Chapter 4 No.4

Elara POV:

The silence in my head was both a relief and a torment. The constant, low hum of Alaric's presence that had been my companion for a decade was gone. I was finally, completely alone.

I returned to the pack house to find it empty. They had likely gone out to celebrate. A notification pinged on my phone. It was a message from Seraphina, sent to the pack's public channel. A picture of her and Alaric in a high-rise apartment, the city lights twinkling behind them like a carpet of fallen stars. They were clinking champagne glasses, his arm wrapped securely around her waist.

The caption read: "A quiet night in with my Alpha. Enjoying our new penthouse view!"

I typed a simple, "Noted," and closed the app.

Later, scrolling through the Omega channel, I saw them discussing the upcoming graduation hunt. It was a rite of passage for young wolves turning eighteen.

One of the older Omegas, Clara, typed: "Remember how Alpha Alaric used to be? He was so protective of Elara. A real 'big brother.' I once saw him chase an enemy scout across the border just because the guy looked at her wrong. I thought he'd guard her forever."

My fingers hovered over the keyboard. "He won't be coming," I replied. "He has other priorities now."

That night, my dreams were a chaotic mess of memories. I was eight years old again, small and shivering as I was presented to the pack. Alaric, a stoic twelve-year-old, had walked right past me without a second glance. I woke up with tears streaming down my face, hating him. Why couldn't he have been that cold from the very beginning? It would have hurt so much less.

The next morning, I resolved to purge the last of him from my life. I dragged the satchel full of his gifts and my shredded drawings downstairs. My plan was to take it to the incinerator pit at the edge of the territory and burn it all to ash.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, the front door opened. Alaric and Seraphina walked in, laughing at something he'd said.

Alaric's smile vanished when he saw me with the bag. His brow furrowed, and a flicker of his Alpha authority washed over me. "What is that? Where are you going?"

"Just some old things," I said, my voice carefully neutral. "Useless clutter I'm getting rid of."

He strode over and took the bag from my hand before I could protest. It felt surprisingly light in his powerful grasp. Without even looking inside, he turned and tossed it to a pack servant standing by the door.

"Have this destroyed," he commanded.

I heard the faint, tragic tinkling of the seashell wind chime inside the bag as it hit the floor. It was a gift he'd brought back for me from a trip to the coast. He didn't even flinch.

He turned back to me, his expression unreadable. "When you turn eighteen, you will move into a suite in the main pack house. I will oversee your training personally. An Omega of my pack will not be allowed to fall behind."

He had no idea that I had already been accepted into another pack, a world away. He was still trying to control my life, even as he was building a new one without me.

I just nodded numbly.

As I walked back up the stairs, my spirit feeling as broken as that wind chime, I heard Seraphina's soft voice behind me. "Alaric, do you think she'll be upset? You just threw out her things."

His reply was cold, detached, and loud enough for me to hear. "She's an adult now. She needs to learn to stand on her own. No one can protect her forever."

I paused on the landing, his words echoing in the hollow space inside me. He was right.

From now on, I would walk alone.