Chapter 2

Half an hour later, Derek found me at the watchtower.

He always knew where to look.

Every time we fought, I would stand out here in the freezing wind, forcing myself to calm down.

Derek ran up like a madman, his eyes locking onto the silver dagger in my hand.

It was a defensive weapon he had gifted me last year. The blade gleamed cold under the moonlight.

His pupils shrank. He knocked the dagger from my hand and pinned my wrists in an iron grip.

The silver blade clattered to the floor.

He pulled me into a fierce embrace. His body was warm, but my heart was stone cold.

Before I could speak, his furious lecture rained down on me.

"Sienna, are you out of your damn mind?!"

"It was just a joke! Was that really worth trying to kill yourself with a silver blade?!"

I blinked in confusion. "What?"

He took a deep breath, his tone softening. "As long as you're safe..."

He sighed, bent down to pick up the dagger, wrapped it carefully in a cloth, and pulled me back into his arms.

"Silly girl. How could I ever think you're old? I’ve just been overwhelmed lately... Once this busy period passes, we’ll hold our Mate Ceremony."

"Besides, in my heart, you'll always be my eighteen-year-old princess."

A rare tenderness washed over his face as he spoke.

As if that humiliating spectacle at the Pack Tavern had never happened.

For a moment, I couldn't tell which face of his was the real one.

None of it mattered anymore.

He suddenly produced a small cake from behind his back. "Today marks our tenth anniversary."

"During my first year as Alpha, the mess left behind by the former Alpha nearly destroyed our pack. Everyone was waiting for me to fail. You were the only one who stood by me without question."

"Without you, I wouldn't have survived."

"Back then, I only had enough coins left for a tiny cake, but I bought it anyway."

"No matter how hard things got, I couldn't let my princess suffer."

"Sienna, you are my life. Thank the Moon Goddess... we made it through."

His voice was low, rough, laced with a faint tremor.

So he did remember.

He remembered that I was the one who walked through the darkest, coldest winters beside him when Crescent Pack was on the brink of ruin.

Now that he sat securely on his throne, he found me old and wanted to kick me to the curb.

"The new moon is rising. Make a wish," he murmured, his eyes glowing with expectation.

I looked at him quietly. "Let's break up."

*Smack.*

The cake dropped from his hands and hit the stone floor.

The two frosting figures cuddling on top cracked cleanly in half.

Just like us.

The warmth on his face shattered completely, morphing into shock, then flaring into blinding rage.

"Sienna, you better not regret this!"

He stormed down the stairs and retreated to the Alpha suite.

Inside, he trashed the home we had built together piece by piece.

He ripped our framed photos to shreds and smashed the clay figurines we had sculpted together...

The final sound was the deafening slam of the front door.

Half an hour later, Derek—who barely ever posted on Instagram—made an unprecedented update.

[New clothes are always better. So are new mates.]

The photo showed him and Lara in a passionate kiss beneath an explosion of fireworks.

A cold smirk tugged at my lips.

I hit the 'like' button and left a comment: [Congratulations.]

Seconds later, a friend request popped up. I recognized Lara’s profile picture instantly.

Her message read: *Thank you for giving him back to me.*

Derek’s call came through immediately, his voice venomous. "What the hell is that comment supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it says. Congrats on getting back together."

"You were the one who brought up breaking up! Don't you dare come crying back to me later!"

His tone slid right back into that familiar, dismissive swagger.

He assumed I was just throwing a jealous tantrum. He hung up abruptly.

I had been naive enough to believe that even if the whole world turned against me, Derek never would.

Turns out, I was dead wrong.