The next second, Klaus’s phone buzzed, cutting through the tension in the air. His eyes flicked down to the screen, a sigh escaping his lips as he saw the name.

Claudette.

For a brief moment, disappointment flashed in his eyes, but he quickly masked it, pressing the phone to his ear. "What is it, Claudette?" He answered, his voice rougher than usual.

Her voice was frantic, almost pleading. “Klaus, he’s found me again. My ex-Alpha—he won’t stop calling. I’m scared. Can you come?”

At the mention of her ex, Klaus stirred, a low growl rising in his chest. A threat to Claudette? He had never tolerated danger when it came to her, not in the past, and not now.

"Don't worry. I’ll be there soon." His voice was clipped, decisive, as he grabbed his suit jacket and keys.

As he stormed out of the house, I followed him like a shadow. My chest tightened painfully. He had forgotten. Forgotten about the calls, the messages, the gnawing feeling that something was wrong. You were so close, Klaus, just a heartbeat away from realizing I was already gone.

When he arrived at Claudette's place, the tension he'd been holding seemed to dissolve as he found her standing at the door, slightly unsteady. She was clearly tipsy, her cheeks flushed from the wine she’d had at a party earlier. There were no signs of danger, no ex-Alpha calling her nonstop. Just Claudette, looking lost and vulnerable, her eyes glassy with unshed tears.

“Klaus…” She slurred slightly, reaching out and wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He stiffened, but only for a moment.

He helped her inside, guiding her toward the bedroom. "You’ve had too much to drink. Let’s get you to bed." His voice was gentle, the same voice he used when he wanted to comfort, to soothe.

But Claudette wouldn’t let go. Her grip on him tightened, her face inches from his. “Klaus, I missed you… I missed you so much. Every day I regret leaving you.”

Klaus swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he tried to pull away. “Claudette, stop. I’m… I’m engaged to Mavis now.”

“Do you love her?” Claudette’s voice was a whisper, but the question hung heavily in the air, cutting through the space between them like a knife.

My heart clenched, my soul aching for the answer.

Klaus’s jaw tensed. He didn’t meet her eyes. “We’re engaged,” he said, the words hollow and empty. He didn’t say he loved me. He couldn’t even bring himself to say the words out loud. Not to Claudette, not to himself.

Because I wasn’t his choice. I was his mate, but not his heart.

Claudette’s tears fell freely now, streaking down her flushed cheeks. “If I hadn’t left, Klaus, we would have been happy. We were meant to be.” She leaned in, her breath warm against his neck. "Klaus, please… just hold me…"

The distance between them disappeared, their foreheads touching, then their noses, and finally, their lips.

I stood frozen by the bay window, fists clenched at my sides as I watched Klaus—my mate, the one I had given my life for—fall into the arms of another. Claudette’s robe slipped to the floor, and Klaus’s usual restraint crumbled as he pressed against her, his lips moving from her shoulder to her chest with a tenderness that had once been reserved for me.

I closed my eyes, the pain too much to bear. My soul ached, the agony of betrayal cutting deeper than any physical wound. He had chosen her, even if just for a moment.

Suddenly, the shrill sound of a phone ringing shattered the intimate atmosphere. Klaus froze, his entire body stiffening as the spell between them broke. He scrambled off the bed, pulling the quilt up to cover Claudette as guilt flashed across his face.

"Sorry," he mumbled, not meeting her eyes as he fumbled with his belt and tie, hurriedly putting himself back together.

“Klaus…” Claudette’s voice was soft, confused, hurt.

But he didn’t turn back. His phone buzzed again, and he grabbed it from the floor, glancing at the screen before rushing out the door, the unfinished mess behind him a testament to his moment of weakness.

Once in the car, Klaus let out a shaky breath, raising his hand to his face. In a moment of frustration, he slapped himself hard across the cheek. “What the hell did I just do?”

I watched from beside him, feeling nothing but cold indifference. This was the man I had loved. The man who once swore to protect me, to stand by me. And yet, here he was, reeking of alcohol and Claudette’s scent.

But his thoughts weren’t on me. Not really. He looked down at his phone and saw the missed call.

It was from my mother.

Klaus hesitated before calling back. The phone rang only once before my mother answered, her voice warm and gentle as always.

"Klaus, I hope I’m not bothering you this late,” she began softly. “I just finished knitting those scarves for you and Mavis. When are you both coming over to get them?"

Tears welled up in my eyes. She was so happy to knit for us, so happy to think of me, her daughter, still alive.

Klaus forced a smile, though his face was tight with guilt. “We’ll come by soon, Madam. Mavis has been staying with Irene after a fight we had… You know how she is, always running off when she’s upset.”

He was lying. He didn’t know where I was. He didn’t even realize I was gone.

As he hung up, Klaus stared at his phone, his mind racing. He looked down at his hands, still trembling. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

So, he did what he always did when he needed to clear his head—he drove to the riverside near our pack. The place where he would sit to rid himself of the stench of alcohol or the scent of other wolves before coming back to me.

But there was no point in doing that anymore. I wasn’t home.

The wind blew lightly through his hair as he sat on the stone bench, gazing out at the river. I stood beside him, watching the way the moonlight glistened off the water.

“Mavis…” His voice was barely a whisper. “Tomorrow is my birthday. How long are you going to keep this up?”

I had forgotten. Tomorrow was his birthday. The gift I had ordered for him was probably still on its way.

--

Klaus awoke, instinctively reaching for the other side of the bed, expecting to feel the warmth of my body beside him. His hand landed on cold sheets instead, the chill sinking deep into his bones. He frowned, his brows knitting together as he stared at the space. My pillow still carried the faint scent of lavender, but it wasn’t enough to fill the void of my absence.

It was Klaus’s birthday today, a Saturday—usually a time when I’d go all out with surprises. He sat up, the dim morning light filtering through the curtains, casting long shadows on the walls. He scrubbed his face with his hands, trying to shake off the creeping unease that had settled in his chest since I walked out.

His insides stirred, restless, uneasy. 'She’ll come back,' Klaus told himself, trying to calm the beast inside. 'She always does.'

Even during our worst fights, I never let his birthday pass unnoticed. I always had a gift and always prepared his favorite meals. Klaus clung to that hope like a lifeline. Surely, today wouldn’t be any different. With determination, he swung his legs out of bed and made his way to the kitchen.

He cooked a full spread of my favorite breakfast foods—pancakes, eggs, sausage, everything I loved. The scent of warm syrup and butter filled the air, mingling with the hope that I would walk through the door any minute now. But as the minutes ticked by, the house remained silent. Empty.

His phone buzzed, pulling him from his thoughts. He snatched it off the counter, eyes bright with anticipation, only to find disappointment waiting.

The caller was a jeweler, not me.

"Mr. Klaus of Snowfall Pack?" came the voice over the line. "This is to inform you that the custom diamond rings and tie clips Miss Mavis ordered a month ago are ready for collection."

Klaus stiffened, the weight of the words sinking in. 'A month ago? She was already planning my birthday this far in advance...' He couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt twist in his chest. I had thought of him and cared enough to plan. But he? He had let me walk away. He let me slip through his fingers because of her—Claudette.

Without another word, Klaus threw on his coat and drove straight to the jeweler, the anticipation growing heavy inside him. When he arrived, the jeweler handed him two small boxes. Inside, he found a pair of customized diamond rings, along with tie clips engraved with our initials, "K" and "M."

He ran his thumb over the engraving. His insides stirred again, the primal part of him yearning for the connection that the initials represented. 'We’re mates,' he growled softly within him.

The first gift I had ever given him, back when I was still an eager young twenty-year-old, was a simple tie. It wasn’t much, just a small, thoughtful gesture from a woman who loved him with her whole heart. He had treasured it, worn it to every important meeting, even when Claudette was still hovering around like a ghost from his past.

Now, here I was again, pouring my love into something more meaningful, something more valuable. But the weight of that gift felt heavier in Klaus’s hands than it ever had before.

He drove back home, the silence of the car suffocating. When he stepped inside, he laid out the rings and tie clips on the dining table, next to the feast he had prepared earlier. The food was cold now, untouched. He opened a bottle of champagne he had been saving for a special occasion—something we would have shared, laughing, talking about the future, about pups and plans for our pack.

He poured a glass, his fingers shaking just slightly, and picked up his phone. His heart thudded in his chest as he stared at the open chat.

[Mavis, I received your gift. I like it very much.]

He hit send.

[Please come back. I’ll explain everything, and I promise this won’t happen again.]

The minutes dragged into hours, the silence growing louder with every tick of the clock. The cold food mocked him from across the table, the champagne now flat and bitter.

Klaus prowled beneath the surface, agitated. "She’s not coming back," he growled. Klaus tried to push the thought away, but his patience had run thin.

His thumb hovered over Irene’s name in his contacts. She had always been there whenever I had stormed out, giving me a place to cool off and vent my frustrations about Claudette. But when Klaus tried to call, the line went dead. He was still on her blacklist.

Irene. She was a friend I treasured. Even in our previous pack, before going to the Snowfall Pack, she was always on my side. And when I found out that I was mated with Klaus, I immediately chose him and went here. Surprisingly, Irene left the Sapphire Valley Pack together with my family when she heard that I was leaving.

Klaus slammed the phone down on the table, his jaw clenched tight. He snarled, pushing at the edges of his control, but he ignored it. Anger bubbled beneath the surface, threatening to erupt.

'Why wasn’t she answering?'

The next day, Klaus walked into the office, his movements stiff and sharp, his usual calm shattered. The first thing he did was turn the photo frame on his desk face down. The picture of us, smiling and happy, was too much to look at.

He was angry. Angry at me for disappearing, angry at himself for not stopping me. He had always prided himself on control, on keeping his emotions in check. But now, he was losing it.

Just as he was about to immerse himself in paperwork to drown out the thoughts, Benedict entered the room, his face pale and his hands shaking.

“Klaus, there’s… there’s a call,” Benedict stammered, his voice barely a whisper. “It’s from the royal warriors.”

Klaus barely glanced up, his brows furrowing. “What is it this time?” he muttered, his patience already wearing thin.

Benedict swallowed hard. “They… they’re asking you to identify Mavis’s body.”

Klaus froze. His heart seemed to stop in his chest as the words registered. He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. "Is this some kind of sick joke, Benedict? Tell Mavis to stop playing games and come home. She’s done enough."

But Benedict’s hands trembled as he handed Klaus the phone, his face ashen. “It’s not a joke.”

The line was silent for a moment before a cold, official voice crackled through. “Mr. Klaus of the Snowfall Pack? This is Captain Gregor of the Royal Warriors. We found a body matching the description of your mate, Mavis. We need you to come to the location to confirm.”