52 Chapter 52 Into the Moon
Deep in the woods, far enough that the Fang House appeared as only a distant gleam, we found Dorian’s Beta waiting. Wyatt stood rigid and alert, constantly scanning our surroundings.
I turned my back completely on the pack house and followed Wyatt deeper into the night, toward a freedom I was not certain I would ever truly find.
Returning to the bed, I slipped the letter beneath his pillow where he would discover it upon waking – whenever the sedative finally released its hold.
I adjusted my backpack, feeling the weight of the stolen money against my spine, and met his stare.
When the heavy door swung open, stacks of bills stared back at me. Taking his money felt like the worst kind of violation.
What I found inside made my breath catch in my throat.
This cash represented the salary I was never given for sacrificing my identity to his pack.
But I made myself reach for it anyway. This was not theft – this was compensation.
“I love you, Julian,” I breathed against his lips.
Without waiting for my response, he strode toward the tree line, and I followed, my boots grinding softly against the gravel.
Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. This discovery wounded me in a way I had not expected, because maybe the man who had promised me forever just days ago truly meant it.
I glanced back one last time through the trees at the proud silhouette of the home I was abandoning.
“Understood,” I replied, keeping my voice neutral.
The next task made my stomach turn with shame.
Only cricket songs answered me.
But my mind was already working on a different plan. I could not fully trust Dorian,
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and I definitely could not trust his Beta. The moment we crossed into neutral territory,
I would disappear from Wyatt and continue alone. I was not running to another pack – I was running toward complete freedom.
I sat at his enormous desk and pulled out paper and pen.
The guilt crashed over me like ice water, brutal and unforgiving. I forced myself to breathe through it. If I allowed myself to feel the full weight of this betrayal, I would crumble. If I crumbled, I would never leave.
Dorian’s gaze remained fixed on the dark forest beyond the yard. “I will explain everything once we reach my territory. Right now, we need to move.”
I had just poisoned the man who owned my heart.
My words came quickly and without apology. I explained my reasons for leaving but offered no regrets about my choice. This was farewell, complete and irreversible.
I returned the box to its place and sealed the safe with finality.
But his love, however real, was no longer enough to save me from drowning.
Resting on crimson velvet were tokens I never expected him to save: the wilted rose from the bouquet he gave me after our mating ceremony – flowers I had always assumed someone else purchased because he seemed so opposed to our union.
The lock mechanism turned with a soft click.
“The guard rotation,” Dorian said, reading my anxiety. “I memorized their patterns. The shift changed thirty minutes ago. We have a safe window.”
Leaning down, I pressed my mouth to his in a kiss that held all my love and sorrow, sealing the end of everything we had built together.
The front door closed behind me with a sound that seemed to echo through the pre-dawn silence. I froze, certain that alarms would sound and warriors would come running.
Then I turned away from our bedroom forever.
“Wyatt will escort you,” Dorian announced, stopping abruptly. “He will bring you safely to my lands. I must remain here for a few more days.”
“Dorian,” I said quietly. “Tell me why you are risking this. You know Julian will consider this an act of war. He will never forgive you.”
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I grabbed two thick bundles and shoved them deep into my bag.
But this broken, silent escape was what we both needed. It had to be.
The fact that these wolves knew so much about our defenses, our routines, our vulnerabilities, sent cold fear through me. Were they planning to attack later?
For three years, I had been everything he needed. I had smiled through my exhaustion, executed every pack function perfectly, and stood by his side with unwavering loyalty, even when he treated me with coldness and suspicion.
You have to do this, Seraphina. There is no other choice.
There was also the crumpled ticket from the human cinema we visited when his father insisted we spend more time together, and the small river stone I had given him during our hiking trip.
I studied his face one final time, memorizing the strong line of his jaw and the way his dark lashes curved against his cheeks.
My eyes fixed on the wine glass sitting empty beside the bed. My fingers still shook from what I had done. The sleeping powder, meant for humans but potent enough to work on wolves when mixed with alcohol, had dissolved completely into his drink. Even an Alpha would succumb to it, especially when already intoxicated.
We entered the forest quickly, disappearing into the cool shadows where the air smelled of wet earth and evergreen. We moved like phantoms through the darkness.
No. Julian is strong. He will defend his people. I held onto that certainty, even as I fled
from him.
“What kept you so long?” he demanded in a harsh whisper. “We should have been gone hours ago. My Beta is getting restless.”
Seraphina’s POV
Back in our bedroom, moonlight painted Julian’s sleeping face in silver. He looked peaceful, defenseless – like the man I had fallen for instantly, not the controlling Alpha who chose to trust everyone except his own mate.
Moving with desperate efficiency, I gathered my few belongings. The adrenaline coursing through my veins made my exhaustion disappear. I packed light – some clothing and the hiking boots I kept hidden beneath our bed.
He had kept them all. He had preserved the memories of who we used to be.
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His certainty only partially calmed my nerves. How did he know our security so intimately?
The massive safe sat concealed behind the oil painting of his ancestor. I knew the combination because he had shared it with me during one lazy afternoon, never imagining I would use it against him.
I nodded as if I trusted this arrangement completely.
Curiosity overrode my caution. I lifted the box and opened it with trembling hands.
As I prepared to seal the safe, something unexpected caught my attention. Nestled among the official pack documents sat a small wooden box, weathered with age and clearly out of place among the legal papers.
A figure emerged from the porch shadows, making me start. Dorian materialized, his expression tense and urgent.
I felt no regret about leaving, about the drugs, or about the theft. My only regret was that I could not say goodbye properly to the man I loved, the one who had shared so much of my life.
I crept from our bedroom and moved silently down the hallway toward Julian’s private study. Each heartbeat thundered in my ears like war drums.
His mother’s birth date.
Every moment felt dangerous. The thought of pack guards spotting me before I reached safety made my pulse race.
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