My goddess.

He wasn't incapable of that kind of devotion.

It just wasn't for me.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, but I swallowed it anyway.

Beyond a numb, dull ache of acceptance, I felt nothing else.

My love for Ethan had always been nothing but a one-sided fantasy.

It was time to wake up.

I was about to leave when I heard footsteps approaching. Alex appeared through the trees, his face dark with anger.

He'd heard everything too.

"So that's how you really feel about my sister," Alex said, his voice deadly quiet.

Ethan spun around, his face flushing with embarrassment and alcohol. "Alex, I—"

"If this is how you've always felt, you should never have given her hope," Alex continued, his Alpha power radiating outward. "All these years, letting her believe there might be something between you. That was cruel."

"Look, man, I never promised her anything—"

"Get out," Alex said simply. "Take your mate and get the hell away from my sister. Don't come near her again."

Ethan opened his mouth to argue, but something in Alex's eyes made him think better of it.

He nodded curtly and walked away, calling for Marcus.

I stepped out from behind the trees, and Alex's expression immediately softened when he saw me.

"Sylvia, I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"It's okay," I said, and surprisingly, I meant it. "I needed to hear it. I needed to know."

We were halfway back to the pack house when we heard screaming.

Smoke was rising in the distance, thick and black against the sky.

"Fire!" someone shouted.

We ran toward the pack house, and my heart stopped. The entire east wing was engulfed in flames, the fire spreading rapidly through the wooden structure.

Pack members were running everywhere, some carrying belongings, others just trying to get clear of the building.

The heat was intense, even from a distance. The flames roared like a living thing, hungry and destructive.

"Everyone get back!" Alex shouted, using his Alpha voice. "The whole building could collapse!"

That's when I saw Ethan pushing through the crowd, his eyes wild with panic.

"Where is she?" he was shouting. "Where's Victoria?"

Marcus grabbed his arm. "Ethan, calm down. She's probably already out."

"No, she went back for her jewelry!" Ethan's voice cracked with desperation. "She's still inside!"

He tried to run toward the burning building, but three pack members tackled him.

"You can't go in there!" one of them yelled. "Even an Alpha won't survive those flames!"

Ethan fought against them, his eyes blazing. "She's my mate! I have to save her!"

Before anyone could stop him, he shifted into his massive black wolf. His Alpha strength broke through their hold easily.

He bounded toward the inferno without hesitation.

"Ethan, no!" Alex shouted, but it was too late.

The wolf disappeared into the flames, and for a moment, there was only the roar of the fire.

Then we heard it—a terrified scream from inside the building.

Minutes that felt like hours passed. The heat was unbearable, even from where we stood.

Finally, a figure emerged from the smoke and flames.

Ethan, back in human form, was carrying an unconscious Victoria in his arms. His skin was blackened with soot and burns, his hair singed, but he kept moving.

He collapsed just outside the building, still clutching Victoria protectively against his chest.

Most of his back and arms were severely burned, the flesh angry and raw. But he'd shielded her completely—she was barely singed.

---

The pack healer arrived within minutes, taking one look at Ethan's injuries and immediately calling for an emergency transport to the healing center.

"Third-degree burns over forty percent of his body," she said grimly. "His wolf is barely conscious. We need to move him now."

They loaded him onto a stretcher, and he was still semi-conscious, still reaching for Victoria.

"Is she... is she okay?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.

"She's fine," the healer assured him. "You saved her."

A weak smile crossed his burned features before he lost consciousness completely.

As the ambulance pulled away, I stood there watching, feeling strangely empty.

Even facing death, even burned and broken, his only thought had been of her.

That was real love.

Devastating, all-consuming, reckless love.

And I finally understood that I had never been, and would never be, the recipient of anything like that from Ethan.

I looked at Alex. Despite everything, his face was etched with worry for his friend.

"Alex," I said, my voice remarkably firm. "Go home. Get some rest. We can't help much here."

He tried to protest.

"Please, Alex. I need you to do this. I... I'm fine. I just need..."

I needed to leave.

He finally agreed, his shoulders slumping with exhaustion.

After he left, I went home alone.

I unpacked my suitcase.

I began packing.

A few hours later, Alex found me, a duffel bag in hand, ready to stay with me.

He paused at the door, seeing the open suitcase and the piles of clothes.

"Sylvia? What are you doing?"

His voice was soft, filled with a growing understanding and a deep, unconcealed pity for me.

"I'm leaving, Alex," I said, looking down at a folded sweater. "My flight to Europe leaves tomorrow morning."

"But... your silver dagger wound. And Ethan..."

"My wound will heal. And Ethan... Ethan has Victoria."

I finally looked at him, offering a faint, sad smile.

"It's time to have your own life, brother. Get away from all this."

The next day, I spent my time making final arrangements, wrapped in a kind of self-imposed isolation.

I carefully packed my collection of healing herbs into protective cases, along with my research notes on werewolf medicine.

Then I picked up a small USB drive from my desk.

Ever since Victoria had let slip at the hospital that the child she was carrying wasn't Ethan's, I'd had someone investigate her background. What I'd found was damning.

She'd been involved with rogue wolves, dangerous outcasts from various packs. The pregnancy was a calculated move - she wanted to pass off a bastard child as Alpha bloodline.

Even though I no longer loved Ethan, I couldn't stand by and watch the northern territories fall into chaos when the truth eventually came out.

I placed the USB drive in a small wooden box, the kind used for precious pack heirlooms.

My phone buzzed. It was Alex.

"Sylvia? Can you... can you come pick me up? I'm at Ethan's place. It's his bachelor party tonight."

His voice was slurred with alcohol and something else... despair?

Bachelor party. Of course. Even with Ethan still recovering from his burns, his friends would celebrate.

The thought of going to Ethan's apartment - the place he now shared with Victoria - made my stomach clench.

But Alex needed me.

"I'll be right there," I said, picking up the small box.

When I arrived at Ethan's house, the door was slightly ajar. Music and drunken laughter spilled out.

I walked inside and stopped short.

The place had been completely transformed.

Gone were the scattered silver dagger and other weapons I remembered from years ago.

Now everything was sleek, minimalist furniture arranged with artistic precision. Expensive taste, expensive pieces.

Victoria's influence was everywhere.

A large framed photo of her and Ethan sat prominently on a side table, both of them grinning with nauseating happiness.

A woman I didn't recognize was cleaning up empty bottles.

She noticed me looking around. "Luna has excellent taste, doesn't she?" she said politely. "Alpha has changed so much since she moved in. He adores her. Renovated the entire place just for her."

Adoration. Change. All for her.

I found Alex slumped on a leather couch, looking miserable.

He was drunk, but not happy drunk. Sad drunk.

"Sylvia," he said blearily, looking at me with unfocused eyes. "You came."

"Let's go home, Alex."

As I helped him to his feet, Ethan emerged from the back room, leaning heavily on a cane.

He was pale and thinner than before, but his eyes were sharp.

He saw me. His expression tightened.

"What are you doing here, Sylvia?"

Alex swayed, one arm draped over my shoulder.

"She's my sister, Ethan. She came to take me home. She's... she's leaving, you know. Going far away."

Something flickered in Ethan's eyes. "Leaving?"

"Yeah," Alex mumbled. "European pack. Never coming back."

Ethan looked at me with a strange expression I couldn't decipher.

"I hope you'll be happy," I said quietly, my voice steadier than I expected. "I really do."

I paused, then held out the small wooden box.

"This is for you. A farewell gift."

Ethan's eyes flashed with something - surprise? He reached for the box, his fingers just touching the wood when his phone rang.

The ringtone was bright and cheerful.

Victoria.

He turned away, his attention immediately diverted. "Hey, baby. Yeah, the guys are still here... No, I'm fine... I miss you too."

He didn't open the box. He'd already forgotten about it, about me.

I didn't mind. This was my final warning to him. After this, whatever happened to him was no longer my concern.

Alex and I left quietly.

In the taxi, Alex was mostly quiet, leaning against me.

The next morning, when we stopped in front of the airport terminal, he hugged me tightly.

"Be happy, Sylvia. Please. Be happy."

"I will be, Alex. You too. And... go to the marking ceremony. For yourself. Not for him."

He nodded, his eyes suspiciously bright.

I walked toward the gate, my carry-on light, my heart lighter.

My phone vibrated. It was Ethan.

I didn't answer.

I turned off the phone. Then, methodically, I blocked his number, Victoria's number, and the numbers of everyone in the pack.

Everyone.

Complete severance.

As the plane taxied down the runway, I took one last look at Northern territory's skyline, the city of both broken dreams and new beginnings.

Then I closed my eyes.

No looking back.