My Alpha Rejected Me for Her, So I Took Everything Back

Adrian stared at me as though he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "You're getting married?" His voice was quieter now, the disbelief still evident, although something else had crept into his expression—something I couldn't quite place. I nodded. "Yes." "To whom?" I didn't answer immediately. Instead, I bent down, picked up my suitcase, and set it on the chair beside the bed. Adrian's eyes followed every movement, his expression growing increasingly impatient when I continued arranging my things. "Sera, I'm asking you a question." "I heard you." "Then answer me." I turned to face him. "Cassian Frost." For several seconds, Adrian didn't react. Then he let out a short laugh, although it wasn't the warm, careless laugh I had heard downstairs. There was disbelief in it, along with something dangerously close to amusement. "Cassian Frost?" "Yes." He slowly shook his head. "You can't be serious." "I am." Adrian walked farther into the room and closed the door behind him. The quiet click of the lock seemed strangely loud in the silence that followed. "You expect me to believe that you're marrying Cassian Frost because your parents arranged it?" "It's not about what you believe." I met his eyes steadily. "It's a decision I've made." His expression hardened. "You've been with me for eight years." "I know." "You've waited eight years for me." "I know that too." "And now, after one argument, you're telling me you're going to marry another Alpha?" I frowned. "Tonight wasn't one argument, Adrian." His brows drew together. "What is that supposed to mean?" "It means this didn't happen tonight." I picked up another piece of clothing and folded it carefully before placing it inside the suitcase. "Tonight was simply the first time I stopped making excuses for you." Adrian stared at me. I could almost see the moment he realized I wasn't going to cry, plead, or tell him that I didn't mean what I had said. For eight years, whenever Adrian disappointed me, I had always been the one to soften the blow. If he forgot an important date, I told myself he had been busy. When he canceled our plans because of pack matters, I reminded myself that being an Alpha came with responsibilities. Whenever someone asked why he still hadn't formally claimed me, I defended him without hesitation. He's waiting for the right time. I had said those words so many times that eventually, I had started believing them myself. Adrian took a slow breath. "Sera, you're upset." "I'm not." "You are." He stepped closer, his voice becoming softer. "I understand why. What happened tonight shouldn't have happened. I'll talk to Mira about the cake." I looked at him. "That's all?" "What else do you want me to do?" "Maybe ask if I'm all right." His expression shifted slightly. "I know you're all right. The healer treated you." I stared at him, trying to understand how he could say that so easily. "That's not what I meant." For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then Adrian sighed. "You know I care about you." "Do I?" The question seemed to genuinely offend him. "Of course you do." His voice sharpened. "We've been together for eight years. How could you possibly think I don't care about you?" I held his gaze. "Then why haven't you claimed me?" Silence filled the room. Adrian's jaw tightened before he finally looked away. "You know why." "No. I know the answer you've given me." "You do." "The time isn't right." His eyes flickered. "Yes." "You've been saying that for eight years." "There are things you don't understand." "Then explain them." "It's complicated." I almost laughed. "After eight years?" He didn't answer, and that was answer enough. I nodded slowly. "That's what I thought." Adrian stepped toward me. "Sera, don't do this." "Do what?" "Don't throw away everything we've built because you're angry." "I'm not throwing anything away." "You are." "No." I shook my head. "You decided a long time ago that I could wait. I'm simply deciding that I don't want to anymore." His expression darkened. "So this is about the wedding." "It's about my life." "You really think marrying Cassian will make you happy?" "I don't know." The honesty seemed to catch him off guard. "I don't know what my life with Cassian will be like," I continued. "Maybe we'll be happy. Maybe we won't. But I know what my life with you has been like." Adrian's face tightened. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" I didn't answer. He gave a short, bitter laugh. "Unbelievable. After everything I've done for you." Before I could respond, his phone rang. The sound cut through the room, and Adrian glanced at the screen. Mira. He answered immediately. "Mira?" I couldn't hear everything she said, but her voice carried clearly enough for me to hear the fear in it. "Adrian, I—I don't know what to do." His entire expression changed. "What happened?" "I think someone is following me." Adrian straightened. "Where are you?" "I'm near the eastern road. I was heading back toward the guest quarters when I noticed the same person behind me." "Stay where you are." His voice was firm now, carrying an urgency I hadn't heard when I was struggling to breathe. "I'm coming." I stared at him. He didn't hesitate, not even for a second. When he ended the call, he immediately reached for his jacket. "Adrian." He stopped and looked back at me. "You can go." "I need to make sure she's safe." I almost smiled at the irony. A few minutes ago, I had been struggling to breathe because of something that could have killed me. He hadn't left the celebration. He hadn't even come after me. Now Mira was frightened, and he was already preparing to cross the entire territory to reach her. "Of course," I said. Something in my voice made him frown. "Sera, don't start this again." "I'm not starting anything." "You know I have a responsibility to protect everyone in my pack." "She's a rogue." Adrian's expression hardened. "Exactly. She doesn't have anyone else." I stared at him. "And I do?" He went still. The question hung between us, and for once, Adrian didn't have an immediate answer. I looked down at my suitcase. "You have always told me that being an Alpha means having responsibilities. I understood that. I never asked you to abandon your pack for me." I swallowed before looking back at him. "But tonight, Adrian, I needed you." His expression softened slightly. "And you didn't come." "I didn't realize how serious it was." "You saw me choking." He fell silent. "You saw me unable to breathe, and you told me I was making everyone uncomfortable." Something flickered across his face. Regret, perhaps, but it came too late. I looked away. "Go." He didn't move. For one brief moment, I wondered if he would finally stay. Maybe he would realize what was happening and put his jacket down. Maybe he would finally tell me that none of this mattered because I mattered more. Maybe, after eight years, he would finally choose me. Adrian stood there for several seconds, his phone still in his hand. Then he glanced toward the door. And walked away. I heard his footsteps fade down the hallway. A moment later, the front door opened and then closed. He was gone. I stood beside my suitcase, listening to the silence he had left behind. My wolf stirred inside me. He already chose. I closed my eyes. For years, I had argued with that voice. I had defended Adrian even when there was no one left to defend him to. But this time, I couldn't. She was right. Adrian had chosen Mira long before tonight. Perhaps tonight was simply the first time I had stopped pretending otherwise. I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled my suitcase toward me. For years, I had imagined the day I would leave Adrian. In those fantasies, I always cried. I imagined myself begging him to stop me, while he finally realized what he had done and said the words I had waited eight years to hear. Stay. I choose you. You're my mate. But now that the moment had finally arrived, there were no tears. Only a strange, almost peaceful emptiness. I opened the wardrobe and began taking out my clothes. The dresses Adrian had bought me stayed behind, as did the jewelry he had given me and the photographs of us tucked inside the drawer. I didn't want any of them. They belonged to the woman who had spent eight years waiting for Adrian Blackthorne to make her his Luna. I wasn't that woman anymore. When I finished packing, I stood in the middle of the room and looked around one last time. Tomorrow, I would leave the Blackthorne Pack. And this time, I wouldn't be waiting for Adrian to come after me.

I woke before sunrise, lying beneath the blankets as the darkness slowly faded beyond the curtains. For a few quiet seconds, I stared at the ceiling without moving, until the memories of the previous night returned: the silverthorn, Adrian telling me not to make a scene, my mother's call, and the name that had changed everything. Cassian Frost. Seven days. That was all the time I had left in the Blackthorne Pack. I sat up and looked at the suitcase beside my bed. It was still open, half-filled with clothes I had folded the night before. I had packed the things that were easiest to choose—clothes, shoes, and a few personal belongings that didn't carry too many memories. The rest was harder. I crossed the room and opened my wardrobe. As I reached for the dresses hanging at the back, something on the top shelf caught my attention. A cedarwood box was tucked behind an old stack of blankets, covered in a thin layer of dust. I pulled it down and immediately recognized the brass latch. The memory box. Adrian had given it to me on our first anniversary. I still remembered the ridiculous pride on his face as he handed it to me, promising that we'd keep adding memories until it became too full to close. "Then we'll buy a bigger one," he'd said when I teased him about being sentimental. I carried the box to my bed and opened it. Inside was eight years of my life. The first photograph showed us beside Moonfall Lake, both of us soaked after falling into the water. Adrian had insisted he could teach me how to fish, only for us to end up in the lake twenty minutes later. He had blamed the slippery rocks, while I had laughed until my stomach hurt. I ran my thumb over the faded photograph. "Idiot," I whispered, smiling despite myself. Beneath it was the silver bracelet he had bought with his first paycheck. It hadn't been expensive, and the clasp had broken years ago, but I had never thrown it away. There were movie tickets, pressed wildflowers, birthday letters, the ribbon from his first bouquet, and photographs from festivals and celebrations. One picture showed Adrian asleep against my shoulder during a twelve-hour council meeting. Another captured our twentieth birthday, when Rowan had shoved both of us into the dessert table. I laughed softly as I turned through the memories. For a moment, I forgot about the cake, Mira, and the fact that I was leaving. I simply remembered us. Back then, loving Adrian had been easy. I had never questioned where we were going because he had always made our future sound certain. I believed there would be a day when everything would fall into place. I reached the bottom of the box and found the leather-bound scrapbook. The first page was marked Year One, followed by Adrian's messy handwriting. "To the prettiest wolf in Blackthorne. Don't laugh—I know my handwriting is terrible." I smiled. "Still terrible." The next years were filled with photographs from festivals and letters we exchanged whenever he traveled. There was even dried lavender pressed between the pages because I had once mentioned how much I loved the scent. Then the memories began to thin. The entries became shorter, and the photographs became fewer. Council meetings replaced celebrations. Business trips replaced dates. Canceled plans were followed by promises that we would make up for lost time. I stared at the pages, wondering how I had never noticed. Perhaps because I hadn't been looking back. I had been living inside those years, accepting every missed dinner and postponed celebration because I believed there would always be another day. Then I found a photograph of us standing beneath the evening sky, overlooking the cliffs of the Blackthorne territory. Adrian had his coat wrapped around my shoulders because, as usual, I had forgotten to bring one. Beneath the photograph, he had written: "One day, you'll be my Luna." My fingers went still. One day. For years, those words had lived in my heart as a promise. Now, looking at them again, I realized how little they actually meant. There was no date, no plan, and no certainty. Only one day. A tear slipped onto the page. "One day," I whispered. The words sounded empty now. I closed the scrapbook and held it against my chest. "I'm pathetic." You're grieving. My wolf's voice was gentle. "I loved him." I know. "I still do." She didn't answer. Maybe there was nothing to say. Love wasn't what had failed. What had failed was my willingness to keep accepting less and calling it love. I carried the box downstairs and knelt in front of the fireplace. The sitting room was quiet, the early morning light barely touching the windows, while the remains of last night's fire glowed faintly. For several seconds, I held the scrapbook in my lap. "I thought we'd grow old together," I whispered. Then I picked up the photograph from Moonfall Lake. "I'm sorry." I dropped it into the flames. The photograph curled almost immediately, the edges blackening until our faces disappeared. One by one, I fed the memories into the fire—the birthdays, anniversaries, flowers, letters, and tickets that had once seemed so precious. I expected to cry. Instead, I felt strangely numb. "What the hell are you doing?" I froze. Adrian stood in the doorway, still wearing yesterday's clothes. His hair was disheveled, and dark shadows rested beneath his eyes as though he hadn't slept. His gaze moved from me to the fire and then to the photographs scattered beside it. Without saying anything, he crossed the room and snatched the scrapbook from my hands. "Sera. What are you doing?" "Give it back." "Have you lost your mind?" "No." "You're burning our memories." I held out my hand. "Give me the scrapbook." "No." He pressed it against his chest. "These are our memories." "Our memories?" I glanced toward the fireplace. "Yes. They're mine too." His expression faltered. "You can't just burn eight years because you're angry with me." "I'm not angry." "Then what is this? You're trying to punish me." I shook my head. "I'm not burning them because I hate you. I'm burning them because I don't want to keep looking at them and pretending they mean something they don't." His grip loosened, and I gently took the scrapbook back. "I loved these memories," I said, my voice cracking. "That's exactly why I can't keep them." "Sera..." "Every time you said one day, I believed you. You told me that one day I'd be your Luna, so I waited." He swallowed. "I never asked you to—" "You didn't have to." I closed the scrapbook. "I waited because I loved you. I defended you whenever people asked why you hadn't claimed me, and I told myself you were simply waiting for the right time." I looked at him. "But eight years is a long time to wait for a day that was never promised." Adrian's jaw tightened. "I was going to claim you." "When?" He didn't answer. I nodded. "Exactly." "There are things you don't understand." "Then you should have explained them." "It's complicated." "Everything becomes complicated when you don't want to give someone an answer." His eyes hardened. "That's not fair." I smiled sadly. "Neither was waiting." For a moment, neither of us moved. Then Adrian reached for my wrist. "Sera." His Alpha aura rolled through the room, the command instinctive and familiar. For eight years, my wolf had responded without question. This time, nothing happened. Adrian noticed. His fingers slowly loosened, and I pulled my hand away. "I don't belong to you anymore." He stared at me, and something changed in his expression. Not anger. Fear. "Sera..." Behind me, another photograph folded into the flames. "You can't just stop loving me," he said. I looked at him for a long moment. "I didn't stop loving you." His eyes searched mine. "I stopped waiting for you." Something broke across his face. I placed the scrapbook beside the fire and stood. My wolf stirred inside me, but she wasn't grieving anymore. She was listening to something distant, something unfamiliar. A faint warmth had begun to replace the weakening bond between Adrian and me. A new pull. A different Alpha. A different future. I looked at Adrian one last time. He was still staring at me as though he had only just realized that I was capable of leaving him. For eight years, he had been certain I would always be there. Now, for the first time, he wasn't so sure.

The next morning, I went downstairs expecting the packhouse to be alive with its usual activity. Instead, I found Mira sitting beside Adrian at the breakfast table, speaking quietly while he read something on his tablet, one hand wrapped around his coffee. Except she was sitting in my place. I almost kept walking, but something caught the light against her collarbone. A small silver pendant rested against her skin, and I stopped the moment I recognized it. I knew that necklace. Adrian had given it to me on our third anniversary after spending weeks searching for it. The dark blue stone, he had told me, reminded him of my eyes. I had worn it almost every day until it disappeared two weeks ago. I had searched my room for hours, checking drawers, closets, and every place I thought I might have left it, certain that I had simply misplaced it. I hadn't. Mira noticed me staring and touched the pendant lightly. "Oh, this?" Adrian followed her gaze, and his expression remained completely calm. "I lent it to her." I looked at him, certain I had heard wrong. "You lent it to her?" "I saw it among Adrian's things," Mira explained with an apologetic smile. "I thought it was beautiful, so I asked if I could borrow it for a few days. He said it was fine." Among Adrian's things. My necklace. The one I had spent hours searching for. "You had it?" I asked Adrian. "It was in one of the drawers." "And you gave it to her?" "I told you. I lent it to her." Once, seeing another woman wearing something Adrian had given me would have shattered whatever composure I had left. I would have demanded an explanation, searched his face for reassurance, and desperately tried to convince myself that I still mattered to him. This time, I simply nodded. "It's fine." Adrian's eyes narrowed as he studied me. "You don't mind?" "Why would I?" He seemed almost disappointed by my answer. His gaze remained fixed on me, as though he were waiting for jealousy, anger, or some other reaction he could understand. I gave him none of them and quietly took the chair at the opposite end of the table. Seven days. In seven days, I would leave the Blackthorne Pack. The necklace no longer mattered, and neither did the matching bracelet around my wrist. Adrian had given me the bracelet with the pendant, and I had continued wearing it even after the necklace disappeared. Somehow, taking it off had always felt like admitting that something between us had changed. I finally understood how foolish that had been. I unclasped the bracelet and placed it on the table between us. Adrian's eyes dropped to it. "What are you doing?" "Returning it." "You don't have to." "I know." He stared at the bracelet without touching it, then looked back at me. "Sera, you're acting strange." "I'm tired." "You're different since last night." I gave him a faint smile. "Maybe I'm finally tired of being the same." Before he could respond, a servant entered and reminded him that the council meeting was scheduled for ten. Adrian glanced at the clock and nodded. "I'll be there." When he looked back at me, his expression had become more serious. "We'll talk later." "All right." But I knew I wouldn't be waiting for him. I had spent eight years waiting. I wasn't going to spend another hour doing it. ** By noon, I was in the main hall sorting the documents that needed to be delivered to the council. I simply wanted to finish everything I could before leaving, and keeping myself busy was easier than allowing myself to think about what had happened that morning. I was halfway through the stack when Mira appeared in the doorway. "Sera, can I talk to you?" I kept my eyes on the papers. "About what?" "Adrian." I set one document aside before looking at her. "If you're worried about him, talk to him." "It's not that." She stepped inside, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "I think he's angry with you because of the wedding." "He'll get over it." "I hope you know I never wanted to come between you." My hands paused over the documents. "You don't have to explain yourself to me." "But I do." She gave me a troubled look. "You're his mate. Whatever happens between the two of you, I don't want you thinking I deliberately tried to take your place." She sounded sincere, and perhaps that was what made her so convincing. "You haven't taken anything from me." Her expression shifted slightly. "I haven't?" "No." I gave her a small smile. "Not anymore." Her gaze wandered around the room before settling on the ceremonial ornament displayed on a nearby table. It was a silver wolf curled around a black crystal, an old Blackthorne heirloom brought out only during important ceremonies. Mira walked toward it, curiosity evident on her face. "I've never seen this before." "Don't touch it." She immediately stopped, her hand hovering above the ornament. "That's a ceremonial piece. Adrian told everyone not to handle it." "I'm sorry. I was only curious." She pulled her hand back, and I returned my attention to the documents. For several seconds, the room remained quiet. Then the ornament crashed to the floor. I spun around. The heirloom lay shattered across the tiles, while Mira stood beside the table clutching her wrist. Blood trickled between her fingers. "What happened?" She looked at me with wide, frightened eyes. "Sera..." "What?" She took a small step backward. "You pushed me." I froze. "What?" "I told you I was sorry. I didn't mean to touch your things." Tears gathered in her eyes as she shook her head. "I know you're angry with me because of Adrian, but I didn't want this." "I didn't touch you." Before I could say anything else, the doors opened. Adrian entered, his gaze immediately falling on the broken heirloom and Mira's bleeding wrist. "Mira. What happened?" She looked at him, her voice trembling. "Sera pushed me." The room went silent. "That's a lie." "I only touched the ornament," Mira said, shaking her head. "She became angry and—" "I didn't touch you." Adrian's expression hardened as he looked at me. "Sera." "She's lying." Mira lowered her head, tears finally slipping down her cheeks. "I didn't want to cause trouble. I was only trying to apologize to her." Adrian looked from her injured wrist to the shattered heirloom and then back at me. Whatever conclusion he reached was already written across his face. "You've gone too far." "You actually believe her?" "I saw the broken ornament." "You didn't see me push her." "Enough." Several pack members had gathered outside the hall, drawn by the commotion. Adrian took a step toward me, his voice cold and controlled. "Apologize to her." "For something I didn't do?" "You pushed her." "No." His jaw tightened. "Sera, don't make this worse." "I'm telling you the truth." Mira quickly shook her head. "Adrian, please. It's okay. Don't fight with her because of me." Something hardened in his expression. "Apologize." I stared at him, and in that moment, I finally understood that this wasn't about the broken ornament. It wasn't even about Mira. He had already decided who he believed before he ever asked for my side of the story. My truth didn't matter. My side didn't matter. I didn't matter. "Adrian—" His hand moved before I could finish. The slap echoed through the hall. Everything stopped. My cheek burned as I slowly lifted a hand to it. Adrian stared at me, his anger disappearing almost immediately as shock crossed his face. "Sera..." I waited for the tears, but they never came. Maybe I had cried enough over the years to last a lifetime. Around us, the pack remained silent. I looked at Mira, then back at Adrian, and realized that I wasn't angry anymore. I was simply done. For years, I had defended Adrian because I believed he was a good man. I had forgiven every disappointment because I thought the man I loved was merely struggling beneath the weight of his responsibilities. I had convinced myself that his distance, his neglect, and every broken promise had explanations I simply needed to understand. Perhaps there had never been two versions of him. Perhaps this had always been who he was. I lowered my hand and met his eyes one final time. "That was the last thing you will ever take from me." Adrian's face went pale. "Sera—" I turned away. I didn't want an explanation, an apology, or another promise. I had spent eight years listening to promises. This time, I simply walked out, and no one stopped me. ** By the time I reached my room, my hands were shaking, not from fear but from finality. For eight years, I had wondered what it would take to make me leave. I had imagined some grand betrayal, some confession, or a broken promise dramatic enough to justify walking away. I had always believed that leaving would require something so devastating that I could never question my decision. I never realized it could be this simple. A single slap. A single choice. His choice. I picked up my phone and found my mother's name near the top of my messages. For a moment, I simply stared at the screen, my thumb hovering over her name as years of hesitation pressed against the decision I had already made. Then I typed the words I had been too afraid to say for years. I'm coming home. I pressed send. The message delivered almost immediately. Seven days had suddenly become too long. But for the first time, I knew exactly what I would do with them. I would settle what needed to be settled, pack what belonged to me, and walk away without looking back. I was going home. And I wasn't coming back. -- I left the Blackthorne Pack the following morning. I didn't tell anyone I was leaving. There was no reason to. After eight years of living in the Alpha's residence, I had become so much a part of Adrian's life that everyone simply assumed I would always be there. I had shared meals with him, attended council functions at his side, and waited for him to finish his work so we could have dinner together. Everyone knew me as Adrian's mate. Everyone except Adrian, perhaps. He had never given me the title of Luna. Now, I was leaving with one suitcase. I stood in my bedroom for one final moment, looking at the life I had built around him. The dresses Adrian had bought me were still hanging neatly in the wardrobe, while the jewelry he had given me remained untouched in the drawers. Photographs, letters, and gifts filled the room, each one representing a memory I had once believed would become part of a future we would share. I left all of it behind. I took only the things that had belonged to me before Adrian. Everything else could stay where it was. At the front entrance, one of the guards noticed my suitcase and looked at me curiously. "Miss Sera, are you going somewhere?" "I'm going home." He glanced at the suitcase before looking back at me. "Would you like me to arrange a car?" "No. My family's driver is already waiting." Something in the way I said my family seemed to make him hesitate. He eventually nodded and stepped aside. "Of course." I walked through the gates without looking back. The moment I crossed the Blackthorne boundary, something inside me loosened. I had expected the ache of leaving behind eight years of my life, but what came instead was a quiet sense of relief. I got into the waiting car and settled into the back seat. "Valen territory." The driver nodded before pulling away. This time, I didn't look back.