Chapter 4
The quiet departure lounge echoed with my sudden laughter.
Of course I’d let her “have” him.
After all, there were still guests I knew in attendance.
I was the one who ditched the bonding ceremony, so technically, I was in the wrong.
The least I could do was let them enjoy a live comedy show on my behalf.
I kept chuckling, shaking my head at the ridiculousness of it all.
Then, as if on cue, a bright red banner and images lit up the venue’s giant screen.
Splashed across it, in all caps, were the words:
“RUNAWAY BRIDE ANNOUNCEMENT”
“Due to Alpha Kyle cheating with Claire, I’ve decided to call off the bonding ceremony. Consider this my gift to your circus. I hope you two stay being bonded forever and never crawl out to ruin someone else’s life again.”
Attached beneath it were several recent photos of Kyle and Claire looking very intimate.
Buzz. Summer sent me a message.
“Mission complete!”
Seeing her text, I posted the same statement to my social media feed, which was also my final post
from that account.
The guests at the ceremony lost it.
Who had time to laugh at me now?
The bigger joke was standing front and center, hand in hand on stage.
With the bride gone, no one gave a damn about whether Kyle and Claire were running off or not.
And Claire’s earlier over–the–top speech about love looked especially pathetic beneath the glaring red word: CHEATER.
Their so–called love story? Just a cheap excuse to cover up betrayal.
50.00%
Summer was having the time of her life with all the drama and sent me another video just two
minutes later.
In it, no one was paying attention to the two fools standing frozen onstage. The crowd had
descended into chaos, scrambling to find me.
“Where’s Heather?”
“Where’d she goes?”
“Where’s the bride? Where’s the future Luna of the pack? The phone’s not going through. Why aren’t you looking for her already? Has anyone checked the lounge?”
“Check the dressing rooms, the top floor, everywhere! Why is everyone just standing around?
Move, people!”
Even Kyle’s parents, the former Alpha and Luna, stood up in a panic, urgently instructing pack
members to locate me. Guests joined in too.
No one even spared a glance at the pair still stranded onstage. Even the pack elders were called
down to help search.
Kyle and Claire were left standing there, stiff and awkward, like two circus monkeys being paraded for public shame.
What made it even funnier was that the audience was entirely focused on finding me, the missing
bride.
No one cared if Kyle and Claire stayed or left.
Claire and Kyle’s fantasy of a romantic, thrilling runaway bonding ceremony had turned into a chaotic Black Friday shopping frenzy thanks to my sudden disappearance.
The two just stood on stage, caught in a limbo where running away or staying made no difference.
If they ran, no one cared.
If they stayed, still no one cared.
By then, it was almost time to board. I sent Summer a quick message from another number to let her know I was heading out, then texted a short update to my parents explaining the situation and asking them not to reveal anything about me to anyone.
Chapter 4
50.00%
Then I switched my phone to airplane mode, curled up in my first–class seat, ready to enjoy the
next dozen hours of flight.
The moment I landed, Summer’s messages blew up my phone.
The fallout must’ve been incredible.
As soon as I responded with a single word, she couldn’t contain herself and immediately called me.
She laughed out loud.
“Heather, that move of yours was savage!”
“You have no idea. The blood stone pack is in total chaos. Forget embarrassing themselves in front of the entire pack, many guests were high–ranking Alphas and Lunas. Your runaway bride stunt? It turned everything upside down.”
“Those two idiots just stood on stage for ten whole minutes. Nobody cared. Nobody even looked at them. Eventually, they had to walk down by themselves. God, I got secondhand embarrassment just watching.”
“Check the trending list. That video’s already at the top. People online are calling them the Delulu King and Queen. Oh, and guess what? That bastard even went to your place. He flipped out when he found out you were gone.
“He rang your doorbell like he was sending Morse code. Ding–ding–ding–ding–ding.”
“I was about to sneak off when he caught me. That jerk even had the nerve to ask where you were. I just told him you’d gone overseas. I didn’t say anything else. And by the way, props to you. He really did run fast in those sneakers.”
Summer’s wheezing laughter said it all. Kyle was wrecked.
He didn’t get the dramatic bonding ceremony crash he imagined, and he ended up making a fool of himself in front of everyone.
Not that I was surprised by how he reacted.
Kyle only had the guts to do this because he was sure I wouldn’t make a scene for the sake of his pack and the pack of Claire’s parents.
If I lost the bonding ceremony, he thought I’d swallow the humiliation in silence.
Chapter 4
NO GHACTILI
Tango–Live Stream, Vide…
50 00
Claire’s pack and business were based overseas, so the impact on Kyle’s pack wouldn’t be too big.
In fact, this might’ve even helped him pressure his parents to accept Claire as the Luna of the pack.
After all, things had already escalated in front of so many witnesses. If they refused to recognize Claire now, it’d make them look bad.
But what Kyle never saw coming was that I would walk away first.
