Chapter 2: The Last Night
1338 Words
through the trees, branches whipping at her arms and tearing at the delicate white dress that now felt like a cruel joke. Her chest burned. Every breath came out as a broken sob. The pain from the rejected bond was alive inside her—like claws raking across her soul with every heartbeat.
She could still hear the pack’s whispers echoing in her mind. The way they had stared at her. The pity. The judgment. And Julian… standing there like a god who had decided she was no longer worthy.
Her feet carried her toward the private road behind the pack house where the luxury cars gleamed under security lights. She didn’t know why she went there. Maybe some foolish part of her still hoped he would chase her. That he would realize what he’d done and take it all back.
Headlights cut through the darkness.
A sleek black Rolls Royce purred to a stop beside her. The door opened, and Julian stepped out, tall and imposing in his tailored black suit. The same man who had just publicly destroyed her looked barely ruffled. Only the slight tightness in his jaw gave anything away.
“Sofia.”
His voice was low. Dangerous. That same voice that used to whisper promises against her skin.
She spun around, backing up until her spine hit the cold metal of the car. “Don’t. Don’t you dare say my name like that after what you just did.”
He closed the distance in two strides. One large hand slammed against the roof of the car beside her head, caging her in. His scent—dark cedar and storm winds—flooded her senses, making the broken bond scream even louder. Up close, she could see the storm in his gray eyes. Conflict. Anger. Something deeper he refused to name.
“I don’t care about the ‘pull’ of the moon, Sofia,” he whispered, voice rough as gravel. His breath brushed her lips. “I need a Queen who can lead an army, not a girl who cries over fated bonds. I reject you. Go find some human boy to play house with.”
The words were even more devastating the second time. They carved themselves into her heart like a blade. She shoved at his chest, but he didn’t budge. He was immovable. An Alpha through and through.
“You bastard,” she choked out, tears streaming freely now. “Two years, Julian. Two years of nights where you held me like I was everything. You told me the Goddess chose right. You made love to me like I was your forever. And now you throw me away in front of everyone because I don’t have a wolf?”
His free hand came up, fingers brushing a tear from her cheek almost gently. The touch burned.
“The pack is weakening,” he said harshly. “No True Alpha heirs in three generations. Valeria has killed twelve rogues this year alone. She can stand beside me in war. You… you would be a target. A weakness.”
“A weakness,” she repeated bitterly. A harsh laugh escaped her. “I was never a weakness when you were burying yourself inside me, was I? When you were growling my name like a prayer?”
Something flashed in his eyes—heat, memory, pain. For a second, his control slipped. He pressed closer, body flush against hers, the hard planes of his chest crushing her softer curves. The mate bond, even shattered, still tugged desperately between them.
“I’m doing what’s right for the pack,” he growled. “For all of us.”
“Liar.” Sofia tilted her head up, meeting his gaze without flinching even as fresh pain lanced through her. “You’re scared. Scared that if you choose me, you’ll have to admit the great Julian Blackwood has a heart. That maybe love matters more than bloodline purity and warrior queens.”
His hand slid down to grip her waist, fingers digging in possessively. “Stop.”
“Or what?” she challenged, voice cracking. “You’ve already rejected me. What more can you take?”
Silence stretched between them, thick and heavy. In the distance, the pack celebration had begun without her. Music. Laughter. The sound of her replacement being welcomed.
Julian’s forehead dropped to hers. Just for a moment. A broken sound rumbled in his chest—his wolf, grieving.
“I’ll always protect you,” he murmured. “From afar. But I can’t have you as mine.”
Sofia closed her eyes, letting the tears fall. Then she shoved him again, harder this time. He stepped back.
“You don’t get to protect me anymore,” she said, voice gaining strength even through the sobs. “I’ll go. But remember this, Julian Blackwood. When your perfect warrior Luna fails to give you the heir you crave… when your pack keeps weakening and you realize what you threw away… don’t come looking. Because I won’t be here.”
She turned to leave, but a sharp cramp doubled her over without warning. Not the bond pain. Something warmer. Deeper. Lower in her belly.
Julian reached for her instantly. “Sofia—”
“Don’t touch me!” She slapped his hand away and staggered toward the trees, one arm wrapped protectively around her stomach.
She didn’t stop running until she reached the small guest cabin she’d been using near the border. The moment the door slammed shut behind her, she collapsed onto the bed, gasping.
The cramps came again. Mild but insistent.
Sofia froze.
Slowly, almost fearfully, she placed both hands over her lower abdomen. She wasn’t wolf-born like the others. She had no inner animal to whisper secrets. But in that quiet room, with her heart still bleeding from rejection, she knew.
A tiny life flickered inside her. Fragile. New. Defiant.
Julian’s child.
A son? She didn’t know how she could tell, but the feeling was strong. A boy with his father’s royal blood.
A hysterical laugh bubbled up, quickly turning into sobs. Of all the nights… the Goddess truly had a wicked sense of humor.
She curled into a ball on the bed, still in her ruined white dress, and let herself cry for everything she had lost. For the future she had imagined. For the man who had chosen power over her. For the child who would never know his father’s pack.
Hours passed. The sky outside began to lighten toward dawn.
Sofia finally sat up. Her hands were steady now as she picked up her phone. With trembling fingers, she booked a one-way ticket to the human city of Silverhaven—far beyond Blackwood territory. A new life. A hidden life.
She packed lightly. Just clothes, some cash she’d saved, and a single photo of her and Julian from happier days. That one she tucked into her bag, not sure if she would burn it later or keep it for the child.
Before she left the cabin, she stood at the window, looking out toward the main pack house where lights still glowed.
“You made your choice, Julian,” she whispered into the quiet room. “Now I’m making mine. I will raise this child strong. Loved. Powerful in ways you’ll never understand. And he will never be a pawn in your precious bloodline games.”
She slipped out the back door as the first birds began to sing. A black SUV waited at the border checkpoint—arranged through a discreet contact. No one stopped her. Not yet.
As the vehicle pulled away from Blackwood lands, Sofia pressed her hand to her stomach again.
The pain of the broken bond still throbbed, but that small spark inside her burned brighter with every mile she put between herself and the man who had rejected them both.
She didn’t look back.
Not even when a distant, anguished howl pierced the morning air—Julian’s wolf realizing too late that she was truly gone.
- Writer
