Does anyone have a link for this novel?
I stood in what used to be my kitchen, holding the divorce papers Kieran had just thrown across the marble countertop like they were takeout menus. The weight of the document felt heavier than it should have—twenty-three pages that somehow managed to erase four years of my life.
"You can keep the dog," Kieran said, not looking up from his phone. "I'm keeping the apartment."
My fingers tightened around the papers. The apartment. The one I'd saved three years of freelance design income to put a down payment on. The one where I'd spent weekends hunting for the perfect mid-century modern furniture, where I'd hung my collection of Risograph prints on walls I'd painted myself.
"The dog is at your mother's house," I said quietly. "And this is my apartment, Kieran."
He finally looked up, his expression flat. "Check the deed, Wren. Whose name is on it?"
The air seemed to thin. When we'd bought the place, my credit score hadn't been high enough to qualify for the mortgage alone. We'd used my money—every penny I'd scraped together—but put his name on the paperwork. A temporary arrangement, he'd promised. We'd transfer it to both our names after his promotion to Beta.
That promotion had come six months ago. The transfer never had.
"Those are your things," Kieran nodded toward the front door, where two black garbage bags sat like accusations.
I walked over, my bare feet silent on the hardwood floors I'd refinished myself. Inside the bags, my clothes were crumpled together—silk blouses wrinkled against cotton t-shirts, my favorite cashmere sweater balled up with workout leggings. Everything else—my Ember temperature-control mug still sitting on the coffee table, my vintage Eames chair, the hand-woven throw blanket I'd bought from an artist in Portland—remained exactly where I'd left them.
As if I'd never existed here at all.
His phone buzzed. The screen lit up with a message from Odette: "She gone yet? I'm in the parking garage."
Something cold settled in my chest. "How long?"
"What?"
"How long have you been planning this? The timing seems awfully convenient."
Kieran's jaw tightened. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be."
"I want to see the financial breakdown." I flipped through the divorce papers, scanning for asset division. "Where's the property settlement?"
He laughed—actually laughed. "What property, Wren? What assets?"
The words hit like ice water. "The joint account—"
"Has been closed. The funds transferred to my personal account three days ago." His tone was matter-of-fact, like he was discussing the weather. "Perfectly legal. Check the signature cards."
My hands started to shake. "The connections I introduced you to at the Beta inauguration—"
"Follow the position, not the person. That's how pack politics work." He straightened his tie, the same navy one I'd bought him for his first Alpha Council meeting. "You should be grateful, actually."
"Grateful?"
"That I kept your secret as long as I did." His eyes went cold, calculating. "Do you think the Alpha Council would have accepted an Omega as a Beta's mate? I protected you, Wren. I covered for you. Made excuses for why you never shifted in public, why you avoided pack gatherings during certain times of the month."
The room tilted. He was rewriting our entire relationship, turning four years of manipulation into some twisted act of chivalry.
"I never asked you to lie for me."
"You didn't have to ask. It was obvious what you needed." He pocketed his phone. "But I can't keep carrying that burden. Odette doesn't require... accommodations."
Accommodations. Like my biology was an inconvenience he'd generously tolerated.
I signed the papers. Not because I accepted his version of events, but because standing in this apartment—my apartment—I realized I had nothing left to fight with. No money, no home, no car (also registered in his name, I now remembered), no pack connections.
Nothing.
I picked up the garbage bags, their plastic handles cutting into my palms. As I reached the front door, I heard the elevator ding in the hallway.
Odette stepped out, wheeling a suitcase behind her. She wore red-soled heels—obvious knockoffs, but she carried them like they were authentic Louboutins. Her eyes met mine for a split second before sliding away.
She couldn't even wait for me to leave the building.
The elevator ride down felt endless. Twenty-three floors of watching the numbers decrease, clutching garbage bags full of my life's remnants. My phone buzzed against my hip.
Kieran had posted an Instagram story. The thumbnail showed him and Odette on the balcony—my balcony—arms around each other's waists. The caption read: "New chapter, new energy 🐺"
Four hundred and twelve likes already.
The Uber driver helped me load the bags into his trunk without asking questions, which I appreciated. I slumped into the backseat, finally allowing my hands to shake properly.
Where was I even going? I scrolled through my contacts, looking for someone—anyone—I could call. But Kieran had been right about one thing: most of our social circle had been his pack connections. The few friends I'd maintained from before our relationship lived across the country.
My phone rang, the vibration sharp against my palm. Unknown number, 912 area code.
Savannah, Georgia.
I stared at the screen. My grandmother had lived in Savannah, but she'd died three years ago. I'd sold her house, settled her estate. There was nothing left there for me.
But I answered anyway.
"Ms. Whitfield?" The voice was professional, crisp. "This is Lyall Bloodline Registry. Your childhood bond registration has been... activated."
The words didn't make sense. Bond registration? I'd never been bonded to anyone. Omegas didn't typically form bonds until adulthood, and even then, it required mutual consent, ceremony, witnesses.
"I think you have the wrong number," I said.
"Wren Whitfield, born October 15th, 1995, in Savannah, Georgia? Granddaughter of Eleanor Whitfield?"
My throat went dry. "Yes, but—"
"The bond was registered when you were seven years old, Ms. Whitfield. Dormant status until today." Papers rustled in the background. "Your bonded mate has just entered Savannah city limits. The proximity has triggered the activation."
The Uber driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. "Everything okay back there?"
I realized I'd been holding my breath. "I don't understand. I was never bonded as a child. That's not... that's not how it works."
"According to our records, the ceremony was performed by Eleanor Whitfield on October 31st, 2002. Both parties were minors, which is why it remained dormant until now."
Halloween. I'd been seven. I remembered that night—staying at Grandma Eleanor's house, the strange candles she'd lit, the way she'd made me and some boy from the neighborhood hold hands while she spoke words I didn't understand.
I'd thought it was just one of her eccentric games.
"Who?" My voice came out as a whisper. "Who am I supposedly bonded to?"
More papers rustled. "Damon Blackwood, Ms. Whitfield. And according to our tracking system, he's been looking for you for quite some time."