Bella’s POV

When I opened my eyes again, it was like I wasn’t really there anymore.

I had become a ghost, just floating above the world, watching it all unfold. My body was still lying somewhere in that forest, bloodied from the rogue’s attack, but my soul had drifted away.

Before I could figure out what was happening, a strong wind swept me away from the woods and took me straight to Jacob.

I found him in the waiting area of the pack healer’s clinic, sitting beside Mandy. She looked weak, her head resting on his shoulder, smiling widely. The sight of them made my gut twist. I wanted to scream, but all I could do was watch.

Jacob’s phone rang. The Beta’s voice echoed through the line.

"Hey, where are you and Bella? It’s been hours. Did something happen?"

He didn’t even flinch, no worry in his voice. “No, she’s just throwing a tantrum. You know how she is, always trying to make things about her.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I’m lying somewhere bleeding out, and he thinks I’m throwing a tantrum?

"Anyway," he continued, "I’m with Mandy. She’s… well, she’s going through something more important right now."

I watched, helpless, as Jacob hung up the phone, his face still sour. “Bella’s really full of herself. She thinks just because she’s pregnant with our pup, she can control everything.” His voice dripped with disdain.

Mandy’s lips curled into a small smile, but she put on her “concerned” face, patting his arm gently. “It’s not her fault, Alpha. Don’t get too mad. I shouldn’t have asked you to stay with me.”

Jacob immediately pulled her closer, comforting her like she was fragile. “No, no, Mandy. Bella can’t even compare to you.”

Hearing him say those words, with such coldness, broke something in me. I thought about how I had chased him, how I believed I could make him love me. I was always second to Mandy, even after she left him. I knew it, but I always hoped he’d change.

And here I was, watching him with the woman who came back who had his heart all along.

Hours passed. Jacob finally took Mandy home, and I followed, my spirit bound to him somehow. His mind wasn’t on me, but on his phone, always checking it for something that never came.

By the time he got back to our house, it was late. He walked inside, irritated by the dark, empty rooms.

“She’s really not here? She’s actually staying out?” he muttered to himself, as if the idea that I could have disappeared was more annoying than worrying. He yanked his shirt off and tossed it onto the couch, clearly frustrated that I hadn’t come crawling back.

Then his phone rang again. This time, I saw something I didn’t expect. A brief flicker of disappointment crossed his face when he saw Mandy’s name. It was quick, gone as soon as it appeared, but I saw it. He wasn’t as happy as he let on.

“Alpha, I need your help with my brother’s case. Someone reported him.”

Bella’s POV

Jacob sighed, rubbing his temples. “Yeah, Mandy, I’ll help. Your brother’s my family too.” He hung up and sat there in silence, the weight of everything pressing down on him.

For the first time, I saw it. He wasn’t invincible. He wasn’t this heartless creature I had painted him to be in my mind. He was just... lost, caught in a web of choices he didn’t know how to handle. But that didn’t change the fact that he left me. That didn’t change the fact that I was dead, or at least as good as dead, because of him.

I thought back to that moment, lying in the forest, blood pouring from my wounds. He had abandoned me for her. Chosen her over me, again. But now, watching him alone in our house, I realized something: he might have chosen Mandy, but he wasn’t happy. And maybe, just maybe, there was a piece of him that regretted it.

“Where the hell are you, Bella?”

But that regret won’t save me now.

I watched as Jacob stirred awake on the sofa in our shared home, his brow furrowed in worry for the first time.

Last night had been a blur; he’d sat there lost in thought, glancing at the door like he was waiting for someone who would never return. I was that someone, but he couldn’t see me.

As he stood up, his eyes fell on the untouched slippers by the door, and I felt a twisted satisfaction at the sight. It was a small, petty triumph, but in that moment, it felt monumental. His mood darkened as he pulled out his phone, the screen illuminating his face in the dim light. The message he sent felt like a knife stabbing me in the heart:

(Bella, if you don't want to return, then you might as well stay away for good.)

The words hung in the air, suffocating me. I couldn’t help but sneer at the screen, my spirit whispering back, “I won’t ever come back to you, Jacob.”

I felt a strange mix of anger and sorrow.

He went through the motions of preparing for the day, but I could see his mind was still tangled in confusion and regret. I followed him as he made his way to the pack’s headquarters, the place he and the beta, Lucas, had built together from the ground up. It was a testament to their hard work and loyalty, but now it felt like a prison.

Not long after Jacob sat down, Mandy walked in. She looked exhausted, shadows under her eyes betraying her restless night.

“Alpha, you’re the only one who can help me this time,” she pleaded, her voice trembling, breaking the fragile silence.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, instantly concerned, shifting from his own troubles to focus on hers.

Mandy launched into her story, her words rushing out between shaky breaths. “I asked Marco about what happened. Someone saw him with the rouge wolf who killed someone but I know he’s innocent.”

Jacob’s face paled as he absorbed the details, each word tightening the knot in his stomach, “Did someone die?”