Chapter 53
Astor’s Pov
The first thing I felt a knife digging into my skull.
I groaned and pushed myself up, scrubbing a hand over my eyes. My whole body felt heavy, like I had been running for a week without rest. Exhausted.
This felt wrong. Totally, completely wrong.
I am an Alpha. My wolf healing is strong. We drink, yes, but we never get this kind of heavy hangover. A headache this fierce? It felt like someone had used my head as a drum. I frowned, trying to remember how much I had drunk last night. It wasn’t an overly wild evening.
It shouldn’t have had this effect on me. It felt like I had been poisoned, not just slightly drunk.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed, the action making the room spin. I needed a clear head. I stumbled toward the adjoining bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. The shock helped a
little.
When I looked into the mirror, I saw the weariness etched deep around my eyes. Still, the cold water washed away the worst of the fog.
I decided a strong, cold drink was needed–something to fully cool down this headache.
Something came in mind. Faith.
Usually, her sweet, gentle flower and honey scent fills this entire wing of the house. It’s the scent I breathe in when I wake up. but I couldn’t scent her.
“Faith?” I called out, my voice slightly raspy.
Silence.
I still told myself not to worry. She was the Luna. Maybe she had gone down to the pack house early to sort out some duties. Today was a busy day for supply checks. She could be anywhere, doing something important.
I decided to just get on with my own work. I needed to check some files before heading to the
pack house myself.
I settled into my leather chair in my office and pulled out the large binder I needed. But something caught my eye.
The safe.
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It was a heavy, steel safe built into the wall. It held emergency cash, old legal papers, and some of the pack’s most valuable jewels. It was closed, but the small silver dial seemed… out of place. Moved slightly.
I walked over to it, curiosity turning into a knot of unease in my gut. Why would it have been
touched? Only Faith and I knew the code.
I input the codes, my hands shaking a little now, though I didn’t know why. The heavy door swung
open with a quiet thunk.
I looked inside.
The legal files were there. The jewels were there.
Most of the emergency reserve cash was gone. My heart dropped into my stomach. It was a
significant amount.
A cold, awful spike of realization hit me hard. No one had access to this safe except Faith. No one.
My mind started spinning. Why would my mate steal from the pack? Why would she steal from me? What was going on? Something was terribly, terribly wrong. The headache that had been trying to fade now returned with a vengeance.
She ran away.
The thought was horrible, burning. No, she couldn’t have. She loved promised me.
I tried to deny it, but the missing money was proof. I needed answers, fast.
I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind, focusing on my, my Beta, George.
George. Where are you?
His mind–link reply was immediate, edged with confusion. Alpha? I’m down in the main kitchen, sorting the morning schedules. Is everything alright?
No. Tell me, have you seen Luna Faith this morning?
George paused for a beat, and I could feel the strange delay even through the link. No, Alpha. Not since early yesterday afternoon. I assumed she was with you. Why?
His answer confirmed my darkest fear. She didn’t just step out for duties. She was gone.
The shock was a physical blow. Not again.
I felt anger rising hot and fast, but beneath it was a deep, aching hurt. I locked the safe, deciding I would deal with all of that later. I needed to find her. I needed to look her in the eyes and demand
an answer.
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I hurried back toward my bedroom to grab a fresh shirt and get properly dressed, preparing to
organize a full search party.
I burst into the room, ready to move, but I stopped dead at the sight of something on the bed.
Faith’s handwriting: To My Astor.
My breath hitched. My hands started shaking again, worse than before.
I didn’t need to open it to know what it was. This letter could only mean one thing. It was a final
goodbye.
A deep sense of intense, heavy pain settled over me. It felt like my soul was being ripped in two.
Slowly, I reached out and picked up the letter. The paper was cool beneath my fingertips and
unfolded the page inside.
I started to read, and with every sentence, the world around me began to crumble.
My dearest Astor,
I know you are hurt. I know you will be angry, maybe even furious, and you have every right to be. But please, try to understand.
I love you. I need you to know that love is why I stayed so long. I will never be able to love anybody the way I love you. You are my mate, the other half of my soul. But sometimes, Astor, love is just not
enough to stay.
I really, truly tried. I fought every day to be the Luna you needed, the mate you deserved. But the longer I stayed, the more I realized that I was only here for your needs, not my own. The more I stayed, the more you unknowingly broke my spirit and crushed my soul. I’m just so tired, Astor.
I need to be free. I need to be whole again.
Maybe one day, in a long time, you will look back and forgive me. If you don’t, I still want you to know that I am truly sorry.
Now, for the last things I must tell you. You are going to be a good father to Alice and to your baby.
You can finally be with Alice.
I know that deep down, you and Alice have always wanted to be together. I was always the reason why you could never be together. I was the duty, the barrier. But now, I am giving you the freedom to do whatever you want. Live the life you always wanted.
The pain she spoke of, the breaking of her soul–it was me, pushing her away while holding onto her out of duty, while keeping Alice waiting nearby. I had broken her.
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Tears welled in my eyes, but I blinked them away, the hurt now mixing with a rising wave of guilt
and confusion. I reached the end of the letter.
By the way Alpha Kyle helped me.
My jaw tightened. Kyle? Of course he did. I saw the way he looked at her.
Even though he helped me escape, please do not trust him. I don’t trust him, and neither should you.
Do not worry about me. I am never going to return.
Goodbye, my love.
I dropped the letter. It fluttered to the carpet, a silent witness to the destruction of my life.
I stood there, surrounded by the scentless, empty air of the room, my hands clenched into useless.
fists.
Faith was gone. She light to me and gave me hope that we were going to stay together but ended up giving me up to another woman like I’m something to be passed down from one person to
another.
My soul wasn’t just broken; it was shattered. The exhaustion and the headache suddenly made sense; the alcohol must have been drugged, enough to put down a regular person, but only enough.
to slow an Alpha.
She had planned this. She had taken the money and most importantly she was probably having an affair without Kyle all this time right under my nose.
