Chapter 5: Mate’s Goodbye (Scott’s POV)
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I lingered at the edge of the cemetery, the scent of rain–soaked earth mingling with the sharp tang of ash.
Ariana stood a few feet away, clutching the urn that now held her mother‘ s remains. She didn’t glance back at me. She didn’t have to. Her silence was louder than any words she could have spoken.
I should have felt relief, justification, something rational. But all I felt was the weight in my chest–a strange, suffocating heaviness I couldn‘ t name. My wolf paced restlessly within me, unsettled. This wasn‘ t how it was supposed to be.
When Ariana finally turned and began walking away, I followed her at a distance, unsure of what to say. The sound of my footsteps felt intrusive, even though the storm–covered night should have drowned them out.
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Chapter 5: Mate’s Goodbye (Scott’s POV)
I trailed her back to the, hoping that maybe here, in the place we once called home, I could find the right words. But when she stepped inside, the emptiness was deafening. No scolding words. No heated confrontation. Just a silence that spoke volumes about the void growing
between us.
I watched her move through the house with purpose, gathering her belongings. Each item she packed or discarded felt like a physical blow. The life I thought we shared was slipping through my fingers, piece by piece.
“Ariana,” I started, my voice faltering. My wolf growled in frustration at my weakness. “You can‘ t just… leave like this.”
She didn’t even look up. “You left first, Scott.” Her tone was cold, unyielding, like steel forged in fire.
The words hit harder than they should have, but I couldn’t bring myself to argue.
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Chapter 5: Mate’s Goodbye (Scott’s POV)
Because she was right.
I tried to reason with her, tried to find some excuse to make her stay. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I’ll fix it, I swear. I’ll make things right-”
She turned to me then, her eyes flashing golden, a spark of her wolf breaking through. “You can’t fix this. Some things are beyond repair.”
The calm finality in her voice gutted me more than if she‘ d shouted. My wolf whimpered, unsettled by the distance between us.
I scrambled for a gesture, anything that might bridge the chasm. I grabbed the bouquet of moon lilies I’d brought earlier and held them out to her. “Please, just… take these. A peace offering. Something.”
Ariana glanced at the blueberries and shook her head. “Thosw won’t bring my mother back, Scott. They won’t erase what you did.”
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Chapter 5: Mate’s Goodbye (Scott’s POV)
Her rejection stung more than I expected. I clenched my jaw, swallowing the retort that threatened to rise. “I’m trying,” I said instead, my voice quieter than I intended.
She met my gaze, and for a moment, I thought I saw something flicker there. Sadness? Disappointment? Whatever it was, it vanished as quickly as it came.
“Trying isn’t enough,” she said simply before turning away.
As she packed the last of her things, I felt a strange, desperate panic clawing at me. I didn’t understand it–couldn‘ t name it- but the thought of her walking out that door felt like a threat I couldn’t handle.
When she finally moved past me, her bags in hand, I found myself reaching for her arm. “Don’t do this, Ariana. Don’t leave. We can… we can figure this out.”
She stopped but didn’t turn to face me. “I already have, Scott. You made your choice. Now I’m making mine.”
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Chapter 5: Mate’s Goodbye (Scott’s POV)
Her calm rejection was worse than anger, worse than hatred. It was like she was already gone.
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I followed her to the doorway, unable to stop myself. The moonlight bathed her as she stepped outside, her figure silhouetted against the night. She looked back at me then, just once, her gaze piercing.
“I trusted you, Scott,” she said, her voice quiet but cutting. “With everything. My heart. My family. My future. And you threw it all away. You let me and my mother die waiting for you.”
Her words were a death knell, final and unrelenting. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move as she walked away, her figure fading into the darkness.
My wolf howled within me, the sound echoing in my mind. Regret and frustration swirled like a storm, but it was too late. I had let her go.
Ariana wasn’t just leaving. She was taking
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with her the trust and love I had taken for granted. And no matter how much I wanted to believe otherwise, I knew, deep down, that she was never coming back.
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