Ricky hadn't meant to be there.
He hadn't meant to follow the faint trail of unfamiliar magic through the forest. He hadn't meant to step quietly between the trees like a ghost, his wolf hardly breathing.
But he did.
And he froze.
Because there she was.
Hailey.
Fresh from training, sweat on her brow, her hair messy, cheeks flushed. She looked exhausted—yet brighter than he'd ever seen her. Stronger. More alive.
And she was laughing.
Her mother, Della, ruffled her hair proudly. Jason lifted Hailey off the ground in a crushing hug. Claire flung her arms around her sister, squealing in excitement.
Liam Black—the most powerful Alpha of all packs—looked at his daughter with the fierce pride of a king.
Hailey glowed under their affection.
Ricky watched, unable to move, unable to breathe.
She wasn't crying.
She wasn't broken.
She wasn't begging him to reconsider.
She wasn't even thinking about him.
She was… happy.
His wolf whimpered inside him.
Why isn't she devastated?
Why isn't she hurt?
Why isn't she looking for me?
Ricky dug his nails into his palms, fists trembling.
She should be grieving me.
Mates don't just… move on like that.
Right?
Yet her smile was brighter than the sunrise, brighter than anything he had given her in the short time she had been his mate.
Jason nudged her shoulder.
"You scared Dad with that power burst. He pretended he wasn't shocked but he was seconds from shifting."
Hailey snorted, punching his arm.
"He wasn't scared—just pretending he wasn't impressed."
Liam grinned.
"I was both."
More laughter.
Ricky's heart clenched.
His chest burned.
Jealousy and regret tangled like thorns around his ribs.
He took a step back, almost stumbling.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
He rejected her.
She should still be broken.
She should still be looking at the ground, whispering why wasn't I good enough?
Instead, she looked like someone discovering her destiny—and she didn't need him to do it.
For the first time, Ricky realized:
He wasn't the powerful one.
She was.
Not because of her magic.
But because she didn't crumble.
She rose.
And Ricky… felt like the weakest Alpha alive.
Why isn't she hurting?
Why isn't she looking at me?
Why… does she look like I never mattered?
The truth hit him like a blade through the ribs:
She didn't care anymore.
His father's voice echoed in his mind:
"Rejecting her was the biggest mistake of your life."
For the first time… Ricky believed it.
He looked at Hailey one last time—her smile radiant, her family surrounding her like she was the center of the world—and it tore him apart.
His wolf whispered something that made Ricky flinch.
We lost her.
We lost the one thing that could've saved us.
And she doesn't even look back.
Ricky stepped into the shadows and disappeared before anyone could see the pain in his eyes.
But Hailey?
She kept laughing.
And that hurt him more than any rejection ever could.