He Lost the Mate Who Made Him Powerful

Chapter 3 Be My Date

I wiped my eyes and sent a message to Elder Jacob Hogan.

Lucy: Jacob, Alpha Huck and I have decided to break the mate bond. In a month, we'll need you there to witness it.

His reply came almost at once.

Jacob: Lucy, what happened between you and Alpha Huck? You two were so deeply in love. Why would you ever want to break the bond?

A bitter smile touched my mouth.

Lucy: Because there is no place for me in that pack house anymore.

After I sent the message, I made a decision that felt less like an impulse than a matter of survival.

I was leaving. I would move out and live on my own.

Before I became Huck's mate, I had been one of the most gifted healers in the pack. But after Huck and I bonded, I stopped caring about titles, praise, or reputation. I hid what I could do and stayed in the background, quietly brewing tonics for him, strengthening his pack, and helping build the power that seemed to come so easily to him.

Now I wanted my life back. I wanted to find the woman I had been before I made him the center of everything.

So I called my former mentor, Nia Crane. She sounded genuinely delighted to hear from me.

"Lucy, you're finally coming back to yourself. With your gift for brewing healing tonics, you could become the finest healer in the pack."

I smiled for the first time all day and agreed to meet her in three days to talk about work.

When the call ended, I began clearing away every trace of myself from the house.

I packed my clothes first, then my books, then the small, quiet things no one noticed until they were gone. When I looked up, my eyes landed on a framed photograph sitting on the table.

It had been taken just after Arthur was born.

Huck and I were both holding him, and each of us was kissing one of his cheeks. In the picture, we looked absurdly happy, like the kind of family every werewolf envied on sight.

Now the image only made something twist inside me.

I picked up the frame, stared at it for one long moment, and dropped it into the trash. Then I took my luggage and walked out of the pack house where I had lived for many years without looking back.

Later, I posted a brief message on the pack's social platform about feeling disappointed and leaving that family behind. The response came almost immediately. Messages flooded in from she-wolves who had endured the same neglect, the same betrayal.

I read every one of them. I knew that support mattered. It was the first real thing helping me break free of the life I had spent too long trying to save.

When Huck came home with Arthur that evening, the house was dark.

For reasons he could not have named yet, unease hit him the moment he stepped through the door.

Arthur shoved the door open, a frown already forming on his face. "Why hasn't Mom made dinner yet?" he complained. "And why are all the lights off? Dad, Mom isn't even as nice as Vivian."

Huck did not answer. He moved quickly through the house, checking one room after another, but he found no sign of me.

By the time he reached the last room, his expression had hardened.

Arthur seemed to realize something was wrong at last. He looked up at Huck, suddenly uncertain. "Dad... where did Mom go?"

At that exact moment, Jacob called.

"Alpha Huck, there's still something I need to urge you to reconsider. It's about you and Lucy..."

Jacob never got to finish. Arthur interrupted him and grabbed Huck's hand, then pointed toward the front door.

Huck turned instinctively. The moment he saw who was standing there, he froze.

Vivian stood in the doorway, drenched from head to toe, her clothes clinging to her body, her face pale and fragile enough to stir pity on sight.

Huck's voice turned hurried at once. "Jacob, I'm busy right now. Tell me another time."

He ended the call before Jacob could say another word.

Then he strode forward, pulled Vivian into his arms, and the instant he felt how cold she was, his whole expression changed.

Vivian glanced past his shoulder, noticing that I was nowhere in sight. Surprise flickered through her eyes. "Where's Lucy? Did she really leave? Is she really going to break the bond with you?"

Something restless and irritated moved across Huck's face. "I don't believe she can bring herself to leave me. She'll come back. Sooner or later, she'll come looking for me."

Vivian's expression shifted, but she said nothing more.

By then, I had already settled into my new place. It was a small apartment, nothing impressive, but it was clean, bright, and entirely my own.

For the first time in years, I no longer had to plan my days around Huck's needs or Arthur's moods. I no longer poured every scrap of my energy into keeping other werewolves comfortable while I disappeared in the process.

My life became quiet. Then it filled up. Then, slowly, it became happy.

The tonics I brewed were remarkably effective, and word spread faster than even I expected. More and more werewolves began showing up, hoping to buy a bottle from me, sometimes with money, sometimes with favors, sometimes with desperation plain on their faces.

One afternoon, Nia knocked lightly against my desk and smiled when I looked up.

"Lucy, don't forget tonight's banquet. We're holding it in your honor, and you absolutely have to be there."

I smiled and promised her I would come.

Meanwhile, days passed without a word from me, and Huck grew more restless with each one.

He tried messaging me, only to discover that I had deleted him.

That realization threw him into a foul mood that lingered.

Without me there to look after Arthur day and night, Arthur began getting sick more often. Each fever, each cough, each sleepless night drove Huck closer to the edge. He was forced to handle things himself now, and the strain showed quickly.

After one more exhausting fit of tears from Arthur, Huck finally ran out of patience. He sank onto the couch, rubbed a hand over his face, and said my name without thinking.

"Lucy... If you were here, this would be easier..."

The words hung in the room for a beat. Then he seemed to hear himself, and irritation flashed across his face as if he were angry at his own weakness.

That night, Vivian sent him a message.

Vivian: Huck, will you be my date for a banquet tonight?

As she sent it, her gaze drifted back to the invitation in her hand. The gilt lettering gleamed under the light, and undisguised envy filled her eyes.

Vivian: This is the most exclusive banquet in the entire pack. I heard everyone there is either powerful or rich, or both, and that the whole thing is supposed to be incredible. I had to work hard just to get my hands on one invitation. Even if all I do is stand in a corner and watch, I'll still get to see what a truly elite event looks like.