Chapter 3

I woke up in the pack infirmary.

My whole body ached. I turned my head and saw Kael sitting in the chair next to my bed. He hadn't slept. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was a mess.

"Elena," he said, reaching for my hand. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened. I thought you were safe."

I pulled my hand away.

I didn't say anything. I just stared at the ceiling.

"Elena, please say something. Yell at me. Hit me. Just don't shut me out."

I looked at him. "You left me to die."

His face crumpled. "I thought Lila was losing the baby. I panicked. I'm so sorry."

"I know," I said quietly. "You will always choose her."

His arms were still warm when he pulled me into a hug. I could feel his heart beating against my chest. But my heart was already cold.

There was no going back.

Not after this.

Kael, I will build a new life without you.

In the days that followed, Kael never left my side.

He followed me everywhere. He even waited outside the bathroom door.

Lila would stand in the hallway, crying, but he ignored her.

"Elena," he said one morning, holding out an invitation. "It's the ten-year Gathering for the Northern Pack Academy. The entire cohort is attending. Be my date."

I stared at the academy crest on the invitation. I remembered ten years ago, when he had waited for me after school with tickets to the championship hunting match.

"Okay," I said.

At the reunion, Kael held my hand the entire night.

Our old friends teased us that we were still the perfect couple. Someone told the story about how Kael spent three days in the forbidden caves gathering Moonpetal flowers to brew my pre-hunt potion.

Kael smiled and pulled me closer. He kissed the top of my head, over and over again, like he was trying to memorize the way I felt.

"Remember the Rite of Passage?" one of our friends said, unlocking the heavy oak chest. "We sealed those letters in here when we finished the Rite. Today, we open them."

Everyone crowded around to get their letters.

I was just about to open mine when Kael's phone rang.

He looked at the screen. It was Lila.

He looked at me, his eyes pleading.

"Go," I said. "The baby is more important."

He kissed my forehead. "I'll be right back. I promise."

I watched him run out the door.

I walked over to where I buried our letters and found Kael's letter.

The envelope said "To Kael, Age 26". I opened it.

The paper was yellowed, but his handwriting was still the same.

To my future self,

If you are reading this, you are married to Elena. Congratulations. You are the luckiest man alive.

Now listen to me very carefully. You have to treat her like the queen she is. You have to love her more than anything in the world. If you ever hurt her, I will never forgive you.

Remember she drinks her coffee with two sugars.

Remember she hates cilantro with a passion.

Remember she is afraid of thunderstorms.

Remember she wants to see the Northern Lights.

And if you ever, ever make her cry, you have to let her go.

She deserves better than a man who breaks her heart.

At the bottom, in tiny letters, he had written:

Elena, if I ever stop loving you, leave me and never look back.

Tears fell onto the paper.

"Okay," I whispered. "I will."

I said goodbye to all my friends and left the reunion.

I took a taxi straight to the Council building.

Today was the seventh day. The bond was ready to be broken.

The clerk looked at me. "Luna, are you absolutely sure? Once this is done, it can never be undone."

"I'm sure," I said.

I watched her stamp the certificate.

At that exact moment, Kael was standing in the pack infirmary.

He suddenly clutched his chest and screamed. A pain worse than anything he had ever felt ripped through his body. It was the bond breaking.