The knock came just before dawn, sharp and deliberate, like someone who already knew they would be answered.
Elara opened the door without surprise.
Alpha Kael stood in the corridor, dressed down from the ceremony, his presence filling the narrow space. The bond stirred weakly, confused, aching. Elara kept her face calm. She had already cried enough for one lifetime.
"You left the hall," Kael said.
"Yes."
His eyes flicked past her, as if expecting chaos inside. There was none. The room was neat. Too neat. Elara had always been careful that way.
"We need to talk," he said.
Elara stepped aside. "You already spoke last night."
Kael entered anyway. He did not sit. He rarely did in her presence. Power liked to stand.
Silence stretched between them, heavy and uncomfortable. Outside, the pack grounds were still quiet, the celebration long over. Dawn crept slowly across the sky.
Kael exhaled. "I didn't expect you to leave so quickly."
Elara tilted her head slightly. "You didn't expect me to stay either."
His jaw tightened. "This isn't about emotions."
She almost smiled. Almost.
"Then what is it about?" she asked.
Kael looked at her then, really looked, as if noticing her for the first time in years. Her stillness unsettled him. She saw it in the brief flicker of his eyes.
"The pack needed stability," he said. "Lyra offered alliances we couldn't ignore."
"You chose her," Elara said simply.
"I chose the future."
The bond pulsed weakly, wounded by the words. Elara folded her arms loosely, more to keep herself steady than defensive.
"And I?" she asked.
Kael hesitated. Just a fraction of a second. Enough.
"You were… not part of that equation," he said.
The words landed cleanly. No cruelty. No softness. Just truth, as he saw it.
Elara nodded. "So the bond was inconvenient."
Kael's gaze hardened. "The bond was a mistake."
There it was.
Not shouted. Not dramatic. Just spoken like a fact that had always been true.
Elara absorbed it quietly. Somewhere inside her, something loosened. Broke. Then settled.
"A mistake," she repeated.
"Yes."
He sounded relieved to have said it.
Elara took a breath, slow and measured. She did not argue. She did not remind him of nights spent guarding his sleep, of wounds she had healed, of years standing behind his throne.
Instead, she asked one question.
"If I had been stronger," she said, "would you still have chosen her?"
Kael did not answer immediately.
That was answer enough.
"No," he said at last. "Power matters."
Elara's lips curved into a small, sad smile. "Thank you."
"For understanding," he added.
She looked at him, really looked, at the Alpha she had lived quietly for too long. "No," she said. "For telling the truth."
Kael frowned. "You don't have to leave."
Elara turned toward the small table near the window, where a single bag sat packed neatly. Kael noticed it then.
"You planned this," he said.
"I planned for disappointment," she replied. "It finally arrived."
"Elara," he said, his voice low, warning. "Leaving without permission makes you rogue."
She picked up the bag. "Then call it what you like."
"You're being emotional."
She met his gaze. "I am being careful."
The bond stirred again, stronger this time, as if sensing what was coming. Elara pressed her lips together, steadying herself.
Kael stepped closer. "Lyra will be Luna. But you can stay. You'll be provided for."
Provided for.
Like a liability.
"No," Elara said softly.
"You don't have anywhere to go."
"I will," she said.
"You won't survive alone."
She lifted her chin. "I survived you."
The words surprised them both.
Kael's expression shifted, something unreadable flashing across his face. "This doesn't have to be ugly."
"It already is," Elara replied.
She moved past him toward the door. Kael reached out, stopping just short of touching her.
"The bond will hurt," he said.
"It already does."
She opened the door.
The corridor was empty. Quiet. Dawn light filtered in through narrow windows, pale and cold.
"Elara," Kael said behind her.
She paused, hand on the doorframe, but did not turn.
"You were never weak," he said.
Her fingers tightened.
"Then you should have chosen better," she said and stepped out.
She did not run. She walked through the sleeping pack grounds, past familiar paths and silent trees. A few guards noticed her. None stopped her. Word traveled fast, even at dawn.
By the time she reached the outer boundary, the bond had begun to scream.
It was not subtle. It tore through her chest, down her spine, into her bones. Elara stumbled, catching herself against a tree. She sucked in a breath, pain blooming behind her eyes.
"Easy," she whispered, more to herself than her wolf.
Images flickered in her mind. Kael's presence. His indifference. His choice.
She straightened and took another step.
Behind her, deep within the pack territory, Kael froze.
The bond snapped tight, violent and sudden. He sucked in a sharp breath, one hand gripping the stone railing of the Alpha house. Pain ripped through him, unexpected and raw.
"Elara," he muttered, his voice hoarse.
She did not answer.
Elara reached the boundary marker, an old stone etched with runes older than the pack itself. Crossing it meant severance. It meant exile.
She placed one foot beyond it.
The bond screamed.
Elara cried out then, the sound torn from her throat before she could stop it. She dropped to her knees, hands pressed to her stomach instinctively, breath coming in gasps.
The pain was different this time. Sharper. Protective.
She pushed through it.
"I choose this," she whispered. "I choose us."
With a final, shaking breath, Elara crossed the boundary.
The bond howled, stretched thin, and then dulled into a distant ache.
Behind her, the Silver Fang Pack remained silent.
Ahead of her lay uncertainty, danger, and a future she had never planned.
Elara did not look back as she walked into the growing light, carrying a secret that would change everything.