Chapter 5

That was true.

Most of my adult life had been spent with her.

But most of my pain had come from her too.

Countless nights I'd asked myself: if I didn't love her, would it hurt this much?

I never found an answer.

I looked down at my camera and kept my voice easy. "The next eight years — I want those for myself."

I wanted to make films. To chase the things I'd given up long ago.

To be free.

When she heard that, Evelyn's eyes filled. Her voice cracked.

"I can't do that."

"Do you know what these past few weeks have been like for me? I picked up smoking again. I gave up on my research papers. I walked away from my lab. I haven't been living — I've been surviving."

Her face was shaking. Her eyes were red.

Like she was the one who had suffered the most.

I let out a quiet, tired sound.

"Do you know what the years since Cade showed up have been like for me?"

"Our bond anniversary got cut short. My birthday got pushed back. Even being together at night had to wait to see if Cade needed something."

"Evelyn. You're selfish."

Those years with no light had felt like my life had stopped meaning anything.

Sometimes I wondered: had Evelyn saved me, or had she pulled me into a darker place?

She looked away, and then forced out three words.

"I'm sorry."

Maybe back when they announced the pregnancy, I had still been hoping for those words. Still hoping she'd at least try to soften it, just enough that I didn't have to hold it all alone.

But now, those words were like snow. They melted the moment they touched anything real.

I stepped back, putting space between us, and smiled politely.

"Evelyn. We're done."

The moment I finished speaking, tears slid down Evelyn's face.

They landed on the fallen leaves with a small sound.

We had once cried together and swore to stay at each other's sides until the end. Those vows were fragile things when they met the real world.

She had torn apart my dream with her own hands — a dream I should have let go of long ago.

Evelyn stepped forward and pulled me into a tight hug, trembling.

"Rhys, no. I don't want you to leave."

"I swear Cade will disappear from the Academy. I'll go public immediately. I'll tell everyone you're my mate — my family, every student in the Pack, all of them will know."

She looked at me with everything she had left. I stepped back out of her arms.

"It's too late."

"Evelyn. I'm not your mate anymore."

I said it quietly. But she heard every word.

She stood there, lost, as I turned and walked into the sunlight.

The film project moved forward smoothly. Everything was going the way it was supposed to.

Until Cade Pemberton showed up at the location.

"Still chasing your little dream at your age, Rhys? Is this how you're trying to get Evelyn's attention?"

I laughed at that.

"I'm nothing like you."

"You're young. Learn to have some self-respect. I hope you figure that out eventually."

With that I tried to walk away.

Cade stepped in front of me.

"You're mocking me?"

"At least I never sold myself."

He swung a fist at me.

I hit him first.

He stared at me, genuinely shocked. He hadn't expected it.

"We're both men. I don't want to spell things out."

Every time I had come to the Academy to find Evelyn, I had seen Cade getting into the car of an older She-Wolf. The designer clothes and the expensive watch on his wrist had told the whole story long before this.

The look I gave him made his whole body go rigid.

"You say one word about this and I won't hold back."

Right then, Evelyn came running and shoved him hard away from me.

"Cade Pemberton, try to touch him and see what happens."

Cade's eyes burned red. He cried and begged — told her he'd be good, he'd behave, he'd never make her angry again.

But Evelyn looked at him with nothing but disgust. She turned her back on him and came to me.

"Rhys. I'm scared every moment you're not with me. Please come home."

She watched me with everything she had.

I moved her hand away. My voice was the same as always.

"I'm asking you — please have some dignity."

The dignity she had once needed from me. I was giving it back now.

Not far away, Evelyn and Cade erupted into a full confrontation. It was the first time I had seen her hit him — her bag split his head open.

I looked away and went back to directing.

Later, on the Pack community feed, I read a post.

The wealthy Alpha She-Wolf who had been keeping Cade had found out he had been with Evelyn at the same time. She had broken his hands and legs and left him on the street. He had nothing. He was begging for money at the roadside.

The news of Evelyn and Cade had reached her father, the Pack Alpha. He expelled her from the Pack Academy immediately. She had spent half her life as a professor. Now she had nothing to do. She sat in her study and drank alone. Several times she nearly passed out on the floor.

That same night, the film I made — about chasing what you once believed in — had its official release.

It spread across every Pack territory. The response was overwhelming.

From that moment on, I was no longer Evelyn Whitmore's mate who hid in her shadow.

I had a name. I had something of my own.