He Chose the Sunset, I Chose Goodbye의 모든 챕터: 챕터 1 - 챕터 9

The graduation trip was supposed to belong to Adrian and me.We had grown up together. He was the heir to Cedar Ridge Pack’s Alpha, and I was the girl everyone assumed would one day exchange permanent mate marks with him and become his Luna.Throughout our four years of college, I had followed him through national parks, canyons, deserts, and endless empty highways. Adrian chose every route.Evan often came with us. He was Adrian’s most trusted friend and future Beta. I researched the routes, booked the rooms, and secured clearance from the packs whose territories we would cross. They drove and took pictures, then called us the perfect childhood team.Before graduation, I tried for the first time to suggest something different.“Adrian, let’s go to the coast. We could find a quiet seaside town, sleep as late as we want, eat local seafood, and walk along the beach. We wouldn’t have to race from one place to another every day.”He agreed so easily that day.“All right. We’ll do this gr

As the dizziness dragged on, my thoughts slipped beyond my control and returned to the past.During sophomore year, Adrian held a solo photography exhibition. I spent three days running between campus, print shops, and the gallery, checking every photograph, frame, light, and description card. By the time we finished, I could barely speak.But on the day of the exhibition, Evan was the one standing beside Adrian at the main display while a professor praised them.The professor said one handled the photography while the other managed drones and wilderness routes, making them the most compatible Alpha-and-Beta partnership he had ever seen.Adrian smiled.“We’ve been the best team since we were pups.”I stood in the corner of the gallery holding a stack of empty boxes I had just collected.He never once looked at me.The following summer, Adrian and Evan planned a documentary about pack borders. I spent two weeks researching their route, buying medical supplies, renting equipment, and ap

After boarding, I switched my phone to airplane mode. Outside the window, the world was dark, broken only by the occasional scatter of city lights below. I put on my headphones and started playing music.I did not fall asleep, but a deep stillness settled over me.Three hours later, I would land in a city I had chosen for myself.No one beside me was discussing routes I disliked. No one was laughing at me for worrying too much. For the first time in years, I did not need to calculate how far behind the others I had fallen.When the plane landed in California, I kept my phone offline until I had collected my suitcase and boarded the shuttle to Harbor Point.The town was already asleep when I arrived.Through the window, I saw narrow streets, weathered storefronts, and the dark outline of the ocean beyond the buildings. The air carried salt instead of gasoline and unfamiliar wolves’ perfume.My wolf, who had been silent since the rest stop, finally lifted her head.I checked into a small

The Pack Council scheduled my hearing one week later. I joined by video from Harbor Point Media’s conference room. Adrian sat at the long council table in Cedar Ridge, with his father and five elders beside him. The pendant I had returned lay in front of the council chair.Adrian looked as though he had not slept. The moment my face appeared on the screen, he straightened. “Nora.”The council chair raised a hand. “Adrian, you will have an opportunity to speak.”He fell silent, but his eyes never left me.The chair reviewed my three requests, then asked whether I understood that transferring packs would remove me from Cedar Ridge’s succession plans.“Yes.”“You will no longer be considered for Luna training, and your mate-bond assessment with Adrian Cross will end.”“I understand.”“Were these applications submitted under pressure from Harbor Point Pack?”“No.”“Did anyone compel you to leave Cedar Ridge?”“No. I chose to leave.”Only then was Adrian allowed to speak. “She made that dec

My transfer became final at the end of the ninety-day review period.Harbor Point welcomed me in a simple ceremony on the beach. There were no jewels, formal gowns, or promises about the wolf I would stand beside.I gave my name, accepted the pack’s protection, and promised to honor its laws.My mother watched through a video call from Cedar Ridge. When the Harbor Point Alpha welcomed me as a full member, she pressed one hand over her mouth and cried.“Are you sad?” I asked afterward.“No,” she said. “I’m sorry I taught you that staying was always more honorable than leaving.”I looked at the ocean behind the ceremony platform.“You told me to choose myself.”“I should have told you sooner.”For the first time, belonging somewhere did not require me to belong to someone.The following week, Harbor Point Media began filming a new project along the California coast.It was another road trip.This time, the planning meeting did not end with everyone handing me a list of demands. We chose