CHAPTER 1; HAZEL

Hazel

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Love would be the death of me, that I knew—Today was our fourth anniversary, and I had set the dining table with Nathan's favourite dishes, the red candles flickering in the dim light.

Despite promising not to miss it, it was already 11 pm, and my husband was still nowhere to be found.

I perched on one of the seats. The tap of my fingers against the white marble table melded with the dial tone that echoed through the house that felt empty…it always felt empty.

“Do you want to blow my phone up?” Nathan’s voice came from the other end of the phone—cold and distant, yet I felt relief that he had picked up.

“Uhm… You might have forgotten, but today is our anniversary and…”

“I know what today is, Hazel.” His cold voice froze me.

If he knew, then why wasn’t he here?

“I’m busy with work. Let’s celebrate another time.”

Before I could respond, a woman’s voice came from his end. “Come and join me; I’m lonely.” A voice I have heard one too many times around him not to know who it was.

A throbbing ache punched my chest. But, as always, I endured it.

The late-night calls, the frequent nights he spent away—it didn’t take long before I began suspecting Nathan was cheating. My suspicions were confirmed when she left her mark, a smear of red lipstick on his coat. I could still feel the moment my heart crumpled, like a paper squashed beneath a cruel hand.

After that, it became an obsessive hunt as I always found signs of her—her napkin, her jewellery, lipsticks—in his coat, all like a deliberate message meant for me.

With every complaint I made and every excuse Nathan gave, the house got colder, and my husband slowly became a stranger.

Biting my lips, I waited for him to offer an excuse, but none came. I could have asked, but the pain in my chest kept me silent.

My eyes fell on the brown envelope on the table, and another cruel sting filled my stomach. “I have something so important to tell you.”

Nathan’s voice, sweet but empty, taunted me. “Don’t stay up late.”

Was the warmth meant to pacify me?

The sharp click signalled the end of the call, leaving nothing but the hollow sound of my breath. The phone felt heavier in my hands, like it carried the weight of my unspoken words—pain. Setting the phone on the table, my hands quivered.

My eyes returned to the envelope, and one question lingered on my mind: Was it worth it?

I drew out the medical report from the envelope, my death sentence staring back at me in bold black print. The pack doctor’s words gnawed in my head: “You have less than four months to live.”

Having been trapped all my life in the basement of my father’s boarding school, where he had exploited my healing powers for profit. I met Nathan, who was a student there. He risked everything to save me; we fell in love, mated, and got married. When I found he had an incurable sickness, as a wife madly in love, I threw my well-being aside and did what I had to do—I healed him.

After completely healing him a year ago, I noticed something was wrong. My body became a battlefield—every muscle ached as if waging against me. My stomach churned, rejecting every bite of food. My strength withered like a summer flower caught in winter.

My wolf weakened, and our shifts became irregular. Most times, it was as though she had completely disappeared.

I wanted to tell Nathan the truth. But every time I tried, my father’s cruel words resurfaced. “You’re an omega—worthless. Your only worth is in your healing; without it you’re nothing.”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell him I had taken on his sickness…to face the possibility of Nathan seeing me as worthless.

As an agonising pain struck me—one I had experienced—I knew what had happened: Nathan and I were linked together, so I would feel the pain if he touched anyone intimately.

My weakened wolf, feeling distant, let out a frail howl. The pain of the sickness was already unbearable, and now this—on top of it all. Nathan, as an Alpha, knew everything about the bond, about what it meant to be a wolf.

He knew I would feel the pain when he touched another woman, yet he still chose to do it. Sometimes Nathan would brush it off, claiming the pain was all in my head, leaving me to question my sanity.

Nathan never let me leave the house, have friends, or perform my Luna duties. Aside from the pack doctor, I’d never met a single pack member. He claimed it was all to protect me from the outside world.

While he went out and had all the fun, I was trapped in here with no one to turn to.

It was hard to believe the man who had once saved me, who couldn’t sleep without holding me and always made time to come home, had become cold and distant.

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Hours later, Nathan returned. I darted towards the door. My eyes landed on Nathan. His tall frame shrouded in his black suit. His sharp brown eyes and beautiful face glistened beneath the yellow light in the living room.

I should be mad at him, but it was hard as I desperately clung to the past we shared. Besides, he was all I had.

“You’re back home,” I said, forcing a smile. I inched in to embrace him, but her scent wafted in my nose. And all the pain came back, breathing its terror into my veins.

“I thought I told you to not stay up.” He shrugged his suit and tossed it on the sofa.

I stood silently, my eyes following his every movement as he brought out a brown envelope from his bag.

”I also have something important to discuss with you,” Nathan said, plopping on the sofa.

My throat clenched at the emptiness in his eyes. “Alright,” I said, sitting opposite him.

“I have been thinking about this for some time now. It was a difficult decision for me.” His eyes fixed on me. “But I think we should end this facade called marriage.”

The air-laden and painful gulps ran down my throat. “Is it because of her?” My voice broke.

“Just sign the papers.” Nathan placed his ballpoint pen on the white paper he had tossed on the table between us.

I tried to speak, but my throat tightened in pain. What had I done wrong? Was it because I wasn’t as pretty as she was or because my cooking couldn’t compete with hers? Or was it simply because I wasn't as good in bed as her?

Drawing a breath, I attempted to pull myself together. “Why her, not me? What does she do for you that I can’t?” Tears pooled in my eyes.

I had nowhere to go, no family, no one else. Nathan was the only one I had.

“Stop this, Hazel.” His throat visibly tightened. “You must have felt the space between us. Just sign it.”

Unable to get to him, I got more desperate, the pain of betrayal gnawing at me. I sprang to my feet and clutched at the divorce paper, intending to rip it apart.

As the edge began to rip, Nathan lunged and snatched the paper from my hands, causing a tiny corner of the document to tear, leaving a small portion in my hand and a larger portion in his. It reminded me how he had occupied a vast space in my heart, while I only had a sliver of his.

“Do you think ripping it will change anything?” His voice seethed with anger, his chest heaving and falling with each breath. “You’re an Omega—weak. You’re not fit to be my Luna. I need someone who can secure my position...give me strong heirs,” he spat.

My knees weakened, and I sank to the floor. Was it my sickness or the way his gaze pierced through me, just like my father did—cold? It felt as though I was useless all over again.

After healing him at my own expense, I became nothing. My father was right—without my healing, I was worthless. An omega could never be a Luna, never loved or wanted. I was foolish to think I could change my fate.

Nathan squatted down and placed the paper in front of me. “Sign it. Accept my rejection before I make your life a living hell,” he demanded, thrusting the pen into my hands. “The love isn’t there anymore.” His voice was light, yet it pressed heavily against my chest.

His words snuck into me like a thief, stealing the last remnants of hope I had clung onto.

He knew how much I feared pain, yet he caused it—over and over again. I stayed, even when he drunkenly called out another woman’s name while he was on top of me. I stayed when he took her to places he promised me, believing it was just a phase; he would come back to me.

Even as my sickness devoured me, I continued to care for him—cooking his meals, doing his laundry, ensuring he was well, believing my love would be enough to make him stay.

But how much could I bear without love?

Accepting my fate, I took the pen, signed the paper, and handed it over to him. “Since I’m useless to you, I’d leave,” I said, not even knowing where to go.

Nathan’s eyes sliced to mine, and for a moment I thought I had seen remorse. But then he snorted with a vile smirk. “You aren’t going anywhere. Your power is still needed.”

My heart thudded in my chest. A different kind of fear gripped me as I understood the look in his eyes. He was about to lock me up and exploit my powers like my father did.