NO WAY FOR US

The decision to leave crept up on me slowly, like the gradual encroachment of shadows in a room. At first, you don’t notice the darkness, but by the time you realize it’s there, it’s already swallowed you whole. There wasn’t one betrayal, one heartbreak that drove me to this point; rather, it was a thousand little moments, each cutting me a little deeper until I could no longer ignore the truth.

When Sera first joined the pack, I didn’t think much of it. Ashton said she was promising, with a potential that reminded him of himself when he was younger. I remember watching him say those words with a spark in his eyes I hadn’t seen in years.

“She’ll learn fast,” he had told me one evening, pride radiating from him in a way that felt almost foreign. I smiled, brushing off the unease gnawing at me. Sera was part of the pack, an asset to our future, nothing more—or so I told myself.

But as the weeks wore on, things shifted. Ashton’s dinners with me became less frequent. His touch, once warm and comforting, grew distant, as if I were something fragile he didn’t want to break but also didn’t want to hold.

I saw it in the way Sera looked at him, a spark of admiration bordering on something more, and the way his gaze lingered on her just a beat too long.

At first, I ignored it, telling myself it was nothing. But a chill settled in my bones each time I watched them together, a chill that no warmth could thaw.

I waited, telling myself that it would pass, that whatever was happening between them was fleeting. Ashton and I had weathered storms before—this would be no different.

But even I couldn’t ignore the truth that festered beneath my skin. My loyalty was blinding me, keeping me tethered to a fantasy while reality eroded everything, I thought we had.

The night of the ambush stripped away any illusions I’d been clinging to. It had been brutal, a flash of violence that left us scrambling, fighting for survival. The chaos swept through like a storm, and I remember the pounding of my heart, the wild instinct to survive.

I searched for Ashton in the mess, knowing he was my partner in everything, the one who’d always have my back. But when I found him, he wasn’t looking for me. He was shielding Sera, pulling her to safety, while I was left to fend for myself. In that split second, something in me shattered. He hadn’t chosen her that night—he had chosen her long before.

Now, as I stood in our shared bedroom, packing my things, I realized I was done. I couldn’t keep pretending that what we had was real or that he’d somehow wake up and remember who I was to him.

The room felt hollow, the remnants of our life together reduced to shadows and dust. I went to the closet, grabbing a suitcase and setting it on the bed. I didn’t need much. Just enough to leave and not look back.

I paused as my eyes landed on a scrap of lace half-hidden beneath the bed. It was a piece of lingerie, delicate and distinctly not mine. I’d found it weeks ago, tucked under the mattress like a dirty secret, and had shoved it back, unwilling to confront what it meant. But now, as I stared at it, I felt a surge of clarity. It was a symbol of everything I’d been avoiding, a testament to the lies I had built my life around. I tossed it on the bed beside my suitcase, a final, silent statement to Ashton and to myself.

He was gone again, off with Sera on some “pack mission” that we both knew wasn’t really business. They’d left without a second thought about me, their plans taking precedence over any remnants of loyalty Ashton and I once shared. But this time, when he returned, he wouldn’t find me here waiting for him, heart in hand.

I walked over to the desk by the window, grabbing a pen and a sheet of paper. Words were never enough to capture heartbreak, and I doubted they could express the years of betrayal that had led me to this moment. But I needed to say something, even if it was just a formality. My hands shook as I began to write.

“Ashton,” I started, “I’ve tried to ignore what’s been happening for so long. I convinced myself that you would see me again, that maybe there was something left between us to save. But you’ve chosen her, over and over, and I can’t keep pretending I don’t see it. I can’t keep waiting for you to remember me. I deserve better.”

My heart twisted painfully as I scrawled the final words. “By the time you read this, I will be gone. I did my part as your mate, your friend, your lover. Since my presence never held your loyalty, I hope my absence gives you the peace my love couldn’t.”

I folded the note and placed it on the bed beside the forgotten piece of lingerie. A final goodbye, a hollow reminder of everything I was leaving behind. The room felt unbearably silent, like a tomb filled with memories of a life that should have been. I took one last look, hoping to feel something, anything—regret, sadness, maybe even anger. But all I felt was a weary relief. I was finally letting go.

With my suitcase in hand, I stepped out of the bedroom, the door clicking softly shut behind me. No regrets, no second thoughts—just the weight of a decision that had been a long time coming. I walked down the hall, each step carrying me farther from the life I’d once clung to so desperately.

It was time to leave, and this time, there would be no coming back.