Chapter 2

James stood there in a daze. That night, to my surprise, he came to pick me up for the first time, holding an almond cake.

But he still didn’t know I was allergic to nuts. He still couldn’t tell the difference. It was Doris who loved nuts, not me.

“I was worried you’d forget to eat dinner while training”, he said, handing it to me. “So I brought this for you.”

He only did it to win back my forgiveness.

“ Thank you.” I said, nodding with a polite, hollow smile.

He hadn’t expected me to stay so quiet.

On the way back, he glanced at me, “Are you angry with me?”

“Ah....”

I was too distracted, wondering who would take over my duties after I left for the Northern Territory.

“Sorry, I got distracted. What did you just say?” I asked.

Probably I sounded too blunt.

He abruptly pulled the car over and turned to me, his eyes searching mine. “Are you still angry about that dress?”

“Huh? No, not at all. Why would you think that?” I asked genuinely puzzled.

James stared at me for a few seconds, then restarted the car once he saw I was calm.

Still, his voice was a bit hoarse. “Kelly, you weren’t like this before.”

Yes, I’ve completely changed.

The bond between James and me had started to fade ever since Doris came back to our pack a year a go.

We argued countless times over her but James always told me not to overreact, insisting she was just like a sister to him.

The worst fight we ever had was when he bared his fangs, caught my raised claws mid-air, and growled,

“Kelly, you are being ridiculous! Do you really think I’d choose you as my mate if I had anything going on with Doris?”

“Do you even realize what will happen to you if our bond breaks? You are nothing but a weak, parentless Omega-no family, no status! How do you think you’ll survive in the pack without me?”

We didn’t speak for an entire month, and in the end, it was I who swallowed my pride and begged him for forgiveness.

Maybe the reason our bond fell apart wasn’t just one moment—it had been breaking piece by piece ever since Doris returned. My love for him had slowly faded over the past year.

That’s why, this time, I felt nothing—not a flicker of emotion—when I saw James with Doris.

“I wasn’t thoughtful before, but that won’t happen again,” I said softly, smiling as I looked into his eyes.

I said it because he had no idea I was planning to leave for good.

That night, while James was in the shower, I stumbled upon the photos Doris had just posted on her social media.

In the photo, she was wearing my ceremonial dress, clinging to my mate like she already owned him.

“So happy to have found my mate — can't wait for you to mark me.”

There were many she-wolves from the pack who liked her post.

Some even commented: “Is that Alpha James? That muscular build looks just like his!”

Doris replied proudly:“Absolutely! James loves me more than anyone else!”

I tapped the like button with a calm smile and quietly got read for bed.

After lying in bed for a while, I felt a familiar warmth draw near—it was James.

He pulled me into his chest, though his body was oddly cold.

“Kelly...” he murmured.

I can feel his wolf stirring, excited and eager, reaching out to mine. One of his claws suddenly tore through the thin fabric of my pajamas.

I stepped back, putting space between us, and caught his wrist gently.

“James,” I whispered, “I’m too tired tonight... I can’t.”

I had almost never refused him before no matter how exhausted, how broken I was.

To him, sex was always the answer to every fight. A way to claim me, to silence me.

He liked it when I cried, when I begged him to stop.

And afterward, he would wrap his arms around me and whisper sweet lies in my ear, begging me not to be jealous of Doris.

But not tonight.

Something inside me had changed. I had no desire to be touched by him because in my heart, I had already left. I was headed for the Northern Territory, and he didn’t even know it.

James stiffened the moment he heard my refusal. He didn’t ask why.

Too proud an alpha to ever swallow his pride.

He simply turned his back to me, and muttered one word—”Okay”.

That night, I could feel my wolf mourning our broken bond.

When I woke up the next morning, James was already gone.

On the table I found the breakfast made by his own hands. Something he had never done before.

There was a small note beside it:

“For my luna.”

I stared at the handwriting, unsure whether to laugh or cry. Was this supposed to be love? Guilt? Or just another attempt to make me stay quiet?

He had already dismissed my jealousy, called me unreasonable. And now he cooked breakfast as if that would erase a year of pain.

His voice came through the mind link next, soft and affectionate:

“My dear Luna, I left the ceremonial dress for you in the study. Try it on and send me a photo. I’m sure you are the most beautiful she wolf in the pack.”

Beautiful? For whom?

After breakfast, I stepped out and bought a countdown calendar.

I tore away a page.

Two days.

Just two more days, and I would leave everything behind.

I went home and began to pack, not in a rush, but with a quiet finality.

The moment I saw that disgusting dress, rage surged through me. I grabbed a pair of scissors with trembling hands and shredded it into pieces, each cut venting the fury boiling in my chest.

Then I threw out every photo of us.

Every book we used to read side by side.

Every gift he had ever given to me.

One by one, the remnant of “us” disappeared into the trash.

And strangely, my heart didn’t ache. It was just...still.

As if the part of me that once loved him had already died.

After clearing away the memories, I felt a strange sense of relief—cold, but freeing. I decided to give all the valuable gifts to my comrades in the army. They responded with excitement through the mind-link, eager to accept them. They’ll come pick everything up the next day.