Chapter 7
664words
The shuttle broke through the clouds, leaving the Silvermoon territory far behind.
I leaned against the window, watching the forests and buildings shrink into nothingness.
My heart was eerily calm.
From this moment on, I was no longer the Luna of Silvermoon.
I belonged to no pack.
After a dozen hours of flight, I landed on the border of the Forgotten Continent.
This was a lawless zone, filled with rogues, mercenaries, and dangerous creatures.
Unlike the safe life in the pack, the air here smelled of blood and gunpowder.
The leader of the neutral medical team met me.
He handed me a crude bulletproof vest.
"Here, survival is more important than anything. Even if you're a healer, no one will show mercy."
His words struck a chord in me.
I suddenly remembered the years I spent mated to Kaelen.
I had treated him like my god.
I had valued him more than my own life.
But that boy who once saw only me had long died in the vortex of power and desire.
For the rest of my life, I would be no one's accessory.
I touched my slightly rounded belly, feeling the strong heartbeats of the two little lives inside.
I would live only for myself and my pups.
Soon, we were thrown into intense rescue work.
A rogue pack had just raided the area.
The ground was littered with injured shifters.
Fighting the discomfort of pregnancy, I used my healing gifts, moving tirelessly through the triage tents.
In this place full of death and despair, I found a long-lost peace.
Months flew by.
My belly was heavy now.
Just as I thought I had completely said goodbye to the past, the past came knocking.
One afternoon, a colleague ran to me, out of breath.
"Elara, there's a man looking for you outside the camp."
"He looks like an Alpha from the Silvermoon Pack. He looks terrible."
My heart skipped a beat at the name "Silvermoon," but I quickly composed myself.
I walked out of the tent and saw Kaelen standing outside the wire fence.
In just a few months, he looked ten years older.
The once spirited Alpha now had a scruffy beard and sunken eyes.
His clothes were covered in dust and grime.
When he saw me, his eyes instantly turned red.
He ignored the guards and tried to rush over.
"Elara! It's really you!"
He reached out to hug me, but I took a cold step back.
"Kaelen, show some respect. We are no longer mates."
My voice was calm, without a single ripple of emotion.
Kaelen's hands froze in mid-air.
Tears fell from his eyes without warning.
"Elara, please don't treat me like this. I've been looking for you for so long. I searched the whole world..."
"Did you know? A lot happened after you left. My mother... she passed away."
I paused slightly.
I had expected it, but hearing the news still brought a sigh to my lips.
Kaelen squatted down in pain, holding his head in his hands, his voice choked with sobs.
"I'm sorry, Elara. We were wrong. We shouldn't have doubted you."
"The liar was Liana. She never went to beg the Master. My mother died because we delayed her treatment..."
"It's all my fault. I drove you away. I killed my mother."
"I'm a bastard. I'm a curse!"
Watching the once-proud Alpha cry like a helpless child didn't stir any sympathy in me.
I had seen enough life and death here.
His belated repentance was too light.
Kaelen looked up, his eyes full of hope.
"Elara, come back with me, please? It's too dangerous here. You're a healer. You shouldn't be in this hell."
"I've lost my mother. I can't let you and the pups get hurt."
"I know I was wrong. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Let's start over, okay?"
I looked at him and shook my head gently.
"No. I won't go back."
