Chapter 2

The morning light slipping through the bedroom blinds feels like glass against my heavy eyes. I roll over to hide my face, and my nose brushes the pillow beside mine.

It smells like Silas.

That rich, woodsy scent used to calm my wolf almost instantly. Now, it makes my stomach turn.

That alone is enough to make me open my eyes.

I’m still angry, but the anger has settled into something heavier. Exhaustion. It sinks into my bones and makes even getting out of bed feel like work.

I barely slept last night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the image of Silas wrapping his coat around Maya over and over again.

My wolf has been quiet too. She hasn’t reached for our mate once. She’s curled somewhere deep inside me, bruised and withdrawn, while the dull ache in my chest from last night refuses to go away.

I manage to drag myself out of bed and take a quick shower before pulling on an oversized knitted sweater and a pair of faded jeans. I don’t bother to do my makeup. I don’t even brush my hair properly. I just run my fingers through the tangles and head downstairs.

Silas is already in the kitchen when I arrive.

He’s dressed in a crisp charcoal-grey suit, adjusting his expensive watch with brisk, practiced movements. He looks well-rested and put together, like a man who has the entire world exactly where he wants it, in his palm.

Most painfully, he looks completely unaffected by the argument we just had hours ago.

When I walk into the kitchen, he glances up.

His eyes move over my messy hair, the dark circles beneath my eyes, and the baggy sweater hanging off my body.

Then his nose wrinkles.

“You could at least make an effort, Cora,” he says flatly. “I have back-to-back pack meetings and a board review today. My life is busy enough without living with a mate who looks like she just crawled out of a dumpster.”

I say nothing.

“As my Luna, you have an image to maintain,” he continues.

The words make my chest tighten, but the anger I expect never comes.

Instead, there’s a strange heaviness inside me as I stare at him, letting the cruelty of his words settle into the air around us.

For five years, I’ve twisted myself into pretzels trying to be the perfect Luna. The perfect wife. The perfect supportive shadow behind the almighty Alpha.

I iron his shirts. I cook his meals. I host his pack dinners.

I sit alone in empty airport terminals.

And apparently, none of it has been enough.

Without saying a word, I walk past him to the sink and pour myself a glass of water.

My silence seems to bother him. The heavy Alpha scent rolling off him shifts, losing some of its edge. He sets down his coffee and comes closer to rest a warm hand on my shoulder.

“Look,” he says with a sigh, his voice slipping into that smooth, reassuring tone I know too well. “I know you’re still upset about last night. The Paris trip didn’t happen, and I handled the whole situation badly. But I want to make it up to you.”

I take a slow sip of water, keeping my eyes on the window.

“How?”

“I booked us a weekend at Moonstone Retreat.”

I turn to look at him.

Moonstone Retreat is an exclusive luxury resort tucked deep in the northern mountains, reserved almost exclusively for high-ranking pack members. Getting a reservation there can take months.

“We leave this morning,” Silas continues. His thumb traces a slow circle against my collarbone. “It’ll be just the two of us. I won’t let any pack business or distractions interrupt us. We can finally have the romantic anniversary we were supposed to have.”

When I still don’t respond, he leans down and presses a kiss to the top of my hair.

“Go pack a bag, Cora. Let me show you I mean it.” He hesitates, then adds, “Please.”

My mind tells me to say no.

This is bullshit. This is nothing more than another temporary fix. Another apology that will last right until something, or someone, becomes more important.

But my wolf has spent five years bonded to this man. The warmth of his hand against my skin. The familiar scent surrounding me. That single word.

Please.

He barely uses that word.

Something inside me softens despite everything.

Maybe, just maybe, Silas finally realizes what he’s been doing. Maybe he really does want to make things right.

“Okay,” I whisper, a small smile pulling at my lips. “I’ll pack a bag.”

An hour later, we’re driving toward the mountains.

The heated leather seats are warm beneath me, and the low hum of the engine fills the silence. For a while, the drive feels almost peaceful.

Silas reaches across the center console and takes my hand. His fingers weave through mine before resting our joined hands on his thigh.

He spends most of the drive talking.

About our future. About how much he loves me. About how things are going to change after this weekend.

As he talks, my wolf slowly responds to the familiar scent of our mate. My shoulders loosen. My body relaxes into his touch. The pull between us is thick and heavy in the air.

Ugh!

Why is it so damn hard to stay angry with him?

Just then, the digital screen on the dashboard suddenly lights up.

Maya.

Her name, with a red heart emoji right beside it, flashes across the display in bright white letters.

The warmth in the car immediately disappears.

I feel Silas’s hand tense around mine, and I wait for him to reject the call.

‘It’ll be just the two of us. I won’t allow any pack business or distractions to interrupt us,’ his words from earlier echo in my head.

He doesn’t reject the call. Instead, he lets go of my hand and reaches for the screen.

“Maya?” he answers, his voice changing immediately.

“Silas,” she whines through the car speakers. Her voice is breathy, almost helpless. “I’m so sorry to bother you. I know you’re probably busy, but there’s a leak in my basement and the water is everywhere. I don’t know how to shut off the main valve. The plumber says it’ll take two hours to get here, and I’m just… I’m panicking. What if the house floods?”

I roll my eyes.

Dramatic much?

But my stomach tightens when I look at Silas.

He doesn’t look annoyed or bothered. Not even a little.

Instead, his entire posture softens. “Hey, it’s okay. Take a deep breath for me, Maya.”

His voice is gentle. Patient.

The kind of voice I remember wishing he’d use with me.

I turn toward the window, away from him, watching the scenery blur past.

When Maya giggles at a joke he makes to calm her down, my stomach twists.

He’s using the same tenderness a mate uses to comfort their own.

He barely speaks to me like that anymore.

“I’ll be right there,” Silas says. “Just try to stay away from the water. I’m on my way.”

The call ends.

An uncomfortable silence fills the car.

Silas keeps his eyes on the road. He checks the rearview mirror, then hits the turn signal and abruptly pulls off the highway.

The tires crunch against gravel as he stops near a rundown diner at the edge of the city limits.

“Why are you stopping?” I ask, my voice cold and level. “We’re supposed to be going to Moonstone Retreat. We can’t…” I grit my teeth, stopping myself. “You can’t possibly be thinking about going back.”

“I know, Cora, but you heard her. It’s an emergency.”

“Then call a pack enforcer.” My nails dig into my palms. “Or someone from maintenance. You’re the Alpha. You don’t need to go fix a fucking pipe.”

“She asked for me!” He growls, cutting through his calm facade.

There it is.

This moment always comes. The second Maya needs him, everything else stops mattering.

“Get out and wait for me in that diner,” he says. “Grab a coffee or something. It’ll take me twenty minutes to shut off the valve and calm her down. Then I’ll come right back for you.”

I stare at him. For a moment, I genuinely don’t understand what he’s saying.

“Are you joking?” I scoff.

He looks at me.

“You want to leave me on the side of the road?”

“Don’t be dramatic, Cora. It’ll only take a few minutes.” He rubs his temples as if I’m the one giving him a headache. “I need the car to get there quickly. Just wait here. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“Silas…”

He reaches across me and pushes open my door. Cold morning air rushes into the car. I step out onto the gravel.

‘You promised, Silas,’ I want to scream, but the words never make it past my throat.

My legs feel numb. My chest feels hollow.

“I’ll be quick!” he calls before slamming the door shut.

He doesn’t look back. He simply pulls back onto the road and disappears into the morning traffic.

I stand there watching his taillights grow smaller.

He didn’t just choose her over me again.

He literally left me on the side of the road so he could play hero for another woman.

For some reason, it hurts less than it normally would. Because this time, the understanding finally dawns on me, and whatever hope I had left dies here, on the side of the road.

He will always choose her over me.

The realization doesn’t make me cry. It doesn’t send me into another hysterical breakdown.

Instead, the weight I’ve been carrying for five years suddenly feels lighter.

I don’t chase after him or beg him to choose me.

I walk over to the wooden bench outside the diner, sit down, pull out my phone, and dial Ashley.

Half an hour later, a sleek black sedan pulls into the gravel lot. The tires crunch against the ground as Ashley throws the car into park. She opens the door and marches toward me, her sharp blazer whipping in the cold wind.

Ashley is a corporate lawyer for the pack.

She’s also been my best friend since we were pups.

“I swear to the Moon Goddess, I’m going to rip his throat out.”

Her eyes scan the empty highway as though she expects Silas to suddenly appear.

“When you told me he left you to go meet her, I didn’t think you meant he literally left you by the side of the road!”

I stand, brushing the dust from my jeans.

Then I smile.

It’s the first genuine smile I’ve managed in weeks.

“I called you here because I need your help.”

Ashley waits. I take a deep breath.

“I want to get a divorce.”

She stops in her tracks. For several seconds, she just stares at me. Then something fierce flashes across her face.

She grabs my arm and immediately pulls me toward the passenger side of the car.

“Get in.”

As soon as the doors shut, she starts the engine.

“I’ve been telling you for years that you deserve better than the scraps he throws at you.” She pulls onto the highway, gripping the steering wheel. “We’re going to bleed that arrogant Alpha dry, Cora. I’m fighting for every single right you have.”

I lean back against the headrest.

“You are going to sever this bond on your terms,” she continues. “And I’m going to make sure he regrets the day he ever thought he could treat you like shit.”

I close my eyes as she keeps talking, already planning our next move and listing every legal avenue she can think of.

Outside the window, the diner disappears behind us. So does Silas’s empty promise.

For the first time in a very long time, the future doesn’t scare me.