When I Stopped Loving You

Chapter Three

I wasn’t dressing up for him, I repeated that thought as I stood before the mirror, smoothing my palms over the soft fabric of my dress. It was simple and clinging gently where it should , flowing where it needed to.

This weekend was supposed to be quiet. I was meant to visit my grandmother at the edge of the territory, where the air smelled of dried herbs and old wood. The thought of it steadied my hands as I braided my hair, each movement was deliberate and calming.

It was just two days… two days without having to understand or wait. I packed lightly.. A shawl, a spare dress and a few remedies I never traveled without. I was tying the strings of my satchel when voices drifted from outside.. Unrestrained, careless, unfamiliar in their excitement.

“…the ceremony is today.” My fingers stilled.

Another voice laughed softly. “Finally…The Alpha needed a strong Luna. This alliance will change everything.” The words didn’t register at once. They hovered in the air, shapeless, harmless…until they weren’t.

My mind was trying to comprehend.. Ceremony? Luna? My chest tightened.

I stepped closer to the door, my breath shallow now, ears straining as though I could will the words to rearrange themselves into something less devastating.

“I heard the Great Hall is already prepared. The ring alone—”

I couldn't hear the rest… the pounding sound from my heart, slow and heavy, each beat echoing painfully in my ears.This had to be wrong. A misunderstanding. Pack talk exaggerated into rumor. He wouldn’t do this to me? Would he?

I opened the door and ran out… leaving my bag behind. My steps were measured at first, pride forcing me to move like I wasn’t unraveling. But the closer I got to the Great Hall, the louder the voices became, the more real it felt.

Music drifted toward me.Ceremonial…The doors were already open.

Light spilled out, bright and merciless, washing over the stone floor and pulling me forward whether I wanted to go or not. I crossed the threshold..and my world cracked open.

Jacob stood at the center of the hall.. Wearing black and silver, the colors of command, his posture flawless, his expression composed. Opposite him stood a woman elegant, poised, her smile serene in a way that only came from certainty.

His hands held hers. I watched, frozen, as he lifted a ring. Silver. Moonstone. The kind of ring I had always imagined he would give to me.

Time slowed… as though it was a planned nightmare.He slid the ring onto her finger.My heart didn’t shatter..It sank.

Dropped straight through me, leaving nothing behind but a hollow ache that spread until I could barely feel my legs.

Applause erupted around them. Cheers…Laughter... Celebration.

I stood there, invisible as always , as people surged forward to congratulate the newlyweds. Someone brushed past my shoulder. Another stepped too close, murmuring joyfully without looking at my face. Every congratulations they threw at him felt like a slap across my face, a reminder that all I had hoped for was slipping away.

Every slap was a slap to my face..The hall tilted. I couldn’t breathe….Jacob looked up then.

Our eyes met across the room and for one suspended moment, something flickered in his gaze…recognition, perhaps. But not regret.

He turned back to her…and that was it.

My patience, laid bare in a single glance.

The noise grew louder, sharper, pressing in from all sides. The lights felt too bright. The walls …too close. My chest tightened painfully as my vision blurred, the edges of the room softening like wet ink.

I couldn’t break down here.

Not in front of them.

I turned and began to move, weaving through the crowd as quietly as I could. Each step felt uncertain, like the floor might give way beneath me at any moment. I heard whispers…curious, confused,but none of them mattered.

By the time I reached the entrance, my hands were shaking.

The sky outside had darkened.

Thick clouds rolled overhead, low and heavy, the air charged with something restless. Thunder rumbled distantly, a warning too late to matter.

It was going to rain.

The doors swung open.

Rain met me instantly..cold, relentless, pouring down in heavy sheets as if the sky itself had finally given in. My dress soaked through within seconds, clinging uncomfortably to my skin, my hair coming loose from its braid.

I ran.

I didn’t know where I was going. I only knew I couldn’t stay. The pack grounds blurred around me, stone paths slick beneath my feet, the rain pounding so loudly it drowned out my thoughts.

Behind me, the celebration continued….ahead of me, everything spun.

All those nights I waited…All the silences I accepted….All the patience I mistook for love. None of it had meant anything.

My endurance hadn’t protected me and neither did my loyalty change the outcome.

It had only taught him that I would stay quiet.

The realization struck harder than the storm.

My vision darkened, the world narrowing until all I could see was grey and silver and falling rain. My heart raced violently, each beat uneven, frantic.

I stumbled.

The ground lurched upward.

The last thing I felt was the cold rain against my skin, the roar of the storm fading into a distant echo…then the world went black.