Chapter 14: A Waste of Space

Chapter 14: A Waste of Space
Kael's POV

Everything was normal at Blackwood since Ivy left.

The sun still rose. The warriors still trained. The pack house bustled with routine. No one cried. No one screamed. No one questioned.

Ivy’s absence barely made a dent in the flow of things.

I didn’t notice it at first too, her absence
Why would I? l barely spoke to the girl unless to humiliate her.
And she kept her head down, her steps quiet, her presence even quieter. She was like a shadow in the corner of a room. If anything, the place felt a little less suffocating now that she wasn’t lurking around in silence, like some tragic ghost.

The night she left, ran away, apparently, Selene had handled it quickly. Told me what I needed to know, kept it all under wraps. I appreciated that about her. Efficient. Loyal. Strong. She was everything Ivy was not.

I didn’t think about it again.

I went about my usual routine: training at dawn, patrol meetings by noon, war council updates in the evening. Selene was beside me often. Warm. Supportive. Beautiful. She filled the space Ivy could never have touched.

I didn’t feel anything. Why would I?

Until that evening.

I was in my study, reclined behind my desk as dusk spilled orange light across the floor. I was tired. My head ached. My throat felt dry.

“Tell Ivy to bring up a drink,” I said absently to my Beta, Karl, who had just stepped in with a report in hand.

He blinked at me, frowning slightly. “Alpha...… Ivy’s not here.”

My eyes lifted to him slowly, confusion knitting my brow before the realization clicked into place like an icy shard in my gut.

Right.

She’s gone.

I leaned back in the chair, my jaw tightening as I looked away. The silence stretched between us for a beat too long.

“Forget it,” I muttered, waving him off.

Karl hesitated. “Yes, Alpha.”

The door shut behind him with a soft thud.

I stared at the empty space by the bookshelf. For some reason, I remembered how she used to stand there, hands clasped tightly in front of her like she was trying to take up even less space than her body already allowed. Pathetic. Always shrinking.

Why would I care?

I never liked her. Never wanted her. I tolerated her because of some outdated promise, some convenient arrangement. She was weak. Timid. Not worth the air she breathed in this pack.

Selene was everything I needed. She stood at my side with pride, walked like she owned the earth, not like it terrified her. She was strength. Fire. Command. That was what I wanted.

So why did this suddenly..… sting?

Why did the image of Ivy’s bowed head flash in my mind now, unwanted, uninvited?

I rubbed a hand down my face, gritting my teeth.

She was a waste of space.

That’s all she ever was.

Right?
.......

That night, I was with Selene.

Her perfume lingered in the air as she laid on the bed with me. Her fingers danced across my chest as she whispered things I should have wanted to hear. Her body was draped over mine, skin on skin, warm, inviting, demanding

And yet... my mind wasn’t here.

It wasn’t on her.

Selene noticed.

She always did.

She kissed along my collarbone, her voice sultry and sugar-laced as as she murmured, “What’s got you so distracted, My Alpha?” Her hips shifted, teasing me further. “You’re usually not this quiet when I’m on top of you.”

I exhaled through my nose, forcing a smile, brushing her hair behind her ear. “Just tired,” I muttered.

She didn’t buy it. I could feel the tension shift in her shoulders. She paused, eyes narrowing slightly as she sat back on her knees, straddling me. “Tired?” she echoed, her tone sharp around the edges. “You weren’t tired this morning when I woke you up with my mouth.”

I blinked, jaw tightening.

How could I tell her?

How could I explain that all day, something had felt off? That the corners of the pack house felt... empty. That my eyes kept drifting to places she used to stand, silent, unnoticed, head down, shoulders hunched like she was trying to fold into herself.

Ivy.

Her name tasted like ash in my mouth.

She left.

She ran

And I hadn’t cared.

At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

“Ivy,” Selene said suddenly, the name slicing through my thoughts like a blade. I snapped my attention back to her, tension prickling up my spine.

“What?”

She tilted her head slightly, studying me with calculating eyes. “Don't tell me you were thinking about her”

I scoffed. “Why the hell would I think about her?”

But my voice lacked the venom I wanted it to carry.

Selene leaned in again, lips brushing mine. “You chose me,” she whispered. “I’m your Luna. She was nothing but a stain on your pack. A weak, quiet, useless girl who didn’t belong.”

“I know,” I replied, but it didn’t feel right in my mouth.

“She’s gone. Probably dead by now,” Selene added with a cruel smile. “Good riddance.”

I didn’t respond.

Because I didn’t know how.

So I kissed her instead, forcefully, desperately, trying to bury the unease clawing through my chest. We made out, her skin against mine, but I wasn’t really there. Even with her moaning my name and dragging her nails down my back... my mind wasn’t on her.

It was on her...... The girl with soft eyes and too much silence. The girl who stood like a ghost in every room. The girl I discarded like trash because Selene told me to.

Ivy.
.......

That night, I dreamt.

The sky was black.

The forest around me was dead, trees twisted like broken limbs, the earth cracked and rotting beneath my feet. No moon. No wind. Just silence. Suffocating silence.

I stood alone.

And I was afraid.

Not just afraid, terrified. The kind of terror that seeps into your bones, that steals your breath before you even know you’re gasping. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t shift. My wolf whimpered somewhere deep inside, curled in on itself like it wanted to disappear.

Then... I saw her.

A figure. Small. Frail. Standing a few feet ahead of me with her back turned.

Her hair was wild, matted, tangled like dark vines. She wore a torn white dress, stained and dirty, barely holding to her body.

My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

The air turned colder.

And she began to turn.

Slowly. Almost painfully.

When her face came into view, my heart stopped.

Ivy.

Her eyes were hollow. Lifeless. Her skin pale as bone. Blood dripped from her temple, running down her cheek like ink.

“Ivy?” I croaked, but it came out broken.

She didn’t answer.

She just stared.

And then... she smiled.

That smile—

It wasn’t kind.

It wasn’t soft

It was twisted and cracked, like her soul had shattered into jagged glass.

And in that moment, I knew.... I had done that.

I had made her into this ghost.

I tried to move, to speak, to do something, but I couldn’t. My limbs were locked in place, heavy as stone.

She lifted a hand and pointed straight at me.

“You chose her,” her voice echoed, though her lips didn’t move.

The forest began to shift, darkness closing in from every side. Shadows slithered across the ground like smoke. My lungs seized.

“Ivy, I didn’t—”

But she was gone.

Everything was gone. And I jolted awake.