Goodbye, My Alpha. I’m Gone

Chapter 2

When I got back to my room and found Kieran already there, I made sure my face showed nothing and just gave him a small nod before I turned to walk away, because even though Sean had died saving his life seven years ago, he never liked me bringing Sean up.

Since that day was Sean's death anniversary, I did not want to get into any conflict with him and figured I would just keep my distance.

But Kieran frowned and kept pressing me, asking, "Where... where have you been?"

I told him, "I just went for a walk in the woods and had some roasted rabbit while I was out there."

He did not say anything else after that, and he did not catch on that I was lying at all because he had no idea that I actually hated roasted rabbit meat.

I used to despise it so much that even the smell made me want to throw up, but after Sean died, it became my favorite food. Every time I had it, it reminded me of Sean's smile.

The room then fell into that same dead silence that had become so familiar over the four years we had been living together, that heavy quiet where we never had anything to say to each other.

In those moments, we would just go about our own separate business, and I had never once thought there was anything wrong with that.

But then, I remembered what I had overheard earlier that day, so I called out to him and decided to make one last attempt to test where he really stood, and I asked, "Are you going to put off the wedding that was supposed to take place on the full moon night again?"

Kieran stopped in his tracks and turned around to face me, his eyes searching mine like he was trying to read something in my expression.

He must have realized that every single time before this, whenever the date had been delayed, it had always been his mother, Erica Kargin, who came to tell me on his behalf, and never once had I been the one to bring it up myself.

He took a deep breath and told me, "I... have to leave town tomorrow. There's some trade stuff to sort out with the Bloodmoon Pack..."

The air between us grew still and awkward, so he quickly added, "It's last minute, though."

That made it the eighth time he had put off our wedding.

All I did was give him a small nod and a quiet "Mm" without saying anything more, so calm that it was almost unsettling.

He clearly had not expected me to accept it so easily, and he stood there frozen for a while before he finally snapped out of it.

I had already made up my mind to let him go, so this time when I heard that the ceremony was being delayed again, I did not lie awake all night tormented by the thought like I had before.

I simply closed my eyes and slept through the night, determined to regain my strength for whatever was waiting ahead.

In my dream, I saw Sean again, his face covered in blood, and he was looking at me with tears streaming down his face, looking so pained.

I thought, 'I am so sorry, Sean, truly sorry. I cannot hold onto the Luna title you fought so hard to win for me anymore. To be honest, I do not even want it any longer.'

*****

The next morning, I got up early as I always did and went to wait by the door to see Kieran off.

But before he even came out, the first person to show up was Tina Hudson, the childhood friend who had been studying medicine alongside Kieran all those years.

The moment she spotted me, she rushed over and threw her arms around me, saying, "Sofia, I have been so exhausted since I got back that I have barely even had time to come see you, and I have missed you so, so much! Oh, what happened to your forehead?"

Kieran had not even noticed the scar, while Tina saw it instantly, and something about that made my chest tighten with a feeling I could not quite put into words.

I steered the conversation away from that and gave her a pat, asking, "What brought you here?"

But it was not Tina who answered me. It was Kieran, who said, "She is taking my carriage to the market."

He never liked it when anyone else hitched a ride with him, but then again, how could Tina ever be counted as just anyone else?

I masked the disappointment in my eyes and invited Tina to join us for breakfast.

Through the whole meal, it was mostly her chattering away while Kieran sat there with a smile on his face, responding to everything she said, and the sheer number of smiles he gave her in that one breakfast was more than all the smiles I had seen from him in the past few years put together.

People really do act completely differently when they are around the one they truly love.

Watching that made my heart feel swollen and heavy with an ache I could not quite describe, but I was certain that leaving Kieran and breaking off our engagement was the best thing for everyone involved.

I sat there lost in thought, picking at my food, and before I knew it, breakfast was nearly finished, and the moment Tina slowly put down her knife and fork, Kieran set down his own utensils right away and rose to head outside.

I quickly followed after him. When we reached the doorway, my mouth moved faster than my mind. I called out his name before I even knew what I was going to say.

He glanced at the time and the impatience was plain in his eyes. "Sofia, if you have something important to say, say it quickly."

Just now, he had been happy to linger at the table with Tina without a hint of rush, but with me there was only annoyance at being interrupted, as if I were not allowed to approach him unless I had something important to discuss.

The contrast between how he treated her and how he treated me was so stark, and the sudden shift in his tone startled me so much that my mind went completely blank for a moment.

Noticing that I seemed off, Tina immediately reached around and gave him a poke in the back, a gesture so casual yet intimate that it left no doubt about the easy closeness they shared.

His expression softened just a little as he managed to force a faint smile in my direction.

I pulled myself together and pretended I had not noticed any of it, then made myself smile back and said, "You... have a safe trip, and... goodbye."

By then, I had already made up my mind to go see Erica the next day and call off the engagement, and after that, I would be leaving the Pack for good, with no idea when I might ever run into him again, though I kept all of that to myself.

Kieran furrowed his brow as if he was about to say something, but in the end, he let it go, casting only a brief glance at the scar on my forehead before turning around and taking Tina's luggage from her without any fuss.

Tina leaned in and murmured to me, "Sofia, that's just how he is. Don't take it to heart." Her tone was so natural and familiar that it said everything about how well she truly knew him.

I just smiled without a word and gestured for her to hurry after him.

As I watched the two of them go away, their bodies so close that they were almost brushing against each other, I found myself inexplicably thinking back to those early days right after Kieran and I had first gotten engaged.