Chapter 2
When I got home, the apartment felt too large and too quiet.
I sat on the edge of our bed and stared at the ring on my left hand.
Nyx stirred again. *"Do you remember the night we met him?"*
I closed my eyes, and the memory hit like a wave.
I was nineteen. Wild. Untouchable. My wolf was stronger than any she-wolf in the Southern territories, and I'd never once apologized for it.
The night of my fated-mate reveal, I was running through the forest alone. The full moon hung low and heavy, and the scent hit me mid-stride — cedar, iron, and dominance so thick it nearly buckled my knees.
I shifted back to human form and found Kael standing at the tree line, eyes glowing amber.
"Mate," he'd breathed.
And I'd said, "No."
I rejected him six times before he wore me down. He was relentless. Showed up at my border every single night. Left his own pack — the powerful Northern Ridge Pack — just to be near me.
"I don't want a mate who tries to control me," I'd told him.
"I would never," he swore.
Lies taste sweet when you want to believe them.
The front door clicked open at 12:40 a.m.
Kael walked in, shaking rain from his jacket. He spotted me sitting in the dim light and paused.
"Baby, you're still up?" He crossed the room, cupped my face, kissed my forehead. "I have to fly out tonight. Mom's gala."
Lightning split the sky outside.
I hated storms. He knew this. Three years of sleeping with every light on during thunder — he knew.
"It's storming." My voice came out smaller than I intended. "Stay."
Kael's jaw tightened. Just barely. But I saw it.
"Sera, don't do this. You know I have responsibilities."
I held onto his sleeve. One last test. One final chance.
"Please."
*Please choose me. Just this once.*
He peeled my fingers away with a sigh. "You're being childish. This isn't like you."
He turned toward the closet. "Help me pack. I'll be gone a week — maybe less."
My hand dropped to my stomach, hidden beneath my oversized sweater.
*His pups. Our pups.*
"And don't worry." He shot me a smile over his shoulder — charming, effortless, empty. "I'll be back for our anniversary."
I stood up.
I walked into the closet.
I packed his suitcase with steady hands and dry eyes.
"There," I said, zipping it shut. "You're all set."
He kissed me once more — quick, distracted — and walked out the door.
The storm swallowed the sound of his car pulling away.
I waited sixty seconds.
Then I pulled out my phone and made a call I hadn't made in three years.
It rang twice before a deep voice answered. A voice I'd buried in my memory alongside everything else I'd abandoned.
"Sera." The voice was rough with shock. "Is it really you?"
"It's me." I stared at the ring on my finger. "I'm coming home."
Silence. Then: "I'll send a jet. Tonight."
---
I sat on the edge of our bed and stared at the ring on my left hand.
Nyx stirred again. *"Do you remember the night we met him?"*
I closed my eyes, and the memory hit like a wave.
I was nineteen. Wild. Untouchable. My wolf was stronger than any she-wolf in the Southern territories, and I'd never once apologized for it.
The night of my fated-mate reveal, I was running through the forest alone. The full moon hung low and heavy, and the scent hit me mid-stride — cedar, iron, and dominance so thick it nearly buckled my knees.
I shifted back to human form and found Kael standing at the tree line, eyes glowing amber.
"Mate," he'd breathed.
And I'd said, "No."
I rejected him six times before he wore me down. He was relentless. Showed up at my border every single night. Left his own pack — the powerful Northern Ridge Pack — just to be near me.
"I don't want a mate who tries to control me," I'd told him.
"I would never," he swore.
Lies taste sweet when you want to believe them.
The front door clicked open at 12:40 a.m.
Kael walked in, shaking rain from his jacket. He spotted me sitting in the dim light and paused.
"Baby, you're still up?" He crossed the room, cupped my face, kissed my forehead. "I have to fly out tonight. Mom's gala."
Lightning split the sky outside.
I hated storms. He knew this. Three years of sleeping with every light on during thunder — he knew.
"It's storming." My voice came out smaller than I intended. "Stay."
Kael's jaw tightened. Just barely. But I saw it.
"Sera, don't do this. You know I have responsibilities."
I held onto his sleeve. One last test. One final chance.
"Please."
*Please choose me. Just this once.*
He peeled my fingers away with a sigh. "You're being childish. This isn't like you."
He turned toward the closet. "Help me pack. I'll be gone a week — maybe less."
My hand dropped to my stomach, hidden beneath my oversized sweater.
*His pups. Our pups.*
"And don't worry." He shot me a smile over his shoulder — charming, effortless, empty. "I'll be back for our anniversary."
I stood up.
I walked into the closet.
I packed his suitcase with steady hands and dry eyes.
"There," I said, zipping it shut. "You're all set."
He kissed me once more — quick, distracted — and walked out the door.
The storm swallowed the sound of his car pulling away.
I waited sixty seconds.
Then I pulled out my phone and made a call I hadn't made in three years.
It rang twice before a deep voice answered. A voice I'd buried in my memory alongside everything else I'd abandoned.
"Sera." The voice was rough with shock. "Is it really you?"
"It's me." I stared at the ring on my finger. "I'm coming home."
Silence. Then: "I'll send a jet. Tonight."
---