All Chapters of Without Love, Farewell Means Nothing: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

I stood up slowly under Soren's cold, watchful gaze. I'd planned to return to the room for a change of clothes and jewelry, but my heel unexpectedly broke, causing me to stagger and tumble to the side.There was a loud crash as the vase hit the ground. Shards of it flew through the air, one of them slicing my wrist. Blood beaded across my skin and trickled down my arm.I forced myself into an upright position and noticed the bracelet I wore had cracked, its luster lost to the blood coating it.Soren Lambert scowled and shot a vicious look at me, as if I were not his family, but an enemy. "You worthless Omega! That bracelet belonged to my mother, and you broke it!"You must have done it on purpose! I'm going to tell Dad about this and have him punish you!"The hateful look on Soren's face put me off. "Drop the act, Soren. This was never your mother's bracelet."His biological mother hated rose quartz more than anything, and she'd never use a bracelet of such common quality.Soren

Chapter 2

Warm breath spilled over my face, and the atmosphere grew strangely tense and amorous. "My birthday present to you. It's a tonic to cure the effects of the contraceptive potion in your system. You can now breed my pup, Evangeline."A shiver ran down my spine. I'd had a pup once upon a time. I'd been so thrilled about it that I couldn't wait to tell Michael. I thought he'd be just as excited.But he'd surprised me when he handed me a potion. "Evangeline, Nora is the Luna for me. No one else is worthy of being bred by me. This potion will render you barren. You'll only have to focus on raising Soren for me."Every year after that, Michael would make me drink the potion to keep me infertile. I never missed a dose.A decade passed, and Michael still saw me as an outlet for his pent-up desires as well as his son's caregiver. But now, he'd given me permission to carry his pup.From his perspective, I ought to weep with joy and strive even harder to please him. But for the first time, I

Chapter 3

Before my father gave me away to Michael, my stepmother, Ellen Moore, had instructed me plenty. She forced me to memorize the details of Nora and Michael's life together, then made me dress just like Nora.She'd looked at me intently as she delivered her justification: "I'm doing this for your best interests, Evangeline. This is the only way you can appeal to Alpha Michael and make him accept you."Ellen was right.Michael had never paid much attention to me, but he took extra care to celebrate my birthday properly. He'd hold a grand birthday party for me every year, and for one day, I was the most respected and valued member of the pack.It was only on my birthday that I seemed to properly fit in with the pack and be seen as a family with Michael and Soren.Alas, such pretenses could only go so far.Exhausted, I picked up the cup beside me and took a sip. My throat burned immediately. Blair cried in pain, "Evangeline, this water contains a potion! They're trying to poison you!"

Chapter 4

I ignored Ingrid and turned to look at Ellen. "See? Michael's the Alpha, and Soren is the heir of the pack. There are plenty who'd volunteer to look after them, so why do you insist I stay?"Ingrid was the lowest-ranking Omega in the pack. She was a small-time singer, and her only advantage was her uncanny resemblance to Nora. It was precisely because of this that she meant more to Michael and Soren than I did.Ellen glared at me, the affection in her eyes vanishing instantly, as did the warmth in her tone. "You really want to leave?"My gaze was unwavering. "We agreed I'd only stay for ten years. I don't want to be trapped here for the rest of my life. I don't belong here—"I was cut off by a hard slap in the face.Ellen glowered at me viciously, venom dripping from her voice as she growled, "Only a she-wolf as pathetic as your mother could give birth to trash like you! You should be grateful and learn your place!"Your mother died young, and your father thought of you as a usel

Chapter 5

Soren clenched his fists and glowered at me. "That's right! I truly believe that! Don't think I'm naive just because I'm young! I've known for a long time that you were behind my mother's death!"You killed my mom because you wanted to be Luna and steal my dad! I swear I'll make you pay, Evangeline! I'll avenge my mom!"My heart wrenched as I stared at the bottle of pills dangling from Soren's neck like a pendant. He'd been sickly since young. I'd tried various herbs and been poisoned countless times before finally coming up with a strengthening tonic for him.I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into making that tonic. I went to great lengths to formulate pills out of the tonic, placing them in a bottle that he could wear around his neck.Blair chuffed angrily. "Stupid, gullible pup! You shouldn't have wasted all your kindness on him!"I sighed. "You wouldn't understand what's happening between adult werewolves, but perhaps you'll know which of us had your best interests at heart

Chapter 6

They couldn't care less about whether or not this was the life I wanted, nor did they bother to ask if I was comfortable and happy here. They certainly did not care about the kind of freedom I wanted.I tossed Soren's bottle of pills aside, then walked over to the trash pile and grabbed the gilded canary cage that hadn't been discarded.I glanced at Michael and said plainly, "I couldn't take good care of the canary, and I failed in raising Soren, too. I do not meet your expectations as a Luna, nor Soren's expectations as a mother. Let me go, and let's never see each other again."Blair nodded earnestly. "Never again!"Michael was too prideful to stop me from leaving after seeing how determined I was to leave. He simply stared at me icily. "You'll regret this one day, Evangeline!"He didn't spare me another look after that and instead turned to head back into the villa.The breeze whipped my face as the sports car zipped down the road. For the first time in a long while, my heart

Chapter 7

I didn't expect Dexter to have such a life experience so similar to mine.I suddenly recalled Ellen's words when she begged me to return from the woods. "Soren's too young to be left alone at the Lambert residence. What if some werewolf attempting to become Alpha kills him? You're his aunt; only you can protect him."My heart had softened when I saw Soren's face, which looked a lot like mine.I didn't have a mother growing up, so I did my best to protect Soren, lest he end up alone with no one to rely on like me. However, I'd forgotten one very important fact: Soren and I were never the same wolf, to begin with.Upon seeing the dismay on my face, Dexter suddenly leaned forward and appraised me with wicked amusement. "I sensed your sadness when I first saw you. What's up? Are you mourning over a recently dissolved mate bond?"A light chuckle escaped me. "No, we recently separated, but I'm not mourning it."Michael's and Soren's figures flashed in my mind as the words left my mouth

Chapter 8

Michael stared at me, his gaze steely. "Don't worry, once I've marked you, no one in the pack will ever question your authority again. You will be the most respected she–wolf in the pack."Our ceremony may not be as grand as the one I had with Nora, but it will be lavish all the same…"I'd heard about Nora's marking ceremony. It was the most lavish one in history, the details of it spreading to every corner of the werewolf kingdom. Even I had heard about it in my remote part of the woods.At the time, I'd dreamed of having a marking ceremony of my own. I didn't need it to be as grand as Nora's. I only wanted the werewolf who marked me to love me wholeheartedly.Alas, my dream did not come true. Michael didn't love me at all. Nora had always been his true love, and every other she-wolf would always be her replacement. I'd sooner reject him from the start than for us to spend the rest of our lives breeding contempt for each other.Michael's composure slipped and turned into rage whe

Chapter 9

Soren had probably realized I was leaving him for good, and that we'd never see each other again. His walls broke down. He was no longer his haughty, jaded self, and instead showed a rare moment of childishness.He tugged on my hand tentatively and regarded me with eyes full of sincere pleading. "Mom, I'm begging you, please come back with me. I really… can't live without you."I was wrong. You are the only werewolf who's been kind to me. You're the only one who takes care of my health, tolerates my temperament, and makes decisions in my best interests. I'm sorry, Mom. I shouldn't have been so stupid as to believe what others said about you…"I sighed.Soren knew better, and he could tell the truth apart from the lies. But neither Soren nor Michael bothered to dissect those condescending rumors about me.As far as they were concerned, I would always submit to them and lower myself. I wouldn't leave even if I were framed or accused, so naturally, my feelings were the last of their

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP