The Alpha's Mistake Is Letting Me Go

Chapter 3 - Maya’s POV

My breath caught in my throat as my feet moved swiftly toward the kitchen. Before I could stop myself, I snapped, “She’ll be what?”

Damon turned around at the sound of my voice and frowned deeply. “Keep your voice down before you upset her.”

“Elena will be staying here temporarily,” he repeated slowly, like I was a child who couldn’t understand simple words. “She needs somewhere safe to recover, and since you failed to help her when she needed it most, this is the least we can do.”

“But Damon, this is our home. Our private space,” I protested, my voice breaking slightly.

“It’s my house, Maya. I’m the Alpha, and I decide who stays here,” he said coldly. “Besides, Elena is carrying a pup. She needs proper care.”

Elena placed a gentle hand on her barely visible bump, looking fragile and vulnerable. “I don’t want to cause any problems between you two. Maybe I should find somewhere else—”

“No,” Damon cut her off firmly. “You’re staying here where I can protect you.”

I felt like I was drowning. “For how long?”

“Until she’s back on her feet,” Damon replied dismissively. “And another thing - she’s always been sensitive to cold weather. Your room faces the east and gets the morning sun. She’ll take that room.”

My world tilted. “My room? But where will I sleep?”

“There’s a guest room in the basement. You can use that,” Damon said without even looking at me.

Even after three years of being mated, we didn’t always sleep in the same bed. Damon had said he didn’t like having someone next to him at night. I understood - it wasn’t just “someone” he didn’t want next to him. It was me.

I also knew he’d always been careful when it came to Elena. He’d probably rehearsed a long explanation for why she needed my room, but when I agreed without a fight, it caught him off guard.

“Alright,” I said quietly. “There’s a lot of my stuff in there anyway. I’ll just move it all out.”

Besides, it made no difference whether I moved out sooner or later. I was already planning my escape.

The moment I said I’d take all my things, Damon almost spoke - an instinctive protest on the tip of his tongue.

But Elena cut in before he could. “Thank you, Maya. You’re so understanding.”

I didn’t answer. I bent over and started hauling a heavy box toward the stairs. There was too much packed into it, and my body was still weak from the hospital stay.

My foot slipped on the polished floor. I went down hard, my knee slamming into the ground. The box scattered its contents everywhere, and something sharp - a broken picture frame - cut into my palm.

Pain shot through me so fiercely that my back stiffened and sweat beaded along my spine. I bit down on my lip, trying not to cry out.

But Damon didn’t see it. Elena had already tugged him toward the living room, chattering about baby names.

I stayed on the floor, my body trembling as the pain sank deeper. One drop, then another - my tears pattered softly on the tiles.

In the pack house, Damon would never let Elena carry so much as a water bottle.

“Elena is delicate,” he’d say, warm and protective. “She needs to be treated with care.”

Unlike Elena, when I had been an orphan brought into the pack, I’d done all the dirty and heavy work. No one cared if I got hurt.

Now I was the Luna. Now I was Damon’s mate.

Yet still, nothing had changed.

Everyone still stood on Elena’s side - without question, without pause.

I had learned to live with it.

It took me the whole afternoon to sort through my belongings. By sunset, I’d loaded everything I truly cared about into storage boxes in the basement room.

“You didn’t have to pack so much away,” Damon said, frowning as he watched me from the doorway. “Elena’s only staying temporarily. Once she leaves, you’ll move back up. What’s the point?”

To him, something about me felt different these past couple of days - I was too calm.

“They’re old things,” I explained, my voice steady. “I figured it was time to let them go.”

“You’re not usually the type to throw things away.”

No, I wasn’t. I’d never lived a life of luxury. The things I owned, I made last.

But I only smiled. “They’ve been with me a long time. Sometimes you need space for new things. Out with the old, right?”

‘Just like people,’ I added mentally.

My reasoning sounded fair. If Damon pushed again, he’d just look petty, so he let it drop.

“There’s a pack alliance meeting tonight,” he said, changing the subject. “The Northern Pack Alpha invited me. You’ll come. With Elena.”

I was about to refuse, but he cut me off.

“You’re my Luna. I can’t show up at something like that without my mate present.”

I looked at him. A dozen things I wanted to say crowded my throat. Like: ‘And bringing Elena is appropriate?’ But I said none of them.

I just nodded. One last obligation before I left for good.

Night fell. Inside the Northern Pack’s great hall, bright lights turned the space warm and welcoming.

Everyone who mattered was there - Alphas, Betas, important pack members.

The Moonstone Pack had been growing stronger these past two years, and Alpha Marcus, the host, came out quickly to greet us.

“Alpha Damon. Your seats are ready. Right this way.”

Marcus gestured to a pair of chairs at the high table. “I heard congratulations are in order for your mating? The second seat is for your Luna.”

All three of us froze for a split second.

Damon’s mating to me had always been kept low-key. Most other packs didn’t know the details.

I turned toward him, waiting.

Two women. One seat of honor.

His decision wasn’t surprising.

“My Luna couldn’t make it tonight,” he said smoothly. “She’s… indisposed.”

Marcus blinked, puzzled, looking between Elena and me. “And these two?”

Damon stepped forward and took Elena’s hand first.

“This is Elena Morrison, daughter of the Eastern Pack’s former Beta.”

“Ah, Elena Morrison.” Marcus nodded politely. “Welcome.”

Then, as if reluctant, Damon added, “And this is Maya, my pack’s former Luna.”

Former Luna. The words hit me like a physical blow.

I didn’t flinch outwardly. I already knew what Damon’s introduction would be. But knowing the brutal answer didn’t stop the sharp pain that spread through my chest.

Still, I stood straight, swallowing the hurt and keeping my dignity intact.

Damon and Elena took their seats at the high table while I was directed to a lower table with the other pack members.

Maybe it was just the cold air in the hall. Maybe it was everything. But pain stabbed at my lower abdomen, sharp and insistent.

I pressed a hand to my belly and slipped away to the restroom