I was sitting in City Hall, about to sign that damn mate bond certificate with Logan—Alpha of the Eastside Moonclaws—when his phone buzzed.

One glance.

Then he stood up like this was all just another errand.

Didn’t even flinch when he said:

“Something came up. Let’s push the bond signing to another day, yeah?”

And just like that, he was gone.

Left me sitting alone, surrounded by bonded pairs, all glowing with that sickly sweet “forever” vibe.

Why?

Because Emma, his darling little childhood packmate, twisted her ankle during pack-speed training—trying to keep up with the advanced wolves when she barely passed the basic shifts.

Ten minutes later, I get a text:

“Emma’s injury’s kinda serious. I gotta stay with her. Let’s move the wedding, okay?”

Just another time—maybe the last—Logan picked her over me.

But this time?

No tears. No begging. No rage.

The clerk gave me a quiet look, like she already knew how the story ended.

“Ma’am... do you still want to proceed?”

I pulled out my phone.Didn’t wait for him to change his mind.

The clerk gave me that soft, pitying look.

“Ma’am... do you still want to proceed?”

I shook my head, and dialed home.

The moment my Beta sister picked up.

“Tell Alpha Dad I’m coming back to the Ridge. Today.”

A pause.

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” I said, standing up, my voice steady. “I’m done here.”

And just like that, I walked out.

Not just from the building—but from him.

“Mom… we didn’t complete the bond,” I said quietly, phone pressed to my ear. “Emma twisted her ankle during Pack drills. Logan went to the clinic to stay with her.”

I didn’t cry.

Didn’t even feel surprised.

It had happened too many times.

At some point, you stop waiting for the pain—you just expect the letdown.

There was a sharp inhale on the other end of the line.

Then my mother exploded.

“He rescheduled?! Just like that?! The guests today—do you know how many of them are high-bloodline Alphas? Council members? You think they came to watch him play pretend with your life?! If this gets out—he didn’t even think about what this does to you! To our name!”

Then, suddenly, she went quiet.

The silence wasn’t rage anymore. It was... resignation.

Like something inside her finally caught up.

“I remember,” she said softly. “All the times you stayed. The way you kept bending yourself, hoping he'd eventually meet you halfway.”

A long breath.

Then her voice steadied again, gentler this time.

“So… do you want me to talk to his family? Maybe reschedule the ceremony for next week? Or... do you have other plans?”

I stared out at the city, the concrete cold under my feet, the bond certificate still unsigned in my bag.

“No,” I said. My voice didn’t shake. “I’m not going through with it.”

A pause. And then—

“I’m not going to be with Logan anymore. I’m going back to the Ridge. Back to my Pack.”

Three days.

That’s all I had left in this city. I already started packing—slowly, quietly, like if I made too much noise, someone might stop me. But no one would.

We planned to see a movie today. His idea. Said he missed spending time with me.

I actually put on makeup. I waited at the theater for twenty minutes before checking my phone.

“Something came up. Emma got a fever after yesterday’s drill. I’m heading over. Sorry.”

I didn’t reply.

But right after, another message came in.

Not from him.

From her.

Emma.

“Thanks for giving me all your stuff, Rae. Your time, your place in the pack… for him, I’ll take good care of him too.”

I just stared at it. My blood didn't even boil—it went cold.

I thought about that damn Lego model.

The one he mentioned offhand once during our night runs, how he used to build it as a kid when his parents were still alive. I went on Amazon, paid a fortune to find the exact limited-edition set.

Spent three weeks building it by hand. Got a cut on my palm from a stupid sharp piece and didn’t even care.

He loved it. Said it was the best gift anyone had ever given him.

But the next time I saw it?

It was on Emma’s shelf.

She said he lent it to her.

I didn’t say a word.

I could still remember that day. The look on his face when I gave it to him.

And now it felt like everything I touched just slid into her hands.

My chest tightened. Not anger—just this quiet, hollow ache. Like I was slowly erasing myself from his life, and he didn’t even notice.

And then came the mountain.That stupid Pack bonding hike.

He asked me to come. Said it’d be good for my instincts.

Emma, of course, tagged along.

Halfway up, she sidled next to me, acting all tired and clumsy. I knew something was off, but I didn’t expect it.

She “stumbled.” Crashed right into me.

Next thing I knew, I was rolling down the slope, rocks tearing through my sleeves, pain blooming down my right side.

I groaned, tried to sit up—and there she was. Smiling. Leaning down like she cared.

She whispered:

“You think he’ll believe you over me? He already chose.”

When Logan came running up the path, she was crying like she broke every bone in her body.

“I didn’t mean to, Rae must’ve been tired, I just reached out to help her...”

She even made her voice shake.

I looked at him, waiting—begging—for a hint of doubt.

He didn’t ask about my bleeding arm. Didn’t ask if I could even walk.

He picked her up. Turned to me and said:

“Stop being dramatic, Rae.”

I bit my tongue so hard I tasted blood.

That was two weeks ago. And ever since, every day felt like I was walking out of my own life, step by step, watching someone else step into it.

Now?

I’m three days from being gone.

I was about to call the driver, my phone rang.

It was him.

His voice, as always, warm and calm.

“Rae, I’m sorry.”

For a second, I thought he meant it and he actually want to be with me. That he was finally apologizing for leaving me at the bonding registry, for letting our pack elders wait while he disappeared without a trace.

I opened my mouth to speak—

And then I heard her.

Emma’s soft, sugary tone bleeding through the line.

“Rae-sis, I’m really sorry… I-I didn’t mean to damage your Wedding dress…”

She even threw in a sob. “It just tore when I was trying it on. I didn't mean it, I swear…”

And then Logan, gently soothing her, like it was nothing.

“It’s okay. Don’t cry. Rae isn’t the type to get upset over this.”

Then, finally, he turned his attention back to me.

“Anyway, Rae. The ceremony's off for now. I’ll take you to pick out a better Wedding dress later. Something new, something just for you.”

I didn’t say anything.

Didn’t ask why they were in the den meant for us both. Didn’t ask why Emma was touching what wasn’t hers. Didn’t remind him how we’d bled our fingertips sewing our family sigils into that Wedding dress’s lining by moonlight.

None of it mattered anymore.

Not when I only had two days left.

The pain spreads through my heart.

Two more days. Then I’d be gone.

Back to the Ironclaw Mountains. Back to my birth pack.

I’d already begun pulling away—shifting clothes, preparing supplies, memorizing border routes.

Every moment now was a step away from him.

Being with Logan had once been all I wanted. Back in university, he made me feel chosen—like the moon had whispered my name into his soul.

But since Emma reappeared, I’d felt that thread fray.

There was always a new excuse. A reason not to show up. A message left unanswered.

I remembered that pack celebration a few moons ago. I’d only had a few sips of bloodroot wine before it hit me. On my way back from the washroom, I heard her voice rise above the chatter:

“Logan, I swear… you’re the only mate I’ll ever want in this life.”

Silence.

Everyone knew Logan and I are already officially dating, soul-bound. Not formally sealed, but witnessed by the council and the spirits.

I stood there, frozen.

Waiting for him to say something. To draw the line.

But all he said was, “Let me get her some ginger brew. She’ll have a headache later.”

That was the moment I felt it:

The shift.

So I forced my voice flat.

“It’s fine. If the Wedding dress’s ruined, toss it. Doesn’t matter anymore.”

He paused, taken aback.

I felt the thread between us thin further—already faint, like a dying ember of the bond.

“Anything else?” I asked, steady now.

“…No,” he said.

Just as I moved to hang up, I heard her again.

“Logan, how about these shirts? Should I fold them for you?”

End call.

I imagined his face harden.

“Don’t touch my things,” I pictured him snapping, voice clipped. “I’ll take them myself. I’m just settling you in. I’ll be back.”

Emma’s tearful gasp, no doubt weaponized. “You’re leaving me? You said you wouldn’t abandon me… I only have you…”

His voice, softening, as it always did for her. “I won’t abandon you. But Emma… you need to learn to stand on your own. If it weren’t for your injury, Rae and I would’ve already completed the bond.”

But I wasn’t there to hear it.

And it didn’t matter.

I was already halfway gone.

He came later that night.

I was still folding the last of my travel cloaks, stuffing flint, herbs, and moon-stamped seals into a satchel when the door opened.

Logan stood there, his eyes scanning the room—half-empty, unspoken.

“Rae…”

I didn’t stop packing.

He stepped closer. “I came back to say this properly. I’m sorry… for how I’ve been. For how things have happened.”

I glanced at him, saying nothing.

His voice gentled. “About the wedding… There’s no rush now. The new place still isn’t ready anyway—some furniture hasn’t arrived. I talked to the elders, and we’ve postponed the ceremony.”

I folded the flap of my satchel closed.

He hesitated, then added, “Also… Emma’s leaving soon. Her treatment overseas… I promised to go with her. Just to get her settled. She’s never had anyone in her corner—no one’s ever stood up for her. I hope you can understand…Her condition is critical, and right now, I’m all she has to lean on.”

He looked at me then, like it was a reasonable thing to say. Like it shouldn’t crush me.

“I hope you understand. She needs someone. I’ll come back after a few weeks. We’ll figure things out.”

It was that moment.

That moment the last thread snapped.

I straightened, met his gaze, and smiled—cool, distant.

“You should go, then.”

He flinched, slightly. “Rae…”

“I understand perfectly,” I said. “You made your choice. And I’ve made mine.”

His brows furrowed. “Are you… going somewhere?”

He flinched, just a little. “Rae… don’t be mad, okay? Once I’m back, we’ll do the bonding ceremony, just like you wanted. I promise.”

“I’m not mad. Go take care of Emma,” I said with a small smile, but my eyes stayed fixed on his face, memorizing him one last time. In my heart, I whispered, If you leave now, don’t come back. I won’t be waiting.

Maybe he sensed something was off, because he reached out, trying to comfort me. “Rae, you really are the most understanding mate in the world. I’m so lucky to have you.”

“It’s getting late,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Go pack your things. Don’t you have a flight in the morning?”

I was hoping—praying—he’d say he wasn’t going. That he’d stay, that he’d choose me.

But instead, he just pulled me into a hug, then turned and walked away.

I stood there until his figure disappeared around the corner. Then, slowly, I wiped the tears from my face, grabbed my suitcase, and pulled out my phone.

I threw away the SIM card. Logged out of my werewolf identity with the Eastside Moonclaws.

Logan, let’s never meet again.