Chapter 4

It didn't take long for Damon to find me. He marched up the mountain path, standing tall and looming over me.

"Have you thrown your tantrum yet? Pack your things and come back to the master bedroom."

I stood up, gesturing for the pups to keep playing a little further away. I turned to him. "I'm not throwing a tantrum. I was very clear. We are over."

His eyes darkened with dangerous Alpha aura. "And I said, I don't accept it."

I looked straight into his eyes, unfazed by his pressure. "You can keep my body here, Damon, but you will never have my heart again."

He let out a cold sneer. "I don't need your heart. I just need you to perform your duties as Luna."

I remained silent, turning my back on him to return to the children.

Damon stared at my back for a long moment before letting out an irritated growl and walking away.

Not long after he left, a sharp, burning smell filled the air.

I looked up. Thick black smoke was rising rapidly from the southern ridge.

Wildfire.

"Everyone, gather around! We need to head down the mountain right now!" I yelled, gathering the terrified pups.

Meanwhile, halfway down the mountain, Damon's phone rang. *“Alpha! The southern ridge is on fire! The pups are still up there!”*

Damon's heart stopped. He turned and sprinted back up the mountain.

When he reached the tree line, he saw a figure moving through the blazing heat and thick smoke. It was me. I was carrying the last of the pups, shielding them with my own body as I brought them to safety.

He immediately ordered the pack warriors to extinguish the fire while he rushed toward the flames.

By the time the fire was controlled, all the pups were safe.

But I was gone.

Damon stood on the charred earth, staring at the empty, blackened slope. He couldn't speak.

A pack warrior approached him, bowing his head. "Alpha... after the Luna pushed the last pup to safety, she... she ran back into the smoke. We couldn't find her."

The search lasted for three days. On the morning of the fourth day, they found footprints leading across the pack border.

Damon stood before those footprints, suddenly remembering my words: *“You will accept it.”*

Just then, his phone vibrated. It was a Snapchat from Iris. He didn't want to look, but he did anyway.

*“Damon, if Clara is gone forever, will you finally come back to me?”*

Iris's voice over the audio message sounded frantic, almost guilty.

Damon's mind was blank. "What do you mean?" he texted back.

Iris replied instantly: *“I mean, if Clara dies, you can finally accept me, right?”*

*“I started the fire on the southern ridge. I knew she would go save those pups, so...”*

In the distance, a thunderous crack echoed through the forest. Damon's hands shook violently, his knuckles turning white.

He spun around, slamming his fist into a massive pine tree. The trunk cracked under his Alpha strength.