounded hollow.

Weak.

Like he was trying to cover something he didn’t want to face.

“Irene!” Eugene raised his voice.

But there was no real strength behind it.

“You don’t understand how I feel!”

His eyes flashed.

“You weren’t the one fighting those lycans! You don’t know what it’s like to almost die!”

A tear slipped down my cheek.

Slow.

Cold.

But his words,

they hurt more than the tear.

There was no regret.

No guilt.

Only reasons.

Only excuses.

Like his pain mattered more than mine.

Like it was enough to destroy everything we had.

But what about me?

What about my pain?

“I’ve been waiting for you,” I said.

My voice broke.

I wiped my tears quickly, almost roughly.

“I tried to become the perfect Luna for you.”

I swallowed hard.

“I wanted you to be proud of me.”

My chest ached, but I kept going.

“I was lonely too,” I whispered.

“Every day. Every night.”

My hands clenched at my sides.

“I prayed for you. I waited for you.”

My voice steadied, stronger now.

“Not once did I think about another man.”

Not once.

Eugene’s jaw tightened.

He looked at me,

but there was no comfort in his eyes.

Only something heavy.

Dark.

The bond between us stirred.

I could feel him.

His guilt.

His regret.

It was there.

But buried.

Hidden under excuses.

Under pride.

Under fear.

He felt my pain too.

I knew he did.

It moved through him,

slow.

Bitter.

And still…

he said nothing that mattered.

“It’s different, Irene,” he said at last.

He shook his head.

“Our situations are not the same.”

The words settled between us,

quiet.

Final.

And somehow, they hurt more than everything else.

Something inside me snapped again.

Different?

Then tell me,

when did I stop being enough?

That was his answer?

“You didn’t even apologize,” I said.

My voice was low.

But it shook.

“And I thought… at least… you felt sorry for me.”

The words came out slower this time.

Heavier.

Eugene stilled.

Like I had hit something he didn’t expect.

His eyes widened.

Confusion flickered across his face,

like the thought had never crossed his mind.

Like he had been so busy defending himself…

he forgot something simple.

To say sorry.

And that hurt more than anything else.

“Irene…”

His voice softened.

For the first time.

“I… I’m sorry.”

The words fell between us.

Quiet.

Fragile.

But they didn’t reach me.

Didn’t touch anything inside me.

It felt like he said them

because he had nothing else left.

My chest tightened.

Not from relief.

From something colder.

“You don’t feel sorry,” I whispered.

My voice trembled, but I held his gaze.

“You don’t regret it.”

I didn’t look away.

“Your words mean nothing.”

His eyes widened again.

But instead of stepping back,

he stepped closer.

His hands reached for mine.

He grabbed them.

Tight.

Too tight.

Like I might disappear if he let go.

“Irene… we can fix this,” he said quickly.

“We can still be together.”

Fix this?

The words landed wrong.

Cold.

Ugly.

Like this was something cracked he could glue back together,

not something he had shattered.

I stared at him.

My thoughts moved slowly.

Sharp.

Careful.

How could he say that?

How could he believe anything could go back?

Nothing was the same.

Nothing would ever be the same.

My eyes narrowed.

Something inside me turned cold.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

My voice trembled, but I didn’t look away.

Eugene hesitated.

His expression shifted.

Guilt.

Fear.

Desperation.

All tangled together.

“We can still be together…” he repeated.

But this time,

it sounded worse.

Hollow.

Like even he didn’t believe it.

And that was enough.

I pulled my hands away.

Hard.

My chest rose and fell fast.

Anger surged through me.

Hot.

Sharp.

“If you think I’ll accept this… then you don’t know me at all,” I said.

My voice cut through the space between us.

Cold.

Final.

Eugene froze,

like he had just realized

he was about to lose me for real.

I didn’t wait.

I turned,

and ran.

Away from him.

Away from everything.

My steps were fast. Uneven.

My breath came in sharp bursts.

I didn’t know if I was running from him…

or from the truth I couldn’t escape.

My chest tightened.

It felt like I was choking.

Music echoed through the halls.

Loud.

Bright.

Happy.

Wrong.

People laughed.

Celebrated.

Welcomed their heroes home.

But for me…

everything felt empty.

Like something inside me had gone quiet.

Gone still.

Like I had lost something I could never get back.

The bond between us,

it hurt.

Deep.

Like it was pulling apart from the inside.

For a moment, I thought about rejecting him.

Ending it.

Breaking everything between us.

But I couldn’t.

Not yet.

My heart still held on.

Even as it broke.

Days passed.

One.

Two.

Three.

Then a week.

I stayed inside my room.

Curtains closed.

Door locked.

The world shut out.

I didn’t want to see anyone.

Especially not him.

Every time Eugene came,

he knocked.

Called my name.

Waited outside my door.

But I said nothing.

I never opened it.

I couldn’t face him.

Not after what he did.

Only a few people knew the truth.

Luna Lorraine.

Alpha Dave.

And my closest friends.

The rest of the pack…

they only saw the distance.

The silence.

The change.

They whispered.

They wondered.

But no one knew,

how broken I really was.

“Irene… don’t be sad anymore.”

Skylar’s voice was soft.

Gentle.

She sat beside me on the bed, close enough that I could feel her warmth.

Familiar.

She had always been there.

Since the orphanage.

Since the very beginning.

We grew up together.

And now…

she was hurting for me too.

“Let’s go out,” she said quietly. “You’ll feel better.”

She nudged my shoulder, trying to smile.

Trying to pull me back.

But I could hear it.

The sadness in her voice.

And it made my chest ache even more.

Because even she knew,

I wasn’t okay.

“I don’t want to feel better, Skylar,” I said.

My voice was low.

Flat.

Because feeling better would mean

accepting what happened,

and I wasn’t ready for that.

Everything felt heavy.

Even speaking.

Like every word took something from me… and I had nothing left to give.

“I just… want to disappear.”

The words slipped out.

Quiet.

But real.

Too real.

Tears filled my eyes again.

I blinked, trying to stop them,

but they kept falling.

This time, I didn’t wipe them away.

I didn’t care anymore.

My hair fell around my face.

Messy.

Lifeless.

Just like me.

I knew how I looked.

I knew I had stopped trying.

But what was the point?

The woman I used to be…

felt far away now.

Gone.

Like she had never existed.

Strong.

Proud.

Hopeful.

All of it…

felt buried.

Not because he came back,

but because of what he did.

Because of how easily he broke me.

“Don’t say that,” Skylar said softly.

Her voice trembled.

“Let’s go out. Just for a little while.”

She hesitated, then added,

“There’s a party tonight. For the warriors… and the lycan pack.”

A party.

The word felt strange.

Empty.

I didn’t care.

Not about the party.

Not about the warriors.

Not about the lycan pack.

Nothing felt important anymore.

But…

one part of what she said stayed with me.

The lycan pack.

They would be here for a week.

Their Alpha was coming.

A peace treaty.

All five Alphas had already arrived.

Everything was moving forward.

The world didn’t stop.

Not for me.

I sat there in silence.

Trying to quiet my thoughts.

Trying to feel nothing.

Then,

a knock on the door.

Soft.

Careful.

Skylar stood and opened it.

“Irene…”

Luna Lorraine’s voice filled the room.

Gentle.

Warm.

Like always.

Too warm.

Too kind.

“I want to show you your dress for tonight,” she said.

Her eyes softened when she saw me.

Something flickered there,

regret… maybe.

“I think it will help… if you come.”

She stepped closer.

“You deserve to be there. You deserve to feel happy too.”

Happy.

The word hurt more than anything else.

I didn’t want to go.

Didn’t want to pretend.

Didn’t want to smile.

Didn’t want to act like I was okay.

Because I wasn’t.

Not even close.

But her voice…

made it hard to refuse.

And that scared me more than anything,

because a part of me was already too tired

to keep fighting.

She spoke softly.

Carefully.

Like I might shatter if she said the wrong thing.

And maybe I would.

I stayed quiet.

My chest felt heavy,

like whatever I chose next…

would change something I could never undo.

What did I want?

To hide?

To stay here forever, where nothing could reach me?

Or,

to stand up?

Even just once?

The questions moved through my mind.

Slow.

Heavy.

Unanswered.

I didn’t know anymore.

I sat there, unmoving.

Caught in between.

Between running,

and facing everything I had lost.

And for the first time…

I understood something clearly.

No matter what I chose,

no matter what I did next,

nothing would ever be the same again.

Not him.

Not me.

Not us.

And maybe…

that was what scared me the most.

Because deep down,

I could already feel it.

The version of me who waited for him…

was gone.