That night, as he pleaded for me to stay, as if he'd only just realized I existed, I looked at him one last time.
And I left.
Seeing them together made my stomach twist painfully. To watch him shower Sonya with such care and tenderness, while he hadn’t once bothered to check on his own son for years, ignited a furious storm inside me.
“Alpha... You want me out of your life, don’t you? Fine. It’s over between us. I’m leaving,” I said, my voice shaking with a mixture of rage and heartbreak.
He had never truly wanted me as his mate. He only accepted the bond because of the pressure from our allied packs and the ancient laws that forced our union. But in all that time, he never acknowledged me—or the wolf inside me. That neglect had sapped my strength, leaving my wolf’s spirit so fragile I felt only the Moonstone could mend it.
The Moonstone was a legendary family relic, handed down to the eldest child in our lineage. It was said to hold immense power, capable of healing the deepest wounds—especially the bond between a shifter and their wolf. I possessed it, yet until now, I had no intention of invoking its strength. People warned that such power carried a heavy burden, and I was afraid of the responsibility it demanded.
Craig always assumed my pain came from jealousy toward Sonya, never once truly seeing me. “Really?” he sneered bitterly. “Changing your tactics now, huh? You can’t manipulate me with Dustin anymore, so you’re using yourself instead?”
It had been about a year since Dustin began to weaken. His once-rosy cheeks faded, his appetite disappeared, and even the pack healer couldn’t diagnose his illness. His veins darkened unnaturally, as if his blood thickened beyond nature’s design. Fainting became frequent, and though we shifters heal quickly from wounds, he couldn’t even shake off a simple headache.
During those desperate times, I tried to reach Craig through mind-links, begging him to visit our son who longed for his father’s presence. But Craig refused to come. He accused me of using Dustin’s condition as a way to manipulate him and earn sympathy.
After nearly ten years of shared life, this was how little regard he had for me. I wiped my tears and said firmly, “Believe whatever you want. I’m done here.”