Chapter 12
I tightened my grip instinctively around Selene’s wrist, desperate to anchor her to me.
My voice, rough and broken, tumbled out before I could stop it.
“Selene, it’s not like that- You were never a replacement.
I never wanted to leave you,”
But when I met her eyes-
those clear, steady eyes that no longer held any warmth for me-
the words caught and died in my throat.
Because deep down, I know
Even now, trying to explain,
I was only twisting the knife deeper.
How could I tell her I loved her,
when I had made her second best over and over again?
How could I ask her to stay,
when
every action I had ever taken had told her she would never be first?
My fingers lost their strength.
Selene pulled her hand free with a quiet, decisive motion.
She smiled at me-
polite, detached.
The kind of smile you gave a stranger you would never care to meet again.
“Thank you for the Blake Syndicate’s generous support of our research, Alpha Blake,” she said, her voice light, almost casual.
Not “Julian”
Not “Mate.”
Just “Alpha Blake.”
The title rang in my ears like a death knell.
Iflinched, the blow sharper than any slap.
Before I could say anything, she had already turned away.
I stood there, helpless, as she walked back into the research wing, her lab coat fluttering slightly behind her–a clean, sharp line drawn between us.
She returned to Ethan Caldwell’s side.
Together, they leaned over a datapad, heads close, speaking in low, focused voices.
Selene even smiled–a small, genuine curve of her lips.
I stood frozen outside the glass, watching like an outsider.
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Ethan leaned closer, pointing out something on the screen.
Selene nodded, her eyes bright with excitement.
I remembered when she used to look at me that way.
When she used to share her dreams, her plans for the future–her everything–with me.
Now, that light belonged to someone else.
Something inside me cracked, deep and final.
For the first time in my life, I felt a bitter, searing emotion I’d never known before:
Self–doubt.
I caught my reflection in the glass.
The man staring back at me wasn’t the invincible Alpha I once believed I was.
I saw exhaustion etched deep into my features.
Lines of regret carved into my skin.
The dullness in my silver eyes.
I was a decade older than her.
Older.
Tired.
Broken
And Ethan-
He was young
Vibrant.
Burning with the same fire Selene carried inside her.
They were equals.
Partners.
While I …
I had become nothing more than a chair around her ankles.
Inside my chest, my wolf thrashed and howled in agony, helpless.
The severed Mate Bond pulsed like a rotting wound, festering with a truth I couldn’t escape:
I could never fix what I had destroyed.
Selene was moving forward-
without me
While I remained, drowning in the ruins Thad made with my own hands.
Selene’s POV
When Ethan and I stepped out of the Syndicate Research Center, the sun was already beginning to dip low on the horizon,
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The air outside smelled crisp and faintly of pine.
Julian was gone.
I didn’t even glance around to check.
Ethan stretched lazily beside me, tossing his lab coat over his shoulder.
“Selene,” he said, flashing a smile, “do you feel like grabbing something to eat?”
I shook my head lightly, a faint curve touching my lips.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “Let’s just see what we find.”
The truth was, I didn’t have much appetite for Yoria’s cuisine.
It was too heavy, too foreign–nothing like the simple, familiar dishes I had grown up with in the heartlands of my old Pack.
Ethan seemed to pick up on my hesitation.
He sighed in mock–scolding.
“You never take food seriously
If you keep treating meals like an afterthought, you’ll collapse before we even finish the research cycle.
1laughed softly.
“What do you suggest, then?”
His eyes lit up with sudden energy.
“Let’s do this: today’s work is wrapped up anyway.
We’ll stop by the market, grab some supplies
T’h cook
I arched an eyebrow, amused.
“You cook?”
Ethan chuckled, scratching the back of his neck
“I had to learn,” he admitted. “You spend enough time stationed in Outland Packs you either adapt or starve.”
I couldn’t help but laugh again, lighter than I had in days.
“Alright then, Ethan Caldwell
I’ll be your taste–tester tonight.”
We walked off side by side, our voices light, our steps easy, weaving through the crowded streets.
Neither of us noticed the lone figure standing some distance away.
I didn’t need to
Somehow, deep down, I knew.
Julian had been there.
Watching
Hurting
Chapter 12
But he hadn’t followed.
He couldn’t.
The bond between us had been severed.
And the hollow where it had once pulsed inside me was finally still.
I didn’t look back.
And he-
he turned and walked away into the deepening dusk
Three days later, I was back at the lab, deeply immersed in compiling data when the Research Director burst into the room, his face glowing with unusual excitement.
Attention, everyone!” he announced.
*Starting today, the Center will provide free meals–breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Options include both native and homeland cuisines!”
Around me, wolves cheered and clapped, thrilled by the unexpected news.
I simply lowered my head over my datapad, keeping my expression neutral.
I knew exactly where the funding had come from.
Julian.
It was just the sort of thing he would do
throw resources at me like offerings at an altar he could no longer approach,
hoping silent penance could repair what was already broken beyond recognition.
Maybe he hadn’t overheard my half–joking complaints about the food.
Maybe he had simply been there, unseen, when Ethan had offered to cook for me
Either way, I shook the thoughts from my mind.
The meals were here.
I might as well eat them.
I didn’t owe him anything anymore-
not even resentment.
