“There’s nothing to fear,” Lucian cut in flatly. “It’s my responsibility to be here. This child is mine as well. If Vivienne decides to lash out, I’ll break the mating vow and end the bond.”
Hearing my mate talk about me as if I were an inconvenience, a burden he was eager to discard, made the blood in my veins turn to ice.
Since he had already chosen to throw us away, then I would take control of my own fate first. I would leave him—leave this pack—and raise my pup without a father who clearly didn’t want us.
A bitter smile ghosted across my lips as something in me finally snapped. I stepped aside, pulled out my phone, and called my father who lived outside the territory.
“Dad,” I said quietly, though my throat burned. “I’ve made my decision. I’m ending the bond with Lucian. I’ll take the baby and move in with you.”
“I’m relieved you finally see things clearly,” my father said, voice steady through the line. “The Blackwoods might hold status in their region, but our family stands firmly on its own. If staying in that pack only wounds you, then leave him. Start over with your child.”
“You’re right,” I breathed.
When the call ended, I immediately booked the earliest possible flight.
My mind drifted back to just that morning—when I had asked Lucian if he could accompany me to my own appointment. He had told me he was too busy with pack work. Yet here he was, not working at all… but standing beside Sabrina, proudly attending her check-up.
Nine months pregnant, and not once had Lucian set foot in the infirmary with me.
Three months ago, Sabrina’s engagement had fallen apart, and since the day she returned to the territory, Lucian had been sneaking off to meet her again and again. After her return, the time Lucian and I spent alone had nearly vanished.
It was humiliating how quickly he responded to her. Even a single message from Sabrina—just a brief call or a tiny text—and he would abandon whatever he was doing and hurry to her side.
He even embraced her openly in front of me, without a shred of shame.
I had confronted him more than once, but every time, he brushed me aside with the same rehearsed excuses: Sabrina was struggling, she needed help, he owed her support. According to him, all of his attention was simply to help her “heal.”