The One He Left Behind Chapter 03

The One He Left Behind Chapter 03

I stepped out of the healing chamber with Elinor, and Lydia had already accepted the proposal.

She tilted her chin up and looked straight at me. “You. Peel an apple for me.”

She knew everything. Anger and sorrow tangled sharp and hot inside me, and I nearly turned to run.

Just then, Killian spoke, his brows drawn together slightly. “Who is this?”

Elinor folded her arms and watched me with a faint smile. “She’s the caretaker I hired for you. Quite efficient at her work.”

Killian frowned deeper. “If you work for Lydia, why ignore her requests? She will be your Luna soon.”

I stood silent for a long moment, then picked up a knife and an apple, starting to peel it slowly.

Lydia watched with satisfaction and leaned into Killian’s side. “This is exactly the day I’ve always dreamed of.”

“Silly girl. I’ll make every one of your dreams come true.” He smiled softly.

He had never spoken such gentle words to me.

When I finished, I held the apple out to Lydia.

She wrinkled her nose and stared at the fruit as if it were something filthy.

“Killian, tell her to put on gloves and peel another. I won’t eat anything she’s touched with her bare hands.”

Killian obeyed without hesitation. He turned to me, his tone cold. “Word is you’re quick with chores. Can’t you handle even this simple task?”

I hung my head, my voice tight. “My apologies, Miss Wayne. I’ll peel another right away.”

I finished a second apple and offered it to her.

She did not even glance at it. “The peel split. I don’t eat apples with broken skin.”

I started over again, time after time. She found ridiculous excuses to reject every single one.

The fruit basket was soon empty, and my fingers had gone numb. Only then did Lydia wave a lazy hand.

“Forget it. I’ve lost my appetite for apples anyway.”

I clenched my jaw hard, tears stinging the corners of my eyes.

I knew exactly why Lydia hated me so deeply.

In the past, whenever she tormented Killian, I had always stepped between them.

Now that his sight was restored, I stood in the way of her becoming the new Luna of the Shadow Pack.

She wanted to drive me away and turn Killian against me.

As soon as word of the proposal spread, Lydia’s family arrived in a rush.

The mating ceremony was set to take place in half a month.

Those fifteen days were my last sliver of hope.

Truth be told, I could not bring myself to give up.

I kept telling myself Killian was only mistaken, that he simply had not remembered.

If I just reminded him, everything would go back to how it was meant to be.

I headed for his private receiving room.

Peering through the crack in the door, I saw his Beta looking torn and hesitant.

“Killian… it was never Lydia who cared for you all these years. It was that Omega, Senya.”

“I know,” Killian replied, swirling the dark liquor in his glass gently.

I froze where I stood.

“Then why do you—”

Killian’s voice was cold, laced with obvious weariness. “You know the old tale. When a blind wolf regains his sight, the first thing he does is snap the cane that led him along.”

“She saw me at my weakest, my most wretched, crawling through the mud like a pathetic stray. I could never let someone like her stand beside me as Luna. She is a part of my past I must leave behind.”

I remained rooted in place until my legs went numb.

Then I turned and walked away.

That night, I handed in my request to leave the pack to Luna Elinor.

“You’re certain you want to go?” Elinor’s gaze lingered on the parchment laid across the oak table.

Clearly she had not expected this. Less than two weeks prior, this Omega who had clung to her son like a shadow was now choosing to depart.

I stood before her and gave a quiet nod.

When she stayed silent, I added another lie. “I’ve come of age. My old pack has arranged a mating for me with a clan in the southern territories.”

My parents had died in a border skirmish three winters ago, and the den I once called home was nothing but ruins out in the wilderness.

Elinor looked me up and down. A flicker of guilt crossed her sharp features, and she sighed.

She pulled open a drawer and set a heavy pouch of coins on the table.

“Consider this my thanks for all you’ve done,” she said.

I stared at the pouch.

If I took it, every tie between Killian and me would be severed for good.

“Thank you.” I picked it up without hesitation.