Chapter 2

After that night, I became David’s so-called “mystery Luna.”

Everyone in the Blazetooth Pack knew their Alpha had a Luna—

but no one knew it was me.

And of course, no one knew about our pup either.

David never allowed us to be seen together in public.

I stared at the bond-breaking papers in my hand.

Five years of silence. Five years of pretending to be invisible.

It was time to end this.

At the Pack Hall, the clerk gave me a sympathetic look.

“Vivian, once you renounce your pack ties, you can’t come back for five years. Are you sure?”

I forced a smile, though my voice trembled.

“I’m sure. I’ll take my pup north to be with his father. We’ve been apart long enough.”

He nodded gently. “You’ve been through enough raising him alone.”

As he stamped the form, I overheard two female wolves whisper behind the counter.

“I thought she didn’t have a mate… So the pup wasn’t illegitimate after all?”

The words hit like claws to my chest.

I froze, then lowered my gaze and sighed.

For years, everyone assumed I was just a single mother, abandoned and unwanted.

They weren’t entirely wrong.

When I turned to leave, I collided with someone—

and my papers went scattering across the floor.

Before I could bend down, a familiar voice echoed.

Laughter.

Warm, deep laughter I hadn’t heard in years.

I looked up—and my breath caught.

David Hayes stood there with Sophia Sinclair.

Their hands brushed as they walked in, smiling like no one else existed.

For a brief second, his gaze flickered toward me—cold, sharp, fleeting.

“David…” The name slipped out before I could stop it.

He froze. Then his jaw tightened, and he looked away.

Of course he did.

He was the Alpha. I was the secret he wished had never existed.

“So that’s the Alpha’s Luna…”

“No wonder he hid her—she’s gorgeous.”

“Still, Sophia suits him better…”

The whispers behind me sliced through the air.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood, forcing back the tears.

I bent to gather my papers, refusing to look up again.

He could laugh with Sophia all he wanted.

Once I was gone, he could mark her and make her the Luna he always wanted.

He didn’t even ask why I was there.

His eyes never once left Sophia.

It didn’t matter.

In three days, I’d be gone from this world.

Whether he loved me or not no longer mattered.

Outside the hall, my phone buzzed.

“Mom,” Joseph’s voice chirped. “You said you’d be at the hall. I just got out early—I’m nearby!”

“Alright, sweetheart. Wait for me.”

I turned the corner—and froze.

Joseph stood in the courtyard, his little backpack slipping from one shoulder,

eyes fixed ahead.

Following his gaze, I saw them.

David and Sophia, laughing together as he fed her ice cream from his hand.

They looked… perfect.

A picture the pack would adore.

Joseph’s eyes filled with tears.

Then David looked up and saw him.

For one fragile moment, Joseph’s face lit up—

but David’s expression hardened instantly.

He turned away.

Wrapped his arm around Sophia and walked off.

Joseph’s tiny shoulders stiffened. His ball rolled to the ground,

and he just stood there, shaking, tears spilling silently down his cheeks.

I rushed to him, gathering him into my arms.

“Sweetheart…”

He looked up at me, voice trembling but steady.

“Mom, tomorrow’s my sports day. Can David come?”

I froze. My throat closed up.

He smiled faintly, as if he already knew the answer.

“It’s okay, Mom. I was just asking. He’s never had time for us anyway.”

His words cut deeper than any blade.

I held him tighter, burying my face in his hair.

And for the first time, I realized—

my son had already stopped expecting love from his father.