Kaiden, Nyxon, and I waited outside Alpha Roman’s office, located in the Pack Center of Wavecrest.

  I sat with my legs stretched out, the tips of my shoes tapping rhythmically against the stone floor. The sound echoed down the hallway.

  Kaiden slipped the toe of his shoe between the floor and the sole of mine, silencing the tapping. Only then did I realize what I’d been doing—and how ridiculous it must have looked.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled.

  “It’s alright. It’s just… your anxiety is contagious.”

  He gave me a faint smile but quickly pulled it back when he noticed me watching him a little too closely.

  “Ahem,” he cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, trying to block my view of his face.

  ‘Did I just see him blush?’ Thora teased in my head.

  I responded by rolling my eyes mentally.

  This wasn’t the right time for jokes. My future was on the line.

  I gnced at Nyxon, who hadn’t moved an inch. He looked deep in thought.

  ‘He’s probably trying to come up with a way to expin our… situation to his dad,’ I guessed.

  Just imagining Nyxon scrambling to justify our retionship only made the distance between us feel wider.

  It made me feel even smaller—and curse the Moon Goddess for throwing me into this awful situation.

  Benjamin stood at the far end of the hall near the office door, facing us with his arms folded across his chest. I noticed him stealing worried gnces in my direction more than once.

  From inside Alpha Roman’s office came the sound of a deep sigh.

  Benjamin instantly straightened, his expression sharpening as he nodded a few times.

  I figured he was mind-linking with Alpha Roman, which only made my nerves worse.

  ‘What am I even going to say to Alpha Roman?’

  ‘Will he even listen? Will he consider not banishing me from the pack?’

  ‘But… why would I want to stay here anyway? Rue hates me. And after all the horrible things she said, I don’t think I can ever go back to pretending we’re okay.’

  ‘She went way too far,’ Thora growled, full of bitterness.

  ‘I know. And the worst part? While everyone else has a home to storm back to when they’re sad… where the hell am I supposed to go?’

  I felt Thora’s presence in my mind, trying to wrap me in comfort—though it barely helped.

  My thoughts spiraled again. My foot resumed tapping the floor, agitated.

  Kaiden’s hand gently brushed my thigh, and I jolted slightly in my seat.

  “I told you,” He said softly, “you’d be welcomed at Stormsurge. Alpha Roman will agree to let you transfer, and my father... he doesn’t care about all the formality. He’ll accept you in seconds.”

  Kaiden tried to reassure me as if he truly understood the root of my anxiety. I gave him a small smile and was about to nod when Nyxon abruptly cut in.

  “She’s not going anywhere, dumbass. Keep dreaming,” Nyxon snapped coldly.

  “Oh, so she can suffer even longer with you guys? Is that it?” Kaiden shot back, his tone ced with sarcasm.

  I bit my lip, silently pleading for help from Benjamin with a gnce. He looked back at me, clearly sympathetic to my situation.

  “Nyxon, Kaiden, Mina. Alpha Roman is ready to see you now,” Benjamin announced, breaking the tension just in time.

  I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

  Nyxon stood first, followed by Kaiden. I walked behind them.

  Just before we reached the door, Benjamin reached out and gently grabbed my wrist. Leaning in, he whispered, “Too bad I can’t compete with them, Mina. I have to let you go.”

  My eyes widened as I looked up at him.

  He smiled, but his eyes didn’t match—it was a smile soaked in quiet heartbreak.

  ‘He would’ve been fine too… But we’re destined for something much bigger, Mina. He couldn’t carry that weight,’ Thora said cryptically in my mind.

  I brushed off her strange comment as we entered and stood before Alpha Roman.

  Unlike his carefree and easygoing children, Alpha Roman was rigid, firm, and hated being defied. He was especially protective of his daughter, Rue.

  “Line up in front of me, all three of you,” he commanded, his gaze sharp enough to strip us bare.

  We followed his order like students being called into detention.

  I stood awkwardly in the middle—Nyxon to my left, Kaiden to my right.

  Two minutes passed like two decades. Time crawled while Alpha Roman stared at each of us in turn with calcuting intensity.

  Finally, he let out a heavy sigh.

  “Nyxon,” he said, “You and Benjamin are assigned to lead the gamma unit in securing the pack for the whole month. I expect that’ll keep you too busy for any more… fooling around.”

  “Tsk,” Nyxon muttered under his breath, quiet enough that his dad wouldn’t hear.

  Alpha Roman emphasized the words “fooling around” with a sharp gre—directed not at his son, but at me. I knew exactly what he meant.

  To him, our situation was a petty distraction—something beneath his concern, yet deeply offensive.

  “Kaiden,” he continued, “I’ve spoken with Alpha Krugan. He’s requested your immediate return. For the sake of both our packs, unless it’s for school matter, you are to remain in your own territory. I will not tolerate any further threats to my pack.”

  Kaiden’s jaw tightened at the ultimatum.

  “If Mina’s just some ‘distraction’ to you, then let me take her. I won’t step foot in Wavecrest again,” Kaiden said firmly, defiant.

  Alpha Roman smmed his hand down on the desk so hard that the imported teak wood cracked clean in two.

  I froze where I stood, shocked by his sudden burst of rage.

  “Did your father never teach you manners? You dare defy me—an Alpha—on my own territory?! I’ll make sure Alpha Krugan hears about this and disciplines his son even harder!” Alpha Roman’s voice thundered; his face flushed red with fury.

  “And in case you forgot—SHE is a member of this pack. If you want her, you need to go through a proper procedure. She’s not some stray pup you can just pick up! How do I know you’re not going to cast her out the moment you get bored?!”

  My eyes widened at his outburst. Hearing the words “a member of this pack,” “stray pup,” and “outcast” all in the same breath left me confused and overwhelmed.

  ‘Wait... does he actually consider us part of the pack, or is this just about saving face?’ Thora asked, echoing my own thoughts.

  I gnced at Kaiden, who clenched his jaw before standing tall, gathering himself and his pride to own up to his words.

  “Forgive my disrespect, Alpha Roman. But as agreed in the Silvermoon Treaty, if a pack member finds their mate in another pack, one of them must follow the other.”

  “Considering I am the future Alpha of Stormsurge, it’s only right that Mina come with me. I can’t leave my responsibilities and live here.”

  My cheeks burned at Kaiden’s boldness—how openly he expressed wanting me. I couldn’t deny the flutter in my chest, no matter how tense the situation.

  “That—” Nyxon tried to cut in, but Alpha Roman raised a hand to silence his son.

  “That hasn’t been decided yet. Given her mother’s history, we will proceed with caution,” he said coldly, eyes narrowing at me like I was the one who’d dragged us all into this chaos.

  I furrowed my brows in confusion.

  Just then, Rue emerged from the reading room inside Alpha Roman’s office. Arms crossed over her chest; she looked at me with eyes full of venom.

  “I told you she’s a witch and a bitch,” Rue spat. “You’re both fools for thinking she’s your mate. She’s clearly cast some kind of spell on you—just like her whore of a mother did!”

  Her accusations came out of nowhere—sharp, hateful, and utterly baseless.

  “That’s not true!” I cried out in protest.

  “Silence!” Alpha Roman roared. “If you raise your voice at Rue again, I’ll make sure not only are you banished from this pack—but no pack will ever accept you. You’ll share your mother’s fate.”

  Rue smirked, satisfied by her father’s defense.

  “This is what you get for touching what’s mine, greedy girl,” she sneered.

  The hatred in her eyes cut deeper than her words.

  Tears streamed down my cheeks—tears of helpless anger I had no way of releasing.

  "Go home, Kaiden. Think all of this through carefully. And ask your father about what happened back then. Then you’ll understand why I have to do this—to you, and to all of you," Alpha Roman said, his voice heavy with finality.

  Benjamin opened the door, giving Kaiden a silent signal that he was dismissed.

  Kaiden gnced at me one st time. I couldn’t bring myself to meet his gaze. I didn’t have the face to follow after him—not after everything that just happened. Just like my feelings for him before all this, I realized how foolish I’d been to ever hope.

  Maybe I was never meant to be happy. Happiness felt overrated.

  “I’ll come back for you, Mina. Properly,” Kaiden said, his voice soft, almost pleading, before stepping out of the room.

  I heard Rue scoff in disgust. Nyxon too.

  But Kaiden’s words lingered in the air—and settled deep in my chest.

  I wanted to believe him. I really did. But somehow, watching his back disappear through that doorway... So does my belief in his words.

  I couldn’t afford to hope. Hope was a double-edged sword that only ever left me bleeding.

  Once Kaiden’s footsteps faded down the hallway and silence recimed the office, Alpha Roman gave a slight nod to Nyxon.

  “Come stand by me,” he ordered.

  Nyxon obeyed without question, leaving me standing alone—like a criminal awaiting sentence.

  “And now... you, Mina.”

  Alpha Roman said my name with an emotionless tone, but I swear I heard the faintest trace of disgust behind it.