Chapter 22
Third-Person POV
When Wilona awoke, the bright, sterile ceiling of a private recovery room came into view.
Her hands instinctively drifted to her belly-flat and hollow.
The pup was gone.
The door creaked open, and a pack warrior stepped in, placing a black card on the nightstand.
“There’s five million on this card. Alpha Simon asked me to deliver it to you.”
Wilona stared at the card like it was venom.
Five million?
It had been one million before the operation.
So the cost of erasing their unborn pup had quintupled.
1/7
“Also,” the man continued, “Alpha Simon purchased a plane ticket for you. You’re booked on a flight this afternoon.”
“This afternoon?”
Wilona let out a bitter, broken laugh.
She hadn’t expected him to cast her out so ruthlessly.
Barely out of surgery, and he already wanted her out of his life like yesterday’s trash.
“I want to see him.”
“Sorry. Alpha Simon said he won’t be taking
visitors.”
The man locked the hospital room door behind
him without another word.
“I’ll take you to the airport when it’s time.”
The moment she was alone, Wilona clutched the card, her knuckles whitening.
2/7
Then, laughter spilled from her lips-manic, painful, unhinged.
It echoed through the empty room like a howl
in the dark.
But soon, the laughter crumbled into sobs.
“I never should’ve come back. Never…”
Meanwhile, back at the house once shared with Judy, Alpha Simon returned with a limp in his
stride and hollowness in his chest.
The place was still and cold.
Judy was gone.
Not just her presence-but her scent, her belongings, her warmth. All of it.
He staggered upstairs, his chest tightening with
every step.
She had left nothing behind… except maybe…
His hand shot toward the drawer.
3/7
There it was-the gift box she had given him on their fifth anniversary.
He tore the tape off with trembling fingers, hist wolf desperate for even the faintest trace of her.
But inside was no gift. No keepsake.
Just a single envelope.
A quiet wedding invitation.
He unfolded the card, each word slicing deeper.
October 1st -Judy was to be wed.
Not to him.
To Alpha Grayson.
His legs gave out beneath him. The mighty Alpha collapsed to the floor, gripping the invitation as though it might vanish.
She had known all along.
She had known about him and Wilona.
4/7
And she had planned her escape in silence.
Maybe it had started the day she wept without warning.
Maybe it began the moment she slapped him-
twice.
He hadn’t seen the signs. He hadn’t wanted to.
Even when she’d told him about the October 1st wedding, he thought she was bluffing.
He never imagined she meant it.
“Judy…”
Tears filled his bloodshot eyes.
They said alphas didn’t cry.
That warriors didn’t break.
But this-this was heartbreak that even a wolf’s
pride couldn’t mask.
He rose to his feet and staggered downstairs,
eyes glazed.
5/7
“Is there anything of Judy’s left here?” he rasped.
The servant looked uncomfortable.
“Alpha… Miss Judy discarded everything you gave her-clothes, jewelry, all of it. She only took what belonged to her. The room’s been
cleared.”
Simon stood frozen, then glanced down at the invitation still clutched in his hand.
“No… there’s one thing left.”
That wedding invite was the last connection he
had to her.
The servant hesitated, curiosity winning out.
“Alpha… you went to the wedding with Miss Judy, didn’t you? Why didn’t she come back?”
The question cut deep-but it also snapped something awake in him.
“Where’s the Silver Claw Pack’s estate?” he
6/7
barked.
“Find the address. Now.”
Minutes later, he was in his car, roaring down
the road.
“I want to see Alpha Grayson,” he demanded as
he arrived at the Silver Claw estate.
The gatekeeper looked cautious. “Alpha isn’t
- He took the Luna to the stables earlier this
morning.”
Simon’s jaw clenched. “The stables?”
“Yes, Alpha. He mentioned they’ll be traveling abroad soon-something like a honeymoon.
He’s teaching Luna Judy to ride before they
leave.”
Honeymoon?
Fury exploded in Alpha Simon’s chest.
Before the guard could say another word, Simon had turned and gunned the engine- heading straight for the stables.
