Chapter 3

Alan had come in a blur and vanished just as fast. It was like he'd never been here.

My wolf howled in anguish. I pressed a hand to my chest, struggling to steady the pain.

Maybe Alan would never formally crown Leah as the Luna, but her call would always pull him away, slipping from my sight again and again.

How long would this torment last? Until my dying breath?

That familiar ache flared again in my left chest. I couldn't even remember when it had first begun. By now, it was a pain I'd quietly learned to live with.

Opening my social media, I saw Leah's latest update.

Alan was in the photos, gently feeding the pups and helping Leah with her exercises. The tenderness in his eyes cut through me like a knife.

That look had once been reserved only for me. Now, he gave it away so easily.

I went to the pack's elder and applied for the mate bond dissolution papers.

Afterwards, I met with the Beta, Rhett Calder, and formally resigned from every role I once held in the pack.

Rhett's eyes widened in surprise. "Luna Anna, does Alpha Alan know you intend to resign?"

I gave a bitter smile. "He's too busy for something like this."

Catching the flicker of sympathy in Rhett's eyes, I felt a wave of shame. I wished the ground would split open and swallow me whole.

I returned to Moonlight Villa—the home Alan and I once shared as mates.

While packing, I found an old photo tucked away.

On the back, a note read: "My beloved Anna, when you read this, we will have several pups together. I promise to keep you safe forever and never let you endure any pain."

My tears blurred the photo as they fell. Beneath the weight of sorrow, a dull ache reawakened deep in my left chest.

I tried to ignore it, reassuring myself it was just a fleeting pain, like it had been before.

But as my sorrow deepened, darkness swallowed my vision, and I fell to the floor.

Something was definitely wrong with my body, but I didn't have the time to deal with it.

When I finally woke up, my phone was buzzing nonstop.

"Anna!" Alan's furious voice blazed through the receiver. He hardly ever called me by name like that. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

His words quivered with barely contained rage. "Leah has shown you more patience than you deserve. I've said it over and over—she will never threaten your place. So, why are you poisoning the pack with those lies about her? Why would you curse my pups like that?"

I let out a bitter chuckle. Of course, I would never do such things, but he never paused to question or seek any proof. He simply assumed my guilt without hesitation.

When did the trust between us start to shatter so easily?

"Are you done?" I asked casually.

After a moment, he said, "The pups' christening is next week. You have to be there. Stop being so stubborn, please."

"Okay," I whispered.

I ended the call and stared into the moonlight.

Its gentle glow flowed like water, but it couldn't warm the icy void within me.

Alan and I once stood side by side beneath this same moon.

He had vowed to pluck the brightest star from the sky just for me.

Now, I couldn't even steal a moment of his time without someone else's permission.

A bitter smile touched my lips as I rested my hand on my chest.

The pain had settled into my everyday life. Maybe one day, it would fade into the background, and I wouldn't feel it anymore.

I wore no makeup or jewelry during the christening. I dressed plainly, blending into the sea of faces.

The pack's eyes followed me with pity.

At the center of it all, Leah stood beside Alan, radiant in her gown.

At that moment, she looked every bit like the Luna.

Thalia nudged my arm. "Go hold the pups."

Alan passed the pups to me, his eyes shadowed with remorse. "Anna, once the ceremony ends, I'll take Leah to Northaria. The pups can be registered under your name."

His voice was hesitant, as if walking on fragile ground. "You were poisoned by silver when you saved me all those years ago. It left you unable to conceive. Yet now, you have twin pups without the pain of labor. Isn't that some kind of blessing?"

A sharp, stabbing pain pierced my heart.

During a brutal tribal war, a silver blade pierced my abdomen as I risked everything to save him.

From that moment, the chance of having pups was taken from me.

Alan once kissed my lower abdomen with tears streaming down his face, promising he never wanted pups in this life.

All he ever wanted was for me to be safe and happy.

But now… Everything had changed.

As I lingered in that painful memory, the pups in my arms suddenly started coughing violently, blood streaming from their mouths.

"What's wrong with the pups?" a voice cried out in panic.

Leah came running over, her words slicing through the chaos. "Anna, hate me if you must, but don't punish my innocent pups!"

Out of nowhere, Darian's hand whipped across my face with brutal force.

I stumbled and fell to the ground, a fiery pain spreading across my cheek as blood dripped from the corner of my mouth.

Alan immediately came to my side, sliding his hand under my back to lift me.

But just then, the pups suddenly coughed up another spurt of blood.

"Alan!" Leah cried, forcing her way forward and clutching his hand tightly. "Please, save the pups! They're slipping away!"

This was the same trick as before, but I could feel Alan's hand shaking.

His gaze flickered between me and the pups, caught in a painful struggle. Finally, he turned and gathered the pups into his arms.

…

The corridor outside the treatment room was bitterly cold.

I sank against the wall, feeling like a lost and shattered soul.

The mate bond dissolution papers slipped from my fingers, drifting down like fragile snowflakes.

Each page seemed to mock the vows Alan and I once made.

Thalia snatched up the papers and slammed them against my chest.

Her calm mask shattered, replaced by fierce anger. "The pack has given you their highest honor all these years. Alan even stood up to the elders for you. How could you hurt those innocent pups?

"If you're so set on breaking the mate bond, then stop being a problem here. Leave right now!"

I silently gathered the scattered papers, my heart twisting with pain.

Alan's words still echoed in my mind. "No matter where I am, you'll always have a home with me."

But now… I was the one who no longer belonged.

Just then, Alan stepped out of the VIP treatment room, his eyes bloodshot and weary.

When his gaze met mine, it was cold and emotionless, as though a stranger was looking back at me.

"The pups are stable now. But you've gone too far. You're suspended from your duties as the Luna. Take this time to reconsider your actions."

My hands trembled as I held out the documents.

"There's no need for that. Let's just dissolve our mate bond."

He looked up sharply, disbelief flashing in his eyes. "Anna… Are you really going to go through with this?"

"I'm tired," I whispered, tears threatening to fall. "Who's to say I won't hurt your pups again, like I did today? That's what you believe too, isn't it?"

"Fine. Very well." Overcome by a surge of anger and heartbreak, Alan swallowed the fear in his chest and signed the document with resolve.

"I, Alan Thorne, hereby reject you, Anna Crow, as my mate.

"Here you go, Anna—just as you wanted!"