Breaking the Bond: My Alpha Chose a Vampire, So I Took My Pack

Chapter 2

I wrote to my father, the former Alpha who had remained in our ancestral territory, and asked how things were there.

Then I patrolled the pack border with the warriors all night, checking every weak point in our defenses. I also asked Beta Walter to bring every omega living near the border back to the pack house.

They arrived frightened and disoriented. Some carried children, while others clutched hastily packed bags and spoke in hushed voices.

I watched the growing crowd from the second-floor railing, but their presence brought me no comfort.

By shrinking the defensive perimeter, we could protect everyone without spreading our warriors too thin.

It was the safest choice we had.

It was also the order Cassian should have been there to give.

My phone chimed. When I looked down, I froze. Lucille had followed me on i********:.

I opened her profile. Her latest post had gone up at 11:58 p.m. the night before.

The first photo showed her sitting in a Ferris wheel cabin. She wore light makeup, a knitted hat, and gloves, looking more like a human college student than a vampire. Beyond the glass, the amusement park glowed against the blurred lights of the distant city.

My mate, Alpha Cassian, was reflected in the window.

He was holding up the phone and beaming.

Another photo showed two glasses touching in a toast. Lucille's held a red liquid, while the other contained clear brandy. A heart sticker sat between them.

Her caption read: After a long, tedious life, speed and heights stopped thrilling me. Tonight, I almost heard my heart beat again.

The post was flooded with likes and comments from humans who had no idea what they were looking at.

Then I noticed a comment from Cassian: three flame icons.

My hand shook as I tapped his profile and discovered something almost laughable.

My mate, who had always claimed social media bored him, had secretly kept an i********: account all along.

I scrolled through post after post. Nearly every one was about Lucille, and the two of them had interacted countless times over the past year.

Only then did I remember that Christmas was approaching.

I had wanted to visit that Christmas-themed amusement park since the year before.

When the first snow fell the previous year, I had shown Cassian the advertisement. I told him the Ferris wheel stayed open late on Christmas Eve and that the park put on a fireworks show. He hadn't even looked up from the pack documents in front of him. He had simply said he was too busy and that we could go some other time.

My chest slowly tightened, and I closed my eyes.

The door opened.

Cassian had returned.

Cold air clung to his shoulders, but he didn't look like a man who had spent a sleepless night. When he saw the omegas filling the hall, he stopped. Confusion crossed his face, followed by a flicker of unease.

"Why are so many omegas in our pack house?"

He stood in the morning light, tall and painfully familiar. Yet for the first time, I wondered whether I had ever truly known him.

I turned my phone face down on the table and kept my voice calm.

"Christmas is almost here. Don't you think a full house feels festive?"

The hall fell silent.

Beta Walter paused nearby. Several omegas exchanged glances. Every one of them heard the sarcasm in my voice.

Cassian was the only one who didn't.

He seemed genuinely convinced. The unease left his face, and he even nodded. "It does feel festive. As long as my Luna is happy."

He came closer with a hint of apology in his voice. "Sorry, I left you to handle everything alone yesterday. Lucille's depression flared up again. You know, immortality can be a curse. Living too long can push anyone into despair."

I couldn't help laughing.

Cassian fell silent for a moment. "I know you hate vampires because of what happened to your mother."

He sounded patient, as though he were kindly overlooking my prejudice.

"But Lucille really is different. She was only a college student. Even after she was forced to become a vampire, she was still kind at heart."

My fingers curled until my nails bit into my palms.

He suddenly smiled, as if he had remembered something amusing.

"Haven't you always wanted to see human society? You should. Some vampires pretend to be human and get married, then return to the same wedding officiant 50 years later just to see the look on his face."

He laughed, his eyes warm with amusement.

I felt cold all over.

He reached for my hand.

His palm was still warm, and his thumb brushed my skin with the same easy intimacy as before. I had once loved holding his hand. I had loved the way his fingers closed around mine and the illusion that he would always choose me.

Now I only wanted him to let go.

"Let's try a human wedding ceremony ourselves, just for the experience," he said.

My heart skipped. Despite myself, I looked up into his amber eyes.

Then he added, "We'll have to do it in another city. It would upset Lucille if she saw us together. She's already heartbroken because vampires can't have one lifelong mate the way werewolves can."

Morning light streamed through the window and fell across our joined hands.

I stared at our joined hands until something inside me finally broke.

I pulled my hand free and opened my mouth to speak.

Cassian interrupted me, "Where is that communication crystal ball your witch friend owns?"