Chapter 4

Killian finally realized I wasn't bluffing.

I was refusing his money, and I was dead set on leaving.

His patience suddenly snapped.

"Hazel, think carefully. Once you break the bond, you're cut off completely!"

"And your foster mother." He glared at me. "Without my money, who'll care for her? Your deadbeat foster father? You know exactly whose bed he's in right now."

Of course, no one would care.

I knew that better than anyone. If that bastard hadn't left my mother to die, I would've never accepted this mate bond at eighteen.

Killian and I belonged to different worlds. Now, I was just putting an end to this huge mistake.

I crouched down and zipped my suitcase closed.

"Do whatever you want."

Killian froze. He couldn't understand why his threats were suddenly failing.

But his damn Alpha pride refused to let him beg a she-wolf to stay.

So he stood there silently as I dragged my suitcase to the door.

I pulled the door open. The night wind hit me. My name almost burst from his throat.

But he swallowed it down. He remembered what Serena said that afternoon.

"The Luna's just bored. She's throwing a tantrum to get your attention."

"I've seen plenty of she-wolves like her. They rely on their Alpha for everything. Just give her the cold shoulder. She'll come crawling back to beg for your forgiveness soon."

Thinking of this, Killian shoved down the panic in his chest.

He reached into his pocket and touched a small bottle. It was the custom oil I made to soothe his ruts.

Around the full moon, his ruts were brutal. I used to stay up countless nights just to make a scent that could help him sleep.

She wasn't completely useless, Killian sneered to himself.

When she came crawling back, he'd tie her to his bed. He'd make her cry and beg for mercy. She'd never dare to say the word Rejection again.

He quickly convinced himself of this lie.

I left the pack house and stood on the dark street for a long time. Then I headed to Doctor Evans's home.

Seeing my miserable state, the older doctor didn't look surprised. She gently stepped aside and welcomed me in.

The familiar herbal scent in her house made my eyes sting. The tears fell, and I couldn't stop them.

When I quit medical school to accept that mate bond, she was the one who scolded me the most.

Even on the night I was marked, she kept calling my phone.

"Hazel, hardship is only temporary. We'll find another way to pay the medical bills."

"Don't ruin your entire future for a moment of panic."

"The title of Luna sounds glamorous. But it's just a gilded cage. Once you rely on an Alpha, you'll never hold your head high again!"

Time proved that she was completely right.

When we first bonded, Killian used to take me to all the pack banquets.

Until he hired Serena as his new secretary.

That she-wolf constantly whispered in his ear. She told him I was just a low-ranking wolf in my bones.

She said my medical degree could never wash away the cheap stench of a poor pack.

She insisted that I needed to be controlled. She claimed I needed strict rules for my spending.

And so, I became a beggar holding out my hand for money. He could toss it to me like a bone to a stray dog.

After I finished crying, Doctor Evans pushed a cup of hot tea in front of me.

"I hope you haven't forgotten your medical training over the past three years."

"I have a field job for you. You'll cross the border to treat some remote packs. The conditions are rough. You'll sleep in tents."

She looked at me closely.

"Are you in?"