Too Late, Alpha. Our Bond Is Already Broken.

"Mom, if I say it slower, will Dad get here in time?" My daughter, Lucy Voss, clutched her ceremony card as she whispered the question. She was 6 and had just grown a new front tooth. Air whistled through her teeth when she tried to say long words. I crouched, smoothed her shawl, and opened the mate link. Cedric Voss's voice came through. "Give me 10 more minutes." "Lucy's about to start..." "They've sent Lydia her husband's belongings. Irene, don't rush me." The mate link went silent. Lucy looked at my face, then pushed in the empty chair beside us. "I'll go up by myself." Other fathers helped their children hold their prayer cups. Lucy had to cradle hers in both hands. Water spilled over the rim and soaked her cuffs. The priest brought over the prayer register for the parents to sign beside their children's names. I signed and handed back the pen, but Lucy put her hand over the blank space next to my signature. "Can you leave it until tomorrow? Dad will sign it." The priest glanced at me, tore out a duplicate page, and gave it to her. She carefully folded it and tucked it into her little pocket. Her wet sleeve left a ring of water on the paper. After the ceremony, I asked the childcare worker to take her to change. I went alone to the prayer room in the west wing. Through the gap in the door, I saw Cedric steadying a lamp stand for Lydia Marlow. "Will everything be all right with Lucy?" she asked. "Irene will handle it." I didn't open the door. A server in the corridor recognized me and stopped with his tray. "Luna, the Alpha asked the kitchen to send these over. Shall I save some for you?" The tray held warm milk and muffins. Lydia had come to light her lamp without eating, and he was worried her stomach would hurt. Lucy had been waiting for her ceremony since morning. All she'd had was half a cup of water. "No, thank you. Please bring my daughter a cup of warm milk." The server left. I stood by the wall for a while, then took out my phone and canceled the celebratory dinner I'd booked. When I was pregnant with Lucy, something had frightened my wolf. Cedric had skipped his first Alliance meeting as Alpha and held me all night. When the elders pressed him to attend, he'd said, "My mate needs me more." Now I was always the one left waiting. At home, Lucy was cleaning her little dress shoes. "Let's put them away for now. Dad hasn't seen them yet." I closed the shoebox for her, then called the Royal Court's priest. "I want to dissolve my mate contract." "A unilateral application requires a cooling-off period of 3 full days. Once it expires, you must take an oath at the Neutral Moon Altar." "I'm sure." I submitted my identification documents and an application for temporary care of Lucy. On Thursday, at 6:20 p.m., I would be free to leave. That evening, Cedric came home with strawberry pastries. He'd bought me flowers, too. He tried to kiss my forehead. I bent to take the flowers and avoided him. "Still angry?" He sighed. "Lydia's place is too noisy. I've moved her into the south guesthouse." "That's where we're holding Lucy's birthday party." "We can use the garden. She's only staying temporarily." I took the travel and care authorization out of a drawer. "I'm taking Lucy away in 3 days." He read the terms and signed. "A change of scenery will do you good. Once she's settled in, I'll come get you both." After signing, he took my hand and straightened my mating ring. "Irene, you're the only one I love." Familiar warmth flowed through the mate link. I knew he wasn't lying. "Will you have breakfast with Lucy tomorrow?" He was about to answer when his phone lit up. Lydia said she could hear wolves howling outside the guesthouse. Cedric picked up his coat. "It's her first night here. I'll go check on her." I let go of his hand and watched him leave. Then I uploaded the authorization, opened the closet, and took out two suitcases.