Chapter 4

I lay flat on the hardwood floor, staring blankly at the ceiling. I didn't cry.

I just felt something inside me snap completely.

After a long time, I dragged myself up, cleaned up the blood, and changed my clothes.

Then, I sent Ethan a single message:

"The pup is gone. We are over."

He didn't reply immediately.

He was probably still too busy saving his damsel in distress.

I sat on the clean sofa. The sunlight streamed through the window, warm and bright.

But I felt incredibly cold.

The kind of cold that seeps deep into your bones.

When Ethan finally rushed back, he threw himself at my knees, his eyes swollen like plums.

He kept apologizing, saying he didn't know this would happen, saying he only went to settle her trouble and intended to come right back.

I watched his mouth open and close, but his words felt so distant.

It was like watching a movie that had nothing to do with me.

"Sarah, say something. Scream at me, hit me, just don't stay silent like this..."

He grabbed my hand and forced me to slap his own face.

I pulled my hand back, my voice barely a whisper.

"Ethan, do you want to know the truth? Our pup was killed by your 'pity'."

He froze, completely paralyzed.

I couldn't stay in the Crimson Pack anymore. Every inch of this land reminded me of Ethan’s betrayal, and every path led to a memory we shared.

I submitted an application to the Elders to transfer my pack status.

I chose the Iron Crest Pack. It was a pack of similar size, known for its strict discipline. Their Alpha, Gavin Miller, had been running the pack for several years and had an impeccable reputation.

After reviewing my application, Alpha Gavin approved my transfer.

I packed my minimal belongings and drove away from the pack territory where I had lived for over twenty years.

The Iron Crest Pack provided me with a cozy apartment near the pack center and a job in the logistics department.

Ethan went completely mad trying to find me. He kept screaming my name through our mind link and even tracked down the Iron Crest Pack's border, blocking me at the entrance.

He looked haggard, with a messy stubble and hollow eyes. He grabbed my arm, rambling incoherent apologies and begging me to listen, drawing stares from the passing wolves.

I calmly brushed his hand off my arm. "Ethan, we are done. Stop harassing me."

He stared at me in disbelief, as if he couldn't recognize the cold, resolute woman standing before him.

I blocked our mind link and blacklisted his number, ignoring his existence entirely.

He began calling me from Pack business lines and other members' phones. His voice sounded hoarse and broken. "Sarah, please. Let's talk. Just let me see you once, okay?"

"We have nothing to discuss. There is nothing left to say," I cut him off, my voice flat.

"I can't live without you, Sarah. I made a mistake. Just give me one more chance, the absolute last one, I swear."

"I already gave you your last chance, Ethan."

My voice through the receiver was cold, almost cruel. "You threw it away yourself. Your last chance was spent the moment you took Sienna away from that werewolf."

I hung up. I felt absolutely nothing, and I calmly went back to finishing my paperwork.

I heard rumors that he started drinking heavily and completely neglected his Alpha duties, acting like a lost soul.

Ethan's mother, the former Luna, eventually called me, sighing over the phone to play peacemaker.

"Sarah, Ethan knows he was wrong. He’s destroying himself right now. For the sake of all those years you spent together, have some pity on him."

"Elder Luna," I interrupted politely but coldly. "Any feelings I had for him have been completely drained. I don't pity him. I only pity my past self for being stupid enough to trust him. If you still care about the bond we once had, please tell him to stay out of my life."

She hung up in awkward silence.

I knew that in many people's eyes, I was being ruthless and heartless.

Even my closest friend gently asked me, "Is there really no turning back? After all, it was more than a decade. How many decades do we get in a lifetime?"

I shook my head, looking out at the endless pine forest in the distance.

"A shattered mirror will always show cracks, no matter how well you glue it back together. Besides, I don't want to spend the rest of my life doubting, waiting, and feeling disgusted. Over ten years is enough. I’m not going to ruin my entire life for him."

I wanted a clean, absolute break from this relationship of lies, betrayal, and endless compromise.