The Runaway 1

Chapter 1 

My mother drilled one lesson into me from the start: “If your Alpha betrays you, don’t crawl. Sever the bond before it severs you.” 

So when I saw the recording of my so-called destined mate-Alpha Kael Frost-his touch lingering on his Beta, Claire Ramos, longer than any innocent Alpha should, I didn’t think twice. 

I rejected the bond on the spot and walked straight into the human city without looking back. 

That night, fury burned through my veins until I stumbled into a neon-soaked nightclub. Out of spite, I paid 

for ten male Omegas in one go. 

Their sugary scents clung to the air, dizzying and sweet, their bodies circling me like moths drawn to a dangerous flame. 

For the first time in years, I wasn’t Kael’s Luna, wasn’t bound by his Pack’s shadow. I was just Athena— 

wild, reckless, and free. 

What I hadn’t expected? 

Kael himself storming into the club like a battlefield raid, half his warriors at his back. 

The music strangled to silence. Wolves and humans froze, heads bowing instinctively beneath the sheer 

force of his Alpha dominance. 

And there he stood—our untouchable Alpha-fists clenched at his sides, chest rising hard, golden eyes 

blazing, streaks of tears cutting his face as he saw me surrounded by strangers. 

His voice broke the hush like a blade through glass. 

“Athena, you’ve got it wrong. She was ambushed by rogues-I pulled her out, that’s all. Just watch the full 

footage before you throw me away!” 

The very first thing I did when both families pushed for our mating was demand secrecy. 

The night before I was supposed to be presented to the Frost elders, I overheard Kael speaking with his Beta. 

“If I seal the mate bond with Athena, Claire won’t be able to take it-she’ll come back from the border in 

pieces.” 

Claire Ramos. His precious Beta. 

She and Kael had trained together since their training days, survived that bloody border ambush side by side. 

He nearly lost his arm saving her that night-the wound ran to the bone. 

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When gossip about their “closeness” grew too loud, the Elders had no choice but to send Claire to another 

territory. 

So when the bond was finally sealed, I stared at Kael for a long, unbroken moment, hunting for something- 

any flicker of truth in his eyes. 

But his gaze was frozen steel-calm, unreadable. 

In the end, I was the one who broke first. 

“Fine. But on one condition: this sealing stays buried. No Pack rumors, no Luna rites, not unless I say so.” 

The chamber fell silent. Even Kael raised a brow. 

Facing their stunned stares, I let my words cut sharp and cold: 

“I won’t be a subject of the Pack wives’ gossip table.” 

The day I moved into his manor, dragging my last suitcase across the threshold, I stopped his hand before it 

could brush mine. 

“We need clarity,” I said, watching his surprise flicker. “I can’t stomach Claire Ramos. And I won’t share a 

bed with an Alpha whose heart is still with her.” 

Kael chuckled quietly, brushing his thumb along my burning cheek. 

His touch was all dominance, but his eyes softened like molten amber. 

“Relax, Athena. You’re the only wolf I’ll ever hold space for.” 

Then his mouth met mine, sunlight spilling through the windows, burning away every scrap of doubt I had 

tried to clutch. 

For the next three years, he was flawless. 

Every patrol, no matter the hour, he returned with roses gathered under the moon. 

Once, I mentioned craving honey cakes-by dawn he had returned from the nearest city, box in hand. 

Whenever we clashed, it was always Kael who bent first, who apologized, who treated me as if I were 

something fragile and rare. 

I let myself believe. I even began planning our mating ceremony. 

Until Claire returned. 

From that day forward, Kael-who had never once vanished during his downtime-suddenly had endless “Pack business.” 

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First night: a midnight text-[Emergency patrol. Don’t wait.] 

Second night: he staggered in at dawn, boots caked in red dust-not from our training grounds, but from 

the border. 

The third night, restless, I scrolled through HowlNet at two in the morning. 

#Alpha Kael seen escorting Beta Ramos from the airfield. 

The photo was damning. Kael in black patrol leathers, standing on the tarmac as Claire ran into his arms. 

His palm pressed against her back-steady, familiar. The same touch he once used on me. 

Before I could slam the screen dark, the comments poured in like wildfire: 

“They’ve always belonged together. He nearly gave his arm for her-who wouldn’t root for that?” 

“That rumor about the Alpha’s arranged Luna? Clearly fake. Claire’s obviously his true mate.” 

My phone vibrated. 

A missed call from Kael, thirty minutes old. 

I called back. No answer. Tried again. 

Finally, he picked up, his voice low and jagged as stone. 

“I’m busy.” 

Two words. 

Two words that tore through me like claws. 

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