Chapter 2
“Sienna, why did you come back so quietly? Kendra and I didn’t do anything, don’t overthink it!”
The moment Ryder saw me, he immediately jumped out of bed, hurriedly putting on his clothes, his voice full of panic and guilt.
Kendra, awakened by the noise, rubbed her eyes sleepily, her voice still sweet and playful: “I’ve always been afraid of thunderstorms since I was little. On nights like this, only when Ryder holds me can I sleep. Surely you wouldn’t make a big deal out of something so small, Sienna?”
Her shameless audacity nearly brought me to tears.
But the moment I woke up in the hospital, I swore to myself I would never shed a tear for Ryder again.
“What’s there to argue about?” I smiled coldly, my voice chillingly calm. “Don’t worry, even if you two are doing it right in front of me, I won’t stop you.”
With that, I turned to leave.
If I stayed any longer, I feared the tears would fall uncontrollably.
But Ryder rushed over, grabbing my wrist with such force that I nearly fell.
“There’s nothing between Kendra and me! As the future Luna of the pack, how could you say that shit? Don’t you know how much psychological harm that could cause her? You need to apologize to her!”
I jerked my arm out of his grip, almost collapsing. “First you say Kendra won’t eat, then you talk about her psychological harm… Ryder, I spent twenty-five days in the hospital, fighting for my life. Did you even worry about me for a second?!”
He froze, his impatience suddenly replaced by a complex expression.
“I didn’t not want to go to the hospital…” he defended quietly, “Kendra experienced an explosion on the battlefield, and her mental state’s been unstable. I had to stay with her; she’s scared of everything. I just couldn’t split myself…”
That one sentence instantly doused all my remaining bitterness and hopes. All that was left was an overwhelming silence.
The thousand words I had wanted to say, and the tears I had been holding back, all choked up in my chest and fell to the ground without a sound.
What’s left to argue about?
Ryder no longer loved me.
That single truth answered every question I had.
Kendra called for Ryder again from the bed, and he shot me a look with furrowed brows before coldly saying, “Let it go for today. From now on, don’t ever say that kind of thing to Kendra again.”
Then, without even turning back, he walked out.
In the end, not a single “Are you okay?” came from him.
I stood in the empty hallway for a long time, before quietly whispering to myself, “Guess this is where I should finally let go…”
I turned and started packing.
I didn’t want to stay in his pack house for another second.
I left behind everything except for my documents and a few changes of clothes.
In the end, there was only one box left—filled with portraits.
They were the dozens of portraits Ryder had personally painted for me when he was courting me.
A friend who studied painting had once jokingly teased me: “These portraits—no technique, just raw emotion bleeding onto the canvas. Hell, I couldn’t even fake strokes this intense if I tried.”
Back then, I had naively thought that this deep affection was real.
But now, those portraits only felt like mockery.
I chuckled softly, holding the box of paintings as I walked out of the pack house garden and set them on fire.
The flames rose, and the firelight reflected in my eyes, resembling the ancient ritual of the pack—the Burning of Vows.
By the time Ryder rushed over upon hearing the news, he was panicked to see me tossing the portraits one by one into the fire.
He pushed me aside, not caring about the searing flames, desperately searching through the ashes.
“Are you insane?! What are you doing?!”
His voice trembled, but in his eyes, there wasn’t a trace of concern for me, his “future Luna.”
I looked at him and said calmly, “These portraits got infested with worms, so I threw them out.”
He paused, hesitating for just a second before throwing the portraits he’d picked up back into the fire: “Kendra’s afraid of bugs. I’ll paint more for you in the future.”
“No need,” I replied softly. “There is no future for us.”
The flames grew fiercer, as if they were burning away the past memories and promises.
Eventually, only black ash remained, quietly lying on the ground.
Just like my relationship with Ryder—once burning fiercely, now completely extinguished.
I gazed at the pile of ash and lowered my head to post: [Five days left, including today.]
Then, I cleaned up the ashes, tossed them into the trash, and headed toward the farthest guest room of the pack house.
That night, I finally slept soundly.
But the next morning, when I opened my eyes, the comments on my post were flooding in.
Some mocked me for rushing to become Luna, while others joked about me counting down to the mating ceremony.
Ryder even commented personally: [I’m looking forward to the day you walk down the aisle in your wedding dress.]
— He truly was still the same liar who treated me like a tool.
He couldn’t see how I had been emotionally shredded, only wanting me to continue playing the role of a loving couple.
But I no longer had the strength or the interest to play along with this ridiculous show.
I didn’t respond to anyone.
When I went downstairs to wash up, Ryder was waiting for me at the dining table.
He looked up and asked, “Sienna, aren’t you supposed to meet with the pack elders today to sign the bond-sealing deal?”
Yes, this afternoon, we were supposed to seal the mate bond.
But now, I didn’t want to anymore.
