All Chapters of A THOUSAND GOOD-BYES : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

ALISA’S POV The bass from the speakers vibrated right through the soles of my shoes, making my chest ache. I hated this place. The VIP lounge of The Black Fang was always suffocating, packed with high-ranking Alphas and Betas drowning themselves in expensive alcohol and raw pheromones.As a low-ranking Omega, I didn't belong here. But tonight, I didn't care. Tonight was my fifth wedding anniversary. I had spent three hours in our kitchen, carefully cooking a perfect steak dinner, dimming the lights, and waiting. The candles had burned down to stubs. The food had gone cold. Jeff never showed up. He hadn't answered his phone, and he completely blocked my pack-link messages.So, I came to find him.I marched toward the back corridor that led to the private executive suites. Before I could even reach the door, two massive pack guards stepped into my path. They were tall, heavily built Betas, and they looked down at me like I was a piece of trash that had drifted into the club. “Hold

ALISA'S POVI woke up with a pounding headache and a body that felt heavy and unfamiliar, and for a moment I just lay there trying to understand where I was and what had happened. Then the memories came back slowly and my stomach tightened as I realized I was not in my home and I was not alone, and when I moved slightly I felt the blanket shift and I looked down to see that I was completely naked underneath it.“God… what did I do,” I whispered to myself, pressing my fingers against my temple as regret settled deep in my chest.The sound of running water reached my ears and I froze, my eyes moving toward the bathroom door as I realized he was still there, and something about that made my heart start beating faster because it suddenly felt too real and too complicated.“I need to leave,” I muttered quickly as I pushed the blanket aside and stood up, ignoring the soreness in my body as I picked up my clothes and dressed in a hurry.I did not want to face him, I did not want to answer q

ALISA’S POVMy heart slammed against my ribs like it was trying to claw its way out of my chest and straight into his hands. Kael Draven—stood barely two feet away, that slow, predatory smirk still playing on his lips as if he hadn’t just shattered what little composure I had left. The same cedar-and-rain scent that had wrapped around me like salvation last night flooded the luxurious office, thick enough to taste. My inner wolf whined, pressing against my skin, begging to get closer.I hated how my body responded. Traitorous, desperate thing.“I… I didn’t know,” I stammered, hating the breathy quality of my voice. “When Melissa gave me the firm’s name, I was too focused on getting out. I didn’t—” “Didn’t connect the dots?” He finished for me, voice low and velvet-rough. He circled back to his massive oak desk but didn’t sit. Instead, he leaned against the edge, arms crossed over that broad chest I’d clung to hours ago. The charcoal suit did nothing to hide the power coiled beneat

ALISA’S POVThe city lights blurred past the tinted windows of Kael’s sleek black SUV as it cut through the night traffic. I sat in the passenger seat, my phone clutched like a live grenade in my lap. Jeff’s text still burned on the screen. "I know things about your new ‘lawyer’ that will burn both of you." I hadn’t told Kael yet. Not while we were still in the marble-and-glass fortress of Draven & Blackwood. Not while his fingers had been inside me and his scent had short-circuited every rational thought in my head. Now, in the quiet hum of the car, doubt crept back in like cold fog.“You’re quiet,” Kael said, voice low. One hand rested on the steering wheel, the other draped casually over the center console—close enough that his fingers could brush my thigh if he wanted. He hadn’t touched me since we left the office. Professional restraint, he’d called it. My body called it torture.“I’m processing,” I murmured, staring at the passing skyscrapers. “This morning I was sleeping on t

ALISA’S POV The envelope arrived at the restaurant at 9:17 a.m. on a Tuesday, delivered by a plain-clothes beta who didn’t speak, just slid it across the counter like it was a grocery receipt. My name—Alisa Moretti—was stamped in red on the front. Inside was a single sheet of thick cream paper and a photo. Me. From three nights ago. Taken from the sidewalk outside the penthouse while Kael and I had stepped out for air. My head was tilted toward his, lips still parted from the kiss we’d shared in the doorway. His hand rested low on my back, possessive even in public. The caption, in block letters cut from a magazine: *DRIVEN BY DESIRE. WILL KILLING YOUR PAST PROTECT THE FUTURE?* My stomach lurched. The restaurant blurred—tables, open kitchen, the faint scent of my own spices—until all I could see was Kael’s face. Pale. Controlled. But his eyes had gone flat, the amber gone cold. I called him before the call even finished ringing. “Kael. They know.” His voice came throu