Contractually Yours Alpha (Riley)

Chapter One Hundred And Fins Five

Chapter One Hundred and Fifty Five

425 BOHUS

The bond was gone, leaving a void in my chest. But what I felt for him didn't change. Despite the fact that we were no longer mates, I still loved him. I was right-what we had was beyond the mate bond.

I had given up far too quickly, I realized. I wasn't willing to let him go just yet.

The crowd was gone by the time I returned to the healing room. I stood by the door of the room where Alexander had been kept, contemplating what to say. I could apologize again, but something told me it wouldn't be enough. He believed I could 'move on,' but he needed to see that I never would that I could never love another. My heart belonged to him, mate bond or not. Nothing had changed. And maybe, if he saw that, he would change his mind.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. No response. I lifted my hand to try again when the door creaked

open.

I pushed it fully open-only to find the bed empty.

His scent in the room was still strong, enough to tell me he hadn't been gone for long. I walked into a healer on my way out.

"Where is the Alpha?" I asked.

Sadness clouded her eyes. "Gone."

"What do you mean by 'gone'? He was supposed to be here, under medication."

"I told him the same, but he wouldn't listen. He's gone, Luna, and... I don't think he's coming back."

I was running before she even finished speaking. He hadn't been gone for long-l could catch up. I followed his scent deep into the woods, but then I stopped.noveldrama

His scent had completely... vanished.

“No.” The word slipped from my lips. “It can't be gone."

I picked a route and followed it; I wasn't going to give up; I couldn't. I had to find him.

Night fell, and still, I hadn't found him or picked up another trail. With each passing hour, my desperation grew.

The drizzle started softly, but within minutes, rain poured down in sheets. If there was any trail, I wouldn't be able to find it now. Still I couldn't go back; I had to find him He couldn't have left me. Maybe he was just angry... maybe he would return in a few days. But even as the thought crossed my mind, I knew I was only clinging to false hope. I still remembered his plea for me to set him free. He didn't want anything to do with me.

I hadn't seen the log in my path and tripped, falling into a puddle of thick mud and decayed leaves.

It was finally dawning on me. He was gone; he was really gone, and I might never be able to find him. He left no letter, nor did he bother with a goodbye. Maybe he knew that if he told me he was leaving, I would never let him

1. go.

"Luna!" Someone called, but I couldn't place the voice-everything sounded off in my ears. Then the figure stepped forward.

"Goddess," he gasped. "We heard you ran off, but no one knew where you were. I was worried you'd done something rash."

"Like drowning myself?" I asked-though, suddenly, it felt like an option.

"Are you okay?" he asked, worry clear in his eyes.

Chapter One Hundred and Filly Ave

425 BORUS

1 knew I looked like I'd been through hell-soaked, covered in mud and filth. On any other day, I would have told him I was fine. In any other situation, I would have acted like I had everything under control, because that was what was expected of me.

But now... I couldn't.

"No. I'm not. He left me-he really left me."

Saying it out loud made it feel even more real.

"Not just you. He'd left the pack too."