Chapter 5

Kelsey POV:

I went back to the penthouse.

The Shadow Runners were efficient. While I was at the hospital, they had come and gone. My closet was empty. My jewelry box was cleared. They had even sprayed a chemical neutralizer that broke down scent markers.

The room didn't smell like me anymore. It smelled like sterile lemon and nothingness.

I had one hour left.

The front door beeped.

My heart stopped. Bennett wasn't supposed to be back yet.

He walked in, looking exhausted. He had a bandage on his arm where they had drawn the blood.

"Kelsey?" He looked around the living room, frowning. "Why does it smell like bleach in here?"

"I was cleaning," I said, keeping my voice steady. "To get rid of the... mess."

He didn't notice the missing photos on the mantle. He didn't notice that my favorite throw blanket was gone.

"Good," he grunted. He walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He started pulling out my food-my yogurt, my salads-and tossing them into the trash.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Aria is coming here tonight," he said. "The doctor said she needs constant monitoring. She has cravings. I need to make space for her protein shakes and red meat."

He was nesting. He was clearing out my territory to make room for his new mate.

"I see," I said.

"And I'm going to the West Coast tomorrow," he added, not looking at me. "The Alpha Summit."

Liar. He was going to take her to Italy or somewhere private to let her rest. I knew it.

"Okay," I said.

He finally looked at me. "Kelsey, when the twins are born... we'll figure this out. You can help raise them. You can be... like an aunt. It's better this way. You were never meant to be a mother."

The cruelty of it took my breath away. He wasn't just replacing me; he was demoting me to a nanny in my own home.

"You're right, Bennett," I said softly. "I was never meant for this life."

He seemed relieved by my submission. "I'm glad you're finally being reasonable."

He checked his watch. "I have to go pick up her things. Be gone before we get back. I don't want you upsetting her again."

"I will be gone," I promised.

He walked to the door. He paused, as if waiting for me to hug him, to beg him to stay. It was our routine. I would cry, and he would leave.

I stood still, my hands clasped behind my back.

He frowned, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. But he shrugged it off.

"Bye, Kelsey."

The door clicked shut.

I waited two minutes. Then I grabbed my single carry-on bag.

I walked through the penthouse one last time. I looked at the kitchen where I had learned to cook for him. I looked at the balcony where I had waited for him night after night.

I felt... nothing. No sadness. Just a cold, hard resolve.

I walked to the door. I took off my wedding ring-a heavy platinum band with a diamond that had always felt too big for my finger.

I placed it on the entry table.

"Goodbye, Alpha," I whispered into the silence.

I opened the door and stepped out. I didn't look back.

Downstairs, a black sedan with tinted windows was waiting. The driver didn't speak. He just opened the door.

I slid inside.

"To JFK," I said.

As the car pulled away, merging into the New York traffic, I took a deep breath. For the first time in my life, the air didn't smell like duty or failure.

It smelled like rain. It smelled like freedom.

And deep inside me, in a place I didn't know existed, something stirred. A tiny, golden spark flickered in the darkness of my soul.

Soon, a voice whispered in my mind. Not a human voice.

My eyes widened. I looked around, but I was alone.

The car sped toward the airport. Toward Paris. Toward the unknown.

I was leaving Kelsey the Wolfless behind. I didn't know who I was becoming, but I knew one thing:

I would never bow to an Alpha again.