Finally, I said the words I’d been rehearsing for days, "Alpha, as you wish I'm going to sever—I'm leaving."
I almost slipped, almost blurted out that I wanted to sever our bond. But I held back. After all, we only had a rushed mateship ceremony. We weren’t even officially married—just the ceremony to honor our bond, and nothing more. There was no love, no commitment beyond the bare minimum. Just a hollow connection, one that had never truly been forged in the first place.
The Alpha didn’t even look up, his focus still on Ophelia, as if I was a nuisance disrupting his perfect world. "What? Changing your tactics now?" His voice was cold, dismissive. "You think you can’t threaten me with your son anymore, so now you’re using yourself as leverage?"
His words hit me like a slap to the face. A year ago, Kylo had fallen ill with an untreatable disease. His weak heart, his lack of healing abilities—everything pointed to a grim future. He was just a child, too fragile to shift, too weak to connect with his wolf. His life hung by a thread, and I had watched in helpless agony as he slipped further away, longing for a glimpse of his father that never came.
Caspian had never visited him, never showed an ounce of concern. To him, I was using Kylo, our son, to gain sympathy, to manipulate him. After a decade of life together, this was how little he thought of me, of our family.
I wiped away the tears that threatened to fall, forcing myself to stay strong. "Think what you want, Alpha. I'm leaving."
I turned, ready to drag my luggage out the door, but Ophelia’s voice suddenly sounded. "Alpha, didn’t you plan to take Kylo to the ocean? You didn’t cancel that for the mountain trip with me, did you? Claire is upset..."
Caspian’s soothing response was like salt in a fresh wound. "Don’t worry, I know my priorities. We can go to the ocean anytime, but once the snow melts in the mountains, it’ll be a long time before we can see it again."
I scoffed coldly, the sound bitter and filled with years of pent-up resentment. How could he be so blind, so oblivious to the pain he’d caused? He didn’t know—he couldn’t know—that there was no next time, no next month for Kylo.