บททั้งหมดของ What I Saw When I Touched You: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

The next afternoon, I brought lunch to the Blackridge Pack Administration Center.A new employee sat at reception. After checking Ronan’s schedule, she said, “You can’t enter the Alpha’s office without an appointment.”“Tell him Serena is here.”Before she could respond, the glass doors opened behind me.Lydia entered the lobby. When she noticed the insulated lunch bag in my hand, she smiled.“Are you here to see the Alpha too?”She clearly had no idea who I was.The receptionist immediately stood.“Miss Ashford, the Alpha is still in a meeting.”“That’s fine. I’ll wait in his office.”Lydia used her access card to open the secure door. She did not sign in or ask permission.I followed her inside.The meeting had just ended. Ronan sat alone behind his desk.Lydia placed a cup of coffee beside his hand.“Black, no sugar. Meetings longer than three hours upset your stomach.”Then she took out a sandwich.“No cheese. I know you can’t eat it after a long meeting.”Ronan accepted both witho

The next morning, I left for my final prenatal examination before leaving Blackridge.The physician needed to confirm that my baby was healthy and that I could safely make the journey.Near the Pack Administration Center, an SUV ran a red light and struck the back of my car.The seat belt tightened across my abdomen. Pain tore through me.I instinctively reached for Ronan through our Mate Link.The connection was still there, but he had closed his side of it. No matter how many times I called, he did not answer.There was no answer.I called the Blackridge Administration Center.“Where is the Alpha? I’ve been in an accident.”The employee hesitated.“Miss Ashford fainted from low blood sugar this morning. The Alpha left with her and said he was taking her to the hospital.”“Tell him to contact me.”“I’m sorry. His phone is turned off.”An ambulance arrived minutes later and took me to the werewolf hospital alone.After the examination, the physician placed the report in my hands.“The

A physician examined me again on my second day in Silverpine."The baby is stable," she said as she put away the monitor. "The dissolution may continue to affect you for some time. You cannot shift, and you must avoid any intense emotional pressure from the former Mate Bond.""The Moon Council has blocked his calls through the Bond.""Good. You need rest more than anything else."Maya rented an apartment for me in the center of Silverpine. It was not large, but the windows overlooked a public garden. Young wolves played downstairs every day, and sunlight crossed the living room from morning until late afternoon.I placed my clothes in the wardrobe and stored the pregnancy reports and Council documents in the bottom drawer of my desk.I kept only the possessions that had belonged to me before Blackridge or that I had chosen for myself. I left the ceremonial Luna jewelry behind. Those pieces had never been gifts in the ordinary sense. They belonged to an office I no longer intended to ho

I did not return to Blackridge for the Mate Bond dissolution hearing.My attorney submitted the hospital records, Ronan's false border schedule, the Moon Lake photograph, and our communication history. The evidence showed that Ronan had repeatedly abandoned a medical appointment after learning I needed him and had made himself unreachable while I faced a threatened miscarriage.He requested another meeting before the hearing.I selected No on the response form.Maya watched me sign it from the sofa in my studio."You don't want to see him regret everything?""No.""You loved him for most of your life.""That is why I know what he would say. He would talk about our twenty one years together, our fate, and how he never meant to hurt me." I handed the form to my representative. "None of that changes the fact that I protected our child alone in a hospital."I was not responsible for teaching Ronan why he had been wrong.The hearing lasted three hours.My attorney called after it ended and

After Lyra's first birthday, Ronan requested one private meeting through my representative.He had respected every Council restriction during the previous year. He had never appeared at my home or studio without permission, and he had never used his visits with Lyra to send private messages to me.I agreed to give him twenty minutes.We met in a conference room at Moon Council headquarters. Ronan arrived early. He had not brought flowers, gifts, or anything connected to our former Mate Bond.He had lost weight. Only a pale scar remained where my mark had once rested on his neck."Thank you for seeing me," he said."You have twenty minutes."Ronan studied me for a long moment."Lydia left Blackridge.""That was her choice.""I haven't blamed everything on her. I know I was the one who betrayed our Mate Bond."I said nothing."I believed that being fated mates meant you could never leave. I treated your patience as something I owned, and I called your pain jealousy. You told me that you