A goodbye.

Alina

"Step aside..." she added, her tone hardening.

It was not a casual remark. It was a warning—one that almost had me laughing.

"Don’t make this uglier than it already is, Alina..." For a brief moment, her tone shifted, softening just slightly in that sweetly deceiving way.

For a brief second, my gaze held hers, and in the end, I felt too exhausted to say anything.

She was my foster mother, the woman who brought me up. With the anger burning through me, I would probably do or say something I would regret if I stayed any longer.

So, I turned on my heels, my chest still burning, my fingers tightly curled as I headed toward the house.

The house. Yes, that was the only name I could give the place that was no longer going to be my home.

'Alina?'

At the back of my mind, my wolf called, her voice weak, vulnerable.

'We will get past this...' she added, and heavens—I was doing everything in me to stop myself from lashing out at her.

My wolf was innocent. I knew. It wasn’t her fault we couldn’t shift, but that realisation didn’t make my chest burn any less.

I wanted to blame her—no, I was already blaming everything and everyone. The universe, myself, the Moon Goddess, fate.

I just wanted something—or someone—to pin the blame on. And the Moon Goddess squarely fit into those shoes.

If she had blessed me with a wolf that could actually shift, just like the rest... if she had made me Alpha-born, just like Serena... then my fated mate wouldn’t have rejected me.

Maybe Asher wouldn’t have chosen another over me.

With these thoughts running through my mind, I only came back to reality when I knocked my head over the door. Perfect. As if the day couldn’t get any worse.

I had reached the Alpha’s villa, and as I stared at that polished brown door, my eyes stung as currents of memories rushed through my mind.

It felt like yesterday when the five-year-old me walked through this very door, holding a small duffel bag, taking slow, cautious steps.

It was the day Alpha Maico and Luna Joye took me from the orphanage.

I was an orphan, with no known origins, just a single name, Alina.

From what I had heard, I had been brought to the orphanage by a nanny. She had said that her employers died in a house fire, and she had only managed to save me.

From then on, the orphanage became my home. From a very young age—two, precisely—I had noticed it. Couples would choose the other kids. Each day, I would watch with tears as some child got adopted, while I stayed behind.

When I turned four, I finally made peace with the fact that no one was ever going to adopt me.

At some point, with hope gone, my heart stopped aching as much.

That changed when I turned five. An Alpha and Luna came for me.

"We will take you home, little Alina," Luna Joye had whispered, crouching to my level.

Even after so long, I could still remember how much my heart had swelled with joy, unbridled happiness.

That day, the day before my departure, I hadn’t been able to sleep.

And when we finally reached home, I had seen him, a young, quiet boy, handsome, with piercing blue eyes. It was Asher.

"Welcome home, Alina... From now on, I will be your brother," he had said softly, pulling me into an awkward hug before taking my bag and leading me to my room.

I had only been five then, but watching his straight back as he led me upstairs, I had shaken my head.

I had long known I didn’t want him as just a brother, but as a future mate—someone who would always hold my hand, just like Alpha Maico held Luna Joye’s.

As I grew older, I realised something. He was an Alpha. He would want someone strong as his Luna.

So I started training hard, and by the time I turned fifteen, I had already proven myself. I became a member of the pack’s elite warriors.

I could defend the pack, fight at the borders, and bring enemies to their knees.

By then, my love for Asher had grown into something stronger—dangerous. That childhood crush had turned into something that burned, a searing desire to belong to him, and only him.

Over the years, he had transformed from a quiet boy into a mature and irresistible Alpha, masculine, handsome in ways that made hearts flutter.

Then came his lingering stares. His protectiveness that drove away any male who showed interest in me.

He would walk around bare-chested in the house, looking innocently clueless—and yet, he would flash a wink my way.

'Eighteen years of torture, love, and dreaming, Alina...' I wiped my tears as the thought crossed my mind.

"If you turn out to be my fated mate, I will claim you... I want you to wear my mark," he had whispered a few months before my eighteenth birthday.

My hopes had burned deeper then.

Then came my eighteenth birthday, and I found out he was my mate.

That day, he had pulled me into his arms—not as a foster brother, but as a male wolf burning with the desire to claim, mate, mark, and seal.

We were werewolves. We followed traditions. No matter how badly we had wanted each other, we had to wait for another moon, for the public mating, since he was the Alpha.

In the days that followed, we had kissed—in the kitchen, in the garden, under the stars—until our bodies ached for more.

"Patience, Alina," he had whispered, resting his forehead against mine as he tried to control himself.

I had nodded, letting the heat consume me as I promised to wait.

Two or three days before the public mating, he had sneaked into my bedroom, kissed me until I was breathless, before whispering, "Three days to come, Alina..."

"I can’t wait to claim you..."

"I will be gone for three days—union meetings. Wait for my return. I will come back, mark you, and crown you, my Luna."

I had waited.

Three days came and passed, and, I wasn't the one under him in the tent.. .Serena was.

I guess, even as an elite warrior, I couldn't compete with an Alpha born.

Now, I was in the bedroom, while he was out there doing everything we should have been doing together, with her.

This place had once felt like home.

My eyes moved to the bed and tears instantly welled up in my eyes. Three days ago.. He had sneaked in, kissed me until I couldn't breathe, and promised to make me his.. three days, and his scent still lingered in my sheets....

Slowly, I wiped my face clean and peeled my eyes from the bed... And another sob tore past my lips when I saw the grey hood... It was his... Five days ago, the pack was attacked by some rogues. He and I were at the front lines... When we were finally done, my top was torn into shreds. He had removed his hood and helped me into it. 'I don't want others staring at you,' he had whispered. Now? Bitterness lodged in my gut as I looked at it.

After contemplating for a while, I picked a bag from the closet and started shoving things in.

By the time I was done, I only held a small duffel bag in my hand.

And without taking another look at the place that should have been my forever, I made my way to the exit..