stress.”
Theo settled back into his chair, reassured.
“Once Marcus is released, I’ll go make it up to them.”
But even as he said it, something felt wrong.
The mate bond that had always hummed in his chest, even when he ignored it, was completely silent now.
Where there had once been warmth, there was only void.
1/4
+15 BONUS
His wolf whined uneasily, sensing a terrible mistake.
But Marcus was still clinging to his leg, and Sarah was smiling that perfect smile, and the pack radio was still praising his
devotion to his “true family.”
So Theo pushed down his wolf’s warnings.
Ignored the cold emptiness in his chest.
Told himself there would be time to fix things later.
A week passed like a blur, each mile taking us further from our old life.
After crossing the territory border, Alex and I went straight to Alpha Ada’s pack house – a sprawling mansion overlooking the
ocean.
“My pack will always be your sanctuary,” she told me firmly, her Alpha authority resonating in every word. “I don’t care what
rumors Theo’s pack spreads. You’re family now, and I protect my family.”
Her face lit up when she saw Alex, especially noting how his burns were healing cleanly.
“Alpha Ada!” Alex ran to her, his small form no longer trembling with suppressed shift energy.
“Welcome home, little warrior.” She scooped him up, scenting him gently – a gesture of pack acceptance that made Alex’s eyes
shine. “Have you missed your honorary aunt?”
“Yes!” His voice was stronger now, free from the constant tension of trying to please an absent father. “Mom says we’re going to
live in your pack now. Forever?”
“Forever and ever,” Ada promised, shooting me a look that said she’d fight anyone who tried to say different.
That night, after tucking Alex into bed in our new den – a beautiful villa with a garden specially warded against silver
contamination – Ada sat me down with concern in her eyes.
“Now that we’re safe here, tell me everything. And don’t leave out a single detail about how Theo let his son suffer through early
shift alone.”
I explained it all, watching her face darken with each word.
Finally, I gave a bitter smile: “We were wrong from the start. You meant well with the enhanced pheromones, but you can’t force
a true bond.”
“Theo never truly wanted me. I tried everything, fought so hard for five years, but his heart was elsewhere. It’s time to let go.”
“Besides,” I straightened my shoulders, “I’m one of the best healers in three territories. I can help your pack with the silver poisoning cases. We’ll be fine without him.”
Ada was quiet for a long time, her fingers tracing the pattern of ocean waves carved into her Alpha medallion.
“1
2/48
+15 BONUS
“It doesn’t make sense,” she said finally. “I was there when you first met – his wolf responded to yours so strongly. The moon
herself blessed your bond. How did it go so wrong?”
Looking at Alex’s peaceful sleeping face, I smiled sadly. In sleep, he still looked so much like Theo.
Maybe there had been something real back then. His wolf wouldn’t have recognized mine as mate otherwise, enhanced
pheromones or not.
I never doubted that initial connection.
But hearts change. Wolves stray. And sometimes the hardest part of love is knowing when to let go.
The next morning, Ada enrolled Alex in the pack’s elite young wolf training program, personally overseeing his placement.
“He has raw talent,” she told me, watching him practice basic forms. “And here, he can develop at his own pace. No pressure to
be the perfect Beta’s son.”
She’d been struggling with a wave of silver poisoning cases in her territory, accidents from the old mines that had the pack
healers overwhelmed.
Now with me as her Chief Healer, she had a powerful ally in treating the affected wolves. My specialization in metallurgic toxins
was already saving lives.
With my help, her pack became the most powerful pack in the northern territories.
One month later, while I was developing new treatments for silver poisoning in Ada’s pack.
The Alpha Ada herself brought me a letter. “It’s from Theo’s assistant.”
“Ma’am, I pray this reaches you. I’ve tried every pack channel, every territory messenger. Since you dissolved your pack registration, it’s like you’ve vanished into mist.”
“Beta Theo… he’s losing control. His wolf emerges without warning now, howling for its mate and pup.”
I read through what had happened in our old pack, each word another twist of the knife I thought I’d removed.
After Marcus recovered from his early shift, Theo finally returned home. The sight stopped him cold.
Our den, once filled with Alex’s training gear and healing herbs, was empty. The walls still held the faint scent of sage – the ritual
cleansing used to remove pack bonds.
At first, his pride wouldn’t let him worry. Just a hunting trip, he told himself. Teaching Alex to track, maybe.
But days passed.
Then a week.
We never returned.
For the first time in years, Theo’s careful control cracked. He spent hours sending desperate messages through the mate bond.
3/4
“Where’s Alex?”
“Come home.”
“Please.”
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