Chapter 3

Halfway through the banquet, I went out to the terrace for air.

Leander followed me and grabbed my wrist.

His palm was callused from years of holding surgical blades. "Elowen, what exactly do you mean by this?"

"Exactly what I said." I pulled my hand free.

Leander laughed in anger. "How long are you going to keep acting like this? Is this still about the Northern deployment order?"

Clearly, from beginning to end, he had believed I was merely throwing a little tantrum.

"I asked Celeste. She really did plan to remind you. Even if you hadn't seen the email, she would have told you the next day at the latest. Stop being so petty."

I nodded. "Yes. You're right. I should thank her."

"Don't use that tone with me." He released my wrist, his voice hard. "You are coming with me to the summit next month. We agreed on that."

Then he turned and left, the hem of his suit jacket cutting a sharp line through the air.

At eight o'clock on the morning of the summit, I stood at my apartment window and looked down. Leander's car was parked below, and Celeste leaned against it, occasionally glancing up toward my floor.

I drew the curtains shut. My phone vibrated with a message from Leander.

Come down. Do not make me say it again.

I replied: Packing. Not going.

Is the summit less important than packing? If you do not come this time, don't regret it.

After sending that message, he left with Celeste.

That day, he posted three updates on Instagram.

Every single one included Celeste.

Brought a young researcher to her first world-class summit today. That spark in her eyes reminds me of the beginning.

She got shy after a few legends in the field praised her work.

Summit photo. New voices deserve to be seen. The future belongs to them.

Comments from mutual friends appeared one after another.

Is Alpha bringing a student or a mate? He is so attentive.

Dr. Hart didn't go? Did the strongest healing duo break up?

Celeste really is talented. Alpha has an eye for people.

Maeve sent me screenshots, furious.

Celeste is absolutely doing this on purpose! You and Leander may not have gone public, but everyone in the circle knows you've been together for seven years. This is disgusting.

Aren't you going to do something?

Was it disgusting? A little. But more than that, it was liberating.

One intern had been enough to let me see clearly what seven years of love had been worth.

The more I cherished him, the more he took it for granted.

The withdrawal period for the Northern deployment order had passed. That was that.

I began preparing my gear.

High-risk territory aid was not easy. I needed ballistic armor, emergency healing kits, multiple vaccines, antimalarial drugs, and psychological training for battlefield post-traumatic stress disorder.

But once my mind settled, it felt less like exile and more like a new beginning.

Before I left, I asked Maeve to have dinner with me.

Northern food would take some getting used to. I might as well start early.

Maeve stared at me. "Leander and that intern are already acting like that, and you still have the mood to try new food?"

"Why wouldn't I?" I smiled.

Work was work. Love was love.

Whenever Leander and I had argued before, I had always been the one to make peace. But this time, he had crossed my bottom line.

On the way back to my apartment, I even found myself humming.

Maeve looked at me in disbelief. "Have you really let go? I saw Leander and Celeste's Instagram. They've been interacting even more since they came back from the summit..."

I did not answer.

When we passed the old campus of the Wolf Medical Academy, I asked Maeve to go ahead and went alone into the ivy-covered laboratory building.

The rooftop was where Leander and I had first met.

Eight years ago, I had still been a wolf medical student. He was already the youngest regional director of the Moonbound Healers Alliance and the newly appointed Alpha of Blackridge Pack.

That night, I had been harshly criticized by my mentor for a surgical error and had hidden there to smoke.

He found me and led me to the railing.

"Look down."

He pointed at the thousands of city lights below. "What is one mistake in the span of an entire life?"

From a terrified wolf medical student, I later became the partner who worked most seamlessly with him.

Before every dangerous mission, we often came here. Together, we discussed injuries, argued over treatment plans, and shared our breakthroughs.

Leander liked leaning against the railing and looking out at the lights of the medical center in the distance.

"Elowen, you're improving so quickly that I almost feel threatened."

Back then, I had smiled at his profile. "Then you had better work hard. Don't let me surpass you."

In our third year, in an interpack border zone, a breach appeared in the area under my responsibility and three team members were infected.

Headquarters investigators accused me of negligence in front of an entire tent of people and wanted to send me back to the pack.

Leander stood up and stepped in front of me.

"I am the chief supervisor of this epidemic zone. I will take responsibility for every issue. Dr. Hart's protective protocol carried my final signature. If anyone is to be disciplined, discipline me."

He bore all the pressure and voluntarily applied to extend his time stationed there as a remedy.

After the investigators left, I stood in the tent that reeked of disinfectant and watched Leander's profile as he organized medical reports. My trust in him and my love for him grew so full they almost overflowed.

We got together after that night.

Now, those memories had become sharpened silver blades, cutting deep.