Damien Munoz finished his speech and abruptly stood up, his towering frame commanding the room as always. His Beta and Delta immediately began to clear the crowd, their movements sharp and efficient, escorting the Alpha to his car and away from the scene. I numbly switched off the television, plunging the living room into darkness. The only light came from a lone floor lamp in the corner, casting a faint, cold glow over the Munoz Pack’s estate—a place that had never truly felt like home.

In that quiet moment, a soft sob broke the silence. I turned quickly, seeing my little pup standing there, her face streaked with tears—confused and hurt but frozen in place.

“Isabela?” I quickly stood up and rushed to her, pulling her into my arms. “Why aren’t you in bed? Did you sneak down here?”

Her tear-stained face pressed against my chest, Isabela bit her lip and asked in a choked voice, “Mom, why did Alpha say he doesn’t have a pup? If he doesn’t have a pup, then what am I?”

The question cut through me like a knife. Damien was always serious and reserved, his Alpha aura commanding respect but leaving little room for warmth. Though he cared for Isabela in his own way, he spent little time at home and rarely showed affection. Isabela admired him but was also intimidated by him, her sensitive nature making her more vulnerable than other pups.

As tears fell again, the determination that had sustained me for so long began to falter. I gently wiped away her tears. “Isabela, do you want to leave here with Mom?”

“Where would we go? Will we ever come back?”

I gave her a bittersweet smile. “No, sweetheart, we won’t come back. This isn’t our pack.”

Looking into her eyes, I said with all the seriousness I could muster, “This is the Munoz Pack’s territory. We’ve overstayed our welcome. It’s time for us to go back to our own home.”

Isabela nodded, her little voice full of trust. “I’ll go wherever Mommy goes.”

“Good girl.” I carried her back to her room, gently kissing her tiny face. “Sleep tight. Mommy will be right here with you.”

Once Isabela was asleep, my gaze fell upon the photo frame on her bedside table—a picture of all three of us, the only one we ever took together. In the photo, Damien sat with his usual distant expression, his broad shoulders and chiseled features as commanding as ever. I cradled a one-year-old Isabela, smiling shyly and contentedly. My body leaned slightly toward him, but he did not lean toward me.

When Isabela was in deep slumber, I took the photo frame and quietly left the room. As I carefully cut the photo, it dawned on me that the gap between our bodies back then had foreshadowed this moment—making it so easy to sever along its line.

The mate bond between us had always been fragile, a thread stretched thin by Damien’s denial and the pack’s expectations. And now, as I looked at the torn edges of the photo, I knew it was time to break that thread for good—for me, for Isabela, and for the life we deserved.

A week later, Alpha Damien returned from his pack business. It was already ten at night when his car pulled into the driveway of the Munoz Pack estate. In the past, no matter how late he arrived, Isabela and I would always wait up for him. But tonight, my pup had already had her bath and gone to bed, her soft breathing a steady rhythm in the quiet house.

I wasn’t in the master suite; instead, I had taken refuge in the guest room on the second floor. As the familiar rumble of his engine approached, I stood on the balcony, my fingers trembling as I reopened the message I had received six days ago—a document confirming a vasectomy. Even now, the sight of it made my eyes sting with unshed tears.

“Laura, if you’re willing, just nod your head once. I will treat Isabela as my own. From now on, she’ll be my only daughter, no, my only pup.”

Kevin’s words echoed in my mind, lingering long after the screen had dimmed. The sound of Alpha Damien’s footsteps reached my ears—first ascending to the third-floor master suite, then descending to where I stood. He paused outside the guest room before knocking.

“Laura, open the door.”

I hastily wiped my tears and shoved my phone beneath the pillow. “I’m really trying to sleep. Can we talk about it tomorrow?”

But before I could finish, the door swung open. I froze for a moment, then remembered—this was the Alpha’s house. He had every right to enter any room he pleased.

“Why did you move to the guest room?” His voice carried a sharp edge, colder than usual. I slowly sat up and looked at him. After a long journey, weariness was etched into his features. He rubbed his temples as he spoke, his tone rough with fatigue.

I ignored the flicker of pity in my heart and averted my gaze. “I haven’t been feeling well these past few days. I didn’t want to risk passing anything on to you.”

“That doesn’t bother me. You should move back.”

He noticed I was still sitting on the bed, unmoving. His frown deepened. “Laura?”

“I’m really exhausted. You should get some sleep too...”

Alpha Damien didn’t reply but strode to the bed. Without warning, he leaned down and scooped me up into his arms.

“It’s been a week. Haven’t you missed me...?”

He began to lower his head to kiss me, but I turned away. Surprise flickered across his face, quickly replaced by displeasure.

“Laura Sanders.”

“What kind of tantrum are you throwing now?”

For four years, I never told him no. His needs were demanding, except during my cycle or when he was away on pack business. Almost every night, we were together.

In the past, like when he’d been gone for a week on an Alpha’s retreat, I wouldn’t have expected to sleep at all that night. But back then, I was happy, even blissful. Only in those intimate moments did I feel like the Alpha actually cared about me.

Normally, I was always afraid of making him angry. Yet, behind closed doors, a part of me secretly wanted to provoke him. When he was angry, he became someone entirely different from his usual stoic, commanding self.

Once, we had a disagreement. I fled and spent a week with my best friend in the New York Pack, refusing to return to the Munoz territory. Eventually, Alpha Damien came to pick me up. That day, in a lavish penthouse suite, he coldly loosened his belt with one hand and pressed me against the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows. I cried until my voice was raw, yet he wouldn’t stop. In the end, he practically growled in my ear, “Laura Sanders, if you pull this running-away stunt again, you’ll regret it.”

There’s something twisted about me because his cold demeanor and hints of anger always managed to hit a nerve. I liked that I could drive him to lose control because of me.

But now… my body feels like it’s shut down. It’s a still pond, just like my heart. I pulled away from his embrace. “Alpha Damien, let’s break the mate bond.”

I looked at him calmly, then let out a self-deprecating laugh. We’ve had a pup together, and yet now I’m only able to talk about separating. All we have is an unmarked bond. We don’t even have a public ceremony.

Initially, he looked surprised, then his voice turned serious. “Because I clarified the rumors in the werewolf media?”

I wanted to tell him it wasn’t just about the rumors. If it were only that, I might have found a hundred reasons to console myself. But he denied our pup’s existence. These past days, every time I closed my eyes, I saw Isabela’s sad and confused gaze. I couldn’t accept it.

“Yes.”

“You know that was just something I said to deal with the press,” Alpha Damien said, his tone distant but firm. “I’m the Alpha; I don’t have time to placate you over such a minor issue.”

I tried to keep my gaze steady, but my hands at my sides wouldn’t stop trembling. My eyes felt like they were being stabbed with needles, but I held back the tears.

“I don’t need your reassurance.”

“I’m serious.”

“The previous arrangement can be annulled. I just want Isabela.”

Alpha Damien’s eyes flickered with a hint of sarcasm.

“You’re using Isabela to force me to acknowledge you and her publicly?”

“No…”

“I’ve told you, that’s not possible. At least not in the near future.”

He cut me off sharply, his alpha tone making the air feel heavy. “Laura Sanders, there are many things I can indulge you in, but this is not up for discussion.”

He looked down at me as if I were a complete stranger. The room was set at a perfect constant temperature, but I felt an overwhelming chill. It seeped into my bones, making me shiver.

Before bonding, a friend in the pack had discreetly expressed concern for me. Yet, I was filled with naive courage, utterly fearless. “Even if Alpha Damien is made of stone, so what?” I had said. “One day, water will wear it down.”

But now, I want to give up. I want to be the free-flowing water, not a drop confined under an eave forever.

“Think it over tonight, and when you’ve made up your mind, move back into the Alpha’s quarters,” he said, leaving the guest room. The door shut with a heavy thud, different from his usual stoic demeanor.

I pulled up the covers and closed my eyes. In a few days, Gamma Brayden Munoz will return from his retreat in the South. It was he who had endorsed my bond with Alpha Damien all those years ago. As long as he agrees, I can leave with Isabela.

The Munoz Pack has always preferred male heirs over female pups. Luna Aura hardly ever looked at Isabela. In her mind, she’s chosen her ideal mate for Alpha Damien, which naturally makes her detest me. Now that I want to take my pup and leave, it probably suits them just fine.

My wolf stirred faintly in the back of my mind, a low whimper of resignation. She’d been quiet for so long, her voice almost forgotten, but now she echoed my pain. *He’ll regret this,* she whispered, though I wasn’t so sure.

I turned my face into the pillow, muffling the sob that threatened to escape. The bond between us still lingered, a faint pull in my chest, but it felt cold now, like a chain rather than a lifeline. I’d been the mate of the Alpha of the Munoz Pack, but I’d never truly been his Luna. Not in the way that mattered.

And now, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be.