They Left Me Behind, Then Wanted Me Back Chapter 09

They Left Me Behind, Then Wanted Me Back Chapter 09

I opened the cab door.

Mom tried to stop me, but Darius leaned out from inside.

He looked thinner. Pale in the winter light.

“Kaia.”

His voice was rough.

“I heard you were back. Thought I’d find you here.”

“Can we talk? Just a few minutes.”

I looked at him. Remembered all those years sharing sodas, him promising he’d protect me.

Those promises had long been buried beneath the North’s endless winters, lost to the past.

I shook my head.

“No need.”

Darius froze for a beat, then reached for me. I stepped back out of reach.

I didn’t want to drag it out.

“Remember the day after the Academy trials last year?”

“I heard your mother tell you to stay away from me.”

“She said pups like me-ones raised without parents-have character issues.”

“You didn’t argue.”

“I figured it out later. You thought the same.”

His face drained of color. His mouth worked soundlessly, no words finding their way past his tight

throat.

Vivienne froze beside me, clearly unaware this had ever happened.

My voice was flat. “Don’t bother me again.”

“I’m happier without all of you.”

I didn’t look at their faces. I got in the car.

“Airport, please.”

The car moved. The North was gray outside.

The Southern coastal city waiting for me-bright and full of sun.

The day my Council scholarship was confirmed, I splurged at a fancy seafood restaurant.

I booked a private room. Ordered a table full of food.

It was my nineteenth birthday.

Cake. Balloon arch. And me.

I peeled my very first lobster myself, dipped it in sauce, and took a slow, deliberate bite.

The sweetness spread across my tongue.

And I heard Grandma’s voice in my head: Make something of yourself.

I did it, Grandma. I really did.

Later, the Academy held its freshman orientation.

As the top-ranked student in the class, I gave a speech on stage.

Applause filled the auditorium.

After it ended, the Head Advisor stopped me.

“Kaia.”

“The Council’s Direct Bloodline Research Institute wants to invite you to join.”

“Your Silver Moon Bloodline has… significant potential.”

That day, I officially got my own research seat.

After my first stipend came in, I made a donation to the Silver Moon Cemetery Foundation.

The note had just a few words.

-Granddaughter Kaia.

My days were full and busy-filled with combat training and bloodline theory studies.

Occasionally, I’d receive messages from Martha, my old neighbor from the Northern Territory.

She told me to take care of myself.

One day, she sent a long voice message.

“Kaia, honey.”

“Your father’s become completely obsessed.”

“Ever since he found out you’re top of the Academy, he’s been pushing Kael to the bone.”

“He drills Kael before dawn, until the pup can barely stand by nightfall.”

“The boy cries for his mother every day.”

“I heard Rowan’s mate couldn’t take it. They fight constantly. She moved back to her parents’ place

last month.”

“Took Kael with her.”

“Your father walks around telling everyone he almost raised the heir to the Silver Moon.”

“Nobody wants to hear it.”

I listened. Said nothing.

After a pause, Martha sighed again.

“And your mother.”

“Quinn’s running wild.”

“She squanders money like they’re worthless pebbles. Demanding rare gems from the capital auctions.”

“Vivienne said no, and Quinn threw a tantrum in the pack house. Screamed about favoritism.”

“People are talking behind her back.”

“She had her own daughter—didn’t want her. Now she’s spoiling someone else’s pup.”

“Now she regrets it. What’s the use?”

She stopped. Her voice dropped.

“A few nights ago, Vivienne got drunk.”

“She called me in the middle of the night. Crying.”

“Kept asking if you were okay.”

“Kaia.”

“Are you sure you won’t… forgive them?”

I set down the crystal.

Sea breeze drifted through the white curtains by the window.

The ocean glittered in the sun.

I spoke softly.

“I’m doing well.”

“As for them.”

“That’s the life they chose.”

“The rest of the road-they’ll have to walk it alone.”

As for Darius.

He’d occasionally reach out with different numbers.

He said he finally understood his feelings.

He’d cut Quinn off completely.

He said he’d always loved me.

He asked for another chance.

I never replied. Blocked every number.

Finally, I sent one response.

If you contact me again, I’ll file a formal restraining edict with the Council.

He never appeared again.

Over time, I stopped thinking about the North.

On my research desk, I kept a pot of Silver Moon succulent.

Grandma’s favorite plant.

Every time training exhausted me, I’d look at it.

And keep going.

I no longer wait around for anyone’s love, nor do I hold out hope for anyone to look back.

I just keep walking, one steady step at a time, toward the future I’ve built entirely for myself.

The endless wind and snow of the North will never again reach this sun-drenched southern coast.