ADESSA.

“The Alpha woke up!” Dexter, Kael’s Beta, yelled from the living room.

My body went rigid as the words slowly sank in. I immediately left the housemaid I was speaking to in the kitchen and rushed to our bedroom.

Kael, my mate, had a car accident a month ago and went into a coma. His condition was getting better, and recently, he began falling in and out of consciousness. He would wake up for a few minutes and stare blankly. He wouldn’t speak, or he wouldn’t even look at anyone. And then he would fall into a deep sleep again.

I continued with my routine to keep the household going while his Beta and Delta were doing their best to run the pack. But since I was the Luna, all the final decisions were up to me.

I kept a brave face to everyone, but in the silence of our room at night, I would cry myself to sleep. I missed him and the security of his presence.

I wanted him back.

I haven’t given up hope that one day he will wake up and everything will be back to normal.

It seemed that day was today. He finally woke up and began talking.

But returning to normal didn’t happen. At least the way I wanted it to be.

“Don’t touch me. Who are you?” He asked. His voice was as cold as the winter night. He was staring at me with furrowed brows as if I had committed a heinous crime against him.

I rushed to our bed, and I couldn’t stop myself from holding him. I was about to hug him when he growled at me.

Kael hated being touched and was never affectionate with anyone except me. He was a fair and good Alpha, but he kept his distance. But never with me. I was allowed to hold him or hug him in public, putting on a show that we were in love. His smiles would always just be reserved for me.

It seemed he had forgotten that.

“I’m... I’m Adessa.” I answered as I forced a smile despite the tears stinging my eyes. I was so happy to hear him talk.

“Are you my nurse? I don’t think I allowed anyone to just grab me like that...”

“I’m your Luna...” I said, trying to meet his gaze.

The room fell silent, and I felt it closing in on me as his eyes dilated before a scowl covered his whole face.

“What the fuck?” He growled once more, and his eyes went to his Beta, who was standing behind me. “Where is Desiree?”

“Alpha, calm down. I will answer all your questions, but let’s wait for your physician. He’ll be here in a couple of minutes.” Dexter told him.

“Call Desiree and tell her to come here. Or take me to her!” His words cut deep into my soul.

My jaw tightened as I blinked back the tears pooling in my eyes. I tilted my head up as I met his gaze again. “You placed an order not to allow Desiree inside this house.”

“Am I asking for your opinion?” His nose flared as he glared at me, but before any hateful words could leave his mouth, the door opened, and his stepmother came in.

Kael’s father died when he turned twenty-four, and he immediately took the position of the Alpha. His stepmother, Miranda, stepped down as Luna but had never stopped acting as one, even after my marriage with Kael.

She would always be the first one to complain about anything about me or things I’d decided on. She only stopped when Kael requested for her not to meddle with my decisions. He also gave her a home so she could move out.

Kael’s act only fueled her hatred for me.

And yes, she never stopped letting me know that Desiree was a far better choice than me.

“They said the Alpha woke up?” She asked as she walked in without even throwing me a glance.

She was followed by her Omega, who rolled her eyes upon seeing me. She hated me for being an Omega like her and a Luna.

“Miranda, where is Desiree? And why is the woman here claiming to be my Luna?” Kael asked her, and it was getting harder to fight my tears.

The former Luna’s eyes widened as her eyes darted to Beta Dexter.

“He can’t remember the Luna, but his physician…” Dexter was not able to finish his words because Miranda had already cut him off.

“Desiree is on her way here. She just went to check the flower shop that delivers flowers here every three days to decorate your room, but she’ll be here soon.” She said sweetly as she stood beside his bed, a wide smile playing on her face.

That was a lie. I was the one organizing the flowers around this room because I wanted him to wake up to a beautiful view and for him to know, I was always longing for him.

“I don’t think it’s fair to give credit to someone who has never stepped foot in this house for a whole year. “

“What do you mean?” Kael asked.

“As I said earlier, you ordered not to let her inside the house. The flowers you see around here are my…”

“Take the Omega away from here, and she’s not allowed to enter this room until Kael orders so,” Miranda said firmly, looking at the Beta.

“You can’t do that. I’m the Luna of this pack and the mistress of this house.” I spoke as my chest heaved.

My eyes went to Kael, who still had a dark expression on his face. He was just looking at me.

“Beta Dexter, I said take her away from here. It is not good if Desiree sees her when she comes.” Miranda kept talking, motioning with her hand while glaring at Dexter.

“I said I’m not going,” I said firmly before looking at Kael again. “Kael, please tell Miranda…”

“Alpha Kael…” He cut me off before I could finish, and his deep, cold voice sent shivers down my spine. “Leave…”

My jaw tightened at his order, and my heart shattered to pieces.

“You don’t remember me, and yet you’re not going to ask me anything about how I ended up here?”

“I said leave!” He was almost growling.

A hand snaked on my arm, and I tilted my head slowly to look at the Beta. I waited for Kael to growl or reprimand Dexter for holding me as he would on occasions that the Beta accidentally held me. He would never let any male touch me. But he did nothing this time.

“Let’s go, Adessa,” Dexter said.

He dropped the title Luna from my name. It was then that I knew I was losing this battle.

I took one last look at Kael as I pivoted my body to follow Dexter’s guide, and my heart just broke again. He wasn’t even looking at me. He was already in conversation with his stepmother as if I were just a waste of space, not worthy of being looked at as I exited his room—our room.

I slowly pulled my arm away from Dexter as we walked the corridor. “You will tell him about me, right?”

“Yes, I will. But I cannot force him to believe anything.”

“I want to be there when his doctor arrives. I want to hear what he has to say about his condition.”

“That decision lies with Kael.”

“But he can’t remember me! So, of course, he will not let me be there!” I snapped at him.

“There’s nothing I can do, Adessa.”

“Luna Adessa!” I gritted my teeth, trying to suppress my anger.

“Just Adessa…” He replied. “Until the Alpha asks me to address you as Luna again.” He gave me a smug smirk before turning his back to me.

ADESSA.

The whole day went by in a blur. People came and went. Everyone was fussing over Kael. I had attempted to reach out to him, but Miranda blocked me all the time.

There was a time when I screamed at her out of frustration, and it was the scene Kael accidentally witnessed. Of course, he didn’t like it.

So, instead of letting me speak with him, he took his stepmother, who kept pretending I was the mean one, and they left the house. I had no idea where they went, and no matter who I asked around, no one could tell me.

So I didn’t get any sleep at all. I watched the clock tick, and the moment it hit six in the morning, I was already up and began managing the housemaids in the kitchen, hoping Kael would be back for breakfast.

Breakfast came and went, and there was still no sign of him.

After eating, I went to my office and called the central hall to check if he went there, as he would usually do during work days. But he didn’t. They were actually surprised to find out he had woken up.

So, up to this moment, I had no idea where he was, and I couldn’t reach Dexter, who went home after Kael and Miranda left the house yesterday.

I was pacing back and forth, contemplating my next move, when I heard the sound of an approaching car.

I walked toward the window and peered outside. My office window was facing the parking lot, so I saw Miranda’s car driving in her assigned parking space.

My heart began thudding loudly as if it would jump out of my chest. I didn’t like it. It felt like an omen that something terrible was about to happen.

Miranda exited the car and was followed by another man, but not Kael. It was Mr. Toledo, Kael’s attorney and legal advisor.

What is he doing here? And where is Kael?

Goosebumps rose from the skin at the thoughts that flooded my head. I tried to shake it off when I heard another sound of an approaching car.

It took a while before Dexter’s car came into view, and the moment the backseat door opened, I already knew why I was feeling agitated. Kael got out of the first before he laid out his hand to someone.

And I was right, she was here.

Desiree placed her hand on his, and soon they were holding hands. I didn’t see any more because a knock came through the door. I turned away from the window and walked back to my table.

My heart was breaking, but I couldn’t let them see that. I cleared my throat before allowing the person outside.

Miranda entered my office, followed by Mr. Toledo.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” I asked as I eased back in my chair.

“You need to sign this document so we can all move forward,” Miranda said as she strutted toward me and dropped a clear folder on my table.

My gaze slowly shifted from her to the document in front of me. I didn’t need to open it. I could clearly see what’s inside the folder.

Divorce papers.

“Sign it,” she said arrogantly.

“No,” I answered firmly.

“Kael wants a divorce.”

“He’s the one who wants to divorce, then he should be the one asking for it. He’s not a baby anymore that needs his nanny to do things for him.”

Miranda hissed as her eyes narrowed. “Look at you. You have grown horns in just over a year. Kael no longer wants you…”

“Kael doesn’t remember me, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t want me,” I told her in the same arrogant voice she was using, even if I didn’t believe my own words.

“Really? Well, if you don’t know who he spent the night with, let me tell you. He was with Desiree, and they were excited to be with each other. You could only imagine what they did together.”

“Really? I didn’t know Kael and Desiree would stoop that low and cheat on me when everyone in this pack knows he is still married to me.” I told her sarcastically, masking my pain at the thought of them being intimate.

Her palms slammed against the desk as she glared at me. “Sign the damn paper, Adessa. Do not piss me off!”

I grabbed the folder and rose from my seat before heading toward the door, ignoring her words.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“To my dear husband. I want to know what he’s been up to.”

I could still hear Miranda talking, but I had already walked out of my office and shut the door. I prepared myself for the worst because I knew Desiree was with Kael.

But even if I did my best, I still came unprepared when I walked into his office and found Desiree sitting on his lap, talking to him in her angelic voice — the exact opposite of her attitude.

This was not my first encounter with her. A few weeks after my wedding, I bumped into her a number of times, and in every instance, she attempted to harass me in public by calling me names.

“I want to speak with my husband,” I said in a cold tone, and their heads snapped to look at me.

“Don’t you know how to knock?” Desiree asked in a mocking voice.

“Don’t you know how to be decent? You are worried about me invading my husband’s office when you should be checking yourself because you’re sitting on his lap.”

“Adessa…” It was Kael. He didn’t say anything to her, but he must have motioned for her to stand up because she lazily got up from him.

“Tell her to leave. I want to discuss things with you.”

Kael took a deep breath and looked at Desiree. They stared at each other for a while before he nodded his head.

Desiree pouted, her shoulders slumping, but I knew it was all for the act. I didn’t move until she was out of the office. After her, I closed the door and walked toward Kael’s table, sliding the folder onto him.

“So, you want a divorce,” I stated. I was trying my best to keep my voice from breaking.

ADESSA.

“So, you want a divorce,” I stated. I was trying my best to keep my voice from breaking.

“Adessa, I have a fiancée.” He said in a calm tone.

“You had a fiancée a year ago, but you have a wife now.”

“I can’t remember anything about you, and I am sure it is Desiree that I want, not anyone else.”

“Did you forget what she did to you?” I asked.

Instead of answering my question, he threw one back to me. “Tell me, did I love you? Are we together because we are in love?”

I swallowed. I could lie and tell him we were, but lying was not part of our relationship. We had always been honest with each other.

“No,” I answered, keeping my head high.

“Thank you for your honesty. So are we together for convenience? Or what? But it doesn’t matter anymore. Whatever reason brought us into this marriage, let’s forget about it. I want a divorce, Adessa. I never wanted to marry anyone I didn’t love. It was not how I grew up. I had always envisioned Desiree as my Luna.”

His words were too painful to bear. He was still obviously in love with her.

I nodded my head as I did my best to stop my tears from falling. There was no use telling him I loved him. I would only make a fool of myself.

“So this is what I get after you pull me from my simple life and drag me to yours. Now that you have no need for me, I will just be discarded as if I were just a piece of trash.”

“You will be compensated for your time.”

He was surely insulting me. “I don’t need your money.”

He didn’t say anything, but his jaw kept twitching.

“What did she promise you this time? Maybe I can counter it.”

“Adessa, let Desiree out of this. This is between you and me.”

“Of course, this is certainly about her.” I took a deep breath before I continued. “You disappoint me, Kael. I had always thought highly of you, but this game you’re playing is not amusing anymore.”

He didn’t say anything, but his forehead creased.

“Did you think I didn’t feel that you suddenly became cold when Desiree came back to the territory? You became unavailable for me. You were always out of the house and not in the central office either. I didn’t even know where you were most of the time. And then the next thing I knew, you were in a coma. Now you woke up with no memory of me. Just me.” My tears finally fell, but I wiped them with the back of my hand as I met his stare. “Just tell me if you don’t want me anymore. Stop playing me for a fool.”

“Adessa…”

I dropped my gaze from him and grabbed the folder. I opened it and took the pen that was lying on his desk. My hand was shaking while I signed the divorce paper.

After signing, I closed my eyes for a brief second to stop more tears from coming before I faced him again.

“I, Adessa Quejeros Daeyra, reject you, Alpha Kael Daeyra, as my mate.” My body jolted slightly, and pain hit my chest.

A low growl escaped from his throat as his hand went to his torso. It is always the person being rejected who gets most of the pain.

This was the only pain I could give him, but I was sure it was nothing compared to the pain of my broken heart.

My hands balled into tight fists as I tried to steady myself. I closed my eyes before I continued with the process. “And effective today, I am stepping down as your Luna and the Luna of the Ironcrest Pack.”

I waited for him to accept the rejection, but he didn’t say anything. I slowly opened my eyes and saw him looking at me.

“End my pain, Kael…” I said in a low voice.

His jaw tightened, and there were many things flitting in his eyes, but my senses were already clouded with pain that I didn’t bother to read his emotions anymore. “Accept my rejection, Alpha Kael.”

“I, Alpha Kael Daeyra, accept your rejection, Adessa Quejeros. You are no longer my Luna and no longer the Luna of the Ironcrest Pack…” He spoke his words softly, but it was echoing in my head.

I dropped my gaze from him before he could see my tears. The bond was breaking, and it was taking too much of me not to fall on my knees.

I turned away from him and walked toward the door, trying my best not to falter from my steps. I held the handle but didn’t turn it. Instead, I spoke without looking at him. “You met me in the river while I was trying to catch fish for dinner. On that same night, you asked me to be your Luna because you found Desiree in bed with another man. I saved you from her, and you saved me from hunger.”

I opened the door before I continued speaking. “Thank you for the one year, Alpha Kael.”

I didn’t wait for him to acknowledge my words. I left his office and let my tears roll down my cheeks.

A part of me regretted signing the divorce papers and rejecting him, but there was only so much a person could take. Even before he lost his memory of me, I already felt him slipping away. Maybe he realized he still wanted her, and I was on the way — that I needed to go.

I didn’t want to stay where I was not wanted, especially by the person I thought was on my side. Maybe Miranda was right — it was time to move on.

This was the end of Kael and me.