Two Star Healers And A Forgotten Fated Mate Chapter 05

Two Star Healers And A Forgotten Fated Mate Chapter 05

I hailed a cab to the apartment Cameron and I had shared for three years and started packing my luggage.

After three years living together, everything I owned fit neatly inside one compact rolling carry-on.

When my dad found out I’d quit my nursing job, he rushed back home from the border patrol outpost. Mom spent the whole afternoon whipping up all my childhood comfort dishes: roasted vegetable medley, creamy beef stew, and blueberry pie, the dessert I’d loved since I was a pup.

Dad kept piling extra meat onto my plate the whole dinner. “Whatever path you want to take next, your mom and I will back you one hundred percent.”

Once we finished eating, they pulled out a plane ticket like they’d been holding a secret gift.

A flight bound for Asterbay Pack.

My departure date was the very next day.

Asterbay Pack sat far south across the wolf territories, lined with warm coastal beaches, blooming wildflowers year-round, and quiet moonlit lake trails I’d rambled about visiting for years but never gotten the chance to see.

Dad slid the plane ticket across the table toward me, a gentle offer.

“If you want space to heal, Asterbay’s yours to visit as long as you need. No rush to come home at all.”

I stared down at the ticket, then up at my parents’ warm, reassuring faces.

The inner wolf that Cameron had wounded so deeply softened instantly, wrapped in a blanket of safety and warmth that seeped all the way into my bones.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I threw my arms around both of them, letting every last weight slip off my shoulders.

That night, I packed my bags for Asterbay in my bedroom. My phone buzzed nonstop against the carpet.

Cameron had come home from his shift to find half my things gone, flooding my inbox with texts.

[Penelope, did you head back to the Pack House? I picked up your favorite strawberry shortcake on the way home.]

[Where’d your ID and passport go? Are you leaving somewhere?]

I didn’t reply, so he started calling my number nonstop.

I ignored every ring, flipped my phone face-down, and kept folding my clothes.

A loud crash echoed from the living room a minute later, followed by my mom’s voice.

“Penelope, Amelia’s here to see you!”

Two soft knocks hit my bedroom door, then Amelia pushed inside like she owned the place.

She carried a matching strawberry shortcake container, her eyes red-rimmed. “Penelope, I’m so glad you’re home.”

She pulled me into a tight hug, and I stiffened in her grasp, not saying a word.

She rambled on, holding the cake and a plastic fork out toward me, ready to feed me a bite.

“Cameron told me everything. You took the blame for my OR mistake to save me from suspension.”

My inner wolf went completely still inside my mind.

“That’s the story he’d told Amelia. Had he spun that lie just to keep her from feeling guilty?”

A bitter, hollow laugh rumbled in my chest.

“Our fated mate had thought of every single way to protect another female wolf, without sparing a single thought for my hurt feelings.”

Even though all of this was Cameron’s fault, standing in front of the woman who’d benefited from his lies made resentment twist sharp in my gut.

I pulled free from Amelia’s arms, turning my face away from the cake.

“You should head home, Amelia.”

She froze, confused. “What’s wrong? Are you still mad at Cameron? He said you two had worked everything out.”

I met her eyes straight on. “We haven’t. We’re never fixing this.”

She opened her mouth to argue, then spotted the pile of packed luggage spread across my bedroom floor.

“Wait—you’re packing all this to go somewhere?” Her voice shot up an octave, panicked.

Frustration bubbled hot inside me, and I snapped at her for the first time ever. “I’m taking a trip. Please leave. I’m not in the mood for company right now.”

She wrote my bad mood off as stress from the hospital suspension, sighing in surrender. “Fine, I’ll go. Just promise you’ll eat the cake before it goes stale.”

She left, but Cameron’s texts kept rolling in an hour later.

[The hospital just called with an emergency case, I can’t leave right now.]

An hour and a half passed.

[Still upset? C’mon babe, I’ll swallow my pride and apologize. This cold war’s killing me.]

[Amelia mentioned you’re taking a trip. That sounds nice, stay safe.]

[I’ll pick you up the second you land back home.]

I stared at that final line for a long stretch of time.

Then I erased every last text he’d sent and blocked his whole number from my phone permanently.

I flipped my phone screen dark and set it aside.