I quickly signed the mate bond rejection papers, the weight on my chest finally lifting. Erik snatched the document without so much as a glance in my direction, his Alpha aura sharp and unyielding. Gracie clung to his arm, her presence a stark reminder of where his loyalty now lay. “See you in a month,” he said, his voice cold and detached, and I knew with absolute clarity that this would be the last time I’d see him in this life.

The door slammed shut behind them, the sound echoing in the sudden silence of the private room. The waiter returned after what felt like an eternity, his voice hesitant. “Would you like the extra dish to be served?”

No one answered. My mother, the Luna of our pack, finally broke down into sobs, her composure shattered. My father, Alpha Ambrose Bell, wrapped an arm around her, his presence steady and reassuring as he murmured soothing words. Layla Hawkins, the Luna of Erik’s pack, sat frozen in her seat, her expression one of stunned disbelief, as if she couldn’t quite process what had just unfolded. And me? I felt invisible, caught in the middle of a storm that had been brewing for years.

I stood slowly, my legs trembling but my resolve firm. “No need to serve it. Just bring the check, please.” I paid mechanically, my fingers numb from the cold that seemed to seep into my bones. Was I calm? No, I was just too numb to feel anything else.

I grabbed my coat from the private room, the fabric heavy in my hands, and walked out. The parking garage was quiet, the air thick with the scent of damp concrete. I slid into my car, the leather seat cool against my skin. My eyes burned with unshed tears, but I held them back. What was there to cry about? I had known this was coming for a long time.

It had started the day he proposed to me, out of the blue, at my college graduation. He’d stood there with a bouquet of flowers, his Alpha aura commanding the room, and declared, “Elena White, daughter of Alpha Ambrose Bell, I, Erik Hawkins, Lycan Prince, claim you as my mate.” The words had left me stunned, but before I could process them, he’d whisked me off to finalize the mate bond without any discussion. Everyone had advised him to slow down—a bonding ceremony needed planning, guests needed to be invited, and I deserved more than a rushed affair—but he’d dismissed them all with a single, cutting remark: “If I wait any longer, I might regret this.”

Back then, I’d signed the papers mechanically, feeling dazed as I walked out. His next words had snapped me into clarity. He’d said, “Gracie left for Europe. Are you happy now?” The bitterness in his voice had cut through me, and I’d known then that he resented me. After the bond was sealed, he’d kept his distance. Every time I reached out to him, he’d recoil as if my touch burned him. “I bonded with you. What more do you want?” he’d say, his tone laced with disdain.

For years after that, whenever Layla hinted at wanting pups, I hadn’t known how to respond. Slowly, she’d begun to resent me too. More than once, she’d sighed in front of me, “Our Hawkins family line is going to end with this generation, it seems.”

Now, she and I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The bond was broken, the ties severed. And for the first time in years, I felt free.

I tossed my belongings into the suitcase hastily, my hands trembling with urgency. I needed to leave—now. The pack’s airport wasn’t far, and I didn’t care where I was going. The sudden freedom felt foreign, overwhelming. Since my awakening at sixteen, my life had revolved around Erik. What began as guilt for the death of Officer Timothy Rice—the Beta who saved me from drowning—morphed into a suffocating concern. I’d watch him, the Lycan Prince, standing alone on the balcony of the packhouse, a cup of espresso in his hand, his gaze distant. My wolf whimpered softly in the back of my mind, but I ignored it. Loving him had become my purpose. But he never needed it, and now, I no longer had to offer it.

My phone buzzed incessantly—calls from Alpha Ambrose and Luna Sariyah, my parents. Their voices were laced with worry, their alpha and luna auras pressing against me even through the phone. “I’m fine,” I assured them, my tone firm despite the ache in my chest. “I just need some time to myself.” I silenced my phone as the plane taxied for takeoff, shoving it into my bag. Closing my eyes, I felt a strange lightness, as if the weight of the mate bond had finally lifted. No more Erik. No more constant reminders of how I’d supposedly ruined his life.

The flight was short, and when I landed, I turned on my phone. A barrage of messages flooded the screen—all from Erik. The latest one was timestamped just minutes ago. “Elena, it’s midnight. Aren’t you coming home? I set the curfew at ten.”

I stared at the message, my wolf bristling with irritation. *Curfew?* After the rejection? The formal words of his rejection still echoed in my mind, sharp and final. “I, Erik Hawkins, Lycan Prince of the Silvermoon Pack, reject you, Elena White, daughter of Alpha Ambrose Bell, as my mate.” The pain of that moment had been excruciating, the bond snapping like a broken thread. Yet here he was, acting as if he still had the right to control me.

I didn’t respond. Instead, I flagged down a taxi driver, a lone werewolf who eyed me curiously but didn’t ask questions. As we drove away from the airport, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window. My brown hair was a mess, my green eyes shadowed with exhaustion. But for the first time in years, I felt a flicker of something—hope, maybe? Independence.

My phone buzzed again. This time, it was a message from Erik: “We’re taking the bonding photos with Gracie—no time to waste with the ceremony coming up.” I scoffed, a bitter chuckle escaping my lips. Why was he telling me this? Was he trying to rub it in? To remind me that the five years we’d shared as mates meant nothing now that he was planning a future with Gracie Shaw, his childhood crush?

I typed back quickly, my fingers steady despite the storm of emotions inside me. “Okay, take lots of photos. I won’t be at the ceremony.” He started typing again, but I didn’t wait to see what he had to say. I turned off my phone and leaned back in the seat, my wolf quiet for once. There was no Erik anymore. No one to remind me that I was the reason his life had gone off course. No one to make me feel like I owed him anything.

The taxi driver dropped me off at a small hotel near the coast. As I checked in, I felt a strange sense of relief. This was my chance to start over—to be someone other than Erik Hawkins’ mate. Someone who wasn’t defined by guilt or obligation.

Later that night, as I lay in bed, my phone buzzed once more. I hesitated before looking at the screen. It was Erik again. “Elena, where are you? You can’t just leave like this.”

I stared at the message, my wolf growling softly in frustration. He didn’t get to dictate my life anymore. The rejection was final, the bond severed. I was free. And for the first time in years, I intended to live like it.

The curfew was his idea.

After Erik and I completed the marking ceremony, solidifying our mate bond, we settled into a home near my parents’ territory. Occasionally, I’d stay for dinner and a chat with them, only to realize it was well past midnight. Erik never called to check on me, but when I returned, the living room would be dark, save for the faint glow of his cigarette in the moonlight filtering through the windows.

"Finally decided to come back?" His voice was low, laced with the alpha tone that still sent a shiver down my spine despite his status as a Lycan Prince. "Don’t you understand what being my mate means?"

I explained I was at my parents’ house, but he just snorted, his wolfish eyes narrowing. "From now on, curfew at 10 p.m. If you’re late, don’t bother coming back."

After that, I always returned on time, sometimes rushing through the forest paths to make it. My parents, ever supportive, thought it was a sign of our deep bond and couldn’t stop smiling. "You’re an adult now, still have a curfew? We never set such rules even when you were young," my father, Alpha Ambrose, teased.

Now, standing at the airport, staring at his curfew message, a mix of emotions surged within me. My fingers hovered over the reply box, yet I couldn’t bring myself to type a single word. It felt like savoring a feast, only to realize it had no flavor.

He sent another message: "We had an agreement, didn’t we?"

The taxi I booked was waiting by the curb. The driver, a werewolf with a scent of pine and earth, nodded respectfully as I approached. I paused for a moment, then replied, "There’s no 'we' anymore."

I opened the car door and slid in. Erik started calling immediately. I didn’t answer, but he stubbornly kept dialing. When I finally picked up, his voice came through, hurried and tense.

"Elena, where are you?" His alpha tone was impossible to ignore, even over the phone.

The driver turned to me, his amber eyes respectful. "Heading to that hotel, right, Miss White?"

I nodded, and Erik erupted on the other end. "You’re going to a hotel in the middle of the night? Who’s the guy?"

His voice was so loud I instinctively held the phone away. I almost handed it to the driver to explain, but stopped myself. Why should I explain anything?

Just a few hours ago, Erik and I had finalized the rejection of our mate bond. I had stood before the pack, my heart aching but my voice steady, as I recited the words: "I, Elena White, daughter of Alpha Ambrose Bell, reject you, Erik Hawkins, Lycan Prince of the Silvermoon Pack, as my mate." The bond between us had shattered, leaving only a hollow ache in its place.

From now on, the horizon was clear, and I no longer had to interpret the meaning behind his frowns or endure the weight of his expectations. I was never so calm, and I told him firmly, "Erik, I don’t need to report to you anymore."

After hanging up, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I realized that in moments of sadness, I too could hang up on him, and even block him, if I wished. The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror, his expression neutral but his scent carrying a hint of sympathy. I leaned back in the seat, staring out at the passing city lights, and for the first time in years, I felt free.