Rue’s POV

As I walked away from Aiden and the mess that was now officially behind me, I heard her voice again, Sora, low and cutting like she always was.

“She’ll probably refuse to hand over the court documents when the time comes.”

Veronica sighed, her voice drenched in condescension. “But a divorce, right now? Something about this feels off. I think she’s hiding something.”

Sora didn’t even try to lower her voice. “Aiden, is this really in your best interest? How are we supposed to secure the Blood Claw alliance without her? It doesn’t make sense.”

“She’s just an omega,” Sora added with a mocking laugh. “What does she know about politics or alliances?”

“She’s cunning,” Veronica murmured, her tone almost admiring, in that backhanded way she did everything.

“But you, my son, you’re far more capable. If you can seal the Blood Claw alliance without her, you’ll be the first wolf in history to pull it off.”

“And it’s good riddance anyway,” Sora added, voice smug. “After giving birth, her figure went from hot to halfway. She was starting to become dead weight.”

“Your sister makes a point,” Veronica said smoothly, always encouraging, even in cruelty. “Just promise me you won’t regret this later, Aiden.”

Then came his voice. Cool. Sure of himself.

“Let’s see how long she lasts.”

I didn’t flinch. I didn’t turn around. If anything, his words sparked something inside me, a strange comfort.

Let them think they’ve won. Let him laugh, smirk, bask in this fantasy that I’ll come crawling back. If he only knew.

If Aiden had the slightest idea who I really was, Rue Hawthorne, daughter of Alpha Cyrus, rightful heir of the Blood Claw Pack, he’d choke on every smug word.

I passed them on my way upstairs. Didn’t even break stride. But I turned just slightly, enough to speak, voice calm, clipped.

“A lawyer will be in contact with you to handle any legal proceedings,” I said, not looking back.

And then I walked away for good.

Outside Iris’s room, I paused, hand resting against the glass. She looked so small beneath the blankets, her tiny chest rising and falling with slow, labored breaths. Tubes and wires ran across her fragile body.

She didn’t deserve this. None of it. All I wanted was for her to smile again, to be free of pain, to have a future, something brighter than what I had endured.

I called my father.

“We’ll be coming back soon,” I told him. My voice didn’t waver.

Aiden’s POV

After Rue and Iris left the hospital, I went home expecting some kind of message, maybe a call. Something. Anything. But days passed, and there was nothing.

A week later, the court documents arrived. Finalized.

I held the stamped decree in my hands for longer than I should’ve, staring at it like it had a second page I hadn’t noticed before. But there was nothing else, just cold legality.

My wolf, Blue, shifted restlessly beneath my skin, uneasy. He didn’t like the silence. Neither did I.

She hadn’t begged. Hadn’t pleaded. No last-minute messages. Not a single tear. She’d followed through without hesitation.

That part, that infuriated me the most.

Under my mother’s advice, I’d played it tough. Cold. I assumed Rue would back out. I thought she’d buckle under the weight of her own emotions, the way my mother said she would.

“She actually went through with it,” I muttered to myself. I tried calling her. Left messages. Told her she should rethink it, for Iris’s sake. Nothing. Her number was disconnected. She was just… gone.

The door burst open. Vance stepped in, his eyes dropping immediately to the brown envelope sitting open on my desk.

“The hospital called,” he said cautiously. “They can’t locate Rue. Or… Iris.”

I didn’t even look up. “You came all the way here to waste my time with that?”

Vance didn’t move.

“If she’s decided to disappear, that’s her choice. It has nothing to do with me.”

He hesitated. “But your daughter…”

“Dammit, Vance!” I snapped, fangs flashing. “Then go look for her if you’re so damn concerned!”

The words came out harsher than I intended, but I didn’t take them back. I hated how this whole thing was affecting me.

Hated how I checked my phone every few minutes for a message that never came. Hated that my wolf was pacing inside me like something was off, like we’d lost more than we were willing to admit.

What kind of Alpha admits weakness?

I slammed the divorce file shut, cramming it into the drawer like it was a bomb I could hide.

And then, as if summoned, the door opened again, without a knock.

Haven strutted in, bright and perfect as ever, holding a set of velvet ring boxes.

“Our engagement ceremony will be incredible,” she announced. “Second biggest event after a wedding. Oh, and the jeweler sent new ring designs. I’m leaning toward the emerald. It matches my eyes.”

She slid onto the arm of my chair, a smile painted on. I barely glanced at the sketches. “Whatever you want.”

Her smile faltered. “You didn’t even look.”

“I’m busy,” I said, pushing aside the folders, Blood Claw scouting reports, alliance proposals. Useless.

“Busy thinking about her?” she asked, voice sharp now, the sweetness stripped away.

Her name in Haven’s mouth lit a fire in my chest. “You’re being ridiculous,” I snapped.

She sat back, folding her arms. “The Blood Claw Pack never collaborates with outsiders. Instead of chasing shadows, why not ask for an invitation?”

“An invitation?” I scoffed. “You think that’s how this works? Half the continent licks their boots and still gets ignored. They don’t even acknowledge most packs. What makes us special?”

“Try,” she said simply. “What do you have to lose?”

Maybe she had a point. I had tried everything else. Reaching out to the Blood Claw Pack directly, subtly, through third parties, nothing worked.

Maybe this was my last shot before I gave up entirely. Three months passed.

The silence settled in like fog. Heavy. Suffocating.

Not a word from Rue. Not a whisper. No sudden calls begging for help, no drunken messages accusing me of ruining her life. No angry outbursts. No guilt trips.

She vanished like she never existed. And that,bothered me more than I could explain.

Don’t get me wrong, I told Blue, trying to convince myself more than him. I don’t miss her.

But that didn’t stop me from checking my phone every damn day. Still no messages. Still no missed calls.

She’d cut me off clean.

“Vance!” I barked.

My beta skidded into the room, ever alert. “Alpha?”

“Find my daughter.”

He blinked. “I thought you said…”

“I said find her, Vance,” I snapped. “Go out. Do whatever it takes. I want her back.” He nodded, but I could see the question in his eyes.

I didn’t give him a chance to ask about it. I didn’t need to explain myself. Because somewhere, buried beneath the rage, the stubborn pride, the strategy and politics, was something I hadn’t let myself feel in years.

Loss. And a deep, gnawing fear that maybe this time, Rue wouldn’t come back. And I wouldn’t know who I was without her.