The Unwanted Omega Wife's Final Goodbye

Khloe Harper POV:

I didn't sleep.

The morning sun streamed through the windows, but it brought no warmth. Barron never came home.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My face was pale, and my blue eyes were shot through with red veins. A bitter, self-mocking smile touched my lips.

I couldn't stay in this cold cage any longer.

I changed into a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I was going back to the Sunstone Pack.

I didn't tell anyone, not even my parents. I just wanted to escape, even if it was just to breathe familiar air for a little while.

I drove my car out of the underground garage, leaving Barron's territory behind. As my car crossed the Pack border, the invisible pressure on my shoulders lessened slightly.

After a few hours, I arrived at the Sunstone Pack's territory. The air was filled with the familiar scent of pine and earth, but my heart remained heavy.

I parked in front of the Harper main house, the house I grew up in.

The moment I got out of the car, I saw her.

Katharine.

She was standing on the porch steps, as if she had been waiting for me.

She had changed. She was no longer the sister I remembered, always in elegant dresses. She wore a sleek, black combat suit, her dark brown curls pulled back in a high ponytail. Her eyes were sharp, like a hawk's.

Her scent had changed, too. It wasn't just her usual Alpha scent anymore. It was mixed with something else... a foreign, hard power that made me deeply uncomfortable.

"You're back, little sister," she said. Her voice was calm, but there was no warmth in her brown eyes.

"I just... came back for a visit." I found my voice was dry. In front of her powerful aura, my Omega instincts felt suppressed.

Her gaze swept over me, as if assessing an object. "You've lost weight," she said flatly. "It seems the Alpha King's castle isn't as nourishing as the legends say."

Her words were a gentle knife, sliding precisely into my wound. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms.

"That's none of your business," I retorted coldly.

She let out a soft laugh and slowly walked down the steps, closing the distance between us.

"How is it not my business? You're a Luna now. You represent the face of our Sunstone Pack. If you look too... pathetic, what will others think of us?"

Her words infuriated me. "It's not your place to lecture me, Katharine!"

She stopped right in front of me, her height advantage allowing her to look down at me. "Not my place?" She tilted her head. "Khloe, have you forgotten? If it weren't for your Mate-bond with Barron, I might be the one standing in his territory, lecturing you."

Her words hit me like lightning. It was my deepest fear, and the Pack's most well-known "regret."

I saw my mother, Kristine, walk out of the house. Her face wore its usual worried expression. "You two, why are you arguing the moment you see each other?"

Katharine immediately shed her aggressive demeanor, turning to our mother with a gentle smile. "It's nothing, Mom. I was just showing Khloe some concern."

I watched her change faces so quickly, a chill running down my spine. This was the real her, always able to play the perfect daughter in front of our parents.

My mother's gaze fell on me, laced with a hint of disapproval. "Khloe, why did you come back alone? Where's Barron? As a Luna, how could you leave the Alpha King's territory without permission?"

There it was again. She was always concerned with my title, my duties, never with me as a person.

I didn't want to explain. I just said tiredly, "I'm tired. I want to rest in my room."

I walked past them and headed into the main house.

In the instant I brushed past Katharine, I smelled it. On top of her own scent, there was another faint, but achingly familiar, aroma.

Cedar and mint.

Barron's scent.

My feet froze. All the blood in my body rushed to my head.

I whipped around, staring at Katharine, my voice trembling with rage. "You... you've seen him?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Katharine's face before she regained her composure. She lifted her sleeve to her nose, feigning innocence. "Oh? Have I? Perhaps I brushed against someone in a public place."

She was lying. The scent was faint, but it clung to her combat suit. It was not something you could get from "brushing against someone."

My mind went blank, filled with one horrifying thought: while I was desperately waiting for him to come home, he was with my sister.