Alpha Scott seemed to understand my situation better than I did.
He knew my love life was a wrecked territory. He knew I was holding onto him like a lifeline, trying to claw my way out of a toxic mate bond that had already begun to rot from the inside.
“Is there anything else?” I asked quietly, my fingers curling tighter around the phone.
“Yvonne,” he said, his voice low, “you know I need a real marriage.”
He must’ve sensed the tangle of doubts forming in my mind, because he answered them before I could speak.
“I’m not looking for a Luna in name only. If you agree to be my Luna, I’ll need more than a political bond. I want a real partnership—and that includes having a pup together.”
He paused.
“Yes, my elders have been pressing me to settle down. But I don’t want a hollow union. Not a cold, transactional Luna who lives across the hall.”
I rose from the couch and pulled the curtain off the bird of paradise plant near the window, fingers brushing its leaves.
The sun had just dipped behind the city skyline, bleeding gold across the glass.
“Scott,” I murmured, steady but firm, “if I agree to marry you, I’m not going into it half-hearted.”
There was a beat of silence before he answered.
“Then I’ll fly to Shadowclaw Pack and take you back tomorrow.”
“Give me two weeks,” I said. “There are things I need to finish.”
After we ended the call, I stared at the contact name still glowing on my screen: Scott.
With one tap, I changed it.
Husband.
Just like he said—this was my first step. My first clean break from the past.
Alpha Joey didn’t return that night. In fact, he vanished for several days.
Before, I would’ve panicked. Called him nonstop. Worried he’d gotten into a rogue fight or been injured during patrol.
Now? I didn’t even feel the urge. My wolf didn’t stir. Not even a whine.
Because deep down, I already knew where he was.
I reached out to a few mutual friends and tracked down the wedding invitations I’d painstakingly handwritten. Their eyes went wide when I asked for them back.