Chapter 4

I stared in surprise as Selene fell into the flames. I had not expected what happened next, but before I could even move, a figure rushed toward me from behind and shoved me to the ground before gathering Selene into his arms.

My heart had already been shattered, yet somehow, seeing Damon cradle her as though she were the most precious female in the world managed to break it even further.

He looked at me with fury burning in his eyes.

“What in the name of the Moon Goddess is wrong with you, Elara?” he demanded. “Selene came here peacefully, and you struck her without provocation.”

There was no tenderness in his voice, no concern for me, and certainly no trace of the affection he had once pretended to possess. In that moment, I felt less like his mate than a complete stranger standing before him.

I pressed my lips together before meeting his furious gaze.

“She insulted my mother and called me useless. Do you truly expect me to stand there quietly when you have never given me a proper explanation about what happened five years ago? You told me only that the operation failed because of her condition, so tell me, Damon, what else am I supposed to believe?”

His brows drew together, and for the briefest moment, I saw panic flicker across his face before he quickly concealed it.

“An explanation? We have already spoken about this,” he said. “The operation failed because your mother was in critical condition. Why are you behaving as though I deliberately kept something from you?”

Because you did.

The words burned at the back of my throat, but I swallowed them. I could not afford to reveal what I knew yet. There would be a proper time for the truth, and when that time came, Damon Whitecastle would have nowhere left to hide.

Before I could answer, he continued, “Whatever happened between you two, it gives you no right to hurt Selene when she came here peacefully. Now apologize to her.”

I barely had time to draw breath before Selene spoke.

“It is all right, Damon. Perhaps Elara still resents me because Adrian broke their engagement and chose me instead. If that is the reason she struck me, then perhaps I deserved it. Please do not make things harder for her. Let us consider this my way of making amends.”

Damon's expression softened immediately.

They turned away from me without waiting for another word.

Halfway across the courtyard, I heard Selene sigh softly.

“If she despises me so much, perhaps we should stop seeing each other. I do not want my presence to cause problems between you and your mate.”

I clenched my fists.

That was the last thread holding me to Damon.

I no longer cared whether he defended me, loved me, or even remembered that I was his wife. I simply turned back toward the fire and continued feeding it the gifts and memories I had collected during five years of marriage.

One by one, everything I had once treasured became ash.

Not long afterward, a message arrived from Damon through the pack communication crystal.

I am sorry, love. I know asking you to apologize to Selene hurt you, but she is overseeing the Ashford territory project, and I cannot allow a personal disagreement to affect our business. Once everything is settled, I will make it up to you. I told you I would bring you a gift, so do not be upset, all right?

I stared at the message for a long moment before extinguishing the crystal.

He still believed a gift could make everything right.

He still believed I was the same foolish female who would forgive him simply because he called me love.

He had no idea that I already knew his heart belonged to Selene and that I had long since accepted the truth: I had never been his chosen mate. I had merely been the woman he kept in his home because she was convenient.

I went upstairs, picked up the small travel bag I had prepared earlier, and left the estate without looking back.

The inn on the outskirts of the territory was quiet when I arrived. Its stone walls were cold, and the room contained nothing familiar, yet the emptiness brought me an unexpected sense of peace.

I was alone, and for the first time, that was exactly what I wanted.

I had barely settled beside the window when the pack communication crystal began to glow.

“Luna Elara?” one of the company attendants asked anxiously through the mind-link. “Where are you? Have you forgotten that you are expected at the meeting with the investor today?”

Before I could answer, another voice entered the connection.

Damon.

“Send for the best healers in the territory and have them attend to Selene immediately.”

I almost laughed.

Selene had suffered nothing more than a superficial burn, yet Damon was already summoning the most powerful healers in the territory as though she had been mortally wounded.

Apparently, her smallest injury was worth more to him than everything he had ever done for me.

“I will not be attending the meeting,” I told the attendant before severing the connection.

Not long after, Damon tried reaching me through our mate bond, but I refused to answer. I knew he would assume I was merely upset about the incident with Selene.

He had not yet discovered my resignation.

That thought almost made me smile.

Then, after several unanswered attempts, his voice finally came through the bond.

“Elara, I am sorry, but they told me you missed the meeting. Are you feeling unwell? It was an important meeting.”

“I am not feeling well,” I replied quietly.

His tone immediately softened.

“Then do not concern yourself with anything. I will handle it. Rest, and I will return as soon as I can.”

I did not ask whether he intended to return home.

I already knew that whatever business had occupied him, Selene would always come first.

I spent the rest of the day alone at the inn, waiting for the right moment to carry out the final part of my plan.

Then, as dusk settled over the territory, I happened to glance at the scrying crystal in my room. A popular young female was broadcasting from one of the finest dress shops in the city, and although I had little interest in her chatter, a familiar figure caught my attention in the reflection behind her.

Selene.

And beside her stood Damon.

He was helping her choose a gown, his expression warm as he held one dress after another against her.

The sight no longer surprised me.

Instead, it confirmed what I had already known.

This was the moment.

I contacted my lawyer through the pack mind-link and instructed him to deliver the divorce papers to Damon's office immediately.

Then I contacted the wolf who had promised to help me disappear.

Everything was ready.

My death would be announced before Damon had the chance to find me, and by the time he realized what had happened, I would already be beyond his reach.

Not long afterward, Damon's secretary rushed into the dress shop, her face pale.

“Alpha, we have a serious problem.”

Damon frowned.

“What happened?”

She held out a sealed parchment with trembling hands.

“It appears Madam Elara has discovered what happened to her mother five years ago. She has filed for divorce.”

For several heartbeats, Damon simply stared at the parchment.

Then another attendant came running toward them, nearly breathless.

“Alpha! Someone has reported that Madam Elara is dead.”

Damon's face went completely pale.

The attendant swallowed before forcing the words out.

“They say she took her own life because she could not bear what happened to her mother.”

For the first time, the man who had always believed he controlled my fate looked as though the ground had vanished beneath his feet.

And I watched from the shadows, knowing that Elara Whitecastle had indeed died that night.

The woman he had deceived for five years was gone.

The female who remained had no intention of ever forgiving him.