Chapter 5

Caleb moved out to his office penthouse.

Probably because my sudden wedding plans suffocated him, and he wanted some peace.

Good. It gave us both space.

I quietly handled everything.

I listed our villa on the pack real estate market.

The afternoon I handed the keys to the agent, I was packing up some leftover belongings.

I found a folder for the mining project tucked inside an old magazine. It was the one Caleb had been working on.

After a moment's hesitation, I decided to drop it off at his penthouse.

When I got there, the door was shut, but I could hear laughter inside. He wasn't alone.

I raised my hand to knock.

Then, a familiar, sweet voice echoed from inside, sounding helpless.

"Alpha Caleb, it's all my fault. It was my first time catching a bouquet, I didn't know."

"Now the pack forums are going crazy. A bunch of pack members asked me if we were... you know."

"You have to clarify it in the group chat, or I'll be too embarrassed to show my face."

My hand froze in midair.

Before Caleb could speak, one of his pack brothers laughed teasingly.

"Come on, Serena. Do you really want Caleb to clarify, or are you just trying to get him to say something else?"

A wave of suggestive laughter followed.

Serena whined "Oh, stop it," but there was no real anger in her voice.

"Alright, stop teasing her," Caleb's voice sounded warm and gentle. "Don't worry about it. People will forget in a few days."

People will forget in a few days...

Those words triggered a memory.

Years ago, I went to his office to help out. He forgot himself and casually put his arm around my shoulder.

An Elder walked in and saw us.

That afternoon, Caleb made a very dry clarification in the pack group chat, telling everyone not to misunderstand and to focus on work.

Back then, I understood. To avoid gossip, I stopped going to his office.

But now, my fingers trembled.

He didn't hate office romance.

He just hated it when I was the one seen with him.

Because I was just an ordinary werewolf with no background, of no help to his career.

Another friend asked, "But seriously, Caleb, what's going on with Lyra? I got her wedding invitation this morning. That came out of nowhere!"

A brief silence followed.

Caleb let out a cold, humorless chuckle. "Let her play her game."

"I usually indulge her on little things. But this time, she needs to learn that throwing tantrums won't get her what she wants."

"Whoa," someone joked. "So the groom is planning to stand her up?"

Caleb didn't deny it.

Then, another friend spoke up hesitantly. "Caleb, is this really smart? You and Lyra have been together forever. We've been waiting for this wedding..."

He paused, then joked half-seriously, "Unless... you actually have other plans? Like... our Serena here?"

Serena let out a soft, giggling laugh. "Don't tease me like that. Alpha Caleb... knows what he's doing."