Chapter 3

I stopped smiling and stared down at my feet, waiting for him to turn me down the way he always used to.

When I was little, I had no stamina and always fell behind on our runs.

Once, we'd planned a night hike to watch the sunrise together. I secretly trained for a month, saved up half a year's allowance, and bought the best gear I could find.

But on the day we were supposed to go, I waited at the meeting point for two hours. No one showed.

Later, Mom tried to comfort me. "They just didn't want you getting hurt. Once you're a little stronger, you can go with everyone."

I found out much later that they'd all agreed to switch meeting points that day without telling me.

A warm press of lips against my cheek pulled me out of the memory. Owen had kissed me.

"Fine. Whatever you want to do, I'm with you."

I looked up at him. His eyes were full of affection, but I felt nothing but cold inside.

Once we got home, he eagerly packed our hiking gear, and we set out just before sunset.

He seemed to be in a good mood the whole way there, a faint smile staying on his lips.

I buried my confusion and kept walking toward the edge of town, the air growing colder as we went.

"Cold?"

Before I could answer, he'd already pulled me onto his lap, cupping my hands and breathing warm air onto them.

"Have you been feeling off again lately?"

I blinked.

The past few days, I hadn't been feeling great, and the mate bond let him sense it.

Clearly, he'd noticed.

"No." I shook my head gently. "Just a little tired, maybe."

He frowned and kissed the tip of my nose. "If something's wrong, you have to tell me."

I closed my eyes and didn't answer.

Soon, there wouldn't be an us anymore, so it didn't matter.

Just as we reached the base of the mountain and got ready to climb, his phone rang, right on cue.

I watched quietly as he answered, his eyes softening the moment he heard the voice on the other end.

When he hung up, he turned to me with a frown.

If this had happened before, I would have already yanked my hand free, thrown his phone, and waited for him to apologize and beg for forgiveness.

But this time, I looked up at him, perfectly calm. "Go ahead. I climb slow anyway. You can probably catch up once you're done."

Owen froze, then frowned. Something uneasy stirred in his chest that he couldn't quite name.

Then he pulled me into a sudden, tight hug. "You're not mad? Good, staying calm is good for trying for a pup. It's cold up there, take it slow. I'll come find you as soon as I'm done."

I watched him drive off, my eyes turning to ice.

Hiking at night turned out to be dark and freezing, and I started regretting the plan almost immediately.

I hadn't even made it a third of the way up before I sat down to rest.

My phone signal kept cutting in and out, but a message from Madison still came through.

[Bella, I'm so sorry for pulling Owen away this late. The baby started kicking out of nowhere. Luckily, everyone rushed over to be with me.]

The photo attached took forever to load. When it finally did, I saw a whole crowd gathered around her. Jeremy was resting his head happily against her stomach, Mom and Dad were holding each other, and Owen stood off to the side, his expression soft.

They looked like a happy family.

I stared at the photo until the screen went dark, until the wind dried every tear off my face.

I kept climbing. I couldn't even feel the cold anymore. I didn't stop once, all the way to the summit.

There was still time before sunrise. The whole sky was pitch black, thick fog pressing down around me, almost suffocating.

I pulled out my phone and called Owen.

It rang and rang.

No one picked up.

I tried again. It went straight to voicemail.

One last time, I tried reaching him through the bond. Nothing came back.

He'd blocked our connection from his end.

I sent Owen one final message, then forwarded the original border trade documents to the Wolf Council.

With that done, I walked to the edge of the cliff and tipped my face up, breathing in the crisp morning air like a weight had finally lifted.

Then I spread my arms, a cold little smile curling at my lips, and let myself fall.

-

Meanwhile, Owen checked his watch. He looked, and got up to leave.

When Madison saw this, she sat up again. Her voice was weak and breathless.

"Owen, don't go yet... Jeremy, get a guest room ready for him."

"No need. It's Valentine's Day. I'm spending it with her. She's waiting for me up on the mountain. Get some rest."

When Owen reached his car where his assistant, Matthew Smith, was waiting, he found the other bowed low, his head nearly touching his knees.

"Alpha, I'm so sorry for your loss. Luna jumped off the cliff!"