After my Alpha lost his memory

"Did he really fall for it?" Nancy asked.

Her voice drifted through the crack in my hospital door. I froze, my hand hovering over the nurse call button.

"He didn't fall for anything, Chloe," Nancy laughed. "He planned it."

"Wait. He planned the amnesia?" Chloe asked, her voice rising in disbelief.

"Obviously," Nancy scoffed. "He needed a clean way to get rid of Ava. You think he just magically forgot his Luna?"

"But what about the last three years? You were gone."

"I was never gone. Look at this necklace."

"Wow. Are those real diamonds?"

"Custom cut," Nancy bragged. "Jason flew to Paris to give it to me last year. He told Ava he was at an Alpha summit."

My stomach plummeted.

"He visited you?" Chloe gasped. "While he was married?"

"Every month. He never stopped loving me."

"What did he say about Ava?"

"He told me she was just a placeholder. A duty to the pack. He said he was miserable waking up next to her."

I pulled my hand back from the call button. My fingertips turned numb.

Three years.

Thirty-six months of lies.

When he kissed my forehead before those fake summits, he was already thinking of her. I had fought so hard to win his heart. I cooked his meals, managed his pack, and bled for his people. I thought my devotion had earned his love.

I was a fool. I had been deceiving myself the entire time. He never loved me.

My phone buzzed on the bedside table, vibrating against the plastic tray.

I picked it up. A text glared on the screen.

*Jason: Come to the Pack House. Now.*

I stared at the words. Yesterday, I would have rushed over, eager to prove my worth. Today, I felt absolutely nothing.

I ripped the IV tape from my skin. A drop of blood welled up on my arm. I ignored it.

The heavy oak doors of the Alpha's office stood slightly ajar.

I pushed them open.

Jason sat behind his desk, shuffling a stack of territory reports. He didn't bother to look up.

"Close the door," he ordered.

I pushed the heavy wood shut. It clicked into place.

"You wanted to see me," I said. My voice sounded foreign. Flat. Empty.

He finally raised his head. His silver eyes met mine, cold and unyielding.

"We are severing the mate bond," Jason announced.

He didn't sugarcoat it. He didn't hesitate.

"I see," I replied.

"I have amnesia," he continued, leaning forward. "I don't remember you. I don't remember our wedding, and I don't remember mating you."

"You've made that clear."

"I love Nancy now. She is the only one I want."

"Understood."

"Okay," I said.

Jason blinked. His brow furrowed. "Okay?"

"Yes. I agree." I gave a single nod.

He shifted in his chair, his broad shoulders tensing. "You aren't going to fight me on this?"

"No."

"You aren't going to cry and tell me I'm making a mistake?"

"Would it change your mind?" I asked.

He clamped his jaw shut. A muscle ticked near his ear. "No."

"Then there is nothing left to discuss." I turned toward the door.

"Are you trying to manipulate me?" he snapped.

I looked over my shoulder. "Manipulate you?"

"This calm act," he accused. "You think if you play the victim, I'll suddenly feel guilty and stop the severance."

"I am not acting, Jason."

"You were screaming at Nancy in the mall yesterday! You claimed you were pregnant to trap me!"

"And you told me the pup wasn't yours," I reminded him. "You made your choice."

He stared at me, his silver eyes searching my face for a lie. He found nothing.

"Fine," he said, his voice dropping. "The Elders will prepare the paperwork."

"I will sign whatever you need."

"And your things?"

"I'll send someone for them."

"Ava."

I stopped, my hand on the brass doorknob.

"Leave the pack ring on the desk."

I slid the silver band off my finger. I walked back and set it on the wood. It made a hollow clink.

"Goodbye, Jason."

I walked out.

I didn't turn around to see his face, but the heavy silence radiating from his office spoke volumes. He got exactly what he wanted. So why did his scent suddenly shift with unease? Why did his Alpha aura retract, leaving the room feeling strangely empty?

The afternoon wind whipped across the Pack House lawn.

I walked past the training grounds. Several warriors paused their sparring to watch me. I ignored their whispers.

"Is she leaving?" a guard muttered.

"Good riddance," another replied.

I kept my eyes forward. My feet carried me toward the eastern border, away from the territory I had helped build.

Where would I go? I had no family left.

A sharp cramp suddenly seized my lower abdomen.

I gasped, stumbling forward.

My sneakers scraped against the dirt path. I wrapped both arms around my stomach.

"Ah!" I cried out.

Another wave of agony tore through me, sharper than the last. It felt like a knife twisting in my gut.

"No," I pleaded to the empty forest. I pressed my hands harder against my skin. "Please. Not my baby."

The pain flared again, blinding me.

Sweat beaded on my forehead. My breathing turned shallow and rapid.

I collapsed onto my side in the dirt. The tall grass scratched against my cheek.

I had to survive this.

I need to leave Jason behind. I must forge my own path, for me and my child.

That was my final thought.

The blue sky above me dissolved into a heavy, suffocating black.

"Luna!" a panicked voice shouted from the darkness. "Someone get the medic! She's bleeding!"