Chapter 2

At 2:13 a.m., Nina texted me.

"Elena, sorry for taking up Alpha's time again in the middle of the night. Hope you're not upset."

She attached a photo.

Enzo was standing in the kitchen, heating up a pot of chicken soup for her. His sleeves were rolled up, and his movements looked practiced and patient.

In our six years as mates, Enzo had almost never cooked for me himself.

He used to say that once our pup inherited the Alpha position, he'd make me breakfast every morning.

Instead, the first thing I got was him staying up late to make soup for someone else, no matter how busy he was.

I stared at the photo for three seconds, then deleted the message I'd been about to send him.

Early the next morning, I went to see the moon priestess and formally accepted the job offer from the trade council in Cliffshore Free City.

It was a neutral coastal city, unaffiliated with any pack. Supernaturals and humans lived side by side there, under rules nothing like pack law.

Back in the storage room, I dragged out three years' worth of treatment records.

Silver stimulation logs, bloodline monitoring charts, anesthesia consent forms, recovery notes, neurological evaluations after every failed attempt.

An entire box full.

Enzo saw it before he left and frowned.

"You'll need those for follow-up appointments. Don't dig through them."

"There won't be any follow-ups."

That afternoon, before I went to the pack hospital for one last round of bloodwork and an ultrasound, I opened the passenger door and saw a pale blue thermos sitting on the seat.

A Post-it was stuck to it.

"Nina. Don't skip breakfast again."

I stood there beside the car without getting in.

Enzo turned in the driver's seat to look at me.

"What is it? Move her stuff."

"It's just a thermos."

"I don't want to sit next to her things."

The air went still.

Enzo stared at me, then leaned over and moved the thermos to the back seat, his voice turning colder.

"She just left it in the car. You don't have to twist everything into something ugly."

I turned to look out the window. I had no interest in arguing over whether Nina did it on purpose. No matter how many times it happened, he always took her side.

At the pack hospital, the receptionist recognized me and gave me a professional smile.

"Good afternoon, Luna. Miss Cole already called this morning to confirm your paperwork."

I stopped short.

"Miss Cole?"

The nurse glanced down at her notes.

"Nina Cole. She said she was coordinating Alpha's schedule and wanted to make sure everything was set for Monday."

I stood there, my fingertips curling tighter.

Nina had bypassed me and inserted herself directly into my treatment.

Enzo's phone rang.

The second he answered, his expression tightened.

"What? You're alone at the training base?"

"Don't panic. I'm on my way."

I looked at him.

"Her again?"

"Her evaluation got moved up. She's not doing well."

Enzo was already turning to leave.

"Today's just routine healing. You can go in by yourself."

"If you walk out today," I said, watching his back, my voice quiet but sharp, "we're done."

Enzo turned around like the thought had never crossed his mind.

"Elena, can you not do this right now?"

"Do this?"

I looked at him and let out a short laugh.

"You're my mate, and every time I need you, you leave. And somehow this is me causing a problem?"

Enzo's face darkened.

"I told you, stop lumping everything together."

"No."

"You're the one who decided what matters. And somehow I'm always second to her."

Before he could answer, Nina's voice came through the phone, tearful and shaky.

"Enzo... please..."

He turned and left almost immediately.

"Text me when you're done."

He threw the words over his shoulder and walked out without looking back.

I stood at the entrance of the pack hospital, watching him disappear around the corner.

Then I turned and walked back to the front desk.

"I want to revoke every authorization for this cycle."

The nurse blinked.

"All of them?"

"All of them."

She led me into a small office in the back. As I signed the last form, my phone buzzed.

Nina.

"So sorry, Elena. Stole Alpha away from you again."

I stared at the message and, strangely enough, laughed.

The nurse looked at me carefully.

"Luna, are you all right?"

I hit confirm.

"I'm fine."

As I walked out of the pack hospital, I pulled up the onboarding documents from Cliffshore Free City.

Then I deleted every app on my phone that tracked heat cycles, appointments, and moon phases.