Chapter 5-1
700 Words
Damon's pov
I climbed the stairs to our bedroom, the bracelet box still in my jacket pocket. Kira had seemed distant when I'd given her the first one, distracted. Maybe if I showed her the matching earrings I'd commissioned, she'd understand how much I valued her.
How much I needed her to stay.
I knew I’d been getting a little too close to Serena lately.But it didn’t mean anything.
Serena was just a political symbol. Back when the Alliance was first founded, the Langley was already a pack people knew by name. That kind of deep-rooted influence was something I could never have achieved, no matter how hard I worked my entire life.
Who would ever have taken a rising noble from the south seriously?
Everything Kira and I had fought for looked like nothing more than childish games to them—just a couple of young wolves playing at ambition.
Kira would have understood.
I pushed open the door and realized the room was quiet.
"Kira?"
No answer.
Her side of the closet stood open, hangers bare. The dresser drawers gaped empty. Even her books were gone from the shelf.
My chest tightened.
She wouldn't actually leave. Since we got married, she'd always been by my side, her emerald green eyes forever filled with love.
But somehow the look in her eyes that day—when she held the urn and said she wanted to dissolve the mate bond—kept haunting me.
My wolf, Nox, was deeply unsettled, roaring at me over and over, as if it sensed something was wrong.
I forced down the unease in my chest and told myself…
This was just... A tantrum? A way to get my attention.
I stopped short when I saw the papers on my desk, the dissolution agreement and the bracelet I'd given her, placed deliberately on top like a rejection.
I grabbed the papers, reading them frantically as if the words might change.
She'd actually done it.
Panic clawed at my throat as I raced downstairs, taking the steps two at a time.
"Mother!" I called out. "Mother, have you seen Kira?"
Margaret emerged from the sitting room, a glass of wine in her hand. "Oh, did she finally leave? Good riddance."
"She left the dissolution agreement." I thrust them toward her. "She's gone.."
"Darling, calm yourself." My mother waved dismissively. "It's just a ploy to lure you back. She's trying to manipulate you."
"You don't understand—"
"I understand perfectly." She sipped her wine. "Give her a few days to stew. Without power or money, she'll have nowhere to go. She'll come crawling back soon enough, begging for another chance. Then you can set proper terms for the relationship."
I stared at her, my mind racing.
Maybe she was right. Kira had no pack, no family, no resources beyond what our marriage had provided. Where could she possibly go?
I didn't truly want her gone, I just needed to climb higher in the Alliance. The Langley connection could open doors the Thornwood name never could. Once I had real power, real status, I could give Kira the life she deserved.
This was the only way.
I just needed her to understand that.
"You're right," I said finally, though the words tasted bitter. "She'll be back."
Kira's pov
It was already a new week.
I checked my reflection one last time before heading downstairs.
The hotel room I'd rented was modest but clean, all I needed while I figured out my next steps. Commander Rylan's offer to return to the Air Force kept echoing in my mind.
But tonight, I had a different obligation.
Professor Elias Crane had helped me lay my parents to rest without asking for anything in return. The least I could do was thank him properly over dinner.
I'd chosen Lumière, one of the capital's finest restaurants. The hostess led me to a quiet table by the window overlooking the city lights.
"Professor Crane will be joining you shortly," she said with a smile.
I ordered water and settled in to wait, watching the other diners. The restaurant hummed with low conversation and clinking glasses, the atmosphere refined and—
My stomach dropped.
- Writer
