A Bitter Departure

ZAREK

She turned her attention toward me. The playful innocence she carried just moments ago vanished. A dark scowl formed on her small face. The contrast between her youthful features and the severe expression made my chest tighten.

"Why? I always wanted to find my mate, Zarek. How can you even say that? What if she finds you? Will you run away?"

I let out a dry, humorless chuckle. To a nine-year-old girl raised on bedtime stories, the world was a beautiful fairy tale waiting to unfold. To me, it was a tactical battlefield filled with hidden traps. Running away sounded like cowardice to her, but dodging a fatal bullet was just basic survival in my eyes. A Luna was a liability I simply refused to carry.

"I will just reject her, then we can both move on with our lives. It is that easy."

Her jaw dropped open. Her bright sapphire eyes widened to the size of saucers, reflecting the glistening water of the stream beside us. It took her several long seconds to process the sheer blasphemy of my statement. When she finally found her voice, it dropped into a frantic, breathless whisper. If not for my enhanced werewolf hearing picking up the slight tremor in her vocal cords, the rustling leaves overhead would have drowned it out.

"You cannot do that. Mommy said mates are a sacred gift from the Moon Goddess. And rejection will hurt her. It will destroy you too, you know."

I looked deep into her eyes. For a fleeting second, I saw a profound, heavy understanding that did not belong on the face of a child. She spoke with a conviction that rattled the iron cage I built around my emotions. I refused to let her romanticized ideals crack my resolve. I cocked my head to the side and gave her a deliberate, exaggerated wink. I needed to lighten the suffocating mood before it crushed us both. I hated discussing this destined mate topic, but brushing her off with cold silence would only break her spirit.

"I am used to being hurt, princess. No harm done."

Deep confusion contorted her features. She clutched the half-eaten cupcake in her small hand, her knuckles turning slightly white. She was not ready to drop the subject.

"What about her? Maybe she does not want to be hurt."

I shifted my gaze back to the running water of the stream rushing over the smooth stones. Annoyance prickled hot under my skin. I was a fourteen-year-old Alpha-in-training trying to justify my grim life choices to a kid holding stolen baked goods. I leaned back, resting my weight on my palms against the rough, mossy surface of the boulder behind us. The damp stone grounded me. I just wanted this cursed conversation to end.

"I do not care. Women are just a pain in the ass if you ask me."

Elowen instantly jumped to her feet. The sudden movement sent a few crumbs tumbling down the rock. She planted her hands firmly on her hips and glared down at me. The air around her practically crackled with raw, unfiltered indignation.

"I am not a pain in the ass! I might be stealing... no, taking cupcakes and cookies from Mommy without asking, but I am not a pain! So take it back right now!"

I flinched back, caught off guard by the sheer anger radiating from her small frame. A deep laugh rumbled in my chest at her sudden fiery outburst. I threw my hands up in the air in a gesture of mock defeat.

"Of course, of course, you are always the exception! I would not be sitting out here in the woods beside you otherwise, right?"

Her stiff shoulders dropped. The defensive posture melted away at my reassurance. She huffed a small breath and plopped back down onto her spot on the boulder beside me. She grabbed another cupcake from her stash, her fingers sinking into the thick pink frosting.

"And what if I am your mate, Zarek? I would make a very good Luna."

The words hung suspended in the crisp forest air. It took a while for her casual statement to fully sink into my brain. When it did, the breath stalled in my lungs. The sheer confidence in her tone felt like a physical strike to my ribs. I forced a smile onto my face. I shifted from my reclined position, wrapping an arm around her small frame. I pulled her securely against my side and gave her shoulder a gentle, lingering squeeze. I needed to tread carefully.

"I am sure you will be a fantastic Luna one day. But not my Luna. You are way too good for me, princess."

She took a bite of the frosting. She kept her gaze fixed straight ahead on the moving water, stubbornly refusing to look at me.

"I know I am too good for everyone, even for you. But what if... what if it happens? Will you still reject me and hurt me anyway? Then I will no longer have a mate."

My throat went bone dry. I swallowed hard, desperately searching my mind for an answer that would not shatter her world. I honestly did not have a script for this. How do you tell a little girl that, regardless of how incredibly special she is, you will never have room for her in your life? I closed my eyes for a brief second, battling the rising tide of guilt, before pulling her into a tight, grounding hug.

"I am certain the Moon Goddess will not mate you up with me, Elowen. I am sure of that. You are far too special for that fate. But just in case she does, then this big bad Alpha will help you get over the pain. I will never let myself hurt you, princess."

Three brutal years passed. The innocent days by the stream faded into distant, hollow memories.

A relentless, echoing banging against my bedroom door shattered my sleep.

I let out a guttural, warning growl from the back of my throat. I threw a heavy arm over my eyes to block out the intrusion. The disturbance did not stop. The pounding continued, rattling the thick wooden frame of my door on its hinges. I grunted, my muscles aching with deep fatigue.

I squinted through the dim light at the digital clock mounted overhead. It flashed 6:08 AM in glaring red numbers. My head throbbed with a vicious migraine. I had pulled a grueling all-nighter dealing with pack logistics and endless paperwork. My patience was nonexistent.

I shoved the heavy duvet off my legs. Wearing nothing but my dark boxers, I stomped across the cold hardwood floor. I gripped the brass handle and yanked the door open with a violent force. The heavy wood slammed against the interior wall of my room with a deafening crack.

"Lysandra Elowen! What the fuck is wrong with you? I was up all night working, and you have no consideration at all! Six in the morning? For Goddess's sake, can your brother not help you?"

I leaned a heavy forearm against the door pillar, glaring down with a fierce scowl. My exhaustion and blinding annoyance made me oblivious to the fact that I was standing half-naked in the hallway. My vision finally focused on the intruder.

Twelve-year-old Elowen stood before me. Her face was flushed red, deeply stained with fresh, glistening tears. Her chest heaved with rapid, ragged sobs that shook her entire body. The sight of her profound misery felt like a bucket of ice water poured over my head.

Desperation radiated from her in waves. She reached out with trembling hands to grab onto me. Finding no shirt to hold, she physically tugged at the elastic waistband of my boxers. Her grip was tight, desperate, and frantic.

"Daddy is sending me away to live with the humans! You cannot let him do that, Zarek! I am a wolf! Please, you have to stop him! I do not want to live with my uncle!"

Fresh tears cascaded down her cheeks in endless rivers. The heavy weight of Alpha duty settled painfully onto my shoulders. I reached down and gently peeled her small, frantic hands away from my waistband. I lifted my hand and softly wiped a tear from her cheek with my thumb. I kept my voice steady, delivering the cold, bureaucratic truth.

"As much as I am your Alpha, Elowen, he is still your father."

She slapped my hand away from her face with a sharp, stinging smack. She scrubbed the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. Her sorrow morphed in an instant.

"But you are my father's Alpha! He cannot say NO to you!"

"You are only twelve years old, Elowen. You are still a minor and not one of my ranked warriors. I do not have a direct legal right over you. I can, however, talk to him and tell him to think about this carefully. But the final decisions are his to make."

Deep, agonizing pain flashed in her bright blue eyes. She took a step backward, distancing herself from me.

"You all talk bullshits! You and Torin! You are cowards!"

I dragged a hand through my messy hair, tugging at the roots in raw frustration. The blatant disrespect grated on my frayed nerves. I was the Alpha of the Obsidian Crest Pack, and I refused to be spoken to this way, especially at the crack of dawn.

"Watch your mouth, young girl! It seems you forgot exactly who you are talking to!"

Her fists clenched tightly at her sides. Her knuckles turned stark white. Her entire body shook with unbridled, explosive rage as she yelled back at me.

"Of course I have not forgotten! How could I? Mighty Alpha! But it still does not change a single thing! Nobody cares about me here!"

I let out a heavy, defeated sigh. I took a step forward, reaching out to place a comforting hand on her head. She flinched and retreated another step, aggressively avoiding my touch as if I carried a plague.

"Calm down, Elowen, please. He said it is not a permanent thing. Just until he gets his act together. Give him some leeway right now, he just lost his mate."

The words left my mouth, and I instantly realized my fatal mistake. I tried to reason with her using logic, but I poured pure fuel onto a roaring fire. Her eyes blazed with a fierce, untamed hatred. She bared her teeth, glaring at me as if I were the one who ruined her life. Her voice cracked with bitter, venomous fury.

"Do not talk as if you know anything about mates! Because you do not! And just in case you were not aware, Alpha, I lost my mom! I do not need to lose a father and a brother too!"

She spun sharply on her heels. Her dark hair whipped through the air. She marched down the long, empty corridor, her footsteps echoing sharply against the hardwood floor. She walked away without ever looking back. The lingering sense of unresolved abandonment hung heavy in the suffocating silence she left behind.