Chapter 2

Kaelen turned and strode out of the room, as though afraid I might refuse before he could escape.

My phone lit up with a message from him.

【Please don't make a scene right now. I am only giving Roslyn a formal status. I delayed our bonding because I was waiting for the right moment to give you a grander ceremony.】

The right moment. I had been hearing this particular lie for five years.

I had stayed by his side and watched him claim the position of Alpha of Dawnlight Pack, step by step.

I had waited through more than a thousand nights. Waited for him to place this Luna crown on my head before the Moon Goddess. Waited for him to write my name beside his in front of the entire pack.

In the end, he gave that place to someone else.

Kaelen, I no longer want to wait for you. We were never from the same world to begin with.

A moment later, he recalled the message. He was probably afraid Roslyn would see the promise he had made me.

I stared at the notification "Message recalled" and let out a small, mirthless laugh.

I typed a reply: Alright.

But before it could send, a red exclamation mark flashed across my screen.

To placate Roslyn, he had not only blocked my number but severed our mind-link entirely.

Perfect.

I set down my phone and thought back to the winter night I had first met Kaelen.

I had gone out in disguise, concealing my identity, only to stumble into an ambush by rogue wolves.

Just as I was cornered with no way out, Kaelen appeared and saved me.

Afterward he dressed my wounds and asked my name.

I said, "Selene."

He nodded and asked nothing more.

It was the first time I had ever felt like an ordinary girl, rather than the daughter of the Lycan King.

I fell in love with him without hesitation and followed him to Dawnlight Pack.

Starting from nothing, I forged myself into a warrior capable of standing on her own.

Kaelen said that once he became Alpha, he would give me the position of Luna.

I smiled at the time and said nothing.

What he did not know was that I had never cared about the title.

My father was the Lycan King.

From a young age I had watched too many people tear each other apart over a name.

So when Kaelen appeared and saved me like something from a story, I fell in love with the uncomplicated person he seemed to be and chose to leave my father behind.

Now, at last, I understood I had been wrong.

Leaving Kaelen was the best choice I could make.

I opened Dawnlight Pack's internal system and submitted a formal request to the Elder Council: I, Selene, hereby request permanent withdrawal from Dawnlight Pack, effective immediately.

The Elder Council's reply came shortly after.

"Selene, your departure would be no small loss to Dawnlight Pack. Kaelen's position is not yet fully secure, and other packs are watching with hungry eyes. We hope you will reconsider."

My mind was made up.

I replied at once: My decision is final.

Kaelen had already chosen another as his mate. From this moment on, his fate was no concern of mine.

Seeing that my resolve was unshakeable, the elders could say no more.

They sighed and informed me that a withdrawal request required the Alpha's approval before it could take effect.

I smiled quietly, certain that Kaelen would approve.

He had never once given a second thought to any request that involved me.

Over five years, every training plan, every request to leave pack territory, he approved with a casual swipe and never spared them a second glance.

Sure enough, in less than two minutes, a notification appeared: Withdrawal request approved.

Roslyn's private message arrived immediately after.

Attached was a photograph of the Luna's insignia. She wanted me to see it.

"Thank you for stepping aside. Kaelen gave me the Luna's insignia last night."

I did not reply.

My phone buzzed again. It was Rachel, my closest friend in Dawnlight Pack.

"You're leaving?" Her voice was full of confusion. "What happened?"

I held the phone, words forming and failing.

"Kaelen is going to complete his bond with Roslyn. I don't think there's any reason for me to stay."

A brief silence settled on the other end. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I said, my own calm surprising me. "I really am."

Rachel let out a quiet sigh.

"Then where will you go? Didn't you say this place was your home?"

I looked out the window. The aspen leaves were falling one by one.

Once fallen, they never return.

For five years, Kaelen had told me that once he became Alpha, he would give me a real home. When that day finally came, he gave that home to Roslyn.

Over those five years, I had fought my way out of encirclements at his side, and stitched his wounds closed in an abandoned cabin.

To spare him any burden of worry, I chose to forgo bearing children for the time being, swallowing the bitterness alone.

I loved him, so I swallowed every indignity and forged myself into the sharpest blade in his hand.

And tonight, he wanted to give the title of Luna to Roslyn.

My heart broke.

But for the first time in my life, I felt a freedom that was complete and weightless.