Too Late, the Luna Has Already Moved On

Chapter 9 – Even After Everything, It Didn't Even Matter

Angela’s POV

I saw Gregory staring at me after I said that. As if it was no big deal.

I simply shrugged and signed the paperwork.

I kept my voice flat and unhurried, my oversized sunglasses giving away nothing as I told the staff what to do. The new hair. The Valentino. The Dior heels planted on the office floor gave me a newfound strength. I felt raw energy hum through me. Feeling invincible.

Adrienne looked at me with barely concealed contempt. "An unusual decision," she said. "Changing your mind at the last minute like that."

I smiled, saying nothing, then got up and walked out of the office without looking back.

Gregory ran up to catch up with me as I poured myself a cup of coffee in the hallway.

"Angela." He stopped beside me. "Why did you sell it?"

I looked at him over the rim of my cup. "Did you hear what she said? She's joining Rising Notes."

"As a guest judge. A stand-in slot." He frowned. "Not a contestant."

"I know." I set the cup down. "So aren't you curious to see how it’ll play out?"

He wasn’t from our pack. Different packs had different hierarchies, laws for mate disputes – the rules were different for each pack. So I kept it simple.

"We've finalized the severance," I said. "Thirty days and it'll be official. He wants to move quickly. That song was supposed to be her statement piece — her story, her suffering, her love." I met his eyes. "Imagine when everyone finds out whose story it actually is."

Understanding moved across his face slowly, then all at once.

I smiled. "I'd like to see that too."

"Is this revenge?" he asked carefully.

"No." I picked my cup back up. Outside the window, the trees were moving in the wind, slow and indifferent. "I just want to sever every tie cleanly and live my own life." A pause. "But if they walk into it themselves — why not, right?"

Gregory was quiet for a moment. He had his own calculations to run. After all, his grandfather was the Alpha of the Stoneclaw Pack. Who had left him in charge of the entertainment division of Stoneclaw Group. It was a huge responsibility. One that might one day mean rising to the ranks of an Alpha. With that hovering over his head. He had a lot to think about.

"Perhaps," he said finally, "the severance is for the best."

I looked at him. Felt something loosen, just slightly, in my chest.

"Thank you," I said. And meant it.

Gregory wasn’t wrong for worrying. From what I knew, the three Perks brothers were competing for control of the Stoneclaw Pack. Naturally, the one with the best performance would rise to power. If things didn’t work out and this drama within the Fireflies Pack seeped into other were territories, who knew what the council’s decision would end up being? Gregory had a lot to risk. Knowing this, I felt sorry for him.

After some small talk, Gregory promised to keep his mouth zipped about my affairs. We agreed to discuss Rising Notes at a later date. He excused himself. I stayed at the window with my coffee and watched the scenery outside.

All alone, I stood quietly, coffee cup in hand, while watching the wind moving through the trees.

I didn’t know how much time passed like that without me even realizing it.

Then I heard footsteps.

I recognized the weight of them before I turned around.

I pulled my mask up and kept my back to him.

"What's the meaning of this?"

Jake's voice. Calm. Carrying the particular quality of an Alpha who had never needed to raise it to be heard.

Careful, Silvia said. The bond can feel him. Don't let him get any closer.

His scent reached me a second later. Cedar and mountain air.

Don't breathe it in, Silvia warned. It'll pull you.

I breathed through my mouth and held still.

"Your compositions show real depth," he said. "You're clearly talented. Why make things harder for someone who's already dying?"

I turned around.

He looked the same. Slightly furrowed brow, mouth pressed into a thin line.

"You think I'm talented?" I said quietly.

He looked momentarily confused. "Yes."

I smiled. Bitter, small, mostly for myself.

Talented.

Our mating ceremony night came back without permission. His cigarette. The smoke curling toward the ceiling.

Put aside those minor songwriting pursuits, Angel. Act like the Luna you are.

He hadn't asked. He'd informed me. And I'd agreed because I loved him and because his frown had told me what the alternative looked like.

He'd called it minor.

He'd never once asked to hear a single song.

"Never mind," I said.

I turned back to the window.

Jake's POV

She turned away before I could read her expression.

Something about her nagged at me. The set of her shoulders. The way she held the coffee cup. A quality in her voice that pulled at something I couldn't locate.

Marco stirred. Slow and deliberate.

What? I asked him.

He didn't answer right away.

Well?

Nothing, he said. But it didn't sound like nothing. It sounded like a man standing at the edge of something he didn't want to look at.

The shoulder-length hair. The heels. The modern silhouette. I couldn't place her.

She reminds me of Angel, Marco said finally. Our Angel.

That was when it hit me. There was something about her scent. Citrus — with notes of something floral – like jasmine. Angela. That scent reminded me of home. Of affectionate gazes staring deep into my eyes. And the warm embrace of a mate who never once turned me away.

Suddenly, I felt a pang that I’d never felt before. The broken matebond. Was it a mistake?

What was it about this woman that instantly made me regret everything? There was something about her.

Something that screamed: ‘This is your Angela. In the flesh.’

Go to her! Now！Marco growled.