Chapter 1

ELARA VEYNE

The clock on the wall moved closer to midnight.

I sat alone beside the window, staring at the road outside. Every few minutes, I glanced at the clock.

11:37.

11:42.

11:51.

My fingers tightened around the edge of my dress. Tonight was our third wedding anniversary. And Kael still wasn't home.

I looked at the table behind me. Dinner had been prepared hours ago. The candles had burned almost to their ends, and the food had long since gone cold.

I should have been angry. Instead, I found myself making excuses for him. He was the Alpha. The pack had always come first.

There were warriors to command, disputes to settle, territory to protect, and countless responsibilities that came with his position.

I had known all of that when I married him. So I waited. Just like I had waited for him for the past three years.

My eyes fell on the envelope resting on the table.

The Royal Academy.

Military Command Program.

I had received the admission letter several days ago.

For years, the Royal Academy had been a dream I had buried.

Before my accident, I had been one of the strongest warriors in our pack. I had been chosen to become the Chief Warrior, and I had once believed that perhaps one day I would enter the Royal Academy and become even stronger.

Then everything changed. I had saved Kael's life.

And lost part of mine in the process. My gaze dropped to my injured leg.

Even after three years, I still hated looking at it.

I had learned how to walk again, but I would never move the way I once had. I could no longer run at full speed, fight for long periods, or lead warriors into battle.

The position of Chief Warrior had been taken from me. And after that, my life seemed to shrink little by little.

Until I became nothing more than Kael's wife.

His Luna. His responsibility.

I picked up the admission letter.

The enrollment date was six months away. Six months.

I could still accept the offer. But before I made any decision, I wanted to speak to Kael.

I wanted to ask if I could complete part of the program remotely. More than that, I wanted to try one last time to fix our marriage.

For three years, Kael and I had been husband and wife in name. But our mate bond remained incomplete. He had never marked me. He had never truly touched me as a mate. Still, I had refused to give up.

Perhaps tonight, I thought, I could finally talk to him. Perhaps our third anniversary could be the beginning of something new.

The sound of a vehicle stopping outside pulled me from my thoughts.

My heart jumped.

Kael.

I quickly placed the letter back on the table. A moment later, the front door opened. Heavy footsteps echoed through the house.

I stood carefully. "Kael?"

He appeared in the doorway. The moment I saw him, my heart sank.

He was drunk.

His usually neat clothes were slightly disheveled, and the strong scent of alcohol reached me from across the room.

"You haven't slept?" His voice was low.

I shook my head. "I was waiting for you."

His eyes moved toward the clock. Then he seemed to remember.

"Our anniversary."

I forced a smile. "Yes."

He nodded. "I didn't forget."

For some reason, those words hurt more than they should have.

He walked past me.

"Kael."

He stopped.

I looked at his back.

"I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Tomorrow." His answer came immediately. "I'm tired."

Before I could say anything else, he walked into the bedroom.

I followed him slowly. He loosened his collar and rubbed his forehead.

"You should sleep too, Elara."

I looked at him. "I'll wait until you—"

"I'm going to shower."

He disappeared into the bathroom. The door closed.

I stood alone in the bedroom. A few moments passed.

Then I heard something. At first, I ignored it.

Another sound came from behind the bathroom door.

I frowned. "Kael?"

There was no answer.

I moved closer.

My hand stopped just before the door. Then I heard his voice.

It was low. Breathless.

And the next word shattered something inside me.

"Seraphina..."

I froze. My entire body went cold.

Seraphina.

For three years, I had tried not to think about that name. She had been Kael's mate. His first love. The woman who had left our pack three years ago after being accepted into the Royal Academy.

I had always known that Kael had loved her.

But I had believed that enough time had passed. I had believed our marriage meant something.

I had believed that perhaps, someday, he would finally see me as his mate.

But now, standing outside that door on our third wedding anniversary, I understood how foolish I had been.

The sounds from inside continued. I couldn't listen anymore. I stepped backward. My injured leg suddenly felt weak. My heel caught something beside the door.

Crash!

A decorative vase fell to the floor.

The sound echoed through the bedroom. Everything inside the bathroom went silent.

My heart pounded. The bathroom door opened.

Kael appeared almost immediately.

His expression changed when he saw me. "Elara!"

He crossed the room quickly.

I tried to step away, but my injured leg failed me.

My balance disappeared. Kael caught me before I could fall. His hands gripped my arms firmly.

"Careful!"

His eyes immediately dropped to my leg.

"Did you hurt yourself?"

I couldn't answer. His brows knitted together.

"Is your leg hurting again?"

I slowly pulled myself away from him.

"I'm fine."

"You're shaking."

"I'm fine."

I avoided his eyes. Kael watched me carefully.

Then he bent down and moved the broken pieces of the vase away from my feet.

"Don't step there." His voice was gentle.

The same gentle voice I had heard countless times during the past three years. He reached for me again. This time, I let him help me steady myself.

But I refused to lean against him.

"I can walk."

"I know."

He didn't argue. Instead, he stayed beside me.

He waited until I took my first step. Then another. Only when he was certain I could stand properly did he release me.

That was Kael. Always careful. Always attentive.

Always taking care of me.

He had never treated me badly. He had never neglected me. He gave me everything I needed. He protected me.

He made sure I had the best doctors and medicine. He had even built a separate, comfortable home for me because of my injured leg.

To anyone looking from the outside, Kael was a perfect husband.

But there was one thing he had never given me.

His heart.

He walked toward the bed. "I remembered our anniversary."

I looked at him.

"There is a gift beside the bed."

My eyes moved toward the small box.

"I wanted you to open it tomorrow."

I nodded. "Okay."

He looked at me for another moment.

"You should sleep."

He turned away.

I stared at his back.

Only a few minutes ago, he had been calling another woman's name. Now he was standing in front of me as though nothing had happened.

As though he hadn't shattered my heart. As though the woman he had called for belonged to some other version of him.

I lowered my eyes. Maybe this was what our marriage had always been.

He took care of me because he felt responsible for me. Because I had saved his life. Because he believed he owed me.

Not because he loved me.

Three years ago, Kael and Seraphina had been mates. Everyone knew it. Then Kael's father suddenly died. Overnight, Kael became the Alpha.

He couldn't leave the pack. He couldn't abandon his responsibilities.

Seraphina, however, had been accepted into the Royal Academy. She had a future waiting for her.

She didn't want to give it up. So she ended their relationship and left.

Kael was devastated. He drowned himself in alcohol.

And then the accident happened.

I still remembered that day.

Kael had been in danger. I had pushed him out of the way. I took the impact meant for him. My life changed forever.

Afterward, Kael stopped drinking. Then he came to me.

He knelt before me.

And asked me to marry him.

I had secretly loved him for years. So I said yes.

I thought perhaps marriage would give us a chance. Perhaps love could grow between us.

Perhaps one day, he would look at me and realize that I was his wife.

His Luna.

His mate.

But three years had passed.

And nothing had changed.

I looked at the anniversary gift beside the bed. A strange emptiness filled my chest.

I already knew what was inside. Probably another piece of jewelry. Another beautiful gift.

Another way for Kael to show me that he remembered his responsibilities.

I walked toward the table. My eyes fell on the Royal Academy admission letter.

Yesterday, I had wanted to ask Kael if I could accept it. Tonight, I didn't want to ask him anymore.

I picked up the letter.

My fingers trembled slightly. I had spent three years waiting for Kael to choose me. Perhaps it was time I chose myself.

I opened my communication device.

The academy's message was still waiting. I stared at it for several seconds. Then I typed my reply.

I accept the offer.

My finger hovered over the screen. Then I pressed send.

The message disappeared.

It was done.

Six months from now, I would leave for the Royal Academy. I would start preparing immediately.

That had always been my nature. Once I made a decision, I never looked back.

I placed the device down.

For the first time in three years, I didn't wonder what Kael would think. I only wondered what my life would look like without him.

***

The next morning, Kael was already gone.

I woke to an empty room. Beside the bed sat a small gift box.

There was a note underneath it.

Happy third anniversary, Elara.

I stared at the words. Then I opened the box.

My expression went blank.

Another necklace. Almost identical to the three he had given me before.

I opened the drawer beside the bed.

Three necklaces lay inside. I looked at the new one in my hand.

Four years of gifts would have been enough to make me happy once. Now they only reminded me of everything Kael had never understood about me.

I closed the box.

Then I slowly made my way out of the room.

As I stepped into the hallway, I heard voices coming from the main pack house.

Laughter. Excited voices. Sounds of celebration.

I stopped.

A servant hurried past me. I caught her attention.

"What happened?"

She turned around. Her face was bright with excitement.

"Luna, you haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

She smiled. "She's back."

My heart suddenly stopped.

"Who?"

The servant looked surprised that I didn't know.

"Lady Seraphina."

My fingers tightened around the edge of the doorway.

The woman whose name Kael had called last night... had returned.