Once My Only, Now Just a Memory Chapter 02

Once My Only, Now Just a Memory Chapter 02

The moment I walked into the bakery the next day, a sudden sense of danger hit me.

I looked up.

The man who had left in silence yesterday was sitting on a chair inside the shop.

He wasn’t alone this time.

Behind him stood several elite guards from the Pack.

My manager, Mark, was trembling as he stood before them.

“I am so sorry, Alpha. This is our mistake. We will take full responsibility…”

Cillian sat with his usual dominant posture, his voice calm yet terrifyingly heavy.

“I am not here to make things difficult for your business. But the cake I bought yesterday was spoiled by evening. My Luna was very upset.”

His gaze shifted to me.

“How about this? Fire this clerk, and we will call it even. My Luna is only twenty-two. She is still inexperienced and easily upset. You should be more accommodating.”

“This…” Mark looked at me, torn.

I was an Omega rejected by her Alpha.

After that, I had become a rogue.

No Pack would take me in.

I had wandered the edges of the territory.

Once my wolf went dormant, I lost even the ability to hunt.

My changed appearance made me unrecognizable.

I looked like someone who had lost everything.

Mark had been kind enough to take me in and give me a job.

“Alpha Cillian,” I said, stepping forward to look him in the eye.

“When you and I bonded, I was also twenty-two.”

“You have already rejected me publicly. I have paid my price. Tell me, what do I have to do for you to let me live in peace?”

The bakery fell dead silent.

The smirk vanished from Cillian’s face.

His eyes turned dark and intense.

“Let me see Lumi.”

Lumi.

He actually dared to speak her name.

A cold laugh escaped my lips.

My mind flashed back to the events of five years ago.

It was Lumi’s fourth birthday.

It was also the tenth time I had been taken to the secure holding room beneath the Wrenford Private Club alongside Brielle Ashcombe.

Brielle stood there with her arms crossed, looking completely confident.

“She caused trouble for me. She knows Cillian doesn’t want her near me, yet she keeps trying to interfere.”

I ignored her and looked only at the head Enforcer.

“When can I leave? My daughter is waiting for me.”

The guards exchanged uncertain glances.

Everyone in the Wrenford Pack knew Cillian loved his Mate.

But Cillian had kept me away from the public eye for so long that many lower-ranking members didn’t know what the actual Luna looked like.

Meanwhile, Brielle had spent the last six months appearing beside him at every public event, acting as the hostess of the Pack.

Cillian arrived shortly after.

The Enforcer finally looked relieved.

“Alpha Cillian, both of these women claim a connection to you. Which one should be released into your custody?”

Cillian looked at me.

For a moment, his expression changed when he saw what I had become.

A trace of concern flashed through his eyes.

But in the end, he turned away.

“I am taking Brielle.”

Brielle immediately stepped into his arms.

Cillian placed his coat around her shoulders.

They walked out together.

I was left sitting alone in the empty holding room.

The manager processed the report, glancing at me with sympathy.

“Miss Shaw.”

“When an Alpha chooses another woman again and again, perhaps you should understand what that means.”

I didn’t say a word.

Hours later, Cillian’s assistant finally came to let me out.

The moment I stepped into the quiet parking lot, I was pulled into a familiar embrace.

“Are you angry?”

Cillian held me close.

“Brielle is young. I couldn’t just leave her there alone.”

I looked up at him.

“So it is fine to leave me?”

He smiled and gently touched my cheek.

“Don’t overthink it. You are my true Mate. No one can take your place as my Luna.”

At that moment, an overwhelming exhaustion settled over me.

“Cillian.”

“Let us end the Mate Bond.”