The Night Everything Broke

I didn’t know how I made it out of that place.

One moment I was standing there, drowning in their laughter… the next, my feet were already moving.

Running.

The music behind me grew faint, swallowed by the cold night air as I pushed through the glass doors and stumbled onto the street.

The moment the doors shut behind me, the laughter stopped echoing but the words stayed.

She is not worthy…

Not worthy to be my Luna.

My chest tightened painfully, as if something inside me had cracked open and refused to heal.

A cold wind rushed against my face, biting into my skin, but I barely felt it.

All I could feel… was the hollow ache spreading through my chest.

Behind me, I vaguely heard voices.

“Hey—wait!”

“Should someone go after her?”

Footsteps shuffled near the entrance.

For a brief second, hope stirred again—weak and foolish.

Maybe Kael would come after me.

Maybe he would call my name.

Maybe he would stop me…

Then his voice rang out.

Cold.

Sharp.

Uncaring.

“Let her go.”

Everything inside me froze.

My steps slowed without my permission, my heart pounding painfully against my ribs.

“She does this all the time,” Kael continued, his tone filled with irritation. “Always making a scene to get attention.”

A few people chuckled awkwardly.

Someone hesitated. “But Alpha… It's late. She looks upset. Maybe”

“I said let her go,” Kael interrupted coldly.

Silence followed.

Then he added, his voice even colder than before—

“It’s time she learned her place.”

Those words landed like a final blow.

Whatever fragile thread of hope I still clung to snapped completely.

I didn’t look back.

Not once.

Because deep down… I already knew.

If I turned around, he wouldn’t be there.

So I kept walking.

Faster.

Then faster still.

Until walking became running again.

Tears blurred my vision as I ran down the dimly lit street.

I didn’t even know where I was going.

I just needed to get away.

Away from that bar.

Away from their laughter.

Away from him.

My hand moved instinctively to my stomach, pressing protectively against the slight curve beneath my coat.

“My baby…” I whispered hoarsely.

My voice trembled so badly it barely sounded like my own.

A sob tore from my throat before I could stop it.

“I’m sorry…”

Sorry for believing.

Sorry for hoping.

Sorry for thinking that carrying his child would finally make him see me.

What a joke.

What a stupid, foolish dream.

Hot tears streamed freely down my cheeks now, blurring the world into streaks of light and shadow.

Streetlights passed one after another, casting long, lonely shadows across the pavement.

The night felt endless.

Empty.

Cold.

Just like the space inside my chest.

I slowed slightly, my breathing uneven, chest rising and falling in painful bursts.

Memories flashed through my mind without warning.

Kael standing before the pack elders on our wedding day… expression cold and distant.

Kael walked past me in the packhouse without even sparing me a glance.

Kael returns late at night, carrying the faint scent of unfamiliar women.

And me…

Always smiling.

Always pretending.

Always telling myself:

One day he’ll love me.

One day he’ll accept me.

One day…

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

“Three years…” I whispered brokenly.

Three years of loving someone who never loved me back.

Three years of lowering my head… swallowing insults… pretending not to care.

All for nothing.

My fingers tightened unconsciously over the pregnancy report still clutched in my hand.

The paper was wrinkled now, damp from my tears.

I stopped walking.

For a long moment, I just stood there under the dim glow of a streetlight, staring blankly at the crumpled report.

Two pink lines.

A miracle I once thought would save my marriage.

Now…

It felt like a cruel joke.

A deep ache spread through my chest.

“I thought…” My voice broke. “I really thought this would change everything.”

But it hadn’t.

It never would.

---

A loud horn suddenly blared somewhere nearby.

I flinched slightly, startled, but didn’t move.

My thoughts were too loud.

Too heavy.

Too painful.

Without realizing it, I stepped off the sidewalk.

Onto the road.

The cold asphalt pressed beneath my shoes.

I didn’t even look up.

Didn’t check for traffic.

I didn't think so.

All I could hear was Kael’s voice echoing in my mind.

She is not worthy…

Another horn blared—louder this time.

Urgent.

Angry.

But it sounded distant.

Like it belonged to another world.

My body felt numb.

Weightless.

Empty.

For a split second, I lifted my head.

Bright headlights rushed toward me, blinding and sudden.

Everything happened too fast.

A sharp screech tore through the night as tires skidded violently against the road.

Someone shouted.

“Watch out!”

But it was too late.

The impact came like a thunderclap.

Pain exploded through my body as I was thrown backward, the world spinning violently around me.

The pregnancy report slipped from my hand, fluttering helplessly through the air like a broken promise.

I hit the ground hard.

Air rushed out of my lungs in a strangled gasp.

Everything blurred.

The cold pavement pressed against my back.

Somewhere in the distance, voices shouted frantically.

“Call the healer!”

“Someone help her!”

“Is she breathing?!”

But their voices sounded far away… muffled… fading.

Darkness crept slowly into the edges of my vision.

My body felt heavy.

So heavy.

And then

Through the chaos…

Through the noise…

I heard it.

A sound unlike anything I had ever heard before.

A long, haunting howl.

Low.

Powerful.

Filled with sorrow… and something else.

Something ancient.

Something familiar.

A wolf.

The sound echoed deep inside my chest, sending a strange warmth spreading through my fading consciousness.

For a brief moment… I thought I saw a silver light flicker at the edge of my vision.

Then

Everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, the world felt strange.

Too bright.

Too quiet.

A sharp smell filled my nose—clean and bitter.

Medicine.

My eyelids felt heavy, but I forced them open slowly.

White ceiling.

Soft beeping sounds.

A hospital.

Confusion washed over me instantly.

Where… was I?

My head throbbed painfully as I tried to move.

“Aria?”

A voice broke through the haze.

Soft.

Shaky.

I turned my head slightly.

A young woman sat beside my bed, her face pale and drawn, eyes red as if she had been crying for hours.

The moment our eyes met, relief flooded her expression.

“You’re awake!” she gasped, gripping my hand tightly. “Thank the Moon Goddess—you’re finally awake!”

I stared at her blankly.

Her face…

Her voice…

They meant nothing to me.

“Aria, how do you feel?” she asked anxiously. “Are you in pain? Do you feel dizzy? Say something!”

I opened my mouth slowly.

But no words came out.

My thoughts felt scattered, like broken glass pieces I couldn’t put back together.

Before I could respond, a faint, unfamiliar pressure brushed against my mind.

Like someone knocking on a locked door.

My brows furrowed slightly.

What… was that?

Then a deep male voice echoed inside my head.

Cold.

Impatient.

“Stop pretending.”

My body stiffened instinctively.

“Aria,” the voice continued sharply, “this ridiculous act of yours has gone far enough.”

My confusion deepened.

Who… was that?

The voice carried irritation, annoyance… and something else.

Disdain.

“I heard you caused another accident,” he went on coldly. “Trying to gain attention again?”

Gain attention?

Accident?

None of it made sense.

My heart began to pound anxiously inside my chest.

The woman beside me tightened her grip on my hand.

“Aria?” she whispered worriedly.

The voice inside my mind spoke again.

“Answer me.”

I swallowed slowly, my throat dry.

Fear crept into my chest.

I didn’t understand what was happening.

I didn’t understand who was speaking.

I didn’t understand anything.

My lips parted slightly.

And in a weak, confused voice, I finally spoke.

“Who…”

The word trembled as it left my mouth.

Silence followed.

My heart pounded harder.

“…Who are you?”

A sharp pause echoed inside my mind.

Then “What?”