The Unbound Luna

At nine that night, the front door of the main house opened.

Damon stepped inside, the chill of the night wind still clinging to his long black coat.

He looked the same as always, controlled and untouchable. His collar perfectly straight, his expression cold enough to freeze the air.

Yuna sat in the dark living room.

She waited until he walked closer, then suddenly hurled the stack of photos at him.

"Damon. Explain."

The photos scattered across the floor.

Damon went still for a moment before bending down to pick them up.

The Alpha who had never tolerated even a speck of dust now bent over the photo, gently brushing the dirt off Vera's cheek with the edge of his sleeve.

Yuna's chest went numb as she watched.

Damon straightened and finally looked at her. When he spoke, his voice was cruelly calm.

"There's nothing to explain. Yes, I fell in love with her."

Yuna's voice trembled. "Fell in love with her?"

"Yes."

That one word felt like a blade cutting through her chest.

"Damon."

Yuna rose to her feet, her eyes redrimmed and shining with unshed tears. "When we were sixteen, you stood under the moon and told me I was the only one you would ever love. You said you would always stand by my side."

Damon looked at her, but the familiar softness in his eyes was gone, replaced by a deep, bone-weary exhaustion he could no longer hide.

"I did say that," he replied after a pause, his voice low. "But Yuna, I'm tired after loving you all these years.

"Whenever you threw a tantrum, I was the one calming you down. If you didn't like a she-wolf getting too close to me, I cut ties with her immediately. When you felt upset in the middle of the night, I ran with you all the way to the forest boundary until sunrise.

"When you wanted that Moonstone necklace from the Southern Territory, I had someone bring it back from the auction overnight."

He recounted each and every incident. All those moments she had once believed were proof of his devotion and indulgence. Now he laid them out like evidence against her, proof that she had been spoiled and demanding.

"But I'm tired," he repeated quietly.

Yuna's throat tightened, and she couldn't force out a single word.

"Three months ago," he said, his eyes unfocused, staring off into nothing, "I forgot to buy you flowers, and you wouldn't see me for an entire day. I waited outside the main house all night. The next morning, I went to the Neutral Zone to get flowers and apologize, but my stomach hurt so badly I couldn't even stand, and I collapsed outside the shop.

"Vera was the one who helped me inside her little flower shop. She even shared roasted venison and broth with me and sat by the fireplace, taking care of me all morning."

As he spoke, the hard edge in his voice slowly softened, turning into a warmth Yuna hadn't heard from him in years.

"At her place, I felt a kind of comfort I'd never known with you. That day was the most relaxed, easiest day I've had in nine years. For the first time, I wasn't an Alpha or the leader of a pack. I was just a wolf, aching and tired like any other."

Yuna felt the pain in her chest tighten with every breath. "So just because of some roasted venison and broth, you threw away nine years of us?"