Chapter 6

Victor's POV

"I hope you have a happy life with Camilla.”

With that, the line went dead.

For a while, I didn’t move. I just stood there, holding the phone to my ear like her voice still lived inside it. Like if I waited long enough, maybe she would call back. Maybe she didn’t mean it.

But deep down, I knew she did.

Selene had accepted my rejection. Not with hesitation. Not with a tearful plea.

No. She accepted it like she had been waiting for that moment. Like she had nothing left to lose.

Slowly I lowered the phone from my ear. My hand trembled, just slightly, but I noticed it. The silence in the room felt louder than anything I had ever heard.

I had actually said the words to hurt her. I thought it would give me control again. I thought once the bond was broken, I would finally feel free. I thought being with Camilla, without guilt or ties, would bring me peace.

Instead, all I felt was… nothing.

And that nothing was the heaviest thing I had ever carried.

The door opened behind me, making a soft creaking sound. Thomas, my butler, stepped inside with his usual straight posture and calm expression.

“Alpha,” he greeted me with a short bow. “Forgive the intrusion.”

“What is it?” My voice came out rougher than I expected.

He walked in slowly. “The Werewolf King is hosting a banquet tomorrow evening. It's to celebrate his daughter’s return to the Royal Court. All Alphas have been invited.”

I stared at him. “Well, I didn't receive an invitation.”

He hesitated. “You did, sir. The invitation arrived yesterday afternoon. It was sealed and had the royal crest on it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I never saw it.”

He cleared his throat. “Since Luna Selene’s absence… the usual household duties had to be reassigned. A maid was temporarily assigned to your study. Unfortunately, she cannot read. It’s possible she… discarded the invitation by mistake.”

I clenched my jaw. “You let someone who couldn’t read touch my desk?”

“Just for yesterday evening, Alpha,” he said quickly. “There was some confusion. Luna was the one who normally managed everything.”

I blinked, surprised. “Selene managed the study?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “She handled all your correspondence. She tracked your meetings. Organized the scrolls from the elders, sorted the gifts from the visiting Alphas. And she did it all without any complaints.”

The weight of his words hit harder than they should have.

Selene, doing all of that… quietly, in the background.

“What about my bedroom?” I asked, already knowing I wouldn’t like the answer.

Thomas hesitated again. “A slave-in-training was assigned to clean it earlier today.”

My voice turned sharp. “A slave? In my room?”

He looked down. “Only temporarily. We weren’t sure who…”

“Get her out,” I growled. “Now. No one touches my room. Not anymore.”

He bowed and left quickly, the door shutting behind him.

I stood there, breathing hard, before I turned and walked to the bedroom.

The moment I stepped in, Selene’s scent wrapped around me like a noose. Jasmine and honey. Sweet and warm. Gentle.

The air still held her. The sheets still remembered her weight. One side of the bed was undisturbed—tightly tucked in, perfect.

My side was a mess.

I walked slowly across the room, my feet heavy against the marble. It felt like I was walking through memories.

She used to fold my clothes even when she was angry. She would line up my boots, clean my blades, organize my robes by season.

No one asked her to. She just did it.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I picked up the pillow she always used. Her scent was still there, bringing back memories of her presence.

I brought the pillow to my face and closed my eyes. It wasn’t just the scent. It was her. It was every moment she waited for me to come home. Every time she turned her head when I walked past her. Every soft sigh when she thought I was asleep.

She used to press her cheek to this pillow and pretend she was okay.

I never asked if she was. Not even once. All I ever did was take.

I told myself she was fine. That she had chosen this. That she was strong enough to handle it. I let myself believe the bond was enough to keep her from leaving, even if I gave her nothing in return.

And now she was gone.

And I didn’t know how to breathe.

I whispered to the pillow like she could hear me. “Why didn’t you scream at me? Why didn’t you make me see it?”

But I already knew the answer.

Selene loved quietly. She endured. She waited. Until she had nothing left to give.

I stood and walked to the window, pushing it open with one hard shove. The wind hit my face, but it didn’t cool the heat building inside me.

My hands gripped the frame as I stared out across the pack lands. Everything looked the same. But nothing felt the same.

Just then, a knock came at the door.

It was Thomas again.

He held out an envelope. “The maid found the invitation, Alpha. It was hidden under a stack of old scrolls.”

I took it from him and stared at the golden seal of the Werewolf King.

Why was he suddenly throwing a banquet for his daughter? I thought he was keeping her identity a secret?

“Will you attend, Alpha?” he asked.

I didn’t answer right away. I looked around the room instead.

Selene's clothes were still hanging. The half-burnt candle she always lit before bed. The book she never finished.

A room that was once hers. Once ours. Now felt… haunted.

“No,” I said quietly. “Send my regrets to Alpha Mason.”

Thomas bowed. “Of course, Alpha.”

As he turned to leave, I spoke again.

“Did Luna… did she ever talk to you about me?”

He turned back, his eyes filled with something softer.

“She kept a journal. It was locked and hidden in the study’s top drawer.”

I gave a single nod.

And then I found myself alone again.

Alone in the room that once smelled like her laughter. The room that now smelled like failure.

I walked back to the bed and sank down onto the mattress. Then I laid back, her pillow still in my arms.

My chest ached like something was tearing from the inside out.

I had let her go. Said the words myself. Ended the bond. But I didn’t feel free. I… felt lost.

And as the wind outside howled through the trees and the shadows in the room deepened, I whispered to no one:

“Should I try to look for her… or should I just let her go?”