Chapter 4 

I hadn’t been in the capital city for long, but I could already feel the weight of my decision settling over me. It was strange, being so far from the Moonriver Pack, from everything I had known. But the distance was necessary. 

After all, I needed to escape from him. From them. 

The moment I checked into the hotel, I had powered off my phone, not ready to face the inevitable flood of messages. But now, as I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the blank screen, I knew I couldn’t avoid it forever. With a resigned sigh, I turned it on. 

The phone buzzed immediately, the screen lighting up with notifications–missed calls, messages. I stared at them, knowing that many were from people in the pack. My heart tightened as I scrolled through the names, but it was the last one that made my pulse race: Joshua. 

I tapped on the messages, reading them slowly. 

Joshua: Where are you? Joshua: 

We need to talk. Joshua: 

Eloise, this isn‘ t the way to handle things. Come back. We’ll fix this. 

I felt a knot in my stomach. Fix this? I scoffed internally. He couldn’t see that it was already too late. All those years of neglect, all those moments when I had waited for him to choose me instead of her. He thought a few words could fix the deep chasm that had grown between us? 

The phone buzzed again, and this time it was Elara, a friend from the pack. I hesitated, then 

answered. 

“Elara?” I said, my voice soft but shaky. 

[Luna Eloise, thank the goddess you answered,] she sighed in relief. [Where are you?] 

“I’m safe,” I replied, not offering more. I could hear the worry in her voice, and it made my heart ache a little. Elara had always been there for me, one of the few in the pack who truly saw what I had been going through. “What’s going on?‘ 

[El, you have no idea what’s happening back here,] she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. [Alpha Joshua’s losing it. He’s been calling meetings, ordering the guards to search for you. He that they let you leave without alerting him.] 

He’s furious 

My chest tightened. Joshua was upset? Furious? After everything, it wasn‘ t my absence that was bothering him, but the fact that he hadn’t been in control of it. I could almost hear him in his Alpha tone sharp and demanding. 

“He s never cared when I left before,” I said bitterly. “Why should this time be any different?” 

my mind, There was a pause on the other end, and I could hear Elara take a breath. [It’s different because of the note, Luña. I think he’s finally realized how serious you are. He knows you might not come back.] 

My heart thudded in my chest, a mix of emotions swirling inside me. Was this what it took for him to finally pay attention? To finally see me? 

“Elara, it’s been years, choosing Monique over me. How could he not see what he was doing to me?‘ 

I whispered, closing my eyes against the sting of tears. “Years of him 

[I know, she said softly. [We all saw it. We all knew. But… I don’t think Alpha Joshua ever truly thought you would leave. I think he thought you would always be there, no matter what.] 

The truth of her words settled over me like a cold, heavy blanket. Joshua had always taken me for granted. I had been the Luna in title, yes, but in every other way, I had been pushed aside. And I had let it happen, hoping he would wake up and remember the bond we once shared. But now that I was gone, it wasn‘ t me he was mourning–it was the loss of control. 

“Elara, I’m not coming back,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “At least not to him. Not to the life I had.” 

She was quiet for a moment, and when she spoke again, her voice was soft but firm. [You deserve more, Eloise. You always did.] 

I closed my eyes, letting her words sink in. I had spent so long thinking of myself as Joshua’s Luna, his mate, that I had forgotten who I was outside of that. I had forgotten that I was more than just his afterthought. 

“Elara,” I said, my voice trembling slightly, “I don’t know what comes next. But I know I can’t go back to the way things were. 

[I understand, she said. [Just promise me you’ll stay safe. You know Alpha Joshua won’t give up easily.] 

I sighed, glancing out the window at the city below. “He won’t find me. And even if he does, I won’t be the same person he left behind.